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ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 21, 2011

Randy Edsall

THE MODERATOR: We welcome Maryland head coach Randy Edsall.
COACH EDSALL: Well, we have got to get back on the winning track this weekend. We have got to get back to eliminating the penalties and the turnovers that we had last week, and we know we have got a very tough ballgame in Temple. Temple is a team that very easily could be 3-0. Played Penn State right to the wire. And you know, we just have to get back out on the practice field again today and have another good day and be ready to play.

Q. How have you seen the offense bounce back, albeit in practice the last two days, but bounce back as far as crispness or tempo with the new receivers who are out there and Danny getting more acclimated with them and getting back to how you were in week one.
COACH EDSALL: I thought, you know, we don't -- on Sunday, we really don't practice because of the 17 1/2 hours that we had, we just watch film and we lift and then they do some conditioning because of being limited. So we were back out on the practice field. Monday is a day off. Tuesday is the first day of practice. And I thought it went well.
Again, you know, those receivers have been out there and have run routes before with Danny, so it's just a matter of everybody learning the game plan and everybody getting repetitions. Today is a third down day for us, and we'll work there and then have another day tomorrow to go over everything.
But no, I thought the kids came back to practice yesterday with good focus and mind-set and you know they understand that when we leave here, when they leave here on Sunday that, previous game is over and we move on and look forward to the next game. We don't dwell on what happened in the past.

Q. When you look at Temple on film, what do you point to, this is why they gave Penn State such a hard time last week.
COACH EDSALL: They have got good players. They have got good players and they play very hard, they play very physical. They love to run the power on offense and very physical running team. And on defense, they have good athletes who run to the ball extremely well, and they play -- they play a four-down scheme.
They will get into some three-down stuff but again they are just a team that has good athletes, well coached and really, really play hard and go full speed for 60 minutes.

Q. What do you want to see your team do better this week than they did last week?
COACH EDSALL: Well, what I want us to see, offensively, I want us to see us not turn the ball over. I think those were the big things for us offensively. We have only punted three times in two games. So we only punted one time -- well, twice last week.
But you know, we have been moving the ball and we did better in the red zone but we have just got to eliminate the turnovers, eliminate the penalties on offense, and just be -- just continue to be -- work to get more sharp and more crisp every game.
Defensively what we need to do is we need to tackle better. Again we need to eliminate penalties that hurt us the last game. And you know, again, just playing smart, fundamental and disciplined football.

Q. Since you were on this call a week ago, your alma mater is now in the ACC, your former employers are still in the Big East, but mentioned possibly going to the ACC. I know you have got a lot of other things on your mind, but can you even imagine what it's like for those Big East schools this week?
COACH EDSALL: No. I mean, and I think that was always a concern of the football coaches in the Big East. The expansion took place a few years ago, and then what was going to happen. Those were discussions that always took place, and what the Big East was going to do to try to fortify its football membership.
Now they have got some concerns -- as it is now, I'm very happy for my alma mater in terms of Syracuse coming here. I think the ACC was very proactive in terms of what they did. And you know, you get two really good football programs in Pitt and Syracuse to come in here.
So again, I applaud the leadership of the ACC for getting that done, and like I said, I know that that was always a concern of exactly what was going to happen amongst the football coaches in the Big East.

Q. How does this Temple team compare to the one you faced last year?
COACH EDSALL: I think they are a very good team. I think they are very comparable to a year ago. They lost some guys but they obviously replaced those guys with good people. I have been very impressed with them on film.
As I said you look at them defensively, fourth in the country in total defense or scoring defense and then you see eighth against the sacks, and they are up there in total defense. Offensively, Bernard Pierce is as good as any running back you'll find; big offensive linemen who have a lot of experience. Start four senior offensive linemen, Aaron (ph) and one junior; so there's plenty of experience, a lot of starts there, and again, you know, quarterbacks that are smart, athletic, good wide receivers. So very, very impressed with Temple and who they are.

Q. And talking about the quarterbacks, Chester Stewart was named a starter yesterday, but are you expecting to see both of these guys play against y'all on Saturday?
COACH EDSALL: I don't know. Steve has not called me and told me he was going to play both of them. If he calls me then I'll expect both of them, but I don't think he's going to call me (chuckling).
Again, we have seen both of them on film. So what we have to do is we have to be prepared for who is ever in there. Chester has been named a starter so we have seen him on film a little bit this year. He has not played as much. And Mike was out there. So we are going to be prepared for both, but you know, again, who is ever in there for him, they can do all of the things they want them to do.

Q. Kevin Dorsey, a guy who was a marginal player, and now one of the most productive wide receivers in the ACC; what's changed and what is he doing now to make him so productive?
COACH EDSALL: I think that there was just some guys that were here, that are playing in the NFL right now, so he's kind of had to wait his turn I guess a little bit.
But the one thing is, Kevin is an extremely hard worker. He's a guy that really put a lot of effort into developing himself and into getting to the point that he's at. Studies the film extensively. You know, understands the game. He's got size. He's got strength. He's a guy that plays special teams for us as well.
So I think it's just a matter of him coming and him and Danny have worked extremely hard throughout the summer to develop a bond and a relationship on the field where they have great chemistry. And I think Danny has a lot of trust in him and Kevin is always going to be where Danny expects him to be.

Q. I wanted to ask, but Danny had a great freshman year last year but coming into this year, he really lost almost all his top receivers, as you say, a bunch of them are playing in the NFL and there's a lot of questions, would he be as effective and obviously he has been. Can you talk about how you've managed to replace the really productive guys from last year with guys that are being just as productive this year?
COACH EDSALL: Well, I said during the preseason, because people I thought had a lot of questions about our wide receivers, and you know, I felt very confident with the wide receivers that we had. Just watching them work and watching them spend the time to grasp the new system.
I just think it's a matter of guys that want to do well and I think guy there's guys that have little bit of a chip on their shoulder as well to prove that, hey, we are pretty good and we can play this game, and we want to show people that we are capable.
Again, I think it's just a lot of hard work by a lot of individuals to go out there and to perform and also, that hey, they get the starting role as opposed to being in the backup situation.

Q. Speaking of the receivers, how have you seen Coxson's progress coming off the injury and working his way through special teams and how close is he to getting receiver reps?
COACH EDSALL: Right now he would be probably our seventh receiver, right now, where we stand with the two young men suspended. So he would really be ninth after that.
He's a young man that got hurt and set back, and how he's trying to work his way back into a role from a special teams standpoint first, because it's very, very difficult because all of the other guys have out played him at wide receiver right now.
So we'll just have to keep monitoring him as he goes, and he's just got to continue to work very, very hard. So when an opportunity presents itself, then he's got to do a good job and what we do is we evaluate -- he's on the scout team and we evaluate the guys on the scout team and those guys that are putting forth the effort and show us that if somebody does get injured, that they should come up and be the replacement, then they will be the replacement.
He's just got to make the most of his opportunities on scout team and show us that he is ready to play, he's come back from the ankle injury and he's ready to go.
THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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