Cortez Andrews Ready to Emerge in Year Two
Inside linebacker Cortez Andrews was able to get acclimated to the college speed as a true freshman and expects to play a large role in the Terps’ linebacker rotation in 2020. The six games played as a reserve linebacker and on special teams gives him a foundation to build on heading into 2020, but his excitement hits a different level after having his 2019 season cut short. Andrews last and best game in uniform came against Michigan when he posted three tackles and a tackle for loss and recalling the standout performance fuels his fire.
“It’s been tremendous. I know for me my last game was against Michigan, so I haven’t put on pads since my shoulder surgery since then, so the excitement with the first day back, it was like a little kid,” Andrews told reports. “You know the day before Christmas, little kid waiting for his present, when am I going to get it? That’s how it kind of felt like for me and for my teammates as well, man. It’s been a long process of not knowing what’s going to happen—postponing, cancelling. So I would say yesterday, you really knew ‘man, this is for real.’ Pads are here, we’re about to play a season, we’re practicing with pads on, so the excitement level was through the roof.”
The outside linebackers will have a pair of new starters in 2020 as Andrews pushes for a starting role but having a veteran room with Ayinde Eley and Chance Campbell leading the way helps the unit move forward. But even in year two, Andrews doesn’t view himself as one of the ‘young’ guys anymore.
“Like I said, technically I guess you can say I’m kind of a young guy, but I’ve grown tremendously. I think the biggest thing is continuing to grow, guys that’s older than me that’ve been through more stuff, continuing to learn from them, maybe what they’ve done. I’d say the biggest thing I’ve learned, the lesson I’ve learned is be myself. I’m not trying to be anybody else; I’m trying to be the best Cortez I can be but also continuing to learn. I want to be the best leader I can be, coach Locksley put me in a leadership role for a reason, so I want to be the best me and help other guys grow and I want them to help me grow as well.”
Just through that first season, Andrews sees the difference in his demeanor as he tackled the abnormal offseason.
“I think me being in the program for one year, I kind of got the chance to see how coach Locks really runs his program, which is a very great program, you’re going to work hard every day, you’re going to learn every day. I would say my freshman year coming in not knowing much, not knowing many people coming from Florida, now this being my second year I’ve just grown so much to know how he operates his program and how he focus on his program. So I would say, for me, it’s been a big thing. My second year has been tremendous, I’ve grown tremendously, getting to know a lot of people. I would definitely It’s been a lot of growth from my freshman year to now.”
