Posts Tagged ‘Terrapin football’

April 16th, 2009 | 03:34 pm

Spring Practice No. 10 – No Rest for the Hungry

This morning the Terp football team had the first of three successive days of workouts.

The rains this week washed out Tuesday’s practice. And coach Ralph Friedgen was forced to slide in a workout tomorrow afternoon before Saturday’s scrimmage to keep the team on schedule for its 15 spring practices, which will culminate in the Red-White game next weekend.

The ninth-year coach lamented the tough scheduling following the practice, saying his hands were tied given the weather and class schedules. With the compressed schedule, the team’s time in the film room will be cut short, according to Friedgen.

“I’m running out of days,” he said.

To make matters worse, Friedgen said he noticed his team tiring at the end of the workout for the first time this spring. He blamed the problem on not making sure the players finished breakfast, which may have contributed to low blood sugar and a lack of focus.

At a press conference to kick off the spring, Friedgen talked about making sure the players got a good breakfast, even with the early morning workouts and suggested he would add extra breakfast lines to streamline the process.

So Friedgen is mindful of the stress weeks like this cause on his players. He noted that it would’ve been easier for scheduling purposes to stick with a similar schedule that involved practicing on Friday, when there are fewer classes to plan around.

But Friedgen, apparently, isn’t that cruel.

“I wouldn’t want to interrupt those three-day weekends,” Friedgen said.

TERP NOTE: Best play of the day came courtesy Da’Rel Scott. The junior running back calmly lobbed a halfback pass to Torrey Smith during the full-team portion of practice that completely fooled the defense. It was reminiscent of his 9-yard touchdown pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey against Wake Forest and provided a reminder that he finished last season with more passing yards than former Terp quarterback Josh Portis.
edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

April 15th, 2009 | 09:16 pm

I like my soda like I like my football team…

In Wednesday’s edition of The Diamondback, I have a short profile of new special teams coordinator Charles Bankins. The timing was right for such a piece. Once the season starts, any focus on the special teams will likely be on the questionable kicking situation or dynamic returner Torrey Smith. But right now, the team is trying to adapt to its third coach in three years and Bankins is trying to get situated in the position after just taking over in late February.

The thing I most took away from my interview with Bankins is how different he is then outgoing coach Danny Pearman. Pearman, a longtime ACC assistant, is a good guy who has a lot of passion for the game, but he has a little bit of a gruff exterior.

Bankins is more dynamic. The day after he was hired, I reached him in his new office at Gossett Team House and he made time to answer all my questions about his past and future. He seems like he’d be a good recruiter and a good, patient teacher of the game. The players and other coaches seem to get along with him well. And although this is his first time with a major college football program, he seems to be adjusting well.

But I couldn’t find a spot in my story for my favorite Bankins moment that perhaps most illustrates my above point.

At the end of our 10+ minute interview following an 8 am weekday workout, I was drawing thin on things to ask him, but I was having so much fun in the interview, I wanted it to go on a little longer.

“Coach,” I said. “I see you got two Mountain Dews there. You need a little pick-me-up at this point in the day.”

“Nah. This one is a spare,” Bankins said, flashing a broad smile. “It’s like the two-deep on special teams. I have one, and I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”

Of course.
edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

March 24th, 2009 | 05:45 pm

Leadership in a nut shell

This comes from the file of the right thing to say at exactly the right time.

There was a lot of talk at the Terps spring football press luncheon today about leadership and replacing the 31 seniors from last year’s Humanitarian Bowl-winning squad.

At times, it even got a little nostalgic. Both offensive coordinator James Franklin and quarterback Chris Turner described former center Edwin Williams as “irreplaceable” for his on-field enthusiasm. Wide receiver Torrey Smith called walking on to the practice field and not seeing former wide receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey, Danny Oquendo and Isaiah Williams “awkward.” Turner addressed some of his departed teammates and the lack of seniors on offense before concluding, “There’s definitely a void to fill.”

But one player in particular offered a very different take on the situation. That was senior defensive tackle Travis Ivey, who gained praise minutes earlier from coach Ralph Friedgen for his maturity and newfound leadership.

Ivey didn’t let his coach down.

“They were all character guys, nice guys, but they weren’t very boisterous,” Ivey said of the departed seniors. “They led by example. A lot of the guys we have now actually talk a little bit more. I miss a lot of my friends. I just saw Dean Muhtadi before I came in here, and we had a nice conversation. A lot of us, we were waiting our turn to be leaders. A lot of us already are leaders. I think that we’re ready to take on the challenges of leading this team.”

And so Terp life goes on…

edetweilerdbk@gmail.com

September 30th, 2008 | 05:15 pm

Bad Day for Heyward-Bey

Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey made his lone touch in Saturday’s win at Clemson memorable when he broke off a career-high 76-yard run, which set up the Terps first touchdown.

But the play overshadowed a poor game for Heyward-Bey. It was the second straight year the Tigers held the Terps’ No. 1 receiver without a catch and just the third time Heyward-Bey has gone catchless in his three-year career. (The other was his first career game against William & Mary in 2006.)

After the game, Friedgen said Heyward-Bey had apologized for his performance, which included a pair of drops.

At Tuesday’s press conference, Friedgen was clear about what went wrong.

“We tried to throw the ball to him,” Friedgen said. “There were plays designed to get him the ball. He dropped two. The other ones he didn’t get open. They’re covering him. They want to take him out of the game.”

It was the first game in which Heyward-Bey to find the end zone for the Terps. And Friedgen said it won’t stop the Terps from continuing to find ways to get the junior speedster the ball – as long as Heyward-Bey does his part.

“Darrius is always going to be a major part of our gameplan,” Friedgen said. “We’re going to do what we gotta do, but he’s got to do it, too.”

edetweilerdbk@gmail.com