Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008
Finally, a Terrapin Rising
Bullis grad Fokou, from the bottom to the top
by Dan Greenberg | Staff Writer
susan whitney-wilkerson/the gazette
Moise Fokou shares a laugh with a Maryland teammate in front of his locker. Fokou's opponents may not be laughing this season if his penchant for punishing ball-carriers comes to the forefront.
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Five years ago, if you asked Maryland senior Moise Fokou if he would one day start at linebacker for a Division I-A college football program, he would have said, "Yes."
But not many other people would have, including those close to him.
Yet here he is, on the brink of his final year of eligibility: A 2004 Bullis alum who originally paid his own way to College Park, projected as a returning first-stringer at the outside "Sam" position.
He isn't quite Rudy Ruettiger, but Fokou's road to collegiate glory has been similarly challenging, unpredictable and ultimately, complete.
"It's been a long, crazy journey, I'll tell you that right now," said Fokou, who started all 13 of the Terrapins' games a year ago. "You've got all these people in your ear, people from home, friends or whatever who don't necessarily think you can do it. You have some that believe in you, some that think you're crazy. But you've got to shoot for the stars."
An All-Interstate Athletic Conference selection with the Bulldogs in 2003, Fokou showcased some talent as a prep athlete, but not enough to generate significant interest at elite-level universities. Instead, he settled on Division III Frostburg, which plays in the not-so-heralded Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
But by producing an immediate impact on the Bobcat defense — finishing second on the team with 70 tackles — and helped by his local ties, Fokou came to College Park spring practice in 2005 as an invited walk-on. While he was not guaranteed a roster spot like a scholarship player, the coaching staff at least knew of him.
That knowledge turned into astonishment the when the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder began blowing up ball carriers in scrimmages.
"Guys started noticing him right when he first transferred here," said Al Seamonson, the Terps' outside linebackers coach. "He was on the scout team and you we were like, ‘Who is this guy? He's running fast, he's hitting people, he's showing real burst.' So that first year, he worked with the inside 'backers, got playing time at special teams and with his speed, we decided he'd be a little bit better putting him on the edge. It's a real success story."
Fokou has thrived in whatever role has been assigned him, and seen his playing time increase exponentially since he set foot on campus.
In his redshirt year, he was named the scout team's Player of the Week three times. As a redshirt sophomore, he played in every game, registering 21 tackles and forcing two fumbles.
After earning his scholarship prior to the 2007 season, he had a standout junior year, starting all 13 games and finishing third on the team with 84 tackles.
Now a senior, the starting spot is his to lose. He is being pushed by exciting redshirt sophomore Adrian Moten, and he did have offseason shoulder surgery that caused him to miss the entire spring. But head coach Ralph Friedgen, who calls his linebacking corps "one of the strengths of this team," expects both to shine.
"Fokou [is a] playmaker," said Friedgen. "He's coming back from surgery and we've got a nice position battle [with Moten], but I don't think we lose much when one goes off the field. I don't think we've ever had that before."
Seamonson says Fokou's body looks to have filled out from last year, without any sacrificed speed. That could bode well for the fifth-year senior not only on Saturdays this fall, but on Sundays every fall afterwards.
Recently, the Terps have produced a virtual assembly line of defensive talent who have starred in the National Football League, including three linebackers drafted since 2003 — E.J. Henderson (Minnesota), Shawne Merriman (San Diego) and D'Qwell Jackson (Cleveland) — who currently start for their respective teams.
Not many people would have believed the lightly recruited Fokou had pro potential when he was struggling to find a college football suitor half a decade ago. But with his size, speed and playmaking ability, why not shoot for the stars again?
"You know, I have those aspirations," he said, "and occasionally, I think about it. But for now I'm just taking it one game at a time. I just want to go out on top."
