Friedgen Addresses Media at ACC Football Kickoff
7/21/2008 8:00:00 AM | Football
July 21, 2008
GREENSBORO, Ga. - Maryland head coach Ralph Friedgen entertained members of the local, regional and national media for more than three hours Monday during the second day of the 2008 ACC Football Kickoff at Reynolds Plantation.
The annual event concludes Tuesday with a football forum presided over by ACC Commissioner John Swofford. Two players from each of the 12 teams took part in the kickoff Sunday.
The Terps open preseason camp on Monday, Aug. 4, and the regular season on Saturday, Aug. 30 vs. Delaware.
Season tickets for this fall's seven-game home slate start as low as $189 and are on sale through the Maryland Athletics Ticket Office. Call 1-800-IM-A-TERP or click here for information.
Terp Notes:
ACC Preseason Predictions: The Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association selected the Terps to finish fifth in the ACC's Atlantic Division. ACSMA picked Clemson and Virginia Tech to win their respective divisions, with the Tigers favored to win the ACC Championship. The 2008 ACC Preseason team is scheduled to be announced Wednesday.
MGN Season Kickoff: The Maryland Gridiron Network (MGN) will hold its annual kickoff on Wednesday, July 30 at the Gossett Team House. Head coach Ralph Friedgen and the staff will give members a chalk talk and film session to preview the upcoming season. The event will begin at 6 p.m. and is open to active MGN members. Snacks and a cash bar will be available. To RSVP, please e-mail mdgridiron@gmail.com.
Chill with the Fridge: Terrapin football fans are invited to attend Caddies on Cordell in Bethesda, Md., on Thursday, July 31. Head Coach Ralph Friedgen, as well as offensive coordinator James Franklin and defensive coordinator Chris Cosh, will be on hand to talk Terps football from 5-7 p.m. In addition to Maryland football, the night will include food and drink specials. The first 50 fans at Caddies on Cordell will receive a free T-shirt. E-mail any questions to mdgridiron@gmail.com. Click here for directions.
Maryland Media Day: The Terps will hold their annual media day on Monday, Aug. 4, just prior to the team's first practice session. Head coach Ralph Friedgen will address the media at noon and players will be available at 1 p.m. Media day is not open to the public.
Maryland Quotes
Head Football Coach Ralph Friedgen
On some of the questions he hopes to have answered by the first game:
"Obviously, [we want to answer] who's the starting quarterback. From that standpoint, it's not like we're going to play somebody who hasn't played. Probably Josh Portis has the least amount of experience and he played as a freshman for Florida. I think Jordan Steffy has come in and played in some big games. He was injured last year, and that hurt his development. Chris Turner played some phenomenal games last year and beat two top-10 teams. When I look at the quarterbacks, the biggest concern I have is do they have the experience because that's the only way they learn. But our guys have experience, so I think that's another position we have depth at. I'm optimistic about it.
"I think we have a chance to have a good football team. We have two new running backs, but Da'Rel Scott played last year and showed what he can do. He's a big play-potential guy. We haven't had a guy who could go all the way probably since (former Maryland running backs) Chris Downs and Bruce Perry, and this guy can go all the way. Morgan Green has been a guy that's been around, and he's hungry to play. We have a couple of incoming freshmen (Davin Meggett and Gary Douglas), and I'm anxious to see how they do. We have probably four fullbacks, and fullbacks are hard to find these days. I like our offensive line. We have more offensive linemen in our program than we've ever had.
"Our defensive line, we've got some walk-ons playing for us that are playing pretty well. We had trouble blocking Jeremy Navarre this spring - he was dominant. We get Mack Frost back. He missed spring practice because of his injury last year, but I think we'll be okay. I think the strength of our team is our linebackers. The other question mark I think is our secondary. I was fairly pleased with how we came along this spring with Nolan Carroll and Anthony Wiseman at corner, and Kevin Barnes will be back, so we've got three proven corners. Antwine Perez is a transfer from Southern Cal. He and Terrell Skinner are the two free safeties. Jeff Allen and Jamari McCullough will be the strong safeties, so I'm anxious to see how they do. Jeff played last year quite a bit. I think we'll be fine."
On how his off-season has been different following the hiring of James Franklin as offensive coordinator:
"It's been different. It's been better for me. I felt like I could devote more time to our players and more to organizing our staff. I was being spread too thin. I was doing scripts and game plans. It took me away from our players. I didn't have the time to spend with them, plus Maryland fund raising is a major part of our program. It just became apparent that I needed help, and I'm very excited about hiring (offensive coordinator) James Franklin. He was with us before so he kind of knows what I expect. He's gone off and really grown as a coach, and I think he really brings a tremendous amount of enthusiasm to our team - not only for the offense but I think he gets the defense fired up too. With (defensive coordinator) Chris Cosh, I've had the opportunity to be more involved with the defense and the special teams. I'm going to have my hand in pretty much everything, but my job is to motivate our players and to set the plan for our whole team. I'm excited about doing that, and it's given me more free time to do that."
On what drew him to James Franklin:
"James was on our staff for my first four years. He left and went to the Green Bay Packers and then he went with Coach (Ron) Prince at Kansas State. He had a very good year last year, but I was looking for a guy who had been with me and knew what I was all about. It would probably be a cultural shock to somebody if I brought him in, but James knows I like things pretty tight. I sat in about two weeks of meetings with him, and I saw that he was running it just how I would want it run. I'm going to be involved in it, but it's his offense and his show. He's has an attention to detail, which is what I am. He's a hard worker, extremely organized - maybe more so that what I remember - so I think he's really kind of grown since he left us. He's very enthusiastic. He's high energy and I think he brings a whole new tempo to our team."
