If Maryland’s football team manages to navigate a watered-down, Atlantic Coast Conference well enough to win the Atlantic Division and play in the league championship game on Dec. 6, it won’t be because of its weak defense or its mediocre special teams or quarterback Chris Turner, who leads an erratic passing game.
The reason the Terps already are bowl eligible, sitting pretty with a 6-2 record and tied with Florida State atop the division at 3-1 is clear.
With redshirt sophomore Da’Rel Scott and true freshman backup Davin Meggett commanding the running back position, Maryland is blessed with arguably the best, 1-2 backfield punch since Coach Ralph Friedgen arrived in 2001.
Anyone who doubted these two are for real only had to watch Scott and Meggett splash their way to an outstanding day in the pouring rain against an NC State team the Terps edged, 27-24, on Saturday.
As he has done pretty much since gouging overmatched Delaware for a career-high 197 yards in his first start on Aug. 30, Scott was difficult to tackle inside and tougher to stop once he broke into the Wolfpack’s second line of defense.
He showed the great, pull away burst that recalled his days as a track star at Plymouth-Whitmarsh High School in Conshohocken, Pa., as he rolled up 163 yards and took over the ACC lead with an average of 102.6 rushing yards per game.
Meggett, at 5-feet-8 and 210 pounds and the son of former NFL star David Meggett, showed his father’s ability to make defenders miss, but also finished gains by lowering his shoulder into linebackers and safeties. He also came off the bench during the game-winning drive after Scott reinjured his shoulder and made the game’s biggest play.
Meggett’s 31-yard gain after catching a screen pass in the right flat — one cut and a dash up the right sideline — put kicker Obi Egekeze in position for the deciding, 20-yard field goal.
Maryland’s meal ticket is a solid offensive line — senior center Edwin Williams, junior right guard Phil Costa and senior right tackle Scott Burley caved in the left side of NC State’s defense all day — clearing room for Scott and Meggett to take turns doing their thing.
You could see Scott coming on as a freshman return man and part-time back with that speed and elusiveness. Meggett is the true find, the kid who showed up suddenly on the recruiting radar screen after his junior year at Surrattsville High in Clinton, Md., with 4.4 speed and a serious interest in coming to College Park.
Scott, at 5-feet-10 and 192 pounds, and Meggett emerged decisively with superb August camps, and made it easy for Friedgen to move them atop the depth chart.
“I knew we had a good player [in Scott]. My biggest concern about Da’Rel was durability,” Friedgen said. “I think he’s got a legitimate injury right now. Earlier [in his college career], he was kind of a track guy. And he’s kind of turned into a tough guy. Davin Meggett came to our camp [in high school] and had unbelievable grades. He ran a 4.4. I really wasn’t looking for a running back, but we offered him a scholarship before his senior year. Then, he had a phenomenal senior season, and everybody was trying to take him from us. He stayed with us, and I think he’s going to be a real good back.”
Bruce Perry, the offensive star from Friedgen’s early teams, still is the best running back the Fridge has coached, but he never had a backup like Meggett, who is averaging 5.3 yards a carry. And Scott is just getting warmed in a career that could see him outproduce the injury-prone Perry in the near future.
This Maryland team has serious holes, starting with a defense that gets blocked all over the field way too often. But the Terps have a pair of aces in their backfield in the form of two, first-year starters with a limitless future in front of them.
And if Maryland finishes strong this year, Scott and Meggett will have the most to say about why.
