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College Football Capsules: Friedgen feeling spry after dropping 105 pounds
Comments 0 | Recommend 0COLLEGE PARK, Md. —There's less of Ralph Friedgen on the Maryland sideline these days, thanks to a diet that has enabled the Terrapins head football coach to drop a whopping 105 pounds.
Friedgen won't say how much he weighed before he began the diet in October, but this much is certain: He was well over 300 pounds and not in a very healthy place.
"A couple of years back I looked into doing lap band surgery, and then a week away I decided not to do it because it would limit what I could eat and how I could eat it," Friedgen said Monday. "But the doctors had told me when things start going bad, being overweight, they're going to go bad fast."
Friedgen knew it was time to get rid of the two extra chins and the massive belly that was making it difficult for him to walk without losing his breath. So he began a diet that provided him with five packaged meals a day and healthy snacks.
"I have this basket in my office, and I basically eat every three hours. I don't know what's in their food, but when I eat it I'm not hungry," he said. "My goal is to go to 150. Whether I can do that or not, I don't know. The more I lose, the harder it gets."
Friedgen has taken the Terrapins to a bowl game in each of the last three years and six of his first eight seasons at his alma mater. But in some circles, his heavy frame was often talked about more than as his coaching skill. Now that Friedgen is only a shell of his former self, his new look was a hot topic at media day Monday.
"A lot of times coaches expect a lot out of their players, but he's really practicing what he preaches as far as dedication, hard work and doing things right," senior quarterback Chris Turner said.
It hasn't been easy for Friedgen, who probably never met a pizza he didn't want to devour.
"There was a time when we were out recruiting, and his stomach let out a growl that was unbelievable," offensive coordinator James Franklin recalled. "But that was early in the process, and I think the body adjusts. He's gotten used to it. This fits his lifestyle, because it's hard to eat healthy on the road. Now he packs the meals in his bag, pulls them out, pops one in his mouth and he's good to go."
The 62-year-old Friedgen isn't at the point where he's ready to try cartwheels. He's still quite large, but there's no question he looks better and, more importantly, feels better.
"The biggest thing I've noticed is I'm more flexible," he said. "I feel energized, and our kids, they're aware of it."
Of course they are. When a guy loses more than 100 pounds, it's tough to overlook.
"He looks real healthy right now and is moving around a lot better than he was before," running back Da'Rel Scott said.
Franklin said: "He's got so much more energy, he feels great. It couldn't be a better situation. I think it's going to help our team. I just think in general it's good for us and good for him personally."
When he came to Maryland as a player in the 1960s, Friedgen had designs on being a quarterback. He never got the chance, in part because he his body developed into that of an offensive lineman. Four decades later, Friedgen may end up looking like a quarterback, after all.
I'm going to stick with this," he said of the diet, "and see where it goes."
Weis feeling better about standing during game
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is feeling good about his health as well as his team.
Weis was worried three weeks ago about whether he'd be ready to stand along the sideline for a full game after having his right knee replaced in December. The condition of that knee had deteriorated after his left knee was severely injured when a 264-pound player collided with him during the Michigan game last September.
"It's taken a drastic turn for the better," Weis said Monday. "My right leg feels way better. I still don't have great staying power. But every day that's getting better and better."
The pain in Weis' knees got so bad last season before the surgery that he watched Notre Dame's 49-21 victory in the Hawaii Bowl from the coaches' box.
Weis spent the summer working on his legs, walking on a treadmill in a pool in the training room. He'd walk up to four miles a day for as many days a week as he could find time. Weis said working in the pool is good for him because of nerve damage to his feet, the result of complications from gastric bypass surgery in 2002.
On Monday, Weis leaned at times on an equipment box alongside the field. There also was a seat at practice for him, but the seat was a regular sight at practice before he was injured as well.
Weis, 53, plans to have his left knee replaced after the season is over, saying it still gives him problems.
"If you see me walk, my left leg is like this ... it takes a hard left when I'm walking," he said.
As well as being happy with his improving stamina, Weis said he's happy with what he's seen from his players so far. With players still not in full pads, he's been focusing on just five players.
He's been watching to see how tight end Mike Ragone is looking after surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. He's watching James Aldridge, who switched from tailback to fullback, and how Darius Fleming is adjusting after moving from defensive end in the nickel package to a strongside linebacker.
He's also watching how center Dan Wenger is adjusting to being demoted to second string and the stamina of nose tackle Ian Williams.
