Randy Edsall Press Conference Recap
Head coach Randy Edsall held his weekly press conference with the media Tuesday, getting into a bit of the specifics on the team and their opponent, William & Mary.
These things tend to be filled with lots of coach-speak, but I’ll gladly give you some of the highlights.
On William & Mary:
“Extremely well-coached. Defensively, they create a lot of problems for you in terms of their scheme.”
“DW Webb, their corner and return guy stands out on film.”
“When you watch William & Mary on film, they’re going to run the zone, power, play action on offense. They’re gonna move the pocket, use three step, five step. They’re multiple in terms of what they do. They’re gonna take their shots down the field.”
“Defensively, they’re gonna fire zone you. Bring outside LBs, inside LBs, safeties. I’m sure they’re gonna bring ’em more with a freshman quareteback.”
On Nick Ferrara’s Injuries
“Nick is really kind of a day-to-day situation. He’ll probably do some kicking today…10 field goals.”
“We’ll see how Nick plays out the rest of the week.”
On Brandon Ross beating Pickett for the starting RB job:
“He was the most consistent guy. That’s why he ended up being number one. W have some backs that have different qualities. We’ll probably play three guys in the game in terms of running backs.”
On Perry Hills, the freshman quarterback:
“Any time it’s a first year guy going out and playing nobody knows he he’ll react or how well he’s going to do but all signs point to him going out and playing well.”
“He just needs to execute the offense and do the things that he needs to do from the quarterback position….I’m not going to lose any sleep during this week knowing that we’re going in with a true freshman because he doesn’t conduct himself as a true freshman.”
“I think the biggest thing is that we as a staff, we don’t go in with too much. We go in and do the things that he can handle. Let him know that he has ten guys around him…. Perry has to make first downs…Every play doesn’t have to be a big play. His job is just to move the chains and get the ball into the end zone. He just needs to go out and play the game.”
“I just think he’s a cool, very easy-going customer.”
“We saw film on him but we also had him here in our camp and had a chance to work with him while he was here in our camp… Being able to make all the throws….It’s the poise and command and presence that he had was what really impressed me and the rest of the staff.”
“I’ve always had pretty good luck, with guys who are wrestlers who ended up playing football…I really like guys that wrestle and play football…what wrestling brings from a mental toughness standpoint.”
On the defensive line rotation:
“We’ll have six to rotate in there in terms of Joe and Quinton at the ends. Aj and Justin Anderson, and Darius and Alex at the nose guard…Isaiah won’t be ready.”
On the toughest thing about playing freshmen:
“Probably the toughest thing in terms of the freshmen is getting them to go full speed….They’re thinking instead of going and playing. We have to tell them, “You’re going to make mistakes, but make the mistakes going full speed.” We can’t have them tentative…What they might lack in experience, they’re going to make up for in ability.”
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So there you have it, some nice little tidbits from Edsall’s presser. I like that he has so much confidence in Perry. It gives me a good feeling heading into Saturday that Hills is going to perform well. He also said some things about limiting the offensive package to things that Perry was sure to excel in, and other guys stepping up around him, which is a good thing. The onus won’t fall on just Perry, as Maryland has plenty of backs and good receivers to help him out.
Go here to watch the full press conference.