Ralph Friedgen had to say what was on his mind.

After a media member questioned senior quarterback Jordan Steffy’s confidence Tuesday, the Terrapin football coach could not hide his emotion.

Friedgen raised his voice before the crowd in the Gosset Team House’s auditorium and said his beleaguered starter with an injured thumb deserved some slack.

“I’ve got a kid who has done everything I can possibly ask him to do,” Friedgen said. “Would I like him to make some better decisions and throw some better passes? Sure. This kid to me is the epitome of what we want in this program.”

Despite the passionate appeal on Steffy’s behalf, Friedgen said it was too early to name a starter for Saturday’s game at Middle Tennessee.

Steffy’s status for the game is still up in the air. He had X-rays on his thumb Tuesday morning after missing Monday’s practice. Steffy tried to do some work on Monday, but offensive coordinator James Franklin told him to rest. The fifth-year quarterback dressed for practice Tuesday but did not participate.

The results of the X-rays were not revealed, but Franklin called Steffy “very questionable” for Wednesday’s practice, which he would likely have to participate in if he hopes to start Saturday per Friedgen’s rules.

In Steffy’s absence, juniors Chris Turner and Josh Portis split time with the first-team. All three saw action in Saturday’s 14-7 win against Delaware, and Friedgen said he’d wait until later in the week to decide on a starter.

“I’m not sure right now,” Friedgen said. “I want to see how Chris practices this week. I want to see how Josh practices this week. We’ll play the guy I feel can best help us win the football game.”

Steffy and Turner were not available for comment.

But Friedgen did promise that Steffy will make an impact again this season, saying his senior starter, who started the first five games last season before sustaining a concussion, will come in and win a game for the Terps at some point.

“I’m like the father, and if you’re booing my son, I’m going to get upset,” Friedgen said. “That’s how I look at this kid.”

EGEKEZE STILL KICKING

Friedgen said senior kicker Obi Egekeze, who missed three first-half field goals against Delaware, had a good practice Monday and will keep his job.

“He kicked the ball very well last night,” Friedgen said. “I’m hanging with him.”

Each miss against Delaware was from more than 40 yards, and Friedgen said Egekeze, who was 17-23 on field goal attempts last season, needs some confidence.

Portis said it’s the team’s job to keep Egekeze positive.

“I was telling the guys on the sideline, we can’t get down on him,” Portis said. “We might need him later on in the season or later on in the game. If somebody makes mistakes, we’ve got to build confidence on them.”

Friedgen praised Egekeze’s three kickoffs after Saturday’s game and said he knows from experience panicking about some early season misses would be a mistake.

“I was with a guy a couple years ago, Nick Novak, who missed his first seven and now is the leading points scorer in the history of the University of Maryland,” Friedgen said. “Let’s not jump ship too soon.”

BE LIKE JUICE

From making his first collegiate appearance in more than two years Saturday, Portis drew inspiration from watching other games around the country, especially the Illinois-Missouri match-up.

The Florida transfer who ran the ball four times for 10 yards on his only four snaps, said he feels like he can best be utilized when he can drop back and look to throw or run, a la Illinois quarterback Juice Williams, whose Illini fell to the Tigers 52-42 Saturday night.

“I thought Juice Williams did a helluva job with breaking containment and throwing the ball deep and giving his playmakers a chance to go get the ball,” Portis said. “I was thinking that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to open that thing up. We’ve got to take shots.”

Franklin said the Portis “package” is designed to give the team favorable match-ups that should have made his plays more successful, although several times the plays were affected because of errors in calling the play in the huddle.

“He was a little nervous, and that’s completely understandable, but that’ll grow,” Franklin said. “We’ll run him again and throw him some more, and let that package grow.”

edetweilerdbk@gmail.com