120 Players You Need To
Know
Maryland LB Alex Wujciak
By Richard Cirminiello
Who is Alex Wujciak?
… It took two years for Wujciak to make his debut in
College Park, but he sure was worth the wait for the locals. After
redshirting in 2006 and sitting out 2007 with a knee injury, he
spent all of 2008 making up for lost time. In just his first season
on the field, he broke through with a team-high 133 tackles, earning
All-ACC honors and promptly becoming one of the most important
players on the defense. He’s a big fan of Chicago Bear Brian
Urlacher, which shouldn’t be a surprise because he plays an awful
like him. At somewhere north of 250 pounds, Wujciak will deliver the
payload when he reaches his target, and has the keen instincts to
constantly be around the ball. He plays with solid fundamentals and
has great quickness in space, often sifting through a pile of
jerseys to make a stop. He was heavily recruited from schools in
Nebraska to New Jersey. Now that he’s healthy and has a full year of
experience, Wujciak is about to validate all of those scholarship
offers.
Wujciak’s best game so far
was … last Sept. 27 at Maryland. At a time when Clemson was
still considered a ranked and dangerous program, Wujciak helped drop
the Tigers down another rung. He was everywhere for the Terps in the
20-17 upset, collecting a career-high 16 tackles and doing his part
to keep the home team scoreless over the final 37 minutes of the
game.
Why you should care about
Wujciak? … After just one season of action, he’s already one of
the top linebackers in the ACC. A second team all-star in 2008, he
is the prototypical inside linebacker and a safe bet to keep getting
better over the next two years. Maryland has gradually become a
factory for NFL linebackers. Wujciak is already on the assembly line
and working hard to become the next Terp defender to play on
Sundays.
Positives
about Wujciak … Wujciak plays with many of the qualities that
coaches look for in an elite middle linebacker. Both big and
physical, he craves contact and plays with a no-quit, blue-collar
mentality. His feel for the position and natural instincts are two
of the primary reasons he was able to make so many big plays as a
sophomore. He flows nicely to the ball, will shed blockers, and
rarely misses a tackle.
Negatives about Wujciak
… While Wujciak doesn’t have an issue with his speed, he would like
to get faster during the offseason. When you’re a 6-3, 255-pound
linebacker, you’re just not going to run with the zip or the flash
of an elite free safety. He’s also determined to get a little
stronger, a job requirement considering how physical he plays and
how much contact he dishes out.
A cool thing about Alex
Wujciak you probably didn’t know … Wujciak’s dad Al played on
the offensive line for Notre Dame in the 1970s, including the
Irish’s 1974 national championship squad. In fact, he can be seen in
the famous clip of Rudy Ruettiger at the end of the movie
Rudy.
Career
Statistics
2007: Did not play because of injury
2008: 133
tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks
Statistics, information and photo provided by the
Maryland sports information department