Ralph Friedgen played guard at Maryland from 1965–69 (left). When Friedgen became head coach at his alma mater in 2001 (below), success came quickly—he led the Terps to the Orange Bowl in his first season and was named NCAA Coach of the Year. Friedgen also began the tradition of singing the “Victory Song” after each win (right).
THE FRIDGE FILE AGE: 57 GRADUATION YEAR: 1970, 1972 M.A. RESIDENCE: Olney, Md. CAREER: Football Coach, 1969–present
How Things Have Come Full Circle on the Maryland Gridiron “The kids really didn’t understand what comes along with winning,” Friedgen says. “Now they do.You go to bowl games, and you get honored.That’s all part of it.The fact that I had been there before helped give credibility to some of the things I was trying to get across to them.” The Terps’ outstanding wide receiverkick returner, Steve Suter, remembers the aura that surrounded Friedgen when he arrived in 2001. “We knew he was a winner,” says Suter, who will be a senior this season. “It was like, if we can’t win with this guy, then we’re not going to win.We fed off his winning vibes.” Suter and his teammates are now aiming for something Friedgen sports from his days as offensive coordinator of the 1990 Georgia Tech squad—a national championship ring.The coach points to recruiting as the key for the program to elevate another notch and contend for the national title, saying the Terps’ last two recruiting classes have been excellent.The 2004 recruiting class, in fact, is one of the best in the nation and in school history. But the coach adds, “We’re probably another recruiting class away from being there.” “I’m always going to push the envelope to be the best we can be,” Friedgen says.
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“But as good as we’ve been, I still think we can be better.” The entry of Miami and Virginia Tech into the ACC this season is also likely to impact Maryland’s chances of ascending to the national elite. Miami, a perennial power and winner of the national championship in 2001, finished No. 5 in both major polls last season.Virginia Tech was unranked last season but has played in bowl games 11 of the past 12 years. Friedgen says Maryland is on par with if not better than Virginia Tech, pointing out that the Terps have been ranked higher than the Hokies in the major season-ending polls for the past three seasons. Maryland plays Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg this season but does not face Miami, who Friedgen admits has had a more lofty football tradition. But he touts how Maryland destroyed West Virginia twice last season by a total score of 75–14, while the Hurricanes needed a late surge to squeak past their then-Big East opponent. According to Friedgen, Miami and Virginia Tech will fortify what he calls a “pretty strong conference” that already features Florida State and Clemson—both ranked at season’s end—as well as alwaystough Georgia Tech,Virginia and NC State.The ACC finished 5–1 in bowl games last season. “The ACC is a very powerful conference not only from a talent standpoint but
Ones to Watch
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Steve Suter
Josh Allen
Domonique Foxworth
Shawne Merriman
Vernon Davis
Wesley Jefferson
Senior WR-Kick Returner, 5’10”, 192 lbs.: One of the most exciting players in the nation in recent seasons, he should be completely healed in 2004 after playing last year with a torn meniscus. He’s one touchdown on a punt return from tying the NCAA career record.
Junior RB, 5’11”, 207 lbs.: He’ll enter the season as the starter after sharing time last season with Bruce Perry. Strong, with breakaway speed, he gained 957 yards rushing in 2003.
Senior CB, 5’11”, 177 lbs.: Will be looked upon for providing stability in a secondary that lost three key seniors last season. He intercepted three passes last year, returning one for a touchdown.
Junior LB, 6’4”, 253 lbs.: A super-athletic player who was quietly one of the ACC’s leaders in sacks and tackles-forloss last season. This season will be his first as a definitive full-time starter.
Sophomore TE, 6’3”, 231 lbs.: His physical gifts suggest that some day he will be a star. He caught one pass for 28 yards in the Gator Bowl, but his role will likely increase in 2004.
Redshirt Freshman LB, 6’1”, 233 lbs.: The toprated prep linebacker in the country in 2002, he redshirted last season to get stronger. He’ll compete at the weakside linebacker position, and his nose for the ball makes him an interesting player to watch.
TERP SPRING
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPORTS INFORMATION
from a media standpoint,” Friedgen says. “I don’t think there’s a better place to be than the ACC right now.” The coach says he plans to shoot for another 10-win season in 2004 but acknowledges that he must do so with a very young and inexperienced squad. He says he faces serious challenges in replacing such stars as quarterback Scott McBrien,
who was 21–6 as a starter and earned most valuable player honors in Maryland’s Peach Bowl and Gator Bowl wins the last two seasons. The Terps also lost running back Bruce Perry, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2001, and three-quarters of a top-notch defensive backfield in Curome Cox, Madieu Williams and Dennard Wilson. “We’ve got a lot of players who will be
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31–8 record in three seasons as Maryland head coach
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Has coached Terps to three 10-win seasons; Maryland is one of only five teams in the country to do so over the threeyear span.
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Winner of the Peach Bowl and Gator Bowl as coach at Maryland; his Terps lost in the Orange Bowl in the 2001 season
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Consensus NCAA National Coach of the Year in 2001
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32 seasons as an assistant football coach, 27 in college football
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Won the Frank Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the country in 1999
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Offensive coordinator for Georgia Tech teams that won the Gator Bowl in the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
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Offensive coordinator of the 1990 NCAA co-champions, Georgia Tech
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Offensive coordinator of a Maryland team that appeared in four straight bowl games in the 1980s and won the Sun Bowl in 1984 and Cherry Bowl in 1985
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Five seasons as an assistant coach for the San Diego Chargers (1992-1996)
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Offensive coordinator of the Chargers team that played in Super Bowl XXIX in January 1995
Alumni Get in the Game Maryland football has gone high-tech thanks to the ingenuity of two former players: Kevin Plank ’97 and Jess Atkinson ’85. Plank, a former Maryland football player, is the founder and president of Under Armour, the new exclusive outfitter of Maryland football. The company makes gear using an original microfiber, moisturewicking fabric that is designed to keep athOn Maryland Day, the Terps wore uniforms made by letes cool, dry and quick in the heat of Under Armour, a company founded by alumnus Kevin competition. Plank (pictured second from right). Under Armour advertises prominently on a revolutionary television Web site called FridgeTV.com, the brainchild of Atkinson, a kicker for Maryland from 1982 to 1984. Atkinson, a television sports anchor for a dozen years, shoots a lot of the footage using a digital camera. Fridge TV, which debuted last season, is perhaps the most advanced example of a college coach communicating directly with fans through the Internet. Those on the site witness Webcasts of home games and game highlights, pre-game and post-game news conferences, team meetings and locker room exchanges between Friedgen and his players.
TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF WASHINGTON POST; BOTTOM PHOTO BY LISA HELFERT
first-year players, so we’ll see how they accept their role,” Suter says. “The seniors really need to step up and take control of the younger kids and make sure everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to do.” Winning a national championship, Suter adds, is something the team would love to accomplish, but “who knows if we can do it this year.Winning the ACC title is definitely on our minds because that would take us to a BCS [Bowl Championship Series] game.We’re not settling for anything less.” TERP TERP SPRING
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