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Little Brother Carries Big Expectations
To Terps sophomore Keon Lattimore, left, Ray Lewis is a big brother, a father figure, a mentor and a good friend.
(Family Photo)
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But despite following his coaches' order to slim down -- he carried 235 pounds on his 6-foot frame in the spring -- Lattimore didn't take the leap Maryland's coaches were expecting this fall. He had just 11 carries for 35 yards in the Terps' two preseason scrimmages and occasionally missed assignments, and he and Lance Ball will back up Mario Merrills on Saturday night. Both are considered superior pass catchers to Merrills, and Coach Ralph Friedgen plans to use all three backs.
Friedgen has talked about the virtually impossible expectations Lattimore faces and tries never to compare the two players. Lattimore himself says that if he doesn't make it to the NFL his ambitions will be unfulfilled, that "anything less is uncivilized," as he put it.
"I've been working my whole life, my work ethic has picked up a whole lot," he said. "And all that work for nothing? It would definitely be a disappointment. I won't quit. I'll never quit until I reach the top."
The Ravens play the Washington Redskins in their final preseason game Thursday, so on Saturday night Lewis likely will be down on the Maryland sideline. Lewis said that Lattimore need not worry about following in his footsteps, that "me and my mom did a great job of raising him a certain way, and he's got no pressure on him. All he's got to do is to go out and have fun."
Smith plans to choose the bleachers instead of the family's skybox on Saturday; in the bleachers, "I can holler at Keon, in the box I can't holler," she said. And she's also told her younger son that he doesn't need to copy Lewis, that he merely needs to do his best.
"Ray is Ray, Keon is Keon," she said. "Now it's time for Keon to show what Keon can do."
Staff writer Camille Powell contributed to this story from Owings Mills, Md.
