As Terrapin cornerback Kevin Barnes prepped for his team’s Emerald Bowl appearance last season, he found time to watch some college football.
While the nation’s top Bowl Subdivision teams were on hiatus, the senior kept tabs on a Delaware team he knew was on this year’s regular season schedule. He watched as now-Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco led the Blue Hens all the way to the Division I Championship Subdivision national championship game.
“I was very impressed with what I saw,” Barnes said. “They’re going to be a challenge just like any other team.”
The Blue Hens, who finished as national runners-up behind Michigan-beating Appalachian State, come to College Park Saturday at 3:45 pm to provide the Terps with a tough first test of the season.
A year after beating Navy, Delaware, led by 14 Bowl Subdivision transfers, has a mixture of talent and big game experience that will force the Terps to earn a 1-0 start.
“There’s a lot of guys on their team I’d like to have on my team,” Friedgen said. “Their quarterback (Flacco, the 18th pick in April’s draft) went in the first round. Obviously, there are people around him that helped him get there.”
Last year Delaware’s offense was the 6th best in the Championship Subdivision, and although Flacco is gone, the Blue Hens still have plenty of talent. At the beginning of preseason, Friedgen said he wanted to have plenty of time to get his team a look at a solid scout team spread offense in preparataion for the Blue Hen attack. Friedgen said he is impressed by tight end Robbie Agnone, a Pitt transfer, and the Delaware backfield features a pair of speedy backs who were originally recruited by larger schools. They will catch passes on Saturday from either redshirt freshman Lou Ritacco or Ohio State transfer Robby Schoenhoft, who the Terps recruited.
After leading off the last two seasons with wins against Championship Subdivision opponents (William and Mary 2006, Villanova 2007), the Terps, behind starting quarterback Jordan Steffy, can not afford to ease into the season.
Friedgen and the players seemed ready to go at Tuesday’s press conference, saying all the right things about being anxious to take the field against anybody after a long, hot preseason camp.
“We’ve been playing against our offense for the last month,” senior linebacker Chase Bullock said. “We’re ready to go out and play some new opponents. It’s a whole different game.”
And it starts with a whole different opponent.
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