COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Sam Hollenbach will start at quarterback Saturday for Maryland, which must win two of its final three games to become eligible for a bowl bid.<br>
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Hollenbach strained his left shoulder on Oct. 20 against Virginia Tech and ran only five plays in the Terrapins' 35-27 loss to Florida State nine days later. He's been running practice with the first team this week, and coach Ralph Friedgen expects the 6-foot-5 junior to run the offense this weekend at North Carolina.<br>
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``I don't think he's like he was before he got hurt, but I think he's back to being able to play at full capacity, let's put it that way,'' Friedgen said Tuesday. ``Obviously we're concerned at how he holds up, but I'm hoping he'll be able to run the whole thing.''<br>
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Hollenbach wasn't supposed to play against the Seminoles, but he entered late in the first quarter after backup Joel Statham failed to produce any points. Hollenbach completed his only pass, a 29-yarder, but took a hard hit shortly thereafter that forced him back to the bench.<br>
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Although he didn't last long, Hollenbach made a favorable impression on his teammates.<br>
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``Sam is a competitor. In the Florida State game, even when he was hurt, he still went out there and tried to do the best he can,'' fullback Ricardo Dickerson said. ``It's just a plus for our offense. Everybody is comfortable when he's out there on the field.''<br>
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Hollenbach is 128-for-204 for 1,700 yards and eight touchdowns. He's ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in passing efficiency and has run for 65 yards and two touchdowns.<br>
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He could, however, be without key receivers Jo Jo Walker (leg injury) and Drew Weatherly (concussion), both of whom are questionable for Saturday. Friedgen said Walker's injury occurred in practice, but did not explain how Weatherly hurt his head.<br>
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One of the players in last week's brawl at an off-campus bar reportedly received a concussion, but Friedgen would not discuss the fight or the four suspensions that stemmed from the incident. He also ordered his players to avoid the topic.<br>
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``It's behind me, and I'm not talking about it anymore,'' he said.<br>
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As far as Friedgen is concerned, the first eight games of the season and the much-publicized fight are all in the past. All that matters, he said, is what happens over the final three weeks of the regular season.<br>
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After visiting North Carolina, the Terrapins (4-4, 2-3) host Boston College before facing North Carolina State on the road.<br>
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``I told them the other day that it's really the start of another season,'' Friedgen said. ``We're 4-4, we might as well be 0-0. It's a three-game schedule with the hope of playing four.''<br>
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The Terrapins faced an identical task last year and lost two of three, but Friedgen believes this team is better.<br>
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``I think we're a pretty good team, better than last year,'' he said. ``In the last two games we've played very hard. I think there's been improvement. What I think we have to do now is to go down there and show people just how much we have improved.''<br>
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Although it's too early to determine how this season will play out, Friedgen knows that next year he can count on having Stephon Heyer on the offensive line. Heyer tore the ACL ligament in his left knee during fall practice, and has opted to use his final year of eligibility in 2006.<br>
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Heyer, a 6-7, 319-pound senior, decided to return after talking at length with his mother and Friedgen.<br>
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``I didn't redshirt my freshman year and I figured I needed another year to show what I could do in order to go to the NFL,'' said Heyer, who expects to begin practicing next fall. ``It was a tough decision, because when you're a senior you're ready to (leave). But I'm ready to do what I have to do to graduate, look better and play better.''<br>
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(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
