Aug. 4, 2008
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Maryland football team held its annual Media Day Monday at the Gossett Team House.
Head coach Ralph Friedgen and the rest of the Terps met with the media prior to hitting the practice field for their first workout of the season.
See what the players had to say about the upcoming season.
On personal confidence:
"I have a lot more confidence. I feel like I have what it takes to be the starting quarterback. Having played last year, I feel confident. I feel like I know what to do."
On the team's use of the West Coast offense:
"It was designed for guys like me [who are] pocket passers. In that sense I think it suits me very well."
On the season's outlook:
"Anyone in the ACC can make an impact, and I think this year we could be that team. I think it is set up nicely for that to happen."
On the team's outlook for 2008:
"I think with the maturity and depth that we have, we are really set up to be successful. There have been a lot of guys who have had experience, and down the road that's going to be important to us. If one guy gets injured and you do not have anyone to back him up, you are going to be in trouble, so depth is very important."
On his experience as a senior:
"I am just taking small steps. I played as a freshman and didn't play in my sophomore year. To me it's all about taking steps, and this year I am looking forward to taking the next step."
On the competition at quarterback:
"For us, it's a friendly competition. Chris (Turner) and I are roommates, and Josh (Portis) is a friend of ours. The media likes to make it a bigger issue than it is to us. As far as we think about it, we are all out there having fun, competing and doing something we really enjoy."
On the season's outlook:
"With all the returning stars and 30 seniors, I think the season should be pretty good for us."
On team unity:
"I feel that if we have good team camaraderie. The results should be good for us this year."
On his thoughts regarding the offense:
"I feel real astute with the offense. I have been studying real hard. Our passing game is short and long, quick, fast and explosive. The offense is going to be a good time for us this year."
On the competition for the quarterback position:
"Whoever our starting quarterback is, I just want us to win. That's the most important thing. Winning is the key to show that our program is on the rise."
On the team's preparation:
"The mentality is that we are ready to go. We have a whole different feel and a nice approach to the game now, and hopefully that can continue on to the game field."
On earning preseason accolades:
"It does not get to my head. All I can really focus on is what is happening out on the field. I do not let it affect me, and my teammates do a good job of not bringing [the personal accolades] to my attention because they know that I really do not care about those things."
On playing in the west-coast offense:
"Having the west coast offense means we can run and we can throw. Having a good running game opens it up for the passing game. Short plays, long plays, across the middle - we can do it all with this offense."
On his recovery from injury during the off-season:
"Rehab was tough. I first had to work on my knee. I could not run or do much. After finally getting my knee back to normal, my heart started messing up. It was a tough process but now I think I am finally 100 percent and ready to go."
On the competition for the quarterback position:
"It is a pretty good competition, but either way I feel that they are all good enough to throw the ball and run the offense."
On the depth at wide receiver:
"Between myself, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Isaiah Williams, it's going to take a lot of leadership to lead such a great core of guys. We have so much depth this year at the receiver position that it is not even going to be fair to our opponents. We have so many speed guys, strength guys and guys who can just catch any pass that comes to them."
On the team's maturity:
"I am definitely excited for my senior season. We have a lot of seniors coming back this year who have a lot of playing experience. We have a lot of guys who have matured and ready to play."
On the experience level of the team:
"We have a lot of guys who have been in this system - the quarterbacks, the receivers and the lineman. We have a bunch of quarterbacks who know what they are doing."
On the off-season:
"We had a really good off-season here. A lot of guys have been here over the summer getting in shape and getting stronger. It is all moving forward."
On the team's overall health:
"Almost everybody who was hurt last year is healed up and ready to go for camp. We have got everyone back right now. We just need to stay healthy and good things should happen."
On the season's schedule:
"I don't really think about the schedule. I think about the season game by game."
On his goals for the season:
"Personal goals do not really matter to me. Whatever I have to do to get the team to win and then everything else will follow."
On filling the void left by Erin Henderson:
"Erin was our emotional leader; he got us ready to play. As far as Erin not being here, we have seniors and other people that need to step up. We have to find a way to get by."
On taking over as a senior leader:
"As far as leaders, it is not the responsibility of one person to have that position. We all need to take the leadership role in order to be a good football team."
Senior Defensive Back Jeff Allen
On the team's goals for the season:
"Our main goal since the spring has been going to the ACC championship game. My personal goal is to become a better leader and just continuing to work hard."
On helping the younger players adjust:
"As an individual I can contribute my knowledge and experience, helping the newer and younger guys set the tempo. I've been here for four years so I pretty much know the system, so I can help out a lot."
On excitement for the upcoming season:
"When I go back home, everyone asks me how I am doing and they all let me know how excited they are for me. They all watch me on TV so it's exciting to see everyone."
On his outlook for the season:
"I am very excited about this season. Thus far, the team is looking healthy and we have a tremendous amount of seniors, so it looks like we have a lot of leadership on the team. We have a lot of depth in the linebackers, and it looks like we are going to spread the ball out more offensively."
On his goals for the team:
"I just try to do my job and show leadership on and off the field. I try to go out there and play my hardest and show the coaches that I am ready to go and keep everyone on task."
