April 24, 2007
Head football coach Ralph Friedgen visited with the media Tuesday to discuss spring practice and Saturday's annual Red-White Game which is set for 3:30 p.m. at Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium.
On spring practice:
"We have had a very productive spring practice despite some injuries to some of our main players. Fortunately, with the exception of maybe one person, we haven't lost anyone for the season. That has allowed us to get a lot of reps from our backup players. They've been getting better, and I'm hoping that this will make us a better football team overall."
On the quarterbacks:
"There are three guys who are still battling for the starting position in Jordan Steffy, Josh Portis, and Chris Turner. They have all shown improvement. Right now, Jordan Steffy has a slight lead, but Portis and Turner are both very close."
On the running backs:
"We've played most of spring practice with just two running backs, Lance Ball and Morgan Green. We moved Pha'Terrell Washington over there, and he has shown some promise. I think we have him in the right position. Keon Lattimore and Da'Rel Scott were injured early in practice, but they should be back for the fall.
On the offensive line:
"The development has been good. We have seven guys right now that we can play with, but we have some depth problems. We're hoping that we can get some help from the freshmen who come in this fall."
On the tight ends:
"Tight end is a strength for us. Joey Haynos, Dan Gronkowski, Jason Goode, and Drew Gloster are all very capable of helping us win this year. They are all very good football players."
On the wide receivers:
"LaQuan Williams has come on during spring practice. We know what guys like Darrius Heyward-Bey, Danny Oquendo, and Isaiah Williams can do, although Isaiah has been out for all of spring practice recovering from shoulder surgery. Adrian Cannon has come along, and he will be a factor in the fall. Some of our younger players will come in and help create some depth at that position."
On the defensive line:
"Dre Moore, Carlos Feliciano, and Travis Ivey will all be counted on in the fall. We're hoping that one or two others will come on in the fall."
On the defensive ends:
"Jeremy Navarre got hurt early in spring practice, but Mack Frost has really improved and now I think we have the ability to move Jeremy inside if we need him, especially one or two more players come on in that area."
On the linebackers:
"Our linebacking corps is strong. Chase Bullock is playing very well, and Alex Wujciak is really pushing him. He a redshirt freshman and he is going to be an outstanding player. Erin Henderson and Dave Philistin will be the Will linebackers, and we're very confident in Trey Covington even though he has been recovering from an injury. At Sam linebacker, Moise Fokou and Adrian Moten have been battling it out, and they are both going to be very good football players. I feel pretty good about our linebackers as long as we stay healthy."
On the secondary:
"Our secondary is coming along. Christian Varner and J.J. Justice are hurt, but we're hoping that they will be back for the Red-White Game this Saturday. Terrell Skinner and Jeff Allen have played quite a bit. Our corners are coming along. Anthony Wiseman has done well. Richard Taylor got hurt, and he is the one guy we aren't sure about. Hopefully he will be able to come back. Kevin Barnes has had an excellent spring, and when we get Isaiah Gardner back, that will shore up the secondary."
On special teams:
"Travis Baltz and Chris Roberts are battling for the punting position. We still have some work to do there over the summer. Obi Egekeze and Travis Baltz are battling for the place kicking position. Right now, Obi has a slight lead, but Travis has a strong leg and he gives us something that we haven't had in that he can punt and kick. Hopefully he will improve over the summer and be ready for the fall. Our snappers are all back. We're looking at Anthony Wiseman as a return man, and we still have Danny Oquendo as a kickoff returner."
On potential young help for the offensive line:
"I'm hoping that Bruce Campbell will be a help. He spent a year at Hargraves Military Academy, so he should be ready to go from a maturity standpoint. That will help. We have some size coming in, and Paul Pinegar is a walk-on who has played very well this spring. He has a shot at being in the two-deep, and he is going to be a good player that we can work with in the future."
On the quarterback play in scrimmages:
"I chart every throw that the quarterbacks make in a competitive situation. Jordan Steffy has thrown 298 passes and only has two interceptions, and one of those was when the receiver fell down. But on Saturday, they were all only completing fifty percent of their passes, and that is an important stat. I think that one of the things about Josh is that we don't hit the quarterbacks in the spring, and one of his strengths is the ability to create in space. His athletic ability and speed is going to be a factor. Jordan is running as well as he ever has, so we have two quarterbacks that are pretty mobile. I'm very impressed with how well Jordan knows the game. I'm pleased with the way he is managing the game right now. I'm anxious to see how all of them do in a game situation on Saturday."
