Sept. 4, 2007
Head Coach Ralph Friedgen:
On Attendance at the Villanova Game:
"First of all I'd like to say how appreciative I am of the student body. I think we had over 11,000 students at the game Saturday. I thought the atmosphere was very, very good. We had over 50,000 people, and I thought it was a very good start to the season."
On the FIU offense:
"They had a tough time up at Penn State last week. They had some newer players on their team, and they're playing a redshirt freshman at quarterback. They have three returning starters along the offensive line, and they have a couple of good tall, rangy receivers with good speed, same kids they had last year."
On the FIU Defense:
"Scott Brian is the Sam linebacker. He's very active and one of the better players. Their secondary is very solid. All of them played last year and two of them were starters. Their punt returner Lionell Singleton is very good. He's also at corner."
On the play of the Maryland defensive line vs. Villanova:
"When I looked at the film, I was very impressed with how we played up front. I thought Carolos Feliciano played maybe the best game he's played since he's been there. He gave us a tremendous effort. He played with great leverage.
"Mack Frost had a tremendous effort as well. He's really coming on as a player. He's really starting to play good football for us.
"Dre Moore had a great play for us. Not only did he have two sacks, but he ran a back down from behind. He's 310 pounds and he can run real well. I thought we were more active than we've been. I thought we made more plays. They played very well. We were playing with very good technique and great effort."
On approaching the FIU game with the proper mindset:
"I talked to them yesterday and said we have to continue to get better. Every one of these games counts. Last year we won the game, but we kind of got off to a slow start. I've told them we have to get better every game and every game is an important one. We have to approach it one game at a time."
On the play of Jordan Steffy:
"If a receiver's route is imprecise he's off of it. He's not waiting around for it. He can tell if it's not right. I'm happy that he's taking the checkdowns. There were a lot of plays that we got six or seven yards on, where if he waited around he might have been sacked. One of the reasons his percentage is so high is that he's willing to take that. He manages the game very well. He knows what the situations are. Even when he runs the ball, he knows exactly where he needs to get. Those are really positive things that I see in him. He's very smart football-wise. He knows the game really well."
On Steffy building on his 19 for 24 performance:
"I think he's going to gain confidence from that. That's what I'm hoping. He's refocusing, and he's very diligent about his preparation. I'd be surprised if he doesn't continue to improve and get better."
On the playing time of Chris Turner:
"Josh and Chris were sharing reps; he will get all of Josh's reps now and his work load is going to double. We will start working Jamarr in there as well but I would still like to redshirt him if I can. Were going to try and work Chris in there during the scrimmages on Thursday to get some actual work at running our offense."
On telling Jordan to not think about being careful when he's scrambling around:
"I thought about it but we've got to play. I told him we have to use everything we got. I don't know how else to do it because it seems like every time I try and be careful it back fires. It's like when I'm golfing instead for going for it. I try and lay it up and I end up hitting it in the woods"
How Villanova's defense will if at all help against West Virginia next Thursday:
"The scheme is similar on defense, how they line up. I think there will be some carry over there, but having looked at both of them there are things that Villanova does that West Virginia doesn't do and we will have to go back to the film from last year to see what West Virginia has changed."
The status of freshmen Quarterback Jamarr Robinson:
"I sit in the quarterback meetings and when John asks him a question he knows it, but when he gets on the field it seems like he forgets it and gives me the deer in the head lights look. He's having trouble taking it from the classroom to the field."
Senior Running Back Keon Lattimore:
On not overlooking FIU in anticipation of next Thursday's game with West Virginia:
"We just have to take it one game at a time. We're going to focus on Florida International. We definitely don't want to overlook these guys. They just got beat 59-0, so they're going to have a lot to prove. We have to go down there and stay focused."
On Maryland's 221 yards rushing against Villanova:
"We worked hard in practice all week and the things we did in practice we did on the field on Saturday against Villanova. We weren't surprised at all that our running game worked because it worked in practice."
Senior Defensive Lineman Carlos Feliciano:
On playing in the Orange Bowl:
"I definitely want to play there. I've been to Miami numerous times and never played in the Orange Bowl, so I'm anxious to see how it is and what the atmosphere is like. No matter who we play down there it will be a fun game, because you know there's history in that stadium."
Senior Cornerback Isaiah Gardner:
On the prospect of taking FIU lightly:
"Every game you have to play hard because Florida International is going to come out playing hard no matter how bad they lost last week. They are going to come out thinking they can beat us so we have to come out playing our best."
Junior Quarterback Jordan Steffy:
On how Keon's play helped him out:
"One time I looked at the scoreboard and we were about even in passing and rushing and I think that's how you have to be to keep a team honest. Keon did a great job running the ball for us which opened up the field for me."
On his decision making process in the pocket:
"I don't want to change my mentality. I'll just look for the open receiver. If things aren't there I don't want to be hanging around and take hits. I'll either make something happen with my legs or look to the checkdown."
On playing more conservatively because of quarterback depth:
"To be honest, once I'm out there, I can't say that's how I think. I have one goal in mind and that's for us to win. We get a sheet after games that goes over all the things we [need to work on], and at the end it says `Win by any means.' That's what I want to do, is go out there and help us win, so I'm not going to play timid or scared."