On having a larger role on the team:
"I am loving it. It has been a great experience, and I have been waiting to get my time on the field and show what I can do."
On learning from former Maryland players:
"I learned a lot from (former Maryland running backs) Lance Ball and Keon Lattimore. I learned how tough the game is and the speed of the game."
On his off-season preparation:
"I have been doing speed training, weight lifting, watching film, studying the playbook and just anything I can do to get myself better."
On his expectations for the season:
"I think we have a lot of potential because we have a lot of returning starters and experienced players. We are starting with a new offense and defense, so I think everything there will work out well."
On returning from injury:
"A lot of people get hurt whether it's minor or very serious so with experiencing injuries, you are able to guide people and tell them that everything happens for a reason. You just have to do what you have to do as far as rehabilitation."
On getting ready for the start of the season:
"I think we have a team that can really improve from last year. We have a lot of senior leadership and good offensive line. We have quarterbacks with good experience - there might be a battle there but either way we are going to have a pretty solid team."
On bringing the younger players along:
"I have a lot of starts under my belt and I have the experience, so I can help the other guys and help in the running back room explaining all of the responsibilities, and giving them an idea of what it is going to be like."
On his off-season training:
"We have been running all summer and getting in shape. We've been cutting down on the fat and getting our strength up. The quarterbacks and receivers have been doing a lot of passing drills, so I think we will be clicking a lot better than last season."
On the upcoming season:
" I feel great about the upcoming season. We have a good offensive line, we have a new offense and a new defense as well, so we'll be coming out with a lot of new things."
On his preparation during the off-season:
"All of us, even the young guys, we have been working out. Even this past week before we started camp, which was our week off, we've all been working out and running. We've been staying in shape, and I've been teaching [the younger players] the little things."
On getting to know the new recruits:
"R.J. Dill, he's been here with us now for four and a half weeks. Justin Lewis has been here with us for a while. Some guys actually came early and started working with us earlier. They all fit in well. All the linemen fit in."
On the off-season:
"We've been doing different workouts, running and lifting, just trying to get in pretty good shape for the upcoming season."
On his thoughts regarding the upcoming season:
"I'm excited, I'm ready to get started. I think we have a great team. A lot of guys have been around for a while and have played a couple games, so there's a lot of experience that will definitely come in handy. I'm excited to see what we can do."
On which players he anticipates having successful seasons:
"Everyone on the team. We have a good group of guys this year. We have great senior leadership. We have 30 seniors, so that's a lot of experience and a lot of chemistry that's been built over the years."
On his thoughts regarding the upcoming season:
"We're just looking forward to the upcoming season. We have high expectations this season. We have every year since I've been here, but everything is coming into place now. Everybody's older, everybody knows the game plan, and everybody is picking up the new offense real well, so there are a lot of positives."
On his experience and improvement as a senior:
"Over the years my technique, strength and knowledge of the game have definitely gotten better."
On his improvement throughout his time at Maryland:
"I feel that when I first came in it was a whole different position for me. I played tackle in high school, then guard, then I played center, so it was a tough adjustment. But with anything, the more you practice something, the more you get better at it. The coaches and the staff and other players really helped me to progress and mature the way I needed to. At first the game was really fast, faster than high school. It was tough but as I got older, the game started to slow down more. I started to get a lot smarter."
On his goals for the season (personally, and for the team):
"As a team, we just want to win an ACC championship. We want to win our first game against Delaware - that's our first goal - have a great camp and play well. Personally, I just want to stay in tune, stay on the same page as the offensive line and just stay together {as a unit]. We have a great group of guys. They've been great to me, and we've been great together."
On which games he is looking forward to most:
"I would say probably Clemson. That's our ACC opener. Definitely California too - I've never played against them before, plus we played against a Pac-10 team before (Oregon State). But [playing] Clemson will be very interesting because those guys are seniors, too, just like me, so I've been playing against them since I was a redshirt freshman. It will be pretty interesting to play against them, and they're picked to win the ACC, so they will give us a good game."
On having the offensive line back together this year:
"It's tremendous. I think it's great. Experience is key as far as playing offensive lineman. There are certain things that you have to really experience on the field to be able to know what's going to happen. You can look at a playbook for hours, but the real game experience counts. These are the guys I've been around for so many years, so I think the chemistry factor is definitely going to help as the season progresses and as camp progresses as well. I'm pretty excited - I just really want to get on this field and show people what we can do."
On adapting to different quarterbacks:
"They're great guys - all three quarterbacks. They do what they do, and I have to be myself. I can't change who I am. I think all three of them prepare very well. Jordan (Steffy) is older than the other guys, but as far as preparation goes, they all prepare the same and they all go out there and give their best effort."
Senior Defensive Lineman Mack Frost
On his recovery from injury during the off-season:
"[I did] a lot of leg work. I've been trying to get my legs real strong because I had my [knee] injury, so I had to work double hard. I feel like I've recovered well. It happened back in November, so it's been almost nine or ten months, so I think I'm ready for the season."
On playing against California:
"We have a lot of respect to be gained, and we can gain it by playing another team out of conference. The game against California will really help our chances."
