Spring Football Practice Report #5

April 7, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland football team got another great day of sunshine to work in at the team's practice fields Wednesday and like the sun, the Terps continued to shine. Head coach Ralph Friedgen still expressed some concerns, but overall was much happier than he was at the end of Tuesday's session.

The offense performed well at times today, doing so without some of its top contributors, players like Steve Suter (hamstring) and Jo Jo Walker (concussion).

"You know, we're playing without any wideouts really, they're all hurt," said Friedgen. "I thought there were a couple of things we did better today. Sam (Hollenbach) continued to improve. Joel (Statham) did some good things, too. Some of our linemen need to get a little better but they had some good moments, too."

One other concern for Friedgen -- and a source of pride for the defense -- was turnovers.

"We need to quit putting the ball on the ground," said Friedgen. "The defense is doing a real good job of stripping it and that is going to make us better, but we need to start holding on to that thing or we aren't going to win too many games."

Some other notables from Wednesday's practice:

The Abiamiri was well-represented at practice today as WR Paschal and TE Rob each played well. Rob has been a consistent performer as a receiving tight end in almost every practice session thus far and today was no different. Paschal had a long reception down the middle of the field where he weaved in and out of defenders and later had a diving effort, one of the prettier catches of the day.

QB Joel Statham showed the ability to run the option, faking a pitch and cutting it up for about 30-35 yards.

Linebacker William Kershaw got some heat on Statham in team drills, forcing the sophomore to throw the ball into traffic and ultimately resulting in a Chris Kelley interception. Kelley has done a nice job this spring and appears to be pulling away at the strong safety spot, an area of concern heading into spring.

Tailback continues to be a source of strength for the Terp offense and in the last few sessions, redshirt freshman Lance Ball has opened some eyes. Today Ball again had a long run, this time making a nice move with two defenders in pursuit to help create a hole en route to the end zone.

Friedgen on Ch. 9 This Sunday Night
Coach Friedgen will join local sports personality Frank Herzog live from his home this Sunday night as part of the Sports Plus show. Sports Plus airs on WUSA-TV Ch. 9 at 11:00 p.m.

Practice Date and Time Updates
Due to the weather, there have been several changes to the practice schedule. For updates as they happen, fans should go the Maryland Gridiron Network Website

Players Mentioned

Lance Ball

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