Sept. 25, 2001

College Park, Md. -

(On the tornado that came through College Park on Monday)
"Last night we had an interesting night. I was in my office talking to Gary Blackney, our defensive coordinator. He said, 'Oh, my lord.' I looked out and saw this funnel cloud coming over the stadium. And my team was very surprised at how an old, fat guy can run. I ran down the stairs into the locker room. All of our coaches were in the coach's locker room which is in the center of the Gossett Team House. And then we realized our players were in the outside locker room. We invited them in. I was figuring how this building would look if it went down with all of us cheek to cheek in the coach's locker room. It was scary, very scary. We lost our indoor practice facility. It's now an outdoor facility. I was going to practice as soon as the tornado watch cleared, but my Terrapin Council came in and said, 'Coach, our minds wouldn't be on it.'"

(On the Wake Forest game)
"As far as last week's game, it was a good win, and a good win on the road. I was proud of the way we hung in there. We made a lot of mistakes, which at times can cost you a win. But I think our kids showed their tenacity and their desire and came up with some plays when we really needed to make them. I think the effort by Bruce Perry was exceptional. He just continues to get better and better. And I'm really proud of his play this year. I thought Tony Jackson also played a very fine football game and was honored with ACC defensive back of the week. He was most deserving. Not only did he make the key interception at the end of the game, but he also had some key tackles and played his best game."

(On this week's game against West Virginia)
"West Virginia is a team like ourselves that gets better and better each week. I think they've made a lot of improvement from their first game. They're getting a lot of players back right now. I think this is going to be a very tough, hard-nosed football game. It's very important to both of us in our seasons.

"The two running backs are both very good. [Avon Cobourne] from West Virginia is probably a little bit bigger. They are very comparable. They are a lot alike in a lot of ways: very fast, great vision, great feet, good toughness. I think people are going to see two good running backs this week."

(On Maryland's true freshmen)
"I have a couple kids who I think will end up playing before the season is over- Domonique Foxworth and Ricardo Dickerson. I wanted to be fair to them so I called each one of them into my office last week, and said to them, 'I know how the season is going to go and I think you are capable of helping us, but right now you would be used on a limited basis. I would get you involved on special teams and I would play you as much as I could. But you are not going to be a starter. What I could see happening is someone getting hurt later in the season, then your number is going to be called.' I didn't want them to think that we were just frivolously wasting their redshirt year. So I explained that to them and that now is the time to make that decision if you want to play. Play, or we'll try to redshirt you. I have a belief that you get all the bullets you can and you fire them."

(On the team's success so far)
"I think we can play better. I'm pleased with it. I'm happy for our players. I'm happy the way they're winning because they're having to fight for it. They were very tired on Saturday. It was hot down there. We played some kids too much. And yet they were still able to get the job done. I'm the type of guy who expects to win every game. That's just the way I am. I don't ever look at myself as losing."

(On quarterback Shaun Hill)
"Shaun made some improvements Saturday. What Shaun has to do sometimes is take care of the ball a little more carefully. He threw the ball up for grabs a couple times Saturday. We need to do a better job of teaching him what to do with it. Where I saw improvement in Shaun was that he hung in there. In the North Carolina game, he got antsy with the rush a couple times. On Saturday, he stood right in there. On the throw he made to Guilian Gary, he got hit right in the mouth and made the play. There were a couple other situations where he did the same thing. He just has to refine some things about his game for him to keep on improving."

(On what has made Coach Friedgen successful)
"Discipline. On and off the field, you have to have discipline not only in athletics but in academics, in your life. You have to pay a price to be a collegiate athlete. We have a higher standard we need to live by. To do that, you need discipline. I see it not only reflected off the field, but I see it transfer on the field. If a guy doesn't go to study hall, doesn't go to class, doesn't do his homework, just hangs out, he also doesn't do his assignments and doesn't take care of his responsibilities on the field. I see tremendous correlation there. What I'm trying to develop are people that are responsible so that when they go into society, they're going to do the same thing. There's a tremendous carryover between what you learn on the football field and what you take with you when you get out of school."