Listen Live to Friedgen Media Day Presser
8/7/2006 8:00:00 AM | Football
The University of Maryland football team opened its 2006 preseason camp today, starting with its annual Media Day and followed by its first practice session of the season later this afternoon. The following are quotes from today's session with over 50 members of media from around the area.
Head Coach Ralph Friedgen
On the upcoming season:
"I'm excited about the upcoming season. The players appear to be in good shape and right now we have tested out to be the strongest we've ever been. I'm looking forward to working with the whole team."
On strengthening the team:
"We're at a stage right now where we need to get back to a bowl game and continue the momentum, and really have a chance to take this program to an ever higher level."
On back to back losing seasons:
"I've had 18 straight years of winning and I kind of got spoiled I guess. When I look at our team I don't see us that far away. We've got to get things corrected and I think this team has a hunger that they want to be good. Personally I've worked hard if not harder than I ever have in my life to get this program back where we need to be."
On the tough schedule on the road:
"The key to our season is to win on the road and we play at some really tough places. I think that every year in the ACC it's how you do on the road. I'm preparing the team to have a mental toughness that you need to have when on the road."
On quarterbacks Sam Hollenbach and Jordan Steffy:
"Even with Scott [McBrien] and Shaun [Hill] they developed over time. One of the things that I'm looking forward to, not only with Sam, but with Jordan is that we're going into the season with an experienced quarterback. I'm banking on Sam as a solid kid who's been through the wars, played hurt, a smart guy, I'm assuming he's going to learn from his mistakes and I'm really anticipating him having a really good year."
On strong and weak positions:
"As a coach you never know what's going to happen. I was feeling pretty good about our offensive line, but I think the key to our team will be our wide receivers. I like our talent, I like our athleticism and I like our speed, they're just very inexperienced. I have one senior there, two sophomores that played sparingly last year, and everybody else is a red shirt freshman. I'm anxious to see them; they've worked very hard summer. How fast this position develops will really be an asset to us in the rest of our offense."
On what Sam Hollenbach thinks about this year's roster:
"I definitely think he is confident in the roster. Sam is free to tell me what he feels and what he sees. He'll come in from time to time and we'll talk. I'm just pulling for him too."
Player Quotes
On coming into his senior year
"I'm really having fun with it right now. I'm looking forward to the season, and I'm trying not to put any added pressure on myself. I have a good experience from last year, and knowing that is going to help me this year."
On Coach Friedgen's coaching style
"The way that Coach Friedgen calls the games, I know that I don't have to go outside of what I can do in order to win games. Our relationship has gotten a lot stronger [since former offensive coordinator Charlie Taafe left], and I'm looking forward to working with him this season. He's a great offensive coordinator."
On bouncing back from two losing seasons
"We don't want to panic. We don't want to put any added pressure on ourselves. We know that we need to just take it one game at a time. That's my mindset, and that's where our focus as a team is."
On the expectations for the season
"This year, we just need to work on improving upon last season. We want to dominate. We have the talent to do it. The defense has been coming together as a unit, and I know that the offense has been, too. We just need to play together as a team."
On the changes to the coaching staff
"It's been very good so far. Coach [Chris] Cosh came in here and everyone really attached themselves to his system. The chemistry with him is really good. Coach [Tim] Banks is the defensive backs coach now, and we all feel comfortable with him. He's a great coach."
On the highlights of the schedule
"Obviously, the first game of the year is always an exciting one. After that, West Virginia is going to be a big test for us. That's going to be a bigtime game in Morgantown."
On the disappointment of last season
"We know that we're a better team than [our record]. We know that we worked really hard, so it was a big disappointment for us to finish the season at 5-6. We didn't step up like we should have."
On defensive experience
"We hope that we will have more guys that are confident and able to step up and fill in this season. Last year, it seemed like we were getting winded by the fourth quarter. We're ready for the new season. We've got a lot of guys coming back, so we'll be ready for what we're going to see."
On taking over for D'Qwell Jackson
"I hope that I can be as versatile as D'Qwell. We have the same sort of style. He liked to attack, and I like to attack. I just want to be involved and doing something on every single play that the defense is on the field."
On sharing duties with Josh Allen
"It's an added attribute for our offense. We can be a dynamic one-two punch. We compliment each other. It's always good to have an extra running back that can pick up the slack."
On coming back from injury
"There were times that I got down on myself, especially when I was in a lot of pain from doing simple things like running. But other than that, I haven't coddled myself at all. When I go out on the field, I try to forget about it."
On working with the team last season
"I was around the team a lot last season. If the guys on the offensive line needed help learning what to do in a certain situation, I tried to be there for them. If they were down, I tried to cheer them up. And it was helpful for me to be able to be around them and to give them insight about the teams that they were facing."
On improving his kicking distance
"Towards the end of the spring, I was able to kick it from a lot further out. I've felt a lot more comfortable as the summer has gone along. The results have been better. I'm looking forward to how I do over the next few weeks kicking every day."
On gaining confidence
"Confidence comes with experience, and that's what we've been able to get over the last couple of years. That has come with a few bumps and bruises, but now we're out on the field and we know what we're doing."
On the strong recent history of Maryland DBs
"It's great that we have that reputation. Dominique Foxworth, Madieu Williams, Curome Cox, Denard Wilson - those guys have taught me everything that I know. Now, when a guy comes here, you want that guy to carry the tradition on. Those guys staked their reputations to me, so we take great pride in helping each other out, and making sure that the younger guys get the experience and have that immediate lesson learned."
