COLLEGE PARK ā
In the span of a few minutes early Tuesday night, Byron Cowart explained to reporters the two extremes that had led him here to Maryland, a defensive lineman once considered one of the nationās top recruits starting over at a success-starved football program.
Three years ago, Cowart was the countryās top-rated prospect, according to Rivals.com and ESPN.com. A 6-foot-4 dynamo from just east of Tampa, Fla., he signed with Auburn but couldāve gone anywhere. He was at the top of the sport, but not until heād fallen from his perch did he learn what he needed to. āBecause when you have everything,ā he said, āyou take it for granted.ā
Something got lost along the way, Cowart acknowledged. He struggled with the Tigers, and with his struggles came self-doubt, and with self-doubt came an ultimate reckoning with whether he could or would play much longer.
āAt one point, I was like, 'Can I even do this anymore?' ā he recalled on the practice field inside Cole Field House, where hours earlier coach DJ Durkin had raved about maybe the most important transfer of his tenure.
Twice Durkin called Cowart ātremendous,ā a descriptor not often uttered about Marylandās defensive line last season, especially after starting defensive end Jesse Aniebonam suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 1. The Terps finished tied for No. 112 nationally and second to last in the Big Ten Conference in sacks (16 in 12 games) and ranked No. 92 in rushing defense (190.8 yards per game allowed).
āByronās doing a really good job both in the run and the pass,ā Durkin said. āYou can really just see him ⦠and heās been better and better every practice. Byronās been tremendous. Heās really taken his job seriously. Heās a mature guy. He works really hard. Heās been a great leader for other guys on the team. Heās doing great for us.ā
Cowart stood out for parts of Tuesdayās open practice, and not just because of the 6-foot-4, 270-pound juniorās No. 9 jersey choice (he wore No. 99 in high school but prefers the single-digit look of his playing idol, Dante Fowler, who wore No. 6 at Florida). In one play, matched up against reserve right guard Ellis McKennie, he deked left and swam back right, shoving McKennie aside so quickly, help couldnāt arrive in time.
Only the rules meant to keep Marylandās quarterbacks as safe as humanly possible kept him from a crunching sack.
āHe's just a big, strong dude with great athleticism, good head on his shoulders and a lot of upside,ā center Brendan Moore said.
Why that wasnāt as apparent at Auburn is still unclear. Expected to make an immediate impact as a freshman in 2015, Cowart played sparingly and finished with just six tackles and no sacks in five games with the Tigers.
After the season, Cowart acknowledged on social media that he felt the pressure to succeed.
"Being penalized because i was number 1 player but I'm struggling i don't care about the stars,ā Cowart posted to his since-deleted Twitter account. āSo why when i struggle its thrown in my face. How about help me huh? I came in humble ready to learn man not bragging and flashy. I just wanna learn."
Cowart improved somewhat as a sophomore ā six tackles, six quarterback hurries and one forced fumble while playing in all 13 games ā but was beat out before last season by true freshman Marlon Davidson and eventually moved to defensive tackle. He left Auburn after three games last season, went back home to Seffner, Fla., and took classes at a local junior college.
At Maryland, where he will have two years of eligibility remaining, there was a familiarity with the program, which he considered coming out of high school, and with Durkin, who recruited him as an assistant coach at Florida. About the only thing he said heās struggled with so far is the cold winter weather.
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āThere would be some days [at Auburn] when I was like, 'Man, I'm dreading practice,' and stuff,ā he said. āBut now, this is my sanctuary. I come ā I don't even think about what's going on outside. When I'm on the field, I just can have fun. I got my confidence back. I'm feeling good.ā