April 21, 2009
Head coach Ralph Friedgen, assistant head coach/offensive coordinator James Franklin, defensive coordinator Don Brown and a number of players visited with the media Tuesday afternoon in the Gossett Team House.
On the Red-White Spring Game and the events surrounding it:
"I'm looking forward to Saturday. It should be a big day here with Maryland Day. We have a lot of things planned for our [football] parents. We have a luncheon for our parents and our incoming freshmen, and I think we have 280 people coming to that. I'm having the NFL Players Association come over and speak to our parents about agents and the NFL. Friday night we have a lettermen's picnic. We'll have a lot of our recruits here [Saturday], and we're anticipating a good crowd. We've talked to Pop Warner teams and high school teams, so hopefully we'll have a good showing."
On the team's practices this spring:
"We've had a very good spring. This is a very young team, like I've said on a number of occasions. I believe 60 of our 85 scholarships have three or four years of eligibility left. But I've been very, very impressed with how this team has worked. I think we've had one poor practice. Other than that, our practices have been pretty good. The effort has been excellent. They seem to enjoy it, and they seem to have fun. I know I've enjoyed it."
On the team's improvements this spring:
"We've made a lot of progress, especially in the last four practices offensively. My concerns are our lines, both offense and defense, because of our inexperience. It's not that we're not willing; it's just that we're young and need to get stronger and run a little bit better. But I think we've got some skill people on both sides of the ball."
On the defensive backfield:
"I've been very pleased with our defense this spring. Our secondary, we have some injuries there right now. Nolan Carroll was injured [last] Saturday. He'll be fine. I don't know if he'll be able to play Saturday or not. There's a chance, but we'll see. Michael Carter and been injured and Cameron Chism has been injured, though he is back. But I think our corner play has been very good, and I think we have four safeties in Terrell Skinner, Antwine Perez, Jamari McCollough and Kenny Tate who are all very good players. Anthony Wiseman has played very well, and Trenton Hughes had a very good practice today and has had a good spring, so I think he's much improved."
On the linebacker corps:
"With our linebackers, I think it's been a good experiment with moving Drew Gloster over there. He seems to have hit the wall right now, but otherwise he's had a good spring. Adrian Moten and Demetrius Hartsfield are playing very well. We're hoping to get (Alex) Wujciak and (Ben) Pooler back. We have about five freshmen coming in, and I think they should help, along with Avery Murray and Darin Drakeford, who are freshmen who came in midyear and have played very well for kids who should be in high school right now."
On the wide receivers:
"Offensively, to me the guy who is jumping up right now is Adrian Cannon. Saturday he had a big scrimmage, and I think today he made some big plays. He's just making some plays and making a real challenge for starting at receiver right now. Torrey Smith is running that position, but I think we have two quality receivers there. Kevin Dorsey made a bunch of plays on Saturday. He's a redshirt freshman. He hurt his AC joint and had a cortisone shot and missed today's practice. Hopefully he'll be back Thursday, and hopefully he'll play Saturday. He, Tony Logan and Quintin McCree have all had very good springs and are playing with a lot of confidence. We still have probably too many drops, but the encouraging thing the last three practices is they've been making plays and tough catches.
On the quarterbacks and running backs:
"I think Jamarr Robinson is coming on and playing better right now, and the same with Chris Turner. For our running backs, Da'Rel Scott got hurt last week, but I think he'll be fine. It gives us an opportunity to work with Morgan Green and Davin Meggett and Gary Douglas, so we've got enough running backs. I did make a change - I moved (Louis) Berman [from linebacker] to fullback. I'm looking for a guy who can be a good blocker for us there, and this may give him an opportunity to get on the field."
On the special teams unit:
"Special teams-wise, I think we're punting the ball very well. Travis Baltz has done a good job there. It's a tight battle right now between (Nick) Wallace and (Mike) Barbour for the field goal and PAT job, and we'll have to see about (Nick) Ferrara, the freshman we recruited, when he comes in. I think we have a chance to be very good at special teams. I think Tony Logan is going to give us something in the return game as a punt returner. Torrey Smith was one of the top kickoff return guys in the conference last year, and I think he'll do a good job there. We have a chance to be pretty good on special teams because we have a lot of kids who can run."
On the end of spring practice and the Red-White Spring Game:
"I'm excited. Today we wore our shells for practice. Normally at the end of spring practice the guys are just trying to get through it, and I didn't see that at all. I thought we had a very good practice today. We'll have another one Thursday and we'll put on pads, and hopefully can finish with a good game on Saturday. It's always interesting to me when you play pretty much like a game and nerves play a part, so I think it'll be a good experience for our young players to play with people in the stands and see how they react on their own with coaches off the field. But I'm very pleased with where we are with spring practice."
