More News

Germantown resident Drew Gloster envisioned himself as the next Vernon Davis when he chose the University of Maryland from among numerous Division I college football suitors.

On arriving in College Park in the summer of 2006, he drew comparisons to Davis, the San Francisco 49ers' freakishly athletic tight end.

"If I can gain 20 pounds, get bigger and faster, maybe I'll be the guy that can take over for Vernon," said Gloster after committing to Maryland in December of 2005.

Nowadays, however, he hopes to emulate two different former Terrapins in the National Football League: linebackers E.J. Henderson and D'Qwell Jackson.

Gloster saw limited action on offense in his first three seasons at Maryland, which included a redshirt season in 2006 and a year lost to academic ineligibility in '08. Now he is lining up on defense, learning the linebacker position during spring drills.

"Before we went to the Humanitarian Bowl [in December], Coach [Ralph] Friedgen called me into his office and he said, ‘We're losing three starting linebackers,'" Gloster said last week. "‘How do you feel about playing defense?' I said I'd try it out. … I did well doing that during bowl practice. When we got back from the bowl game, he asked me if I wanted to play Mike [inside] linebacker."

Gloster excelled on both sides of the ball at Good Counsel High, playing wide receiver and defensive end for coach Bob Milloy. He came to Maryland to take the H-back position vacated by Davis, the former first-team All-American drafted sixth overall by the 49ers in 2006.

It made good sense, because Gloster shares many of the same qualities as Davis. Both are undersized for a prototypical tight end: Gloster measures 6-foot-3 and weighs 245 pounds; Davis is 6-3, 250. Both were difficult match-ups for linebackers and safeties because of their toughness and quickness.

As a senior for the run-oriented Falcons, Gloster caught 33 passes for 552 yards (16.7 yards per reception) with six touchdowns, including six receptions for 126 yards and a score in the 2005 Washington Catholic Athletic Conference final. He also recorded 42 tackles and three sacks.

He began spring practice atop the depth chart at Mike linebacker. Gloster got there through a combination of hard work over the winter, graduation losses and an injury to returnee Alex Wujciak. So far, he has taken advantage of his new opportunity.

"He's getting better and better," Friedgen said. "It's going to be interesting when we get Wujciak back. If he continues to improve, we're going to have to find him a spot or we've got to find a spot for Wujciak. One or the other. I think that's been a good move so far."

Of the three linebacker positions in Maryland's defensive set, Mike is the most straightforward, and possibly also the most demanding, according to Terrapins linebacker coach Al Seamonson. The position is designed to be the defense's leading tackler, and has responsibilities in both the running and passing game.

"We've thrown a lot on him; it's a new world from where he's played," Seamonson said. "I really believe he can [make the transition]. He could be the key success of the spring. We can say we found a guy who can play, a legitimate player. I'm seeing that right now."

Both Friedgen and Seamonson site Gloster's athleticism, apparent from his time at H-back, as one of his main attributes. He will also do anything he can to stay on the field this fall, after being dormant for the better part of the past three years.

"Since I've been here, I haven't really proved anything," he said. "My redshirt freshman year I started on all special teams, but you know, that's really not anything to be proud of. … I never had to sit out my whole life. Sitting out this season was really tough on me, and obviously my family, so now I'm doing everything I can to try to get back on the field and make my family proud."

That includes following his father's advice: "Always be the hammer, not the nail. Now I can be the hammer whenever I want."