"Fortunately, in all five of those guys that I brought up it's been a positive impression I've gotten from all of them within the things I was looking for," he said.
Competition for starting positions won't truly begin until Thursday.
So far the only player who is not taking full part in practice is defensive tackle Hafis Williams. The reason he is not allowed to practice has not been disclosed.
Weis also said Monday that he put a stipulation on players who want to wear helmet visors, which Notre Dame's hasn't previously allowed. The visors must be clear, saying he didn't want players to have "Darth Vader visors" because "I thought were way too Hollywood for Notre Dame."
He also required players who use visors to be clean shaven and clean cut. Most of the two dozen or so players who got the visors needed a haircut or a shave. Weis said he had a "conga line" of players coming through his office seeing whether their hair was short enough after a cut to get a visor.
"We had some fun with it," he said.
Weis, a fan of the New York Yankees, was asked if his desire for his players to be clean cut was an influence of George Steinbrenner.
"If you look at several players on our team, you'll know I don't have much of a Steinbrenner influence," Weis joked.
-- Tom Coyne
Petrino, Razorbacks eye school records
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — When Bobby Petrino was asked what completion percentage he expects from his quarterbacks, the response was predictable.
"A hundred percent would be great," Petrino said.
Then the Arkansas coach became a little more serious.
"If we're executing and doing things right, we're going to break Kevin Scanlon's (school) record on completion percentage," Petrino said at media day Saturday. "That's what we need to do. You get up there around 68, 70 percent, that means that you're executing and doing things right."
After only one season with the Razorbacks, Petrino has changed the program's culture. For years, Arkansas relied on a bruising running game, but now the Hogs are eager to showcase their passing — and rewrite the school record book in the process.
Scanlon set the Arkansas record with a completion percentage of 66.2 in the 1979 season, so that's the mark Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett will pursue this year. Times have certainly changed at Arkansas, of course. Scanlon attempted only 139 passes when he set the record. Mallett might reach that total by the midway point this season.
Mallett, who had to sit out last season after transferring from Michigan, is eager to suit up for the Razorbacks.
"When we come out, we want to complete every pass," he said. "When you're not 100 percent, you didn't play a perfect game."
Mallett has three years of eligibility remaining, and backup Tyler Wilson has four after redshirting last season. The Razorbacks also have a pair of promising young receivers in sophomores Joe Adams and Jarius Wright.
In other words, this group has a chance to put up big numbers together. Petrino has his eye on the completion percentage record, but at a school with so little passing tradition, there are plenty of other marks that could also fall.
Last season, Casey Dick set a school record for completions and narrowly missed Clint Stoerner's mark of 2,629 yards passing. No Arkansas player has thrown for 400 yards in a game, so that's another first that Petrino's quarterbacks can try for.
The receiving records aren't safe either. Tight end D.J. Williams caught 61 passes as a sophomore last season, one short of the school mark.
"We take great pride in that kind of stuff," wide receiver Lucas Miller said. "We want it to be a special year, and we all believe that it's going to be a special year. We're just looking for those kinds of goals."
When Petrino was at Louisville, Stefan LeFors completed 73.5 percent of his passes in the 2004 season, leading the nation. Petrino said LeFors' mobility helped him avoid incompletions and interceptions.
"One of the reasons his completion percentage was so high, he was such a good athlete if the guy wasn't open, he would take off and run," Petrino said.
The 6-foot-7 Mallett and 6-foot-3 Wilson might not be quite that shifty, but they've had plenty of time to learn Petrino's system, and the Razorbacks are depending on them to help the team improve on last season's 5-7 record.
Winning, after all, is the primary focus — and if someone ends up in the record book, so much the better.
"What we expect from each other is not to have many incompletions," Williams said. "If that means breaking the record in the process of doing it, then let's go for it."
-- Noah Trister
Lawyers say K-State insisted on buyout memorandum
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Accusing Kansas State of "wanton and malicious misconduct," lawyers for former football coach Ron Prince asked for more than $6 million in damages Monday and said it was the school, not Prince, who wanted a controversial contract to be confidential.
In their written response to a lawsuit filed against Prince by Kansas State, Prince's attorneys also indicated that former Kansas State President Jon Wefald may have known about the agreement calling for Prince to be paid $3.2 million in deferred compensation between 2015-2020.
Kansas State filed suit in U.S. District Court in Topeka, Kan., in May seeking to void the agreement, claiming it was made in secret between Prince and former athletic director Bob Krause and without the knowledge of other university officers, including Wefald.