On his need to hire an offensive coordinator:
"For my first five years I wasn't the offensive coordinator. Then I went back to it and it was just too much. I think the head-coaching job, especially at our school where fund raising is a very important part of it, I think it took me away from our players. I was doing scripts and practice plans and game plans. The hours were just unbelievable. I had a situation with one of our players this year after I made the change that kind of made a statement to me. He said, `Coach, we never knew you were like this.' That kind of hit me in the face. `Why wouldn't you know I was like this'? It's because I never had the time to spend with my players."
On the appeal of working closely with student-athletes:
"It's one of the things that I really enjoy about coaching in college. The hook for me, other than winning football games, is seeing kids mature and grow. Maybe because I have three girls, I tell everybody I have 120 sons. When I see kids that have some problems - and a lot of them have problems whether they be academic or social or whatever - and then they graduate and overcome those problems, you really become very, very close to those kids. Pro football is great but they're more mature. You aren't going to change who they are as people, and I think you can change who they are as college students. I think they're at a very formative stage in their lives, so I enjoy that part of it."
On if any of the quarterbacks have a leg up on the competition right now:
"If there's one concern I have, I've been looking for one guy to step out, and they're all just about the same. They all do some good things. You have to understand - they're all learning a new offense. We're kind of going to a west-coast offense. The terminology is a little different, and that negates some of their experience. After this summer where they've had a chance to work, I'm expecting that hopefully some guy is going to emerge."
On his impressions of quarterback Chris Turner:
"He's really an interesting kid. One of his strengths is that he's kind of loose. That's also one of his weaknesses. But here's a guy that came in and the first game he plays in he beats Rutgers at Rutgers. We're losing 17-14 at halftime, and had a big second half. Then he out-duels (Matt) Ryan at Boston College and threw for 300 yards in that game, beating another top-10 team. The consistency just has to be there because sometimes he didn't play as well as he did in those two games. The good news is he's played and he's experienced. I'm sure his goals are a lot higher this year than what they were last year, and so are his and my expectations of him. So I feel like that's a real plus for us. Then you have Jordan Steffy who's a guy probably a lot more intense, and maybe that's a weakness for him because I think that Jordan wants to do so well. Yet he's played and has been successful. I think if he can just calm down a little bit, he'll be a very good quarterback. Then we've got Josh Portis, who is an unbelievable athlete. He's probably the least experienced of them all, but he played when he was a true freshman at Florida, so we have three guys who have experience."
On what wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey brings to the team:
"First of all, he's just a wonderful kid. He has a tremendous work ethic. I see him growing, and I'm just very fond of him as a person. He has a tremendous amount of speed and can really run. He's a big kid who can run. He has to keep developing as a receiver and come out of cuts at the same type of speed, and I see him doing that. I think he's getting better as far as catching the ball and using the right fundamentals. I don't think he's a finished product yet. I think he has some growth to do, but he definitely has some God-given talent. He's really a special player."
On if he would prefer to have experienced players at running back or on the offensive line:
"I'd rather have [an experienced] line. I've got two running backs who can play, but to me, running back is more of an instinct type of thing. For an offensive line you need experience. If you don't have experience, then you need to learn to get experience, so I'd rather have an offensive line."
On the reasons for the schematic changes on defense:
"We're not going to change a whole lot. At the end of last season, I wasn't particularly happy with the way our corners were tackling. I felt in the bowl game we missed some key tackles, and I wanted to come up with a way to get the containment of our defense out of their hands. We've done some things that have given our offense some problems, and I think it's going to cause a lot of problems for a lot of teams. We're not going to change personnel, but we're going to have the ability to go to a four-down scheme or a three-down scheme or a four-deep secondary or a three-deep secondary. I think we have a pretty good package right now."
On the injuries that plagued the team last season:
"Last year we were [6-7], and we had a lot of injuries. I think that's what's going to help us this year because through adversity sometimes there is prosperity. We have more depth now than we've ever had. We played a lot of kids that probably wouldn't have played last year. We lost 17 members of the two-deep for at least one game. A lot of those kids are coming back. We just need to stay healthy this year."
On his thoughts regarding Terrapins Rising:
"I think it's good for a lot of reasons. I think it's good exposure for our players. I'm a guy that thinks that football is part of their education. I think when we're in the fourth-largest media market in the country and football is played with a helmet, there's name and number recognition but there isn't facial or personality recognition. (Terrapins Rising producer) Jess Atkinson does such a tremendous job of bringing out inside stories within our program. I think the fans get to know our kids on a personal level. You never know who may watch the show and may identify with one of our players, and that may open up a job opportunity for them later on. I think it's just a tremendous experience, being in front of the camera and being able to communicate. To me, it's marketing our football program."
On if his players are itching to start the 2008 season:
"They better be [itching] because I'm itching. I'm ready to play. We're not fooling around. They've had a great summer, a great spring and a great winter. We just have to have a great fall now and get going. I haven't made any votes, but I expect us to be good."
On the importance of ACC teams winning out-of-conference games against high-profile opponents:
"I think what games like that early do for you is they get you national attention. The way that the system goes right now, if you don't get ranked early, it's hard for you to get up in the top 25. I thought our 9-4 team was a top-20 team two years ago, but we didn't start getting ranked until very late in the year and we only got to 24 or 25 or something like that. I think games like Clemson has against Alabama - if they were to win that game, they would get immediate national attention. But I have two games that I'm worried about before Cal. I have Delaware, who was in the I-AA playoffs (now Football Championship Division) last year, and I have to go to Middle Tennessee, and that's not an easy out either, and then we come back and play Cal. If we're fortunate enough to win those three games, I think we'll get some national attention."
On who he thinks could be a surprise team in the ACC:
"Maryland. We were picked fifth, and that's a good spot."
