Lemons, Maryland's 'Leo,' Is a Late Bloomer

The more practical decision for Jermaine Lemons and his surgically reconstructed knee would have been to simply quit playing football, a notion he had flirted with before, albeit for much different reasons.

The Maryland senior linebacker had stormed out of College Park as an angry redshirt freshman after he had been placed on the scout team. But if he had quit before this season -- with his shredded knee -- it would have been hard to blame him. In May, he became the first man in his family to earn a college degree, and playing time was looking to be scarce.

"I actually tried talking him into not coming back," said Terrapins Coach Ralph Friedgen, who watched Lemons stagger throughout winter workouts. The knee was still in pain, and Friedgen feared that Lemons, at 6 feet 2 and 251 pounds, could hardly protect himself.

But there he was, in Friedgen's office, pleading with the coach to let him at least attempt a comeback for his senior year. For the player who once quit because his time didn't come fast enough, slim playing prospects no longer mattered.

"How can you tell a kid like that no?" Friedgen said.

Since then, Lemons has made the most of his third chance. When the Terrapins jog onto the field for Saturday's season opener, expect Lemons to spend plenty of time in the game.

He is listed second on the depth chart at "leo," a hybrid outside linebacker-defensive end position in the Terrapins' 3-4 defense, and has impressed Friedgen enough to earn spots on two of the Terrapins' special teams units. His health, despite the gruesome injury, is good. Friedgen said Lemons is running better than he has during his career.

But most important, Lemons hasn't had problems with his reconstructed knee. He said he can play at full speed, without fear.

"It's been a real tough road, a real tough road, the hardest thing I've ever been through," said Lemons, who a month ago was a long shot to receive playing time.

Before the injury, he had seen his share of trials during his time in the Maryland program.

During his redshirt freshman year, injuries battered the Terrapins during camp that fall and Lemons became a beneficiary. He took so many reps he thought he was a lock to make the traveling squad, which is why he was stunned a few days before the end of camp, when coaches told Lemons he was going to start the year with the scout team.

He caught the first flight home to Tampa and didn't tell anybody on the team. But a few days later, he asked Friedgen for a second chance. Against the wishes of some members of the staff, the coach took him back.

"Now that I think about it, it's kind of dumb, you know? Really dumb," Lemons said. "I would have thrown away a lot of stuff."

With his lesson learned, Lemons dedicated himself to climbing the depth chart. That's what was on his mind as he ran over bags during summer workouts last year, performing an ordinary drill on an ordinary day with the rest of his teammates.

But as he tried to clear one of the bags, his foot got caught in the turf. His body went one way and his right knee "pretty much did its own thing," which is Lemons's delicate way of saying that he tore nearly every ligament.

"I knew it was bad because I couldn't do anything at all," he said. "I tried to get up; I tried to walk. But I couldn't do anything."

A scar runs about six inches long, tracing the natural curve on the outside of his right knee. Smaller marks run parallel, left behind by the staples that had once kept his wound closed.

Lemons was determined to play again. He wasn't ready to quit.

"Football has been a real big part of my life since ninth grade," he said. "It helped me grow up and it's been a real big part of me. Sometimes, you don't want to let that part go yet, especially when you have the opportunity to keep it around."

A Special Quarterback

Friedgen has talked about the possibility of getting backup quarterback Josh Portis on the field, but yesterday he added a twist. He said Portis has been working with Terrell Skinner and Keon Lattimore as kickoff returners. Special teams coordinator Ray Rychleski "went to him and asked him if he was interested in doing it and I guess he said yes," Friedgen said. "I don't have a problem with it. I think he has some skills there." . . .

Linebackers Chase Bullock (ankle) and Dave Philistin (hamstring) might not play Saturday though both have returned to practice. Friedgen said Lattimore will start at running back over Lance Ball, though both will rotate during the game.