In documents filed Monday, Prince's attorneys said the university agreed to guarantee a $1.2 million buyout and that the school's Intercollegiate Athletic Council, headed by Krause, subsequently agreed to fund the $3.2 million in deferred compensation.
Prince, unpopular with players and fans, was fired last November with a 17-20 record, three months after signing a new five-year contract. He was replaced by former coach Bill Snyder.
Wefald, who retired in June, maintains that he knew nothing of the agreement with Prince and that he asked Krause to resign when he found out.
Athletic director John Currie declined to comment Monday. A call to Wefald's home in Manhattan, Kan., was not answered. Neither Krause nor Prince, now an assistant coach at Virginia, have spoken publicly about the deal.
In a statement Monday, Neil Cornrich, Prince's lawyer, said Kansas State "insisted that the additional guarantee be contained in a separate, confidential memorandum."
"Coach Prince did not request such confidentiality, nor did he care whether the agreement was public, but accommodated the university's request," Cornrich said.
In the response to Kansas State's lawsuit, Prince's attorneys said it was Krause who suggested the deferred compensation package and that he "held himself out as having the authority to represent the University and the IAC" in negotiations with Prince.
The filing said that a university lawyer "forwarded the proposed contract with the appropriate change in language directly to Mr. Krause, Mr. (Neil) Cornrich, as well as Jim Epps, Bob Cavello, Ron Prince and the President of Kansas State University, all of whom had actual or constructive knowledge that this was no longer the entire agreement between the parties."
Epps and Cavello, both longtime Kansas State athletic department officials, have been placed on administrative leave.
Lawyers say K-State insisted on buyout memorandum
DOUG TUCKER,AP Sports Writer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Accusing Kansas State of "wanton and malicious misconduct," lawyers for former football coach Ron Prince asked for more than $6 million in damages Monday and said it was the school, not Prince, who wanted a controversial contract to be confidential.
In their written response to a lawsuit filed against Prince by Kansas State, Prince's attorneys also indicated that former Kansas State President Jon Wefald may have known about the agreement calling for Prince to be paid $3.2 million in deferred compensation between 2015-2020.
Kansas State filed suit in U.S. District Court in Topeka, Kan., in May seeking to void the agreement, claiming it was made in secret between Prince and former athletic director Bob Krause and without the knowledge of other university officers, including Wefald.
In documents filed Monday, Prince's attorneys said the university agreed to guarantee a $1.2 million buyout and that the school's Intercollegiate Athletic Council, headed by Krause, subsequently agreed to fund the $3.2 million in deferred compensation.
Prince, unpopular with players and fans, was fired last November with a 17-20 record, three months after signing a new five-year contract. He was replaced by former coach Bill Snyder.
Wefald, who retired in June, maintains that he knew nothing of the agreement with Prince and that he asked Krause to resign when he found out.
Athletic director John Currie declined to comment Monday. A call to Wefald's home in Manhattan, Kan., was not answered. Neither Krause nor Prince, now an assistant coach at Virginia, have spoken publicly about the deal.
In a statement Monday, Neil Cornrich, Prince's lawyer, said Kansas State "insisted that the additional guarantee be contained in a separate, confidential memorandum."
"Coach Prince did not request such confidentiality, nor did he care whether the agreement was public, but accommodated the university's request," Cornrich said.
In the response to Kansas State's lawsuit, Prince's attorneys said it was Krause who suggested the deferred compensation package and that he "held himself out as having the authority to represent the University and the IAC" in negotiations with Prince.
The filing said that a university lawyer "forwarded the proposed contract with the appropriate change in language directly to Mr. Krause, Mr. (Neil) Cornrich, as well as Jim Epps, Bob Cavello, Ron Prince and the President of Kansas State University, all of whom had actual or constructive knowledge that this was no longer the entire agreement between the parties."
Epps and Cavello, both longtime Kansas State athletic department officials, have been placed on administrative leave.
-- Doug Tucker
NC State set at quarterback with sophomore Wilson
RALEIGH, N.C. — Russell Wilson knows that almost any talk about North Carolina State's chances of competing for an Atlantic Coast Conference championship this year starts with him.
"I'm an athlete — there will be expectations, good or bad, every year," Wilson said Monday during the team's preseason media day. "You can't really worry about it. You've just got to focus on what you can do and what you can control and things you can get better at."
