July 25, 2011

Head Coach Randy Edsall On how the transition has been:
"The transition has really been good. For me, the transition when you come in is really about getting the players on board with what you want to establish in your program. The one thing that I really feel good about is that I think all the young men that are in our program as we get started on August 8th are men who are committed and have bought in to and really understand what we want to get accomplished. I'm very pleased with the direction we're going. We've had some obstacles to overcome and we've done that and made tremendous strides in some of those areas. I'm very pleased with what's taken place so far."

On Danny O'Brien:
"He's a rare individual. I haven't been around a lot of guys like Danny in terms of how he prepares, how he studies, and how important the game is to him. He's one of those guys that really wants to know everything that's going on, and I knew that from the very first meeting I had with the team. [At the first meeting] I asked for questions and Danny said `I have two: when are you hiring an offensive coordinator and when am I getting a playbook?' So I knew he was the kind of quarterback I wanted and again I think he has the chance to be very, very special."

"Danny is a very grounded, humble young man that understands he has so much room to grow and develop. He's going to work hard each and every day. He understands the leadership that he needs to bring to our team and to our offense each and every day. Those are the things that I love about the kid. Yeah he can throw the ball and he can do all that. But he is just such a down to earth, humble guy that understands its all about team. He's just a pleasure to be around."

On what kind of system he will run:
"As a coach, you take advantage of the personnel you have and take advantage of their strengths. You try not to do things that they're not good at."

On Kenny Tate's switch to linebacker:
"When you watch the tape [from last year], you see Kenny 80 to 85 percent of the time he was down within seven or eight yards of the line of scrimmage. I've always been a big believer that we have our best 11 guys on the field, whether it's offensively, defensively or special teams. When you factored into the equation Matt Robinson and Eric Franklin, two guys who have very good ability, and knowing that you're trying to get your best 11 on the field... if you keep Kenny at safety and you have Eric or Matt not on the field, to me your doing a disservice to the team."

On what makes Kenny Tate a special player:
"Kenny is a very talented young man. He understands football. Being around the NFL and those type of players, having the chance to work with guys like that; Kenny is as bright and as understanding of a football player as I've been around. He really grasps concepts and wants to know what everybody is doing. He just really understands the game and likes to play the game. He really likes the mental part of the game, which I think is great, plus he's a talented young man."

On building a program and getting it where he wants it to be:
"This isn't my first rodeo. Let me say this, going in to Jacksonville with the Jaguars and starting that program from scratch, then going to Connecticut and doing what I did - this has been a breeze."

On drawing on his past success to build confidence at Maryland:
"I have a tremendous amount of confidence in my abilities, I'll tell you that. Everywhere I've been I've won. I've won as an assistant at Syracuse, at Boston College, what we did down at Jacksonville was unprecedented. Georgia Tech for the one year I was there as a defensive coordinator we tied for an ACC Championship. I think what we did at Connecticut says it all as a head coach. So I have a tremendous amount of confidence and knowing what I want to accomplish and what I want to accomplish at the University of Maryland."

On having a blueprint at Maryland:
"There are things I believe in: I believe in hard work; I believe in having young men of very good character; I believe in doing things the right way; I don't believe in cutting corners... those core principles and that core foundation, things that I live by and believe make the program the best it can be, we're going to follow those things."

On if he thinks Maryland has a long way to go before they can contend for a league championship:
"My thought process is we're going to compete for a league championship this year. That's the whole mindset. What we're going to do is just work to continue to try to upgrade our personnel and do the things necessary facility-wise to get us into that position where we can recruit at the highest level."