Opening Statement:
“It’s going to be a lot of fun Saturday to be able to go up to M&T Bank Stadium and play in Baltimore. I know our guys are excited about it to get up there and play in a great venue in the biggest city in the state. We know we got a tremendous challenge. We haven’t beaten West Virginia in seven [straight games]. They’re a very good football team that is playing well at this point in time so were going to have to make sure that we go out and have a good week of practice and prepare the right way and execute and be more productive offensively and minimize big plays defensively in order to give ourselves an opportunity to win on Saturday afternoon.”
On defensive back William Likely:
“I think if you just listen to what I’ve said about Will it shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody that he’s gone in and stepped right in and has done the things that we’ve asked him to do on the field. Since the day that Will got here, he’s been extremely competitive. He was well coached coming out of high school. He had good knowledge of the position. He had good fundamentals and he had good technique and all he’s done is just gone out and continue to compete, continue to learn the different fundamentals that we had here and the different techniques that we had. What he’s doing on the field is not a surprise to me or our coaching staff because these are the things that we saw from him when he got here in January. He plays like he’s a seasoned veteran. ‘Will he make mistakes?’ Yes, just like every player. But it’s not a surprise how he’s playing. That’s just how the kid practices. If we had everybody practice the way he practices and the way he competes, we’d be even better. That’s not a knock on anybody else, it’s just he really competes at a high level and he practices at a high level and at a fast pace each and every day. He’s very knowledgeable, he’s a great listener, he understands it, and he’s one of those guys that puts it behind him whenever the play’s over. If it’s good, bad or indifferent, he moves on to the next play. He’s a talented young man.”
On the success of Maryland’s pass rush this season:
“I think the pass rush is a combination of a couple of things, number one, you got to have guys that have a desire to get to the quarterback. You got to have guys that have more than one move, guys that can do things from a technique standpoint that’s going to allow them to combat the things that the offensive lineman is doing in terms of protection. I think it helps when you have guys on either side plus you have guys that have speed and quickness, and power in the middle. So I think it’s a combination of a lot of guys working together and guys taking a lot of pride in trying to get pressure on the quarterback with four guys and working together, whether it’s running stunts or straight speed rushes. Again, I think it’s an attitude. I think it’s an attitude and guys that have ability and take pride in trying to get to the quarterback and getting sacks.”
On wide receiver Taivon Jacobs:
“He’s No. 2 on the depth chart right now, because we’ve had some injuries there. We’ll just take a look at how he practices this week and we’ll make a determination from there if there is a possibility for him to get on the field or what we’ll do. But he’s a young man who got tremendous speed. He’s again a guy that really works hard. And he’s like said, he can run. He’s a good route runner. Speed is something that you can never have enough of. And again, we’ll just see how it works this week at practice.”
On playing the game in Baltimore:
“We’re trying to continue to develop the Maryland pride. With the city being as large as it is, and also having that venue, M&T Bank Stadium there in Baltimore, when you do have the opportunity being that we’re the flagship university here in the state and we’re the only state school that’s an FBS, it’s something that I think is important to us. It’s accessible. It’s easy to get to. And again when you’re talking about the fan support in this state for football, there are a lot of football fans. And so, the more that we can do to develop that Maryland pride, get the people from Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and the surrounding counties to be involved with what we’re doing I think it’s a win for us. We’re going to continue to do that and again I think from the standpoint you take a look at the number of kids that we have from the state, and from that area, that are going to be participating. It’s a great way for the people in Baltimore and in Baltimore County to come out and support some of their own, and the rest of the football team. So we’re looking forward to it and hope that we can go up there and play really well on Saturday.”
