Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen Sees a Talented but Young Team as the Terrapins Prepare to Open Season

When Coach Ralph Friedgen boarded a cross-country charter flight Thursday afternoon, he had hours to contemplate a Maryland team that had worked so hard through preseason camp that he canceled one practice to take players to the movies. Such diligence has been rewarding for the coach, but not even Friedgen knows what that ultimately will mean because of an abundance of two conflicting elements: talent and youth.

On many days, he looks at his team and sees more talent at skill positions and more overall speed than he has had in years, a parade of capable wide receivers, a strong stable of running backs and a potential force at strong safety. On other days, he has trouble ignoring the numbers: 12 scholarship seniors, 58 scholarship players with three or more years of eligibility remaining and 28 players on the two-deep depth chart who have not played a game.

"There are times when I say, 'Wow, we are making progress,' " Friedgen said. "And there are other times when I say, 'Are we going to show up?' "

The tug of war between talent and youth will define Friedgen's ninth season as head coach. Rarely has Friedgen had a team so inexperienced (just 10 returning starters). Rarely has Friedgen had a team so skilled (nine capable wide receivers). To possess both traits in one season has been enough to cause Friedgen to stop talking about his team mid-sentence, look at reporters and say, "I don't know where we're at, to be honest with you."

Making performance harder to predict is a daunting opening act. One of the nation's youngest teams travels 2,500 miles to face a 12th-ranked California team that possesses national title aspirations, a strong Heisman Trophy hopeful (running back Jahvid Best) and a robust defense. Not to mention that the Golden Bears are out for revenge after losing, 35-27, last year at Byrd Stadium.

"First time in a game, there are going to be 60,000 people in the stands and [some] are not used to playing before maybe a couple hundred," Friedgen said about his young players. "So who knows how they are going to react. Do they have eyes like this, like they are in a trance? I have seen that look. It is not a good look: 'Where the hell am I?' "

Friedgen saw a similar look in the face of then-quarterback Scott McBrien ("eyes as big as saucers," Friedgen recalled) in McBrien's Maryland debut against Notre Dame in 2002. That game did not go well -- a 22-0 loss -- but the rest of McBrien's career did -- he won 21 games in two seasons.

This season, Maryland may as well adopt green as an unofficial team color. At least eight true freshmen were expected to make the trip to Berkeley, including 18-year-old place kicker Nick Ferrara, who may start. The average age of the top nine wide receivers is 20.1 years old. Maryland's starting defensive line Saturday could have as few as five career starts among four players.

When asked recently whether redshirt freshman linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield is playing beyond his years, Friedgen began naming eight other defensive players with little or no experience and called the circumstance a "little scary."

At the forefront of immediate concerns is the offensive line, which Friedgen acknowledged will not be a "quick fix." The right side features two former walk-ons in guard Andrew Gonnella and tackle Paul Pinegar. What's more, one California defensive lineman, Tyson Alualu, has more starts (27) than all five of Maryland's offensive line starters combined (26).

"I have to try to age this team as fast as possible," Friedgen said.

Speeding up the aging process began in camp, when Friedgen created more game situations for players. Kevin Dorsey, a redshirt freshman wide receiver, recalled a host of two-minute drills, red zone situations and goal line predicaments that made two-a-days feel like competitive games. Friedgen also instructed players about overtime three times.