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University of Maryland sophomore running back Davin Meggett has a problem the Terrapins' coaching staff loves.
Meggett is surrounded by competition in the offensive backfield, and sharing carries will be mandatory. But that should be no problem for the Clinton native, given his approach.
The Terrapins head into the season sporting, perhaps, the best group of running backs in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virtually every member of a running back corps that finished fourth in the ACC (144 yards per game last season) returns for 2009. Junior Da'Rel Scott emerged as the group's leader with 1,133 yards and eight touchdowns.
Meggett is second in the pecking order after gaining 457 yards and scoring four touchdowns last fall. Meggett's 457 yards were the most gained by a Maryland freshman since Suitland native LaMont Jordan's 689 yards in 1997. Meggett constantly mentioned "team" as he spoke to reporters during Maryland's media day on Aug. 10, much to the pleasure of his coaches.
"It's phenomenal for him to have that attitude and that's the kind of kid he is," said running backs coach John Donovan. "He understands the big picture. It's good to get some individual accolades, but in the end if you're a real competitive person and team player, you're going to want to get as many wins as possible. That's what should drive you more than anything else. We have a great outlook this season because we think we have a lot of unselfish guys."
A member of the 2009 Terrapins Council – the team's leadership group – Meggett has begun carving his niche in the locker room as well as on the field. He said his freshman year served as quite a learning experience.
"I think the most important thing that I learned was patience and understanding," Meggett said. "Going back to last year, I was scared out of my mind when I got here. I had no clue what was going on. Now I have a better understanding of what's going on.
"I think it's probably more maturity in the younger guys learning from the older guys last year," Meggett continued. "You could pick out who to follow, and the person I looked up to happened to be my locker mate, [former Terrapin] Adrian Cannon. He's probably been the most influential for me. He's confident, works hard and doesn't let anything stand in his way and knew what we had to do. It's leaders like that surrounding you and you learn to grow with them and become more like them."
But Meggett hasn't got it all figured out yet. In fact, Donovan looks for a major improvement from Meggett this year.
"He needs to get better in the passing game as far as his routes, and pass protection," Donovan said. "You've got to be able to run the route and understand the route. To be able to run the route, you have to understand defense and what they're doing. You may be able to run a route three different ways based upon the coverage and what the defense is doing. That takes some time."
Still, Meggett appears to have maturity beyond his years and experience.
"If you're selfish, you're going to be a detriment to the team, you're not going to help," Meggett said. "With depth comes responsibility. You have to be responsible to your team for your role. We have a plethora of backs and we all have to play our part."
E-mail Terron Hampton at thampton@gazette.net.