Of course, pressure is sure to follow when a player does what Wilson did last year as a rookie, namely becoming the first freshman quarterback to be voted first-team all-ACC. His defender-frustrating mobility and nearly mistake-free style is a big reason why the Wolfpack crawled out of a 2-6 hole to reach a bowl game, and why the Wolfpack figures it's poised for another step forward in coach Tom O'Brien's third season here.
Only a year ago, Wilson was one of five players who entered preseason camp with a shot at the starting job. This time, Wilson is the Wolfpack's unquestioned leader.
"He's got a lot of work still to do," O'Brien said, "but if he can build upon last year and get better than he was, we're in a much better starting spot today at quarterback than we were last year."
Wilson's rookie year got off to a bumpy start when he suffered a concussion in the opening loss at South Carolina, but he went on to throw for 1,955 yards and 17 touchdowns while running for 388 yards and another four scores. He also threw just one interception all season and carries a school-record 249-pass streak without a pick into the opener against the Gamecocks at Carter-Finley Stadium on Sept. 3.
Wilson's importance might never have been more evident than the Papajohns.com Bowl against Rutgers. He had thrown for 186 yards and a score before suffering a knee injury that sidelined him for the second half, allowing Rutgers to rally from a 17-6 deficit for a 29-23 victory.
It's one reason why O'Brien joked that the best play of the team's recent preseason scrimmage was that Wilson slid to avoid a hit.
"I feel like it's a privilege and an honor to play with an established quarterback like Russell Wilson and a guy who makes the plays he does," running back Jamelle Eugene said. "It's not something every team is afforded and has the luxury of having.
"He instills a lot of confidence in not only himself but the team, just knowing you have a guy you can really count on."
Still, Wilson says that last year doesn't matter anymore. Instead, he'll worry about improving his game and helping to mentor redshirt freshman Mike Glennon, who will play in the opener to develop some depth behind Wilson.
"The experience definitely helps," Wilson said. "You hear the cliche about how the game slows down the more you play and the more experience you get. ... Having that one year under my belt, I could definitely notice the game slowing down for me — and that's a positive."
-- Aaron Beard
Former Huskies QB now a UW weight room assistant
SEATTLE — Marques Tuiasosopo is back in purple and gold — at least until the NFL comes calling again.
Tuiasosopo has been hired as a weight room assistant at Washington, returning to his alma mater while he waits for an NFL job to become available. He has no coaching duties and can't engage in any coaching on the field, but is helping in the Huskies weight room for now.
"I was hoping got sign, I was hoping to continue playing and it didn't happen," Tuiasosopo said. "I was working out here and coach (Steve Sarkisian) and (strength) coach (Ivan) Lewis said 'you can help out in the weight room and hang out in the coach's room and be around football.'"
Tuiasosopo is revered by Husky fans for helping lead Washington to its last Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl trip in 2000, capped by a 34-24 win over Purdue, where he was named the game MVP. He started 27 games in his career, including the final 24. He's also the only quarterback in NCAA history to throw for more than 300 yards and run for more than 200 in a game against Stanford in 1999.
Washington finished the 2000 season No. 3 in The Associated Press Top 25 and Tuiasosopo was the Pac-10 offensive player of the year.
"He's a great motivator. He's been a championship player at this level and in this program," Sarkisian said.
Tuiasosopo played for the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders. He spent last season with Oakland, but is currently without an NFL job. He said he'll jump at any opportunity to play in the NFL, but he also likes the chance at starting small and seeing if some form of coaching is what his post-football ambitions will become.
"I played with a lot of great guys and to be back here is like a dream come true," Tuiasosopo said. "My alma mater, I love to see them do well, and it's great to have coach Sark here and the energy he brings and the staff that he put together."
-- Tim Booth
Michigan's Rodriguez addresses Feagin case
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez says as soon as he found out quarterback Justin Feagin was getting into trouble off the field he was dismissed from the team.
The coach also insists he didn't know about the player's previous run-ins with the law.
Rodriguez faced questions about Feagin on Monday. The Wolverines had their first practice on the same day the Detroit Free Press reported Feagin was involved in a drug deal.
The newspaper reported that Feagin acknowledged to campus police his role in a botched cocaine deal and admitted he sold drugs and was arrested twice in Florida while in high school.
Rodriguez kicked Feagin off the team last month. Feagin played sparingly in four games last season as a freshman.
-- Larry Lage
Michigan opens $26-plus million football facility
ANN ARBOR, Mich. —Michigan assistant athletic director Scott Draper says the school's new indoor football facility is the tallest of its kind in the country.
