Brooks, Lefeged face Maryland Saturday
As seniors at rival high schools in Germantown, Jourdan Brooks and Joe Lefeged were ranked the No. 2 and No. 3 linebackers in Maryland. Trouble is, neither was a prototype.
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While Brooks (6-1, 245) was too thick, Lefeged (6-1, 190) was too thin. But Rutgers coach Greg Schiano wasn’t deterred. He could see roles for them beyond their high school position.
Three years later, Brooks and Lefeged are two of Schiano’s best players. While the hard-charging Brooks, a redshirt sophomore back from Seneca Valley, ignites the offense, the hard-hitting Lefeged, a junior strong safety from Northwest, leads the defense.
Saturday when Rutgers (2-1) travels to Maryland (1-2), Lefeged and Brooks will play in their home state for the first time, facing the school that never offered either a scholarship.
“I’m definitely excited,” said Brooks, Monday at a Rutgers media luncheon.
“I watched Maryland a lot growing up,” said Lefeged. “Especially when they had LaMont Jordan.”
While Brooks has rushed 25 times for 157 yards (5.7 per carry), and a team-high three touchdowns, Lefeged has 18 tackles, second most on the Scarlet Knights. They are the most conspicuous of the seven Maryland players on the Rutgers roster.
The Terps, meanwhile, have nine players from New Jersey including starting center Phil Costa and linebacker Alex Wujciak.
“A lot of our kids are from New Jersey. I didn’t realize last time how important it was to those guys,” said Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen of the Terps game at Rutgers in 2007. “I’m sure it’s the same way for their guys from Maryland.”
Lefeged appeared to be energized in 2007 when he made a huge hit on Maryland quarterback Jordan Steffy. On a safety blitz, Lefeged came around the end unblocked and made a huge helmet-to-helmet hit, knocking Steffy from the game.
The play ultimately worked to Maryland’s benefit as Chris Turner rallied the Terps to a 34-24 upset of Rutgers, then ranked No. 10 in the nation.
While Lefeged was making an impact as a freshman, Brooks needed a redshirt season to transition. After losing 15 pounds and getting quicker, Brooks emerged last fall. In his first start, Brooks carried 22 times for 134 yards at Navy. The following week, he scored three touchdowns against Morgan State. The rest of his season, however, was uneven.
“I used to go into games nervous,” Brooks told the Newark Star-Ledger. “This year I’m more settled down. I feel better about myself.”
