Terrapin Station
Fansided

Maryland Football: Adam Greene has big shoes to fill

By Chris Bengel

Sep 5, 2015; College Park, MD, USA; The Maryland Terrapins run onto the field prior to a game against the Richmond Spiders at Byrd Stadium. Maryland won 50-21. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; College Park, MD, USA; The Maryland Terrapins run onto the field prior to a game against the Richmond Spiders at Byrd Stadium. Maryland won 50-21. Mandatory Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Brad Craddock put together one of the most impressive single seasons in Maryland history.

With Craddock having graduated, kicker Adam Greene has some big shoes to fill this fall.

Luckily for Greene, he has his experience from the 2015 season to build on.

Craddock suffered a season-ending hand injury against Wisconsin last season. That forced Greene to play in the final four games, which included three starts.

Craddock has been a constant at Maryland over the past four seasons. From a freshman campaign with quite a few road bumps to a banner junior year, the Australian native connected on 81.4 percent (57-of-70) of his field goal attempts and only missed four extra points.

With Craddock’s senior season cut short, Greene stepped into the fold against the Badgers. The junior placekicker made an immediate impact for the Terps as he has thrust into action.

Early in the second quarter, Maryland was in the red zone and facing a 3rd-and-nine on the Wisconsin 13-yard line. However, quarterback Perry Hills was rushed by Vince Biegel and sacked for a 12-yard loss.

After the sack, a field goal wasn’t going to be easy considering that it would be a 44-yard attempt and Greene was coming into the game cold. Despite those factors, interim coach Mike Locksley gambled with Greene and it ended up paying off.

Greene put quite a bit of leg into the kick and it crossed through the uprights. The kick was very true and may have been good from 50 yards.

On Maryland’s next drive, the Terps elected to go with Greene once again. It would be a 46-yard attempt this time and there was no hesitation.

Unfortunately, Greene got all of it, but the kick never made its way towards the uprights and went wide left.

Greene didn’t have any attempts against Indiana and Michigan State over the next two games. However, he did attempt three field goals against Rutgers in the season finale.

Greene added a little bit of variety to his 2015 season against the Scarlet Knights.

The Broadneck (Md.) product connected on two of his three attempts in the season finale. Greene hit from 25 and 26 yards respectively, but he did miss a chip shot from 29 yards which sailed wide left.

While the 29-yard miss was disappointing, Greene showed that he can hit both long and short field goals regardless of the situation. He came into the Wisconsin game unexpectedly after Craddock went down and did a solid job.

His contributions against Rutgers were huge considering that Maryland was down big in the first half and needed every point they could get. With his two field goals, maybe the Terps fall short in their second half comeback bid.

It’s a limited sample size when it comes to Greene. However, he did an admirable job filling in for Craddock.

In addition, Greene has had the entire offseason to prepare as the team’s starting kicker.

Next: Evan Smotrycz to play in NBA Summer League

Obviously, the hope is that Maryland’s offense finishes a lot more drives than they did a season ago. However, if they can’t, Greene looks to be ready to answer the bell.

Home/Maryland Football