Quotes from Tuesday's News Conference
9/13/2011 8:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 13, 2011
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Head Coach Randy Edsall
Opening Statement:
"We have a tremendous challenge in front of us on Saturday with West Virginia coming to town. They are a team who will come in nationally ranked either 18th or 20th in the nation depending on what poll you look at. They are led by an outstanding quarterback in Geno Smith. They play an up-tempo offense that likes to spread you out. Their defense is very fast and athletic. Their special teams has a tremendous returner in Tavon Austin. We are going to have our work cut out for us and we need a great week of preparation to be ready to play at noon on Saturday."
On the rivalry with West Virginia:
"I can remember when I was in here being announced as the head coach I had people telling me that I had to beat West Virginia. I understand the importance with them being a neighboring state, the rivalry that builds. We had a continuous rivalry for about fifty years that we played them. It's something that is very important. Even though they aren't in the ACC it is a bordering state that has developed a great rivalry."
On West Virginia's 3-3-5 defense:
"The problem that it poses is that it is something that you don't see on a weekly basis. There aren't a lot of teams that run that. We have very good coaches that have played against that. Gary (Crowton) played against West Virginia when they played LSU last year, I have played against them for seven years, and Tom (Brattan) and Lee (Hull) have gone against them here at Maryland. The problem I have isn't the 3-3-5 stack it's the people playing in the defense that you have to deal with. That's always the thing, the scheme may be good, but it's the guys playing the scheme that you have the issues with."
On what he expects to see in the second game of the season:
"I just hope that we get better. It's the old adage in football that a team makes their biggest improvement between game one and game two... I do know this - we have to improve if we want to go out and get a win. There are some things that we have looked at. Kickoff and kickoff coverage we have made some changes and hopefully we can be better because we have to be better in that area this week. If not we will get burned because of the outstanding young man that they have returning kickoffs and punts (Tavon Austin)."
On Cameron Chism:
"Cameron has been around and played in games. Our expectations are very high but they are even higher for young men that have been in the program and played quite a bit. Cam and I had a sit down before the Miami game because there were some things going on in practice that I really didn't like. I really challenged him about what I saw and what I thought he needed to do. I was very proud of him because he responded and in a big way. He understood what I was talking about.
"In that moment (when he returned an interception for a TD against Miami) he lost focus and concentration. He knew that he intercepted the pass but he wasn't aware of the situation. After he saw it and we told him, and we showed it again to the whole team he understood that the best thing to do was to go down because those points don't mean anything and the game is already over. He made the play that he needed to make by picking it off. They are kids and they are going to make mistakes just like we are going to make mistakes but you go and you learn from them. Fortunately it didn't haunt us. The next time that comes up I know he will do what he is supposed to do because that is the kind of young man that he is."
On Clarence Murphy and Keith Bowers:
"It is very unfortunate, Isaiah (Ross) had surgery and he has a cast on. That is a situation where we don't know if it will be a season-ending injury but it will be close. That meant that the two young guys have to step up, the redshirt freshman and the true freshman. They are getting their opportunity. The one thing I do know is that those two young men are going to play hard. Will they make mistakes, of course they are, but I do know that we are going to get their best effort when they are on the field. We are going to have to rotate those two guys and get them work in there. It's not one of them that is going to be able to go out there and play the entire game. The only way they are going to get better is by playing. They know the expectations that are placed on them when they go in there."
On Matt Furstenburg and the role of the tight ends:
"We want to incorporate out tight ends and everyone into certain things that we do. There are certain things that we can call that will go directly to the tight end. There are other things where they might be the second read in the progression. The good thing about what we are going to be able to do offensively is that we have playmakers that we can get the ball to based on what we call. Matt (Fursenburg) is a guy that we might have to utilize maybe even a little more than we already did. The good thing is that if they want to single cover him we think that he can beat people. Tight end is a big thing in what we want to do both in the passing and rushing game."
On the importance of recruiting:
"Recruiting is really the lifeblood of the program. It's what makes us win. The players are what are most important. I remember when I first started in coaching someone told me recruiting is like shaving, if you don't do it every day you are going to look like a scrub. If you don't recruit everyday you are going to fall behind. It was fortunate that the Patriot Classic took place during a bye week for us because it allowed me to go out. I love recruiting and seeing games first hand."
On the wide receivers:
"What I have been saying consistently from the preseason through the first game is that I thought that these wide receivers that we have would be better than anticipated. I know it's only one game but I was very pleased with their play all around from how they blocked to how they caught the ball. We have to keep the blocking consistent throughout the game as it wasn't as crisp at the end of the game as it was in the beginning. I like who we have there. I think we have guys who can make plays. If you single them up they can beat you. I think we do have some depth behind them as well."
On the role of D.J. Adams:
"We have some things in the game plan that we think D.J. (Adams) will be able to do. He will be out on the field as long as he progresses the way we expect him to during this week of practice. We have things in mind for D.J. with what we want him to do, along with things we have for Justus (Pickett) and Davin (Meggett) to carry the heavy load. We have put things in for him and he is back and ready. He has served his penance. When you have these situations come up you deal with them and then you move on. Nobody holds a grudge. He understands that he is going to be out there working and doing the things we want him to do based on his skill set. He is in the offensive game plan."
Senior Defensive Back Cameron Chism
On memories of the WVU games last year:
"Well they started off really fast on us. They got up 14-0 really early, so we weren't really prepared like we should have been for that game. We got off to a slow start too, and we didn't really start coming back until the second half. We want to get off to a good start early this time."
On how it felt to create two turnovers against Miami:
"It felt good. Leaving that game I just knew I helped my team win, so that's always a good feeling."
On playing a game after coming off a bye week and a big win:
"I'm definitely ready to play. I think as a team we are; we're ready to play again. We had a week off. Now we have another big game, so we're definitely ready to get back on the field and play."
On what WVU does that makes them special:
"They have a lot of speed. They have a lot of playmakers. I've heard that they're going to play fast - no huddle. We've been practicing against our own offense, so I think we should be ready."
Junior Tight End Matt Furstenburg
On what the biggest challenge West Virginia's defensive 3-3-5 scheme poses:
"Well they'll have an extra secondary player and then they have a weird front look, so they're usually in a stack defensively. They have a unique defense, but we still have to go out there and play the game."
On the strides made by Danny O'Brien the past few weeks:
"Well it's a new offense, so he's been picking up the offense and seeing reads a lot better I'd say. He's really good at finding open receivers and going through each progression."
