Photo by Adam Fried/The Diamondback
Standing behind the same podium he stands behind every Tuesday during the season, Ralph Friedgen addressed many of the same members of the media asking many of the same questions they had asked the week before.
The hulking Terrapin football coach fielded concerns over injuries, first-year starting quarterback Chris Turner and bouncing back from a 16-13 loss at North Carolina just three days prior. Then a reporter asked the right question — an inquiry into the state of the program. And the then-60-year-old coach cracked.
The response that day, Nov. 6, 2007, was a spiraling, staggering two-minute speech packed with enough emotion that the coach was forced to visibly hold back tears. He had a chance to win that game — with 41 seconds left, the Terps were just two yards from the end zone. Friedgen, then serving as his own offensive coordinator, called a play where Turner rolled to his left, only to be hurried by the Tar Heel defense and forced to throw the ball away.
The broad question about the state of the program became applicable at that moment. Because the Terps’ future turned dramatically that week.
“I should have made the call … it cost us the game,” Friedgen said. “That’s when I knew. You gotta be prepared for every situation. … I just didn’t think I could do all it well — the way I expect it to be done.”
The Ralph Friedgen of the 2007 season battled frustration on a daily basis. He was overworked even as his team battled with mediocrity, finishing with a 6-7 record. In 2006, his first year serving as offensive coordinator in addition to his head coaching duties, the Terps went 9-4 after back-to-back 5-6 seasons. But 2007 proved enough to the alumnus-turned-coach. Change was necessary.
In the last year and a half, Friedgen has stripped himself of offensive coordinator duties. He’s named his hire, James Franklin, as the future head coach of the program. He’s hired new defensive and special-teams coordinators. And he’s lost more than 100 pounds at the behest of family members and to the benefit of his health.
The Terps wrapped up training camp Saturday with a morning session. Their last practice was supposed to be that evening, but Friedgen canceled it. For the first time in his tenure with the Terps, he only used 28-of-29 allotted practices in camp.
Then again, Friedgen canceled a night session Friday, Aug. 21, as well, opting to take the team to the movies. (They saw District 9. When asked for a review, the generally conservative Friedgen responded, “They liked it,” with a shrug.) And he’s spent the latter part of camp trying to ease the burden on his players, worried they would over-exert themselves heading into a tough opener at No. 12 California on Saturday.
“He’s definitely different,” linebacker Alex Wujciak said. “I tell him all the time, he’s going soft on us. He’s lost all that weight. He’s more energetic. He’s happier. He’s a changed man — just in practice and talking and in meetings, he just seems more upbeat.”
Friedgen emphasizes his team’s passion and his new coaching staff as the reasons for his jovial mood — one that often has him grinning and telling stories in post-practice sessions with the media. But there’s little doubt his weight loss — Friedgen peaked at 401 pounds last season, but has dropped 105 pounds as of early August and hopes to lose 150 total — has helped give him the energy to laugh.
“It’s not rocket science — the guy’s lost 105 pounds,” Franklin said. “Just imagine carrying 105 pounds around with you every single day. That’s going to affect your mood.”
Friedgen uses the Medifast diet — eating five meals a day supplied through the Owings Mills, Md., company, and avoiding bread since last October.
He plans to continue the diet through the season — “It really works with his schedule,” his wife, Gloria Friedgen, said — as he navigates an inexperienced team through a difficult lineup of opponents. These Terps return with just seven playerswho started more than half of the team’s 13 games last year. But thus far, they’ve been defined by an attitude best described as youthful exuberance, one that has translated onto the practice field.
It’s that machism that has Friedgen worried his players are going too hard. It’s moments like when Wujciak, who recorded a team-leading 133 tackles last year, complains about being rested in a scrimmage after having knee problems earlier in the day. And the twinkle in the ninth-year coach’s eye signifies something more than coach-speak.
“He may have said some of those things in the past, but I just think there’s a genuine affection now,” Gloria Friedgen said. “He’s always cared about all of his players … but this team — their youthful confidence … you definitely get an energy from this team.”
Friedgen has also relied heavily on his new coaches. New defensive coordinator Don Brown has come in with an all-over-the-place system and with a bit of a helping hand for Friedgen. Brown’s experience as head coach at Massachusetts has allowed Friedgen the luxury of another knowledgeable point of view.
And his comfort with Franklin, who he hired before last year as offensive coordinator, was made evident by his decision to christen Franklin as his successor in February.
“I haven’t called a play yet [since hiring Franklin],” Friedgen said. “When you’ve got good people, you let them do their jobs.”
Friedgen’s level of comfort seems to increase by the day. Gloria said she and their three daughters have seen it at home and while they were on vacation, where Ralph fished and water-skied with the family.
And nearly every player asked agreed with wide smiles.
It’s been a fun camp for the Terps, with Wujciak and fellow linebacker Adrian Moten doing a little trash-talking with Franklin during drills and Brown chirping orders in a high-pitched scream. And Friedgen is far from immune.
The players broke a huddle last week to the words “SEXY FRIDGE,” a reference to the weight loss. Others have told him they have trouble finding him on the field now that he’s slimmed down so much.
Redshirt freshman A.J. Francis, one of the boldest of the inexperienced Terps and a slotted starter at nose tackle, took it even further. One day during drills, he came up behind his coach and gave him a firm pat on the butt, taking the 62-year-old coach by surprise.
But in the end, Francis, Friedgen and the rest of the team and staff believe this team is tied together tight. In the last five years — or as long as any current player has been on the team — the Terps have amassed an unimpressive 33-28 record.
The team doesn’t care. They like each other. They like their coaches. And they like their chances.
“The biggest thing to having a winning season is to having a team that’s together,” Francis said. “If you have a talented team that’s separated, they’ll do a lot worse than a team that may have less talent but plays together.”
And it all starts at the top.
ajoseph@umdbk.com
