Tigers coach is a lot like his old boss, Terps’ Edsall Rob Ambrose served under Randy Edsall at Connecticut for seven years. But that’s not why he instilled the same old-school discipline at Towson that his former boss brought to Maryland. Ambrose’s ideals were formed long before.
“In my house you did things the right way,” Ambrose said. “Randy and I probably came from similar households. I would think we were raised similarly with sports as the backdrop.”
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Ambrose grew up on a farm in Frederick County. The family business was cattle. His father, Tim, is a legendary former football coach at Middletown High. His mother, Janice, is a Frederick County judge.
| UP NEXT |
| Towson at Maryland |
| When » Saturday, 3:30 p.m. |
| Where » Byrd Stadium |
| TV » CSN |
| Radio » 980 AM |
“I believe in doing it the right way, and I believe in justice,” Ambrose said. “Follow the rules, accountability and teamwork, us not me.”
Those are the principles the third-year coach has instilled at Towson (3-0) of the FCS, which is off to its best start since 2006. On Saturday afternoon, Ambrose, the former offensive coordinator at UConn, brings the Tigers to Maryland (1-2) in a meeting of mentor and disciple.
“He’s gone through the pains and tribulations of putting a program together there at Towson, trying to instill all the things that he wants his program to be,” Edsall said. “Now you see this year they’re starting to reap the benefits of the hard work.”
Transition to the ways of Ambrose was at times difficult for the Tigers, who went 3-19 in his first two seasons.
“When he first got here, we were like, ‘Man what’s going on. He’s trying to kill us,’?” said guard Randall Harris, a graduate of DuVal High in Lanham. “He’s very strict on rules, academics, working out in the weight room. We can see he had a plan the whole time.”
On-field evidence of Towson’s turnaround began last season when the Tigers nearly upset James Madison 17-13. This offseason, Ambrose mentioned a word he had been careful never to use at Towson — win.
So far, the Tigers have done that in dramatic fashion. After losing to Colonial Athletic Association power Villanova by a combined 92-14 in Ambrose’s first two seasons, Towson throttled the Wildcats 31-10 as quarterback Grant Enders completed 19 of 26 passes for 193 yards.
Last week, the Tigers not only beat Colgate for the first time in 10 tries, they did so 42-17 as freshman Terrence West carried 13 times for 85 yards and three touchdowns.
“With all the hard work we put into it, I’m not surprised at all,” said offensive tackle Eric Pike, also a DuVal grad. “We couldn’t wait for this season to start.”
Ambrose, a former wide receiver at Towson, knows it won’t be easy for the Tigers on Saturday. He illustrated the challenge in terms of scholarships.
“Maryland’s got 85. We’ve got 63,” Ambrose said. “If any of my guys get hurt, I’m in trouble for conference play. And from Randy’s standpoint, if they don’t beat us by 100 points, it looks like a loss.”
