If a lack of short-term memory is the epitome of a good defensive back, then Maryland’s secondary did a near-perfect job with self-imposed amnesia last weekend against Virginia. No player better embodied the Terrapins’ first-half troubles and second-half turnaround against the Cavaliers than senior cornerback Josh Wilson.
With just over three minutes remaining in the first half, Wilson appeared to get thrown out of the back of the end zone in pass coverage by Virginia wide receiver Kevin Ogletree. But no flags were thrown, and Ogletree easily pulled in a 38-yard pass from Cavaliers quarterback Jameel Sewell and celebrated the touchdown reception with a dance move, passing the ball back-and-forth between his legs.
“First of all, I thought it was pass interference because he was pulling him down, but bad stuff is going to happen and you’re going to get a call, and you can’t change it,” said Maryland cornerback Isaiah Gardner. “All you gotta do is go to the next play.”
Wilson vented his frustration with the non-call with a 34-yard return on the ensuing kickoff — after catching the ball eight yards deep in the end zone — but true vindication came a full half later when he broke up Ogletree’s attempt to catch a Sewell pass on Virginia’s game-tying two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter.
“We were in man-to-man, and my guy kinda stopped, and he came back,” said Wilson. “I figured the ball was coming. I just drove the helmet — I took a peak back and saw that the ball was coming, and I was just like, ‘This guy is not going to score.’”
Just like it went for the Terrapins (4-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), the game was a tale of two halves for the secondary, and preventing the big pass play will almost certainly be part of their homework this week. Sewell, a redshirt freshman, looked like a veteran early, completing seven of eight passes in the first two quarters on the way to a career-high 243 yards.
He had his three biggest pass plays of the year against the Terps — 38, 44 and 51-yard receptions, all by Ogletree — and two went for touchdowns. The 51-yard toss was Sewell’s longest of the season.
Ogletree got by Wilson and split the Maryland safeties on the 44-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown grab, pulling the Cavaliers within two points and allowing them to try the two-point conversion in the first place. But that was after Erin Henderson’s 45-yard interception return for a touchdown, and Sewell was limited to just 6-for-13 passing for 94 yards after halftime.
Wilson’s effort essentially sealed Maryland’s come-from-behind victory and showed that while the Terrapins can make plays when they need them, a consistent 60 minutes hasn’t yet been achieved.
“I just felt like I made a play. Sometimes you get calls, sometimes you don’t,” said Wilson. “You just gotta finish playing, and that’s what I tried to do, finish. If we don’t get that stop, we probably would have gone to overtime.”
