I like to use the term "resident humorist" to describe players who quietly have an incredible sense of humor but don't always let reporters see it. An outgoing guy who will crack jokes all the time, like an Isaiah Gardner or Christian Varner, is certainly amusing, welcome and appreciated. But when I find someone with a wry sense of fun who can deadpan a reply perfectly, it's like hitting the lottery.\
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During Maryland's basketball season last year, Will Bowers was very much the resident humorist. Going into this football season, I knew defensive tackle
Dre Moore would fill the same role.\
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He hasn't disappointed.\
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I asked him the other day when I was wrapping up work on a story about the defensive line just how long notoriously intense line coach Dave Sollazzo would let his players enjoy a victory before moving on to the next game. Moore would know; he had just collected a pair of sacks in the opener against Villanova.\
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"The carryover might last the length of the shower after the game," Moore offered.\
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Perfect.\
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Moore is also a favorite of coach Ralph Friedgen, who has watched the Charlotte, N.C., native grow from a constant headache -- "He wore me out," Friedgen said of Moore's constant transgressions during his first few seasons -- into one of the team's elder statesmen.\
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Friedgen is allowing players who are only taking a handful of classes to skip breakfast this season. But early in the semester, Ralph was surprised to learn Moore didn't go to a class.\
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"I went up to Dre and said \0x2018Hey, I have a report of you missing this class. If you miss class again, you're going to breakfast,'" Friedgen said. "He said 'Coach, I dropped the class. I'm not missing class. I'm taking this other class.' I went and checked it out with Heather [Arianna, the head of the team's academic support unit] and he was telling me the truth. ... I said 'You got three hours to graduate, I wanna make sure you graduate.' I'm just proud of that kid."\
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--
Patrick Stevens
