Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey made his lone touch in Saturday’s win at Clemson memorable when he broke off a career-high 76-yard run, which set up the Terps first touchdown.
But the play overshadowed a poor game for Heyward-Bey. It was the second straight year the Tigers held the Terps’ No. 1 receiver without a catch and just the third time Heyward-Bey has gone catchless in his three-year career. (The other was his first career game against William & Mary in 2006.)
After the game, Friedgen said Heyward-Bey had apologized for his performance, which included a pair of drops.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Friedgen was clear about what went wrong.
“We tried to throw the ball to him,” Friedgen said. “There were plays designed to get him the ball. He dropped two. The other ones he didn’t get open. They’re covering him. They want to take him out of the game.”
It was the first game in which Heyward-Bey to find the end zone for the Terps. And Friedgen said it won’t stop the Terps from continuing to find ways to get the junior speedster the ball – as long as Heyward-Bey does his part.
“Darrius is always going to be a major part of our gameplan,” Friedgen said. “We’re going to do what we gotta do, but he’s got to do it, too.”
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Tags: Clemson, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Ralph Friedgen, Terrapin football
This was a statement game for the talent of DHB. Finally, he got the respect he deserved of being double and sometimes even triple covered the entire game. His ability to serve as a “decoy” in the second half speaks volumes for how highly Tommy Bowden views him. Before the game Bowden told reporters that Darrius is one of the best WRs he has ever seen in the league. Though he only had one touch, on a run no less, DHB opened up the field for the offense’s second half surge.
There was some balls thrown to him that should have been caught during the Clemson game. I don’t want to say it but i think DHB is thinking too much ahead of himself because he could be a future first round pick and is just trying to play it safe. I haven’t seen him so up the middle in a while. I hope not. Because of him, other teams are scared because he might burn you on a post pattern or zoom right by you with a reverse. Whatever it is, once Turner kicks that leg and he is in motion. WATCH OUT because he is going to put on a show. Thank God he is on my team.
Thinking too much? That’s ridiculous, he still blocks downfield on every play and has actually turned into a pretty decent blocker. He is not the Wes Welker mold of running slants from the slot, nor is he the Derrick Mason mold of running first down curls. He is the T.O., and Braylon Edwards mold, fast and has the size advantage causing him to be the ultimate deep threat. The tandem works out well with Danny if he can play that underneath route and let DHB run wild in the open field. One game and we are all jumping on him.
I agree that accusing Hey-Bey of thinking too much about being a first round pick is pretty ludicrous. He is the biggest playmaker on the Terps and has been integral in all of the team’s wins. Even though he had a bad day, he still made the play of the game and swung the momentum in the Terps favor, setting them up for victory. Like Kirby said, Hey-Bey is not the type of receiver that runs a lot of routes over the middle. Having him do that would not utilize his skillset in the best way. He is much more effective on screens and deep routes, which is why Ralph calls those types of plays to get him the ball. It’s ok to call him out for dropping a few, but don’t criticize the team’s best player for something he does not have control of. I think he’ll put on a show against UVA: 7 catches 112 yards 2 TDs