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Locksley tabs two players to have 'Carlos Carriere-like' game on Saturday

Writer's picture: Ahmed GhafirAhmed Ghafir

Maryland fans saw a breakout game from wide receiver Carlos Carriere last weekend after posting his first career 100-yard and multi-touchdown game en route to a 38-35 win over Indiana. The performance proved integral to Maryland’s chances of winning and now, the Terps sit at 5-3 (2-3) heading into this weekend’s matchup against Penn State.


Head coach Mike Locksley said this week that he expects a “tough ass game” in College Park on Saturday, both teams looking for their sixth win as the Nittany Lions look to right the ship on a three-game losing streak. Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford enters Saturday banged up, but still the expected starter with uncertainty as to who the number two quarterback is for offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. While Penn State poses a threat through the air with Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington at Clifford’s disposal, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley says he believes Penn State will still turn to the ground game until the Terps prove they can limit production.

“I still expect them to try to establish the run because we've shown inability the last few weeks to stop the run,” Locksley said on Tuesday. “And then set things up with play-action shots where we've got to do a good job of being in coverage and playing man coverage.”


But in order for the Terps to make the Penn State offense one-dimensional, Locksley says he looks at two defensive starters to have a ‘Carlos Carriere-type’ moment.


“The guy that probably comes to mind most is Ruben Hyppolite. Ruben, obviously, is one of our young players that has played a lot of football for us and I think he's kind of hasn’t had the impact in the games that I think he's capable of having. Now some of it is due to some of the things we're asking him to do but, you know, remember the Penn State game last year for him was kind of that breakout game for him, you know, as he was a guy that rotated in with some good players last year, so maybe he'd be one of those guys.” Hyppolite’s role within the Terps’ offense has been magnified even more after freshman linebacker Branden Jennings went down in the Iowa loss, thrusting the second-year linebacker into a bigger role.


Hyppolite has still tallied 30 tackles and a pair of tackles for loss this season, but Locksley will look for the former Florida four-star to put together a similar game to last year’s performance in Happy Valley. The second player Locksley called on has made significant strides in his development to become a reliable piece along the backend.


“On the back end, obviously, you know Jordan Mosley is one of our quiet leaders and he's mister consistency. He's always in the right place at the right time. I'd love to see him maybe get his hands on that interception that ball on the left sideline there,” Locksley added.


Mosley sits second on the team with 44 tackles, just two behind team leader Nick Cross on the season, while forcing one fumble and breaking up four passes. The Terps' secondary will have their hands full this weekend but Maryland's front seven has matchups within the front seven to complicate Clifford's reads. As Maryland works to attack the Penn State offensive line, Locksley added he’s been “really happy” with the production out of his defensive line one week after registering four sacks.


“To me, I've been high on praise with those interior [defensive] lineman and I've really been happy with the way those guys Ami [Finau], [Mosiah Nasili-Kite], Greg Rose, and Sam [Okuayinonu] with the rotation of Darrell Jackson and even Taizse Johnson coming in, have all contributed inside so happy with those type players.”


Kickoff is set for 3:30 PM at Maryland Stadium.


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