Quotes from Tuesday's Press Conference
12/5/2006 7:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 5, 2006
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
Opening Statement: "We're very excited to be going to the Champs Sports Bowl. Our kids have been off for a week, getting caught up academically. It's always a tough time of year because everything comes to a head; all the papers are due, exams are coming up, so I wanted to give them some time to get caught up and to get ready for the last big push."
On practicing during exam week: "We will not practice during exams. I'm going to give them off starting with the study day, which is next Wednesday, and then we'll come back and practice two times before we leave."
On approach to practicing in the postseason: "Hopefully we'll close the gap with our younger kids for the spring. We'll try to prepare the guys that play through the game but also spend some time with the younger kids. We'll hopefully bridge the gap so when spring practice starts they'll have a pretty good chance of knowing what's going on so we can evaluate them and what they're doing."
On the team's energy level and the break until the bowl game: "The first year [in 2001], we were off for a long time and we didn't do very well with that. I handled that a lot differently than I did the last two bowl games. We ran two-a-days that first year and I think it's more important that our players go to the game excited and want to play. I think they need to get away from it, to recharge the batteries; I need to recharge mine too. I'm hoping there's a renewed sense of energy. I know yesterday the kids seemed generally excited about the bowl that we're going to."
On Purdue: "They're a very good team and anybody you play at this time of year is going to be good. They have an excellent quarterback, a very good wide receiver, a very good running back. Defensively, they have a lot of speed, especially on the edges. They play a very physical brand of football. I've always been an admirer of Coach Tiller's, of what he does and how he does it. Their kids play with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of emotion. It's going to be a very, very good test for us."
On what this bowl game means for the senior class: "I think they wanted to finish better, especially the way we ended up. I know when they finish on a positive note, it's really a good feeling, maybe for the rest of their life. I think the people that have gone to our last two bowl games talk about how good they were and what a great time they had, but I think our players also have a good time when they win. A lot of them are graduating; this is it in a lot of different ways. It's not only their last game, in many cases it's their last class."
Andrew Crummey (#63, OG) On going to a bowl game after this season: "Everyone involved put so much effort into this and it's great that everyone gets a reward out of it. It's a team thing and that is what is so great about it. It's satisfying in that way."
On returning to a bowl game after a few years absence: "That's been the biggest thing, to get our respect back. It's great to gain respect for our program and I think we have done that in a lot of aspects. I think we could have finished out better, but we are where we are. This bowl game is an opportunity to play against a great team in a great bowl venue and on national television."
Sam Hollenbach (#14, QB) On going to the Champs Sports Bowl: "It's great to have one more game and it's also great to have the opportunity to spend some time in Orlando with my teammates. It will be a fun experience and a great memory."
On the way the team has finished its season: "Like anything, in football you are as good as your last performance; that's how you are judged a lot of the time. We are obviously very focused on this game and doing the best we can with this. I think if we take care of business down there that will help, especially the guys that are leaving."
On returning to a bowl as a senior: "It's kind of how it's been all season. Just like after we won against Florida State, our sixth win of the season, me and Josh Wilson hugged each other out on the field. Going down there, it's going to be fun and it's just a good feeling. It's something we will never forget."
On the break after the regular season: "It helps a lot in the sense that we can get away from football a little bit; get away from the sting of the end of the season and kind of regroup. I think we are all excited now. The bowl experience itself is exciting and it's different than a regular season game. We get the chance to travel as a team and do some team events. I think the break really helps you come back focused and ready to practice; I'm looking forward to playing."
Keon Lattimore (#21, RB) On being successful in a bowl game: "I think it's just staying focused. Just block everything out and not think about this and that, just focus on business. If you prepare well, you are going to be ready for the situation."
On the being in Orlando over Christmas: "My whole family is only thirty minutes away from Orlando. J.P. Humber, he's from Florida also. We are going to have a couple of the guys come over and my grandmother is going to cook; she loves to cook. And when it's time to play, we are going to play."
On the bowl gear that the team will get: "When I was getting recruited they were coming back from a Bowl and of course my first two seasons we had no ring or bowl so I am looking forward to getting that stuff. It's Christmas time anyway."
Erin Henderson (#1, LB) On moving on from the Wake Forest game: "Oh yeah, that is definitely behind us. We tried to let that game go on Sunday [the day after]."
On being away from family on Christmas: "That's hard for me since I am such a family-oriented person. There are no more presents under the tree for me but I would like to be there for my brothers and sisters, watching them open their presents."
