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Maryland holds players-only meeting to ‘cut any…

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Wednesday, September 4th 2024

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Maryland holds players-only meeting to ‘cut any negativity out’

Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun
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Penn State Nittany Lions wide receiver Chris Godwin (12) makes an improbable catch in front of Maryland Terrapins defensive back Anthony Nixon (20) to set up a touchdown during the first quarter in Baltimore.

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In the aftermath of its blowout loss at West Virginia, Maryland held a players-only meeting at 6:45 a.m. before Tuesday’s practice in order to set the tone for the week of preparation for this weekend’s Big Ten Conference opener against Michigan.

“It went well, just talking about opening Big Ten play, the season’s not over,” tight end Avery Edwards said. “There’s really a lot we can do to have a great season the remainder of the season. The atmosphere and environment around the locker room is all positive, all encouraging. Everyone’s really ready to play Michigan.”

In the weekly Big Ten conference call, coach Randy Edsall said that he was initially unaware of the meeting and that the team had its normal 7 a.m. meeting.

“That’s news to me,” Edsall said on the conference call. “I don’t think we had a players-only meeting, at all, so I don’t know what they reported on. I don’t read the papers. We had our normal meetings all week long.”

Later, Edsall said, “If the players had the meeting and something productive came out of it, I think that’s great. That’s what our leaders are doing. I’ve been happy with our leadership, and I’m glad they did that.”

Edwards said the players had “a few” meetings during camp, but Tuesday’s was the first one that “definitely had a central message.” Kicker Brad Craddock said the team didn’t hold any players-only meetings last season, but had held meetings in the spring and summer before this season.

“The biggest message is we’ve got to do our job individually, no excuses,” Craddock said. “We’ve still got a big season to play. Last week’s happened and it’s done and we wanted to make sure we cut any negativity out before practice started. We talked this morning real briefly for about 10 minutes. A few of the leaders said some stuff and then that was that. As far as we’re concerned, it’s done, it’s over. Michigan, here we come.”

During the summer and into the season, Edsall had praised his team’s leadership and said that it was one of the strongest leadership groups that he’d had during his tenure in College Park. Earlier Tuesday, he was asked about how that leadership would help the Terps rebound from its loss at West Virginia heading into its grueling Big Ten schedule.

“The leadership, they talk to guys. They let them know this isn’t the way we want to play or we expect to play,” Edsall said. “Everybody at some point at in time in their career … we’ve all been down this road before. We’ve got eight games left in the season.”

Edsall had a chance to respond in an interview Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic later Tuesday afternoon.

“I didn’t know about it and, you know, I don’t have to know about it,” Edsall told Comcast SportsNet. “Because it shows that they’re taking the initiative that they want to make sure everybody is on the same page and we get focused and they’re basically carrying my message.

“I don’t know what the big deal is everybody’s making of it. I think it’s great. I mean, that’s why I have a leadership council and that’s why we meet with the leadership council and you know what? They’ve been doing this all summer long. They’ve been doing this since we put the council together.”

Edwards said Craddock, quarterback Caleb Rowe, running back Wes Brown and defensive tackle Quinton Jefferson addressed the team Tuesday morning before practice and then other players not on the team’s leadership council spoke and gave their input.

“We’re trying to get more involvement in leadership, in getting guys to speak up and saying how they feel and supporting the team,” Craddock said. “It shouldn’t just come from 10 guys. It should be leaders leading leaders. I think we’ve got a lot better at that.”

Edwards, a freshman who has played a big role in Maryland’s passing game this season, said the players who spoke set an example of leadership that he wants to follow when the time comes for him to take on more of a prominent role with the team.

After the 45-6 loss at West Virginia, Edsall talked about getting his players to “do their job,” something he reiterated again Tuesday. And the Terps took some time Tuesday morning to reset, shifting their focus to Michigan and the remaining Big Ten schedule.

“I think the leaders of the team just want to make sure everybody’s on the same page, have the same mindset going in,” Edwards said. “Just having a winning mindset.”

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