Draper provided a tour Monday of the 104,000-plus square foot building that is as high as 85 feet high from artificial turf to the nearest obstruction as the Wolverines went through their first practice on adjacent fields outdoors.
Draper and school officials including the late ex-Michigan coach Bo Schembechler looked over a number of college and professional training sites before breaking ground on the $26 million project in 2007.
Al Glick Field House includes a renovated locker room that equipment manager Jon Falk says is "the Taj Mahal of college football."
Rutgers gets late addition with CB Darrell Givens
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Highly regarded cornerback Darrell Givens has joined the Rutgers football program and will be eligible to play this season.
Coach Greg Schiano made the announcement Monday, the day players reported for training camp. The first practice will be on Tuesday.
The Fort Washington, Md., resident was rated as the No. 6 cornerback nationally by ESPN.com. He had 57 tackles and two interceptions last season at Lackey High School.
Schiano also announced that offensive lineman Keith Newell transferred to Delaware State and defensive back Davon Smart transferred to Norfolk State. Defensive end Gary Watts is giving up football because of a knee injury, while sophomore tight end Marquis Hamm has decided not to play.
Two incoming freshmen will be limited in training camp. Receiver Mohamed Sanu is dealing with post-concussion problems and tight end Paul Carrezola has a hamstring injury.
RB Winston rejoins Michigan State football team
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State has reinstated sophomore running back Glenn Winston as the team begins practice for the 2009 season.
Winston pleaded guilty earlier this year to misdemeanor assault charges over a fight that briefly left a Michigan State hockey player hospitalized. Winston was sentenced to six months in jail and probation.
He was with the team as practice began Monday.
Authorities say Winston was in an off-campus fight Oct. 19 that briefly hospitalized Michigan State hockey player A.J. Sturges.
Winston was indefinitely suspended from the football team after entering the guilty plea.
NCAA reverses ruling, restores 2 Clemson practices
CLEMSON, S.C. — The NCAA has changed its mind and decided that Clemson's practice shorts are just fine.
The school said Monday afternoon the NCAA rescinded its earlier decision to dock the Tigers two practices because of wearing improper attire last week.
Clemson had already cancelled a second Monday session and the second of two workouts Friday. Athletic director Terry Don Phillips said the NCAA reviewed its ruling and restored the two practices.
NCAA rules say players can only wear jerseys and shorts during the five-day acclimatization period. However, the Tigers wore long, compression shorts with padding on the top, referred to as girdles. Pictures of Clemson players in the improper shorts are on the school's athletic Web site.
Coach Dabo Swinney had referred to the matter as "Girdlegate."
Clemson freshman offensive lineman lost for season
CLEMSON, S.C. —Clemson offensive lineman J.K. Jay will miss the upcoming season because of a back injury.
Jay, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound freshman from Greenville, enrolled in January, went through spring practice and had a good chance to see playing time for the Tigers this fall. However, coach Dabo Swinney said Jay hurt his back weightlifthing last month.
Swinney said after practice Monday that Jay's injury was not career threatening. But he'd need at least six weeks before he could begin recovery, so it was thought best for him to sit out this season and get ready for 2010.
OSU's Robinson has slight leg injury
STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State quarterback Zac Robinson didn't fully take part in the Cowboys' first full practice because of a leg injury.
Coach Mike Gundy says Robinson has a slight pull in his lower leg. Gundy says Robinson has suffered this type injury in the past and it doesn't appear serious.
The coach says Robinson worked on the mental part of quarterbacking the team while the other quarterbacks were given more practice time.
Robinson was walking without a limp and took part in some stationary throwing drills.
NC State's Irving could soon know about his return
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State could soon find out whether linebacker Nate Irving will make it back to the field following a June car wreck.
Coach Tom O'Brien said during Monday's preseason media day that Irving is scheduled to meet with a doctor Thursday regarding his broken left leg. That could determine whether Irving can return or will have to wait until next season.
Irving also suffered a collapsed lung and separated shoulder in the June 28 accident on Interstate 40 in Johnston County.
Nebraska's Pelini says first day in pads 'average'
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska coach Bo Pelini says he's disappointed with what he calls a "pretty average" first football practice in pads.
Temperatures reached the upper 80s as the Cornhuskers worked out Monday afternoon, and Pelini said the players might have given in to the heat. He said execution, not effort, was the issue.
Tight end Dreu Young remained sidelined with an undisclosed injury. Pelini said Young could be out the rest of the week.
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