Post by elp525 on Sept 15, 2011 7:31:44 GMT -5
09/14/2011
Garrett Cullen
MetroNews Sports
West Virginia is very familiar with Maryland head coach Randy Edsall – and he, of course, is just as familiar with facing the Mountaineers from his days at Connecticut. It was just last year that his Huskies knocked off West Virginia 16-13 in overtime after forcing four Mountaineer turnovers – it was a game that ultimately decided the BCS representative for the Big East.
Now with Maryland, Edsall said he has plenty of respect for the Mountaineers.
“We’ve got a tremendous challenge on our hands with West Virginia coming in here ranked 18th and 20th in the polls. It’s one that we have to really prepare well for. They have playmakers on offense and are very fast and athletic on defense,” he said. “They’ve got a tremendous return guy in Tavon Austin. We’ve really got to have a great week of preparation and then go out and play very, very well in order to have an opportunity to win.”
The Terps, meanwhile, have plenty of offensive weapons themselves as they totaled 499 offensive yards in their week one win over Miami, 32-24. And when looking at what West Virginia does offensively, Edsall said it’s very similar to what his team is trying to do as well.
“It’s up-tempo, it’s a lot of three-wide receivers and four-wide receivers. They’re trying to get the ball to playmakers hands in space,” he said. “They spread you out and you’ve got to be able to do some things that will hopefully slow them down. But they do a good job of trying to spread the ball out, spreading you out and attacking the formation into the boundaries, so there’s a lot we have to prepare for.”
Last year, Mountaineer quarterback Geno Smith threw for just 160 yards against Edsall and his Connecticut team. However, the Terps head coach said he has plenty of respect for what Smith and the entire West Virginia offensive unit has potential to do.
“Geno Smith is very athletic and accurate thrower. They’ve got Tavon Austin and good skill people, they’re good up front and you can see they’re well coached,” he said. “Defensively, they’ve got a lot of speed and athleticism that you have to contend with and of course they have Tavon Austin as a return guy in terms of their special teams.”
And what about those “Maryland Pride” uniforms the Terps debuted against Miami? What type of reaction has Edsall received from fans and recruits?
“Coming out with that, I think the people here in this region and most especially this state, have started to feel a little bit more sense of pride in trying to get this where we’re known as Maryland and have everyone from one corner of the state to another and north to south involved with what we’re doing,” he said. “That’s what the feedback was and it was very, very positive.”
Garrett Cullen
MetroNews Sports
West Virginia is very familiar with Maryland head coach Randy Edsall – and he, of course, is just as familiar with facing the Mountaineers from his days at Connecticut. It was just last year that his Huskies knocked off West Virginia 16-13 in overtime after forcing four Mountaineer turnovers – it was a game that ultimately decided the BCS representative for the Big East.
Now with Maryland, Edsall said he has plenty of respect for the Mountaineers.
“We’ve got a tremendous challenge on our hands with West Virginia coming in here ranked 18th and 20th in the polls. It’s one that we have to really prepare well for. They have playmakers on offense and are very fast and athletic on defense,” he said. “They’ve got a tremendous return guy in Tavon Austin. We’ve really got to have a great week of preparation and then go out and play very, very well in order to have an opportunity to win.”
The Terps, meanwhile, have plenty of offensive weapons themselves as they totaled 499 offensive yards in their week one win over Miami, 32-24. And when looking at what West Virginia does offensively, Edsall said it’s very similar to what his team is trying to do as well.
“It’s up-tempo, it’s a lot of three-wide receivers and four-wide receivers. They’re trying to get the ball to playmakers hands in space,” he said. “They spread you out and you’ve got to be able to do some things that will hopefully slow them down. But they do a good job of trying to spread the ball out, spreading you out and attacking the formation into the boundaries, so there’s a lot we have to prepare for.”
Last year, Mountaineer quarterback Geno Smith threw for just 160 yards against Edsall and his Connecticut team. However, the Terps head coach said he has plenty of respect for what Smith and the entire West Virginia offensive unit has potential to do.
“Geno Smith is very athletic and accurate thrower. They’ve got Tavon Austin and good skill people, they’re good up front and you can see they’re well coached,” he said. “Defensively, they’ve got a lot of speed and athleticism that you have to contend with and of course they have Tavon Austin as a return guy in terms of their special teams.”
And what about those “Maryland Pride” uniforms the Terps debuted against Miami? What type of reaction has Edsall received from fans and recruits?
“Coming out with that, I think the people here in this region and most especially this state, have started to feel a little bit more sense of pride in trying to get this where we’re known as Maryland and have everyone from one corner of the state to another and north to south involved with what we’re doing,” he said. “That’s what the feedback was and it was very, very positive.”
