It?s been roughly two years since he considered leaving College Park and transferring to another football program, possibly a Division I-AA school closer to his home in Sellersville, Pa. The past two seasons, Maryland quarterback Sam Hollenbach, once a struggling quarterback, has been at the helm of the Terps? turnaround ? this fall leading the team to its first bowl-eligible season since 2003.
The secret to his success? Work ethic.
“He?s worked so hard for it,” Terps junior tight end Joey Haynos said.
Haynos has seen it first-hand, not only on the field but in Hollenbach?s kitchen. While he?s cooking, the 6-foot-4, 214-pound quarterback has a chart with formations hanging nearby.
“When he cooks, he looks over at the formations,” Haynos said.
Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen sees the dedication, too.
“He prepares very hard,” Friedgen said. “In the meeting every day, a lot of these guys sit there and listen to you, but he?s taking notes. He?s in there before I am watching tape.”
The game has slowed down some for Hollenbach. Fellow senior Josh Allen recalled a moment late in the Terps? game at Clemson Nov. 4. In the waning moments of a tight contest, Hollenbach lost his shoe, and the team called a timeout amid the madness. Hollenbach calmly led his team to a riveting 13-12 win.
“There was no worry or no stress in him,” Allen said. “There was urgency … but he was very calm.”
Having thrown for 1,966 yards, 12 touchdowns and nine interceptions while leading the Terps to an 8-3 mark, Hollenbach could surface on the NFL radar.
“He knows the game plan pretty well, and I see him getting better,” Friedgen said. “He might have a chance to play further.”
Hollenbach likes that idea. The pay for an NFL quarterback would dwarf that which he?d earn as an engineer.
Before he can start NFL dreams, though, Hollenbach is focused on tonight?s crucial game ? the home finale of his college career ? against Wake Forest (9-2). He estimates it will draw about 20 family members from Pennsylvania, and he?s planning to take it all in.
“It?ll be five years of my life over with … and it?ll be gone before I know it,” Hollenbach said. “I?m just trying to have fun with it and realize it?ll be gone quick.”
Wake Forest at Maryland
Where: Byrd Stadium
When: 7:45 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN Radio: 1300AM/105.7 FM
