Friedgen says first practice was 'good'

Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said his team had a “good” first practice Tuesday. But the most entertaining portion of Tuesday’s early evening small media session with Friedgen came when he pulled out what looked to be his iPhone (although he called it his iPod).

“I’m pretty good at reading these Doppler radars now,” Friedgen said.

“It’s very useful,” Friedgen said of his device. “I have a stopwatch here. I have got it all. I can even probably take some calls and maybe kind of pull up Patrick [Stevens’] blog.”

Because of heat and the threat of thunderstorms, Wednesday’s practice has been moved to 9:40 a.m.

As for the Tuesday practice, Carl Russell had some cramps, as did a few other players. Friedgen pushed the players hard despite the heat.

“Navy is working, too,” Friedgen said. “We have to be in good condition.”

Friedgen said quarterback Jamarr Robinson’s reads and fundamentals were better. Friedgen said he saw some improvement in quarterback C.J. Brown, who seemed “a lot sharper than he had been in meetings.”

A couple young kids were lost, Friedgen said.

“You take a freshman, first day, their heads are like the Exorcist, spinning around and around,” Friedgen said.

Friedgen said the defense is a lot faster, but they have to play faster. And they need to break some habits.

“The kids showed they worked hard over the summer,” Friedgen said. “They are a little further along than I thought in some areas.”