On the changes defensive coordinator Don Brown has brought to the defense and how that has affected the offense:
"It is actually quite a few. Don Brown has really been a great addition. When interviewing him, what I really liked was that his defense was going to be a lot different than a lot of the teams we play. A lot of teams today play quarters' coverage. He's a big cover two guy, plays different types of cover two and is a press-making guy. I was concerned whether or not we could do that or whether we had people to do that. Quite honestly, I thought our guys weren't very confident with help-man situations last year. We didn't play a lot of man-to-man because we were concerned with that. Now, we are challenging every throw. The thing I see getting better from both sides is that there are very few uncontested throws now. So the quarterbacks, in order to make a completed pass, have to throw the ball very accurately. And the receivers now have to go up and fight to make plays and it's a battle every play."
On the overall significance of the Red-White Spring Game:
"What I've learned from the time I've been here about the Red-White Game is that we kind of simplify things because we don't know who's going to be at the game. In the past it's been on TV, so we don't like to show a lot of things. But one of the things that really surprises me is that they get nervous. They get jitters in playing in that game. To me, I'm looking to see how all my young players are going to react in that situation, and I think that adds a lot of experience to it because I like to find this out now before we go into our first game next year. So hopefully we'll have a good crowd and we'll get to evaluate kids on how they perform in those situations. I've given this team more reps in the spring than I have other teams and I've done that because of our youth. I'm trying to get them as many as repetitions as I can so they can grow. I'm a tremendous believer in that you learn through your mistakes and until you experience those mistakes and see them on film and get them corrected, then there is no growth. You keep your fingers crossed that you don't get anybody hurt, and I hope that stays the same."
On the safety position and Kenny Tate:
"We kind of drilled him [Kenny Tate] in that and we think he can play that. Another thing about Kenny is that he is becoming a good blitzer. He's 227 pounds and Don (Brown) is playing him as a linebacker some and out of the secondary. He is all over the place. He made eight tackles in the scrimmage last weekend and 11 tackles the week before. The [mock] scrimmage before that, he had two interceptions. He's going to be on the field a lot. We just have a good problem that we have four guys that are pretty good in the safety position."
On Jamarr Robinson:
"I think he has made some progress. I thought he made some progress Saturday and today. It was getting to the point for me that I was seeing the same mistakes over and over. Jamarr has been getting a lot of repetitions. I`ve been watching him on the scout team and he makes plays. \Now he has to see the whole thing. I think the light is starting to go on. The last two practices he has improved, and I think it's really important to see how he does in these next two practices. I'm really excited to see how he does in the game on Saturday."
On Torrey Smith:
"Torrey, to me, just has to make more plays when he has the opportunity. He hasn't done as well at that as I know he can do. As a punt returner, he's a big guy with moves who runs fast, so if he gets a step, he's going to go. He's just a remarkable kid. I've got some really great kids in this program and he is one of them. He comes every day with a smile on his face and he works as hard as he possibly can. He's a great student and he's on Terrapin Council, so he's very well-respected for how he is as an individual. I think he is going to be a very, very good football player, but more importantly he is going to very successful in life."
Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator James Franklin
On the changes to play-calling for the wide receivers without Darrius Heyward-Bey:
"I wouldn't say we had plays designed for Darrius. They were the same plays, but we were trying to be in a position to make sure Darrius was the first read. So we still have the same plays, it's just a different guy that's going to be [the first read]. And even with Darrius, he just played Z. When I was at Kansas State, we had Jordy Nelson who had 122 catches in one year and finished second in the Biletnikoff Award. With him, we moved him to what was going to be the first spot in the progression. We didn't do that with Darrius, but we'd like to get to that point. You'd like to get to the point where you have three guys on the field that all are a threat. Then everybody [on defense] is worried. I think we're talented, and I wouldn't even consider us young. I'd say we're less experienced than we have been in the past. These guys have played, but they just don't have nearly as much vested time in game situations."
On some inconsistencies from the receiving corps during the spring:
"I think it's magnified compared to years past because the defense is playing so much coverage and man press. When you're open, it's not like you're open in zone coverage. When you're open in zone coverage, there's no one around you. In man coverage, even when you're open, I'm out maybe a foot ahead of you. Now the quarterback has to throw it in that perfect spot, and even when they do catch it, now that [defender] is trying to rip the ball out as soon as you catch it. I call it contested catches. Every catch has been contested. I think that plays a part in it. Guys have got to get used to playing in it. It's like going from high school to college. Guys are open, but they're less open than they were in high school. And just like going from college to the NFL. Would I like them to make more plays? Yeah. Could the quarterback throw a more `catchable ball?' Yeah. But I like the direction we're headed. I really do. We made a bunch of plays on Friday and then we had a really good day on Saturday. So I think we're headed in the right direction."
On how the new defense has helped the offense:
"I don't think it helps from a confidence standpoint early on, because [new defensive coordinator Don Brown] is very aggressive, and I love that. The year we won the ACC championship here, we caused 32 turnovers. The more turnovers that you create on defense leads to more opportunities for the offense. You're either going to score as a defensive unit with those turnovers, or you're going to get the ball back for your offense in scoring position. That was one of the reasons we were so good on offense that first year - because we had so many opportunities. Last year we had 14 turnovers created, which was something like 115th in the nation. That's a factor. I think the way the defense plays now, as aggressive as they are, they're going to give up a few big plays, but they're going to create so much more in terms of opportunities for the offense that can really benefit the team."
