The annual Red-White game is just two days away. The players see the end of spring practice over the horizon. So, the obvious outcome is that practice No. 14 is not as crisp as the previous 13.
Not so said head coach Ralph Friedgen after Thursday's two-hour workout at the team's practice facility.
Not so said head coach Ralph Friedgen after Thursday's two-hour workout at the team's practice facility.
"I'm pretty excited about our team," Friedgen said. "I really am. I just told them today. It's our 14th practice, we're out in shells and they were full of vim and vigor. There aren't a lot of teams in the country that are out killing grass in the 14th practice. So I thought we had a good practice. I thought we played fast."
One of the focuses of spring practice was to determine the strengths of the team and play to those as much as possible.
"We've cut things back," Friedgen said. "We sat down as an offense and said, 'What are our strengths? What do our kids do best?' We went through all the plays we ran last year and the plays we were struggling with. Not that we won't do those, but we said 'let's get good at something,' and I think that's been the right approach to take."
The players seem to be buying into that strategy, especially on the offensive side of the ball where the Terps were productive in the first two scrimmages.
"I've had a number of kids come in and say 'Coach we're really confident in what we're doing with the five or six plays running plays we have.' And the protection has been better," Friedgen said.
Friedgen said Justin Gilbert and R.J. Dill, who are scheduled to be the starting left and right tackles, have improved from last year and called left guard Andrew Gonnella "like a different person."
The play of the offensive line has also helped the explosiveness of the tailbacks and the solid play of the quarterbacks. "I think Da'Rel Scott and Davin Meggett have also had great springs," Friedgen said. "Jamarr Robinson just got to keep good things in and the bad things out and he'll be very good."
Robinson is the only scholarship quarterback with playing experience, starting two of the final four games last season. Friedgen is looking forward to seeing how Danny O'Brien and C.J. Brown perform under the bright lights of Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
"Kids sometimes get nervous in the spring game," Friedgen said. "There are people in the stands, the coaches are not on the field and the parents are there. I'm not sure what it is, but sometimes they freeze up. So this will be a good indication of how O'Brien and Brown are going to play."
The team is off until Saturday's Red-White Spring Game. Friedgen and the players will be available for autographs from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the concourse of Byrd Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
One of the focuses of spring practice was to determine the strengths of the team and play to those as much as possible.
"We've cut things back," Friedgen said. "We sat down as an offense and said, 'What are our strengths? What do our kids do best?' We went through all the plays we ran last year and the plays we were struggling with. Not that we won't do those, but we said 'let's get good at something,' and I think that's been the right approach to take."
The players seem to be buying into that strategy, especially on the offensive side of the ball where the Terps were productive in the first two scrimmages.
"I've had a number of kids come in and say 'Coach we're really confident in what we're doing with the five or six plays running plays we have.' And the protection has been better," Friedgen said.
Friedgen said Justin Gilbert and R.J. Dill, who are scheduled to be the starting left and right tackles, have improved from last year and called left guard Andrew Gonnella "like a different person."
The play of the offensive line has also helped the explosiveness of the tailbacks and the solid play of the quarterbacks. "I think Da'Rel Scott and Davin Meggett have also had great springs," Friedgen said. "Jamarr Robinson just got to keep good things in and the bad things out and he'll be very good."
Robinson is the only scholarship quarterback with playing experience, starting two of the final four games last season. Friedgen is looking forward to seeing how Danny O'Brien and C.J. Brown perform under the bright lights of Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.
"Kids sometimes get nervous in the spring game," Friedgen said. "There are people in the stands, the coaches are not on the field and the parents are there. I'm not sure what it is, but sometimes they freeze up. So this will be a good indication of how O'Brien and Brown are going to play."
The team is off until Saturday's Red-White Spring Game. Friedgen and the players will be available for autographs from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on the concourse of Byrd Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
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