Staff Report
Opening Statement: What I know about Maryland is that they beat Clemson, held them around 200 yards for the day. They have been in every ball game recently, and have had some tough luck. I think it is a football team that we have to make a great preparation for. Defensively, they do a lot of things and bring it from a lot of different places. They have been in it enough now, where starting out they had some problems. Now they have done it enough where they are good at it, and cause a lot of problems in that regard, bringing pressure from everywhere you can possibly imagine. This is going to be another tough football game.
What can you say about this Maryland team, because they have been playing tough lately?
I think you turn on the video and you see it too, you see the difficulty they bring you, and how close they have been. I know Coach [Ralph] Friedgen. He is a good coach and they got a good staff. This is one we had better be ready for.
What has Darren Evans been able to do in practice?
He has been out there, he went through some of the things with the running backs. Then Coach [Mike] Goforth was throwing him a few balls, and being a part of it. I appreciate him wanting to be out there and be a part of it. I think he has made a great recovery. The rehab is going great from everything I understand. He has worked at it, he is a dedicated guy, the way he has played football that is the way he has gone about his rehab. You know what you are going to get with Darren every single day, and I think that is what has gotten him back so quick.
Can you talk about getting a lot of guys game action as a reward for their work in practice?
I think competition makes everyone better. Whoever is playing the best, that is who is going to play the most, and that is how we operate around here. I think they understand that too. It is all about production, being consistent and being efficient.
Can you talk about how dangerous Maryland’s kick return game is?
They are dangerous, they come after you. They had a punt return against Clemson that got them in good position at the one-yard line. When you face teams like that, you have to first of all protect, then get down there and cover and hope Brent keeps kicking the ball high. He has done a nice job of getting height on the ball and allowing us to get down the field, so hopefully that will continue.
How do you think this season has been on Coach Friedgen?
I haven’t talked with him in a while. The thing I know about Ralph is he is a really, really good football coach. He has been on both sides of the ball, he knows the game and there is no question about his ability to coach football. That is what I know.
How difficult is it when going through those seasons?
It is no fun. I’ve said many times when you are winning in this business it is a good profession, and when you are struggling it gets tough, real tough. And it keeps getting tougher all the time.
Can you talk about Mark Muncey and how good he is for the football team?
I don’t know a lot about the locker room with Mark. He is on the kickoff return team, he walked on here and he is a dependable guy. I think he is good for your football team. I think guys whose focus is on the football team doing well and doing whatever they can to make the football team do well, those are guys you want around. Keeping other guys loose, that is an extra benefit.
Can you talk about Ryan Williams bouncing back after his fumble against UNC?
I think Ryan was kind of an example of our whole football team. I used the word ‘relentless’ and I mean that. Last week, after that tough loss against North Carolina, it was a tough week on everybody, coaches and players. You have to pick yourself up and go and put one foot in front of the other. I think that is what Ryan did, and our entire football team did. Our coaching staff did the same thing. That is a tough place to win down there. That atmosphere, they haven’t had one like that in a while, ESPN hasn’t been down there in a while. They had a good football team. They were hot, confident and we were fortunate to come out of there with a win. We had to do down there and earn it and work for it. I think that is what we did.
Can you talk about the plays that Alonzo Tweedy has been making on special teams for you?
He was our special teams player of the game. And rightfully so. He had a couple of tackles on kickoff coverage, he has been really good at that, and he had a couple of tackles on pride, he has been really good at that. We put him on pride and joy for the first time last week, and basically he was the hold up guy trying to block their headhunters and then he came off and got the big block on the East Carolina player. He is a guy that has really done well on special teams. Usually if you are good on special teams you are a good football player, just like Cody Grimm. He used to be a good special teams player, and you kept thinking ‘man he is making all these plays’, well if you have good sense it shows on special teams. It is open-field stuff, fast and you have to make good decisions. You have to be a good football player, and I think Tweedy is doing the same thing right now. He is making all these plays and I think it shows he is going to be a good defensive football player as well.
How are you going to reflect back on this season?
I think we have to finish well right now, and continue to improve as a football team. We have a chance for 10 wins, and somebody brought it to my attention that every team we played so far has a winning record. We had a good schedule. We didn’t play good enough to win in a couple of those ball games, but it was never a lack of effort. We have a good group of players, a good group of players and I like being around them. If we can finish strong now, we are going to feel good about ourselves. What we have been able to accomplish, it could have been a lot better, but it could have been a lot worse too. I’m proud of the way we put effort forth. I just want us to be a good football team in November, I want us to be the best football team we can possibly be in November.
How do you prepare for Maryland?
That is the thing, you don’t know what quarterback is going to be in there, and they are very different. That is another problem you run into this week. Offensively, you are trying to figure out where the blitz is coming from, and you don’t know quite what to be prepared for fully. You have to be ready for both.
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