Is Philistin Maryland's man in the middle?
By Roger Brown
nhfootballreport.com
The University of Maryland media guide lists Dave Philistin as "an athletic reserve linebacker who has appeared in the last 23 games," but that reserve label may soon have to be removed.
Philistin, a 6-foot-2, 231-pound junior who played at Manchester Central High School, was a weakside linebacker during his first two seasons at Maryland, but has been switched to middle linebacker this year. He's battling junior Chase Bullock for the starting job.
Philistin made five tackles during an intra-squad scrimmage Saturday, and had a team-high nine tackles in Maryland's first scrimmage earlier this year.
"Philistin is probably playing better at Mike (middle linebacker) than I thought he would to be honest with you," Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen said earlier this week. "Does he have everything down? No, but he's only been playing there two weeks. He has some instincts to make plays."
Philistin appeared in all 13 games as a linebacker and on special teams last season. He ranked fifth on the team in tackles for loss (5½) and 10th in solo tackles (10).
He was one of six true freshmen to see game action in 2005, when he appeared in 10 of Maryland's 11 games as a backup linebacker.
Central was 47-3 and won four Division I championships during Philistin's high school career. Ohio State, Michigan, Boston College and West Virginia were among the schools that recruited him.
