Ralph Friedgen believes.
Coming into the University of Maryland football team?s first real test of the season, a nationally televised road game at No. 5 West Virginia Thursday night, the Terps? coach believes his team will mature. Though, he is not sure when.
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“I am anxious to see where our maturity is and how we handle the environment and the situation and how hard we play the game,” Friedgen said at his weekly press conference Tuesday.
Playing West Virginia (2-0) in non-conference game on ESPN presents Maryland (2-0) with an early opportunity to see how it can perform in a big game. Atlantic Coast Conference powers Florida State and Miami await later in the season, but a game against the Mountaineers provides a stiff test without affecting the conference standings.
“If we win this football game, it can do tremendous things for our confidence,” Friedgen said. “I think this team is going to have to win a game like this to develop.”
According to Friedgen, practice has been good in this shortened week, but the excitement level has not been “crazy.”
“They are pretty excited when they play; that?s when it counts,” Friedgen said. “They are not the kind of whoop-it-up-type team in practice.”
Senior cornerback Josh Wilson said that preparing in a short week is a difficult task that some of the younger guys are not used to.
“Most of the time, you have six days to get ready, but for a game on Thursday, you have three,” Wilson said. “You have to getyour body ready quick, and you have to get your mind refocused.”
Having some experienced players like Wilson and senior quarterback Sam Hollenbach will be a much-needed asset this week. Hollenbach has played in Thursday night games and has faced the Mountaineers before.
“That will be a big benefit,” Friedgen said. “The last time, we went up there with a redshirt freshman that had not played, and we turned it over five times and went into overtime.”
“This is a kind of a dream,” Hollenbach said. “I can remember in high school thinking about playing on national TV and playing on ESPN.”
Hollenbach said the key for himself and his teammates will be to avoid adding pressure because of the magnitude of the game and its surroundings.
“We can?t play anything less than the best to beat West Virginia,” he said.
TERPS WIDE OUT
» Hollenbach said that he and his receivers are growing more comfortable each week and learning more and more from each other. He would not say how much the offense would spread the field against the Mountaineers.
» Redshirt freshman Darrius Heyward-Bey could see more action at wideout this week. “He is just getting better, and it is only going to be a matter of time before he is really an exceptional football player,” Friedgen said.
» Wide receiver Drew Weatherly is out for another two weeks. Weatherly, the only senior receiver on the team, is recovering from a foot injury that has sidelined him so far this season.
