July 26, 2002

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The following is an excerpt from head football coach Ralph Friedgen's meeting with the Atlantic Coast Conference's print media on Monday, July 22nd in Pinehurst, N.C. Friedgen and the Terrapins were picked third by the conference's media contingency and head into 2002 as the defending conference champions with their season-opener slated for August 31st against Notre Dame in East Rutherford, N.J.

(On the meeting between ACC Commissioner John Swofford and the ACC's nine head football coaches that preceded the start to Media Day on Monday)
"It was a good discussion. People had a chance to express some of their ideas. It wasn't anything that was imminent, but certain things were discussed regarding where the NCAA is leaning towards going like increased academics and issues regarding summer workouts. The meeting gave us a chance to express our opinions as coaches. We talked to the ACC's compliance person and it gave us an opportunity to stay up-to-date on where the NCAA is going with some of these things.

"With a lot of this legislation, there isn't even a Division I football coach on the committees, so it concerns us to have representation."

(On publications and prognosticators who have chosen not to include Maryland in their preseason top 25 polls)
"I don't pay any attention to that. Last year, you all had us picked, what, seventh or eighth in the preseason media poll? It doesn't matter - it's where you end up, not where you start so I don't get involved in all of that."

(Regarding the status of linebacker E.J. Henderson)
"I only really know what I have been told and my trainer tells me that he is at about 75 percent, that he doesn't really have any pain. E.J. tells me he is going to be there. I listen to E.J. more than anybody else. I think the big thing is that when we get back to camp, when will he be in football shape, in hitting shape. Right now, he is probably ahead of where I thought he would be."

(Q: Does a 12-game schedule change how teams will prepare from here on out?)
"I think it would depend on our injury status. One of the things that worries me as we get into these 12-game seasons is that with 85 scholarships, that could get tough. I think you have to take that into account.

"We have somewhat of a depth problem on our team, so a lot of freshmen are going to have to come in and play. I just think we are going to have to be real cautious about getting people injured in practice."

(Q: What is your quarterback situation going into the season after what happened in the spring?)
"Good question. I originally didn't think Chris Kelley would be ready to play this year, but he has been tremendous in his preparation and where he is right now. I think it shows a lot about the kid that he is where he is right now. I mean, as soon as the operation happened, he was working at rehab. He is off-the-charts as far as how much he has accomplished with his rehabilitation at this point.

"I think he should play this year. I don't know where he will be for the first game, but the doctors are saying that he is very far along for where he is right now. I think the fact that he had already rehabilitated his other knee twice before really helped him know what it takes to push himself. He is going off campus to rehabilitate with a doctor in Silver Spring (Md.), working probably two-and-a-half to three hours a day over there.

"That being said, Scott McBrien and Orlando Evans are the two other guys competing for the job. I think Scott was close, probably not too far behind Chris ... I will have to see how they look when they get back, make a decision pretty early so we can get the starter the most reps and go from there."

(Q: Will it be tougher this year considering the success you had a year ago?)
"Well, when you win 10 games in a season, you've had a special season. A lot of things have gone right for you. I think the biggest thing is that you've got a bunch of kids who are playing unselfishly towards a common goal and you maximize your potential when that happens. Can we do that again? I don't know. We'll have to see. I think it would be a tremendous accomplishment. But we have a very young football team - we only have 11 seniors - so probably the odds are against us.

"You know, I am not going to make any predictions about where we end up. We'll play one game at a time and we'll see what happens. If we were playing the British Open, we'd say, well, 'the first 18 holes, we got into the clubhouse pretty good.' We have to keep playing though."

(Q: With all of the pro-style offenses in the ACC, do you see a big difference when you play a non-conference opponent?)
"It depends on the team. With certain teams it can be different. When you play the academies or some of those teams it's option football. Pretty much everybody else throws the ball a pretty good bit."

(Q: How did the Notre Dame game come about?)
"About two weeks after I got the job, Dr. Yow came to me and asked if I would want to play Notre Dame in the Kickoff Classic and I said, 'yes, I would be very excited about doing that.' At that time, obviously, two weeks after taking the job, I didn't really know what we had, but I thought it would be tremendous exposure for our players and our school. Having played Notre Dame at Georgia Tech, I thought it was a great experience. Their tradition is as good or better than any school in the country and I didn't think we had much to lose and we had a lot to gain so it is a very big game for our program. I just hope we go out now and perform to our capabilities."

(Q: Do you notice a change in players' attitudes coming into this year after the success you had a year ago?)
"Yeah, it was real obvious in the spring and kind of the highlights in my day. When you deal with all of the problems of being a head coach, to go out to practice and our kids knew how to practice. You know, the thing we have now that we didn't have last year at this time is an expectation level; its a confidence. Our players have been to a BCS bowl, they liked it, they want to go back. At this time last year, they didn't know whether they could do it and they just wanted to win six games. So there is this new confidence now and that's good. Now we just need to see where we are going to go from there."