Terps' Navarre shuns hero role

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Jeremy Navarre would have been comfortable playing football in the 1960s. The sophomore defensive end dutifully follows orders, doesn&#39;t care much for attention and would rather play poorly in a victory than shine in defeat.<br> <br> ``He&#39;s kind of a throwback guy,&#39;&#39; Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said Tuesday. ``He gives you what he&#39;s got every day in practice, and doesn&#39;t say a whole lot.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Navarre&#39;s performance Saturday night against Florida State said plenty about his ability as a football player. He had five tackles, forced a fumble and stuffed the Seminoles on a fourth-down play to set up a Maryland touchdown. He saved the best for last, blocking a 46-yard field goal in the final minute to preserve a 27-24 win.<br> <br> ``Those were big plays,&#39;&#39; Navarre acknowledged, ``but if I got only one tackle and we won, I&#39;d be happy.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> That pretty much sums up Navarre&#39;s attitude on the football field. He graduated high school early to enroll at Maryland, then accepted the move from fullback to defensive end because the Terrapins were short-handed on the line.<br> <br> Instead of watching and learning during a redshirt season, the 6-foot-3, 265-pounder was inserted into the starting lineup as a freshman last year and played in all 11 games, starting 10. He had only 25 tackles in 2005, none of them sacks, but this season has steadily improved.<br> <br> ``I&#39;ve been comfortable this whole year,&#39;&#39; Navarre said. ``It&#39;s been frustrating because I haven&#39;t been putting up the numbers up the way everyone wanted. But I&#39;m working hard, and I keep getting better.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> It would be tough for Navarre to top his performance of Saturday night, which enabled him to share the award of Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the week.<br> <br> ``I didn&#39;t see that coming. It&#39;s an honor,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Now I&#39;ve got to build off this and not let it go to my head.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Not only did Navarre have his best game on defense, but the blocked field goal made him a hero among his teammates and around College Park.<br> <br> ``I&#39;ve never been much for that kind of thing, but it comes with the territory of playing college football,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I&#39;ve just got to ignore it and focus on the team and focus on getting better.<br> <br> ``I played a good game on Saturday. It&#39;s Tuesday now. I&#39;m looking to the next game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Maryland (6-2, 3-1) travels to Clemson on Saturday in a game the Terrapins must win to stay in contention for the ACC title. Maryland is currently tied for the top spot in the Atlantic Division with Boston College and Wake Forest, with Clemson a notch back at 4-2.<br> <br> It will be the 20th career game for the 19-year-old Navarre, who has no regrets about skipping part of his senior year in high school to get a jump on playing and studying at Maryland.<br> <br> ``It was definitely worth it. You&#39;ve got to look at the big picture,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I was looking at my future, trying to get a head start school-wise and athletically, and it really paid off.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The same can be said of his move from fullback, as well as the decision to forgo a redshirt season to secure a starting spot on the defensive line.<br> <br> ``The opportunity was there in front of me,&#39;&#39; he said. ``Now I&#39;ve just to stay focused and keep working. If I can do that, I have a chance to have a pretty successful four years here at Maryland.&#39;&#39;