When coach Randy Edsall took the helm of the Terrapin football team in January, he inherited a program that appeared to have moved beyond the adversity of a dismal 2009 campaign.
But largely lost among the promise of the Terps’ program when Edsall signed on were the problems lingering from the tenure of former coach Ralph Friedgen, who led the team to a 9-4 record last season before having his contract bought out.
As Edsall looks to manage the loss of three scholarships for the upcoming season due to the team’s poor Academic Progress Rate performance under Friedgen, though, he seemed confident his hands-on approach will help improve the team’s substandard academic standing shortly.
“We have to play the cards that we were dealt. This was a hand that we were dealt,” Edsall said in a teleconference yesterday. “I’m not going to focus on the past. I’m going to focus on the now and the future, and I feel really, really good about the things that we’re putting into place to allow our young men to be successful in the classroom.
“They understand that they’re going to be held to a very high standard in everything that they do.”
While Edsall’s sentiment mirrors that of collegiate programs across the country, his track record suggests he’s capable of revamping the program’s performance in the classroom. In his 12 seasons at Connecticut, the Huskies were honored by the American Football Coaches Association five times for high graduation rates, and Athletics Director Kevin Anderson cited Edsall’s strong focus on academics as a major selling point when he announced his hire earlier this year.
With the Terps’ announcement Saturday that their most recent APR of 922 out of a possible 1,000 had resulted in a loss of three of the team’s 85 scholarships for the upcoming season, Edsall’s concern with classroom performance takes on added importance.
The APR is a rolling, four-year statistic, and the Terps can prevent future sanctions with evidence of academic improvement.
Edsall, who has been a driving force behind an overhaul of the team’s academic-support unit, said he will take an involved role in the team’s academic progress and has scheduled weekly meetings with his support staff for individual reports on each of his players.
“Number one, I want young men to come here that have the ability to help us win an ACC Championship,” Edsall said. “But … when we recruit a young man, academics has to be important, and getting a degree has to be a big priority.”
Edsall also announced that Monday will be the off-day for the team this fall. The program had traditionally given its players Sundays off, but Edsall said he sees a schedule with Sunday practices and Mondays vacant as affording players greater flexibility off the field.
“My philosophy is to give the players off on Mondays during the season so they can take labs,” Edsall said. “They can go meet professors … doing that when there are office hours and there are classes that they need.
“That’ll really be a big academic day for them.”
Edsall added that as the Terps continue their spring practice slate, he expects his current efforts off the field to improve his team’s academic performance almost immediately.
“It’s just changing the culture in terms of the expectations when it comes to academics,” Edsall said. “I’m a guy that thinks we can get it done right away. That’s what we’re going to shoot for. Hopefully, [we will] get a lot of it fixed by the end of this semester.”
cwalsh@umdbk.com
