COLLEGE PARK - Maryland had just surrendered 273 rushing yards in a 23-13 loss at Virginia Tech, and Terrapins coach Ralph Friedgen was red-faced and exasperated.
"I talked to them all week about stopping the run," Friedgen fumed. "But Virginia Tech ran the ball down our throats."
But then something revealing happened. The coach - who in the frustration of the moment had considered jolting his players by scheduling a pre-dawn practice - calmed himself and thought better of it.
Friedgen's reserve was symptomatic of an evolution in his philosophy, according to the 61-year-old coach and those who know him best.
It's not that Friedgen is mellowing. It's that he's trying - sometimes against his old-school instincts - to be less heavy-handed and to grant his veteran players more responsibility so they feel like it's their team.
"Sometimes, I battle myself and my immediate reactions," Friedgen said. "I've kind of learned to take a step back and evaluate the whole situation and kind of rely on the type of experience we have on our team. Sometimes, I see kids on the team and they get over [losses] faster than coaches."
Increasingly, Friedgen tells his players: "You need to be motivating yourself."
With Maryland losing 17-6 at Clemson, it was defensive lineman Jeremy Navarre who delivered a halftime speech telling players the game was far from over. Maryland won the Sept. 27 game, 20-17.
After the Terps lost, 31-0, at Virginia on Oct. 4, it was senior offensive lineman Jaimie Thomas and other players - not coaches - who called a team meeting to try to instill greater urgency.
Against North Carolina on Saturday, Thomas picked up a headset and told offensive coordinator James Franklin to call more running plays up the middle. Friedgen and Franklin say they have encouraged such input from players, even during games.
"A lot of times, a coach will lose it and come out and scream at you," Navarre said. "He [Friedgen] has been very positive. Even after a loss, he's been positive. It's evident the team feeds off the way he is."
Most of Friedgen's speeches that players remember best are positive. After Maryland shut out Wake Forest, 26-0, on Oct. 18, Friedgen stood in the locker room and declared that the game perfectly illustrated "what you can be."
