March 25, 2008
On the new coaching staff:
"First of all I would like to talk about the new coaches we have this season, because I am pretty excited about where we are and where they are fitting in with the whole system. James Franklin is our assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach. I am very excited to have James back. He is doing a phenomenal job. It is really interesting to see how he has grown as an assistant coach and how organized he is. He has really added a lot to our program. We also brought in Lee Hull from Oregon State as the wide receivers coach. Danny Pearman, who we brought in from Duke University, will be the tight ends/special teams coach. Danny has come in and done a very good job. I think he's an excellent coach and he's added tremendously to our recruiting. I am very pleased to have Danny working for us."
On the offensive line:
"We really only lost one player from our offensive line in Andrew Crummey. What we want to do is continue to get better in the offensive line which can be a real strength for us. We want to try and keep our older guys healthy and also bring our younger guys along. We've got the depth [on the offensive line] that we've always been looking for here."
On the wide receivers:
"Another one of our strengths on offensive is our wide receivers. Isaiah Williams, Danny Oquendo and Darrius Heyward-Bey will be back, and they have started the last two years. Adrian Cannon, Emani Lee-Odai, Kevin Gresham, LaQuan Williams all lettered last year. We also have other talented redshirt freshmen who have tested extremely well. We have a lot of depth [in our wide receivers], as well as a lot of speed. I think we have more speed and athleticism [in our wide receivers] than we've had since I've been here."
On the senior class:
"I'm pretty proud of these kids and what they've accomplished, not only what they have done on the football field but what they have done in the classroom."
On the quarterback situation:
"Chris Turner will go in as the No. 1 [quarterback], but it is a wide open situation. I think that competition is still going to take place. I think that the fact that he ended up being the starter last year, I think that's where he will start [this year]."
On the running backs:
"Da'Rel [Scott] is not as big (as some of the backs we've had) but has tremendous acceleration. I think the major concern is if he can stay healthy, as he will take a lot of shots. With Morgan [Green], he's a bigger guy with speed. I think Morgan is more like Lance [Ball] and Keon [Lattimore], than Da'Rel is. Pha'Terrell Washington has very good quickness and speed. He has had an outstanding winter and is probably better prepared to play since has been here [at Maryland]."
On gaining some team consistency:
"One of the things I am expecting from spring practice is that I want to see us become more consistent. Last year we would play well in one game, and not so well in another. For us to be the team that I think we are capable of being, consistency is something we need to get better at."
On Coach Friedgen's new role:
"He is still everywhere. He is always floating around in the weight room. I think he is a little more relaxed, but he is still intense."
On the team's new priorities:
"We want to become more consistent and for the leadership to really start coming out more. That is definitely a focus in the spring. We are trying to have good workouts every time, no lull on the energy, just strong all the time."
On the new offense:
"I think that the biggest thing is that it's more simplified. Things really run together from play to play. It actually wasn't too hard to pick up. We are using a lot of our old terminology in terms of blocking. Basically, a lot of the plays are just called different, but it is the same blocking scheme. However, a lot of the passing plays are different. Things are called differently. We have Coach Franklin out there now and he has a lot of energy. Hopefully that will help the team."
On the team's quarterbacks:
"We haven't gotten out there yet so it will be interesting to see who picks up the offense and who can perform the best."
On the quarterback situation:
"They are looking good right now. Everyone worked hard in the off-season. I'm looking forward to seeing what is going to happen during the spring.
On the team's quarterbacks:
"We have Coach Friedgen and Coach Franklin. They are going to be the ones to evaluate how the [quarterbacks] do in practice and they are going to choose the right guy, and whoever they choose I'm going to be ready to go."
On the new offense:
"It's different. A lot of guys on offense have been there for a while so there are certain things that we have to keep that we already know. There is some new stuff that I'm excited about but the old stuff is still in there."
On the new coaches:
"They have a couple new ideas of how practice is going to go. We have a new special teams coach (Danny Pearman), and so practice might be a little different. We also have a few more guys to give reps to the young guys to get evaluated. Practice is going to be practice though."
On Coach Friedgen:
"He is just more relaxed. He has had a chance to sleep in a little more than usual. I have talked to him a few times and he seems like he has the chance to worry about things that he has to worry about. It also gives the younger guys a chance to know who he is as a coach and as a person. He has had the chance to sit back and be the head coach."
On the new offensive coordinator's benefit for the team:
"I think that it is good. I think that it is good for (Coach Friedgen) to be able to go down the defensive side and be with them a little bit. Just to be able to be everywhere at once. When you are on the offensive side you kind of get stuck with just how the offense is doing."