On Jamarr Robinson:
"I think early on, before they were blitzing, he was doing very well. Then they started blitzing and he fell off for a while, but I think last Friday and Saturday he did well. Saturday he threw five touchdown passes, so you have to give the guy some credit there. I still think he needs to improve reading blitzes and knowing who is the hot read, but that's typical for most young quarterbacks. Saturday was a bright spot, but I want to see him improve this week as well."
Defensive Coordinator Don Brown
On the changes the defense has undergone this spring:
"We're making changes in how we coach things, and we feel that we're going in a very positive direction. Starting with our base structure, we'll have four down lineman, three linebackers and a four-deep secondary. We'll play with a lot of packages to get a lot of different guys going on and off the field. I don't know how involved we'll get during the spring game. The bottom line is that we're going to play to our players' strengths. The things they do well, we are going to put them on the field to do well."
On the young middle linebacker core:
"They don't let us go to the waiver wire and take them from other teams. But Demetrius Hartsfield has filled in at middle linebacker and performed well. Drew Gloster, because of Alex Wujciak being hurt, has drawn first team minutes at Mike all season. He's making a complete transition from offense to defense. He's a big strong guy that can fly; he can run really well. He's learning, but we're asking him to do a ton. Hakeem Sule, who is probably not a household name at middle linebacker, has been doing really well."
On the performance of new linebackers Avery Murray and Darin Drakeford:
Avery Murray, who just got here in January, took virtually every snap with the second team at Mike and certainly gives us some flexibility. Darin Drakeford, a local guy, has been playing a lot of Sam with the second team as well. Those guys in essence are just high school seniors."
Senior Offensive Lineman Phil Costa
On the state of the team and the offensive line:
"As a team, we've been doing pretty good. The defense has been doing a little better than the offense. They have so many blitzes and different schemes that they've put in, so the offensive line is going a little slower than we hoped. With so many freshmen and sophomores, that's to be expected. In the last day of practice, I think we really picked it up and were successful in the offense."
On the importance of spring practice:
"The spring is a lot more important than summer workouts. When you have the pads on, that's when it's for real. You're not in the weight room lifting. A guy can bench press one-thousand pounds, but what can he do on the field? That's the most important thing."
On his adjustments on the field:
"I am playing the anchor, which is the strong-side defensive end. Pretty much, I have a lot of the linemen. I do several different stunts. It's been good. I do a lot more moving. They can't really pin me down, where I'm going to be on a snap-to-snap basis. It's allowed me to do more things."
On blitzing the quarterback:
"I wouldn't say we take pride in it, but we are definitely happy that the defensive line and the linebackers provide a lot of pressure and kind of give our defense a different feel and kind of different emotion to it. We bring a lot more pressure than we've had in the last couple of years."
On Adrian Moten taking charge in a leadership role:
"Yeah, I definitely see him in the huddle or on the field. All the linebackers are communicating, and he's been the leader of the communication. He's helped us make a lot of calls and done a lot of good things for us. He makes sure that everybody's lined up where they are supposed to be and everybody knows their responsibilities."
On the biggest difference on defense this year:
"If I could say one thing, we just have a different scheme right now. We're the same players, the same types of players that have been here. I just think that right now everybody's excited about the new team, just to see what we can do with it. I feel that it would be that way with any kind of change that comes into our program. You want to be excited about it, and I'm glad that myself and everyone else is enthusiastic."
On how much of the new defense has been installed:
"I think we only have only 50 percent of it in. In our playbook, we still have a good amount of plays that we haven't installed. We do have a lot of blitzes, so what we have in is enough to go into a game with. But we have additional blitzes that we can install later on."
On having opponents try to kick away from him on kickoffs:
"After my freshman year [of high school], they started trying to kick away from me. It's always frustrating because that's an opportunity to score points. When you can score points without having the offense even step on the field, that's always a plus."
On being exposed to opponents' best hits during kickoff returns:
"At Virginia Tech, I got hit. That's probably the hardest I've been hit. But it's football, so you've got to expect there to be lots of contact. You can't be hesitant just because you get hit."
On his progression this spring:
"I definitely need to make more plays. This spring wasn't quite how I wanted it to be. I'd say it was average for me, but I've learned a lot of stuff and hopefully got better as a receiver."
On his relationship with quarterback Chris Turner:
"I've been working with him since my [true] freshman year, so there really isn't much to grind out. For us it's all about going out there and getting repetitions."
On the receiving corps' approach without having Darrius Heyward-Bey:
"The way we approach as a unit is for all of us to go out there and try to shine. There are going to be a bunch of us out there playing this year, and we're all going to have a chance to contribute at different times."
