The score will show that Maryland won the 2006 Champs Sports Bowl 24-7 over Purdue. The Terps, coming off back to back 5-6 seasons, finished 2006 at 9-4. For Head Coach Ralph Friedgen, this was his 50th win. Earlier this month I wrote about Donnie Woods decision to skip his senior season and join the Army. Today I want to write about another favorite player of mine, Quarterback Sam Hollenbach.
Tonight he played a smart, gutsy game, shook off a couple vicious hits early and gutted it out to lead the Terps to a victory and a trophy in his final game. However, it almost didn't happen. In 2004 he was listed as 4th on the Terps QB depth chart and thought about transferring to another school. In that season's final regular season game, he was awarded the start against Wake Forest and led the Terps to a victory. He wasn't guaranteed a starting job in 2005 and instead of transferring out, he decided to stay and fight for the startng QB job. He won it and basically learned on the job in 2005 while the Terps struggled to a 5-6 season. This season he was more comfortable at the position. Sure, he had his ups and downs but he showed poise and got the most out of his talent while displaying great leadership skills for the Terps. Oh yeah, on top of that, he's on schedule to earn a degree in Engineering this Spring. Just a great Terp who represented the university well.
After the Terps-Florida State game I was lucky enough to meet him in the locker room and I had him sign a program for Benjamin. Definitely one of my all time favorite Terp football players and someone I will be proud to talk about to Benjamin as he gets older.
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