Dec. 22, 2010
On how the team looks:
"We had a good practice [today] with some pretty good work. We are supposed to get a snowstorm here so we are concerned about that. It has been the longest break for any bowl that I have gone to so I was concerned about that. I haven't looked at the film yet but I will do that tonight. We get to go to the White House and our kids are pretty excited about that, so I moved our practice to be able to do that. Tomorrow we are going to have a good hard practice and start to get ready."
On the team's schedule:
"There was a possibility that I would lose two of my staff members to Coach [James] Franklin. Yesterday morning I was in the office until four in the morning studying the gameplan because there is a chance that I may have to call it. We left at 7:30 last night and didn't have lunch; we worked all the way through. I still don't know who is going to call the plays yet; we are working our way through that right now. I spent a lot of time on this bowl organizing everything for us. I came in two days early; the kids have an opportunity to go to the [Washington] Wizards game tonight if they want. Tomorrow we are going to go to the White House and the Capitals game if they want. It's a neat way that we have been able to devise our own bowl experience. Christmas Eve we are going to go out to dinner together as a team. I hear that Santa may show up. Christmas day we are going to let them go home; I wasn't going to let them do that but they can do it as long as they are back here by 5:45 that night. I did that for the kids who aren't able to go home that they will still be able to be with their teammates. Some of the instate kids are going to take the out of state kids home with them so that's good. The 26th it's supposed to snow and that would put us two days without practice."
On the importance of the bowl game:
"I think that this game is important to us. I think if we are able to get nine wins we have a real good chance to be in the Top 25. That would be a tremendous accomplishment and a great stepping stone for next year. I really want that for these kids, I think that this year isn't over and it's not going to be easy because East Carolina is a very good football team. Our defense is going to be tested, the teams that did the best against them Virginia Tech and NC State were losing at half to them. They are very explosive on offense; on our offense with James [Franklin] gone some problems are presented with that. We have been facing adversity all year and this is the next thing we need to overcome."
Defensive Coordinator Don Brown
On if he would like to stay at Maryland beyond this year:
"I haven't even thought about that yet. I have to stay focused on what's at hand, these are great kids and after going through what we did last year it's been great and I would like to finish what I started. I realize that it's the nature of the profession that you have to do what you have to do."
On East Carolina:
"Dominique Davis is an outstanding quarterback who can make all the throws from sideline to sideline, he has a quick release and he is extremely athletic. They do some designed runs for [Davis] and have a solid controlled passing game and some of their passes are more of designed runs.
"They have several outstanding receivers. Their tailback is extremely good and the offensive player of the year who is like a wide receiver at a tailback position. We are excited about the challenge that they present. We have seen some of the formations and their style of play from other opponents throughout the season. We have an understanding of how we are going to go out and do our business, we feel good about our plan and our ability to match up with them.
"The big thing is we need to take advantage of every turnover opportunity and any opportunity to get them off the field. They are very good on offense and we need to get them off the field whenever possible whether by turnover or on downs. I don't think we need to come out of character to do that, we just need to play our game and we will be good to go."
On the upcoming bowl game:
"The program is just very, very excited to get this opportunity to go out and play one more time, especially compared to last year when we were home at this time."
On winning for Coach Ralph Friedgen:
"It's very, very important for him [Coach Friedgen]. He needs our help to go out there and win this ball game for him. So we've got to go out and work hard this week and come out and put on a good performance next week so we can go out and get a win."
On the upcoming bowl game:
"It's definitely really important to finish on a high note. Obviously coming off a 2-10 [season], we want to keep winning games and go out on a high note for Coach Friedgen. We get to play in our own backyard so we'll have a lot of fans out there to support us."
On East Carolina's offense:
"They can definitely score some points on you. They have a good quarterback that can throw it and they've got a lot of good wide receivers, so they're definitely a high octane offense that can score points."
On if he will transfer:
"I am going to stay; I think some people took some things out of context. We have been trying to figure out what's going on because it has been a shocking experience. I came to Maryland to graduate from Maryland, before I ever committed and decided to come here that's something that I talked about with my family. I am proudly a Terp and am looking forward to three more great seasons here and graduating. Whatever happens I'm excited that I get to be someone who can help lead us in the direction that we end up going in."
On Coach Friedgen addressing the team:
"It was pretty emotional because everyone has been home hearing about all this stuff, but to get everyone together and have Coach be there and talk to us was really emotional and it just made me want to win this last game for him that much more."
On how hectic the past few weeks have been:
"I think the easiest part of these last two weeks has been getting back onto the field with the guys. That was the most comforting thing; it reminded me why I am here and how close the team is. Just doing the regular weekly preparations is the most calming thing out there on the practice field today."
On Coach Friedgen's last game:
"Everyone has their opinions but as the news is settling in we have been collecting ourselves and getting back to the realization that we have a game to play. We want to send Coach Friedgen out the right way with a win and to be 9-4 with a chance to be in the Top 25 which was a goal of ours at the beginning of the year."
On the atmosphere at RFK Stadium:
"Hopefully our fans get a good show. Hopefully it is packed with fans in red. The atmosphere is going to be awesome, hopefully it's not too cold but maybe it will snow. It's going to be a great experience and we are thankful to be in a bowl game, playing in another game which is something we didn't get to do last year so we are not taking this for granted."
On staying focused on East Carolina:
"That's all we're focused on right now is ECU. That's Coach Friedgen's goal and all of our player's goals, so we're must focused on them."
