Friedgen 'nervous' about Terps' opener vs Navy

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) Ralph Friedgen has been in a pensive mood lately, so much so that his wife, Gloria, asked him Tuesday if he was concerned about Maryland&#39;s opener against Navy.<br> <br> ``I guess I haven&#39;t quite been myself at home,&#39;&#39; Friedgen said.<br> <br> Saturday&#39;s game in Baltimore will mark the beginning of his fifth season as the Terrapins&#39; head coach, but he&#39;s never had a team this young. He&#39;s also coming off a losing season for the first time.<br> <br> ``I am nervous, because I really don&#39;t know what to expect from this football team,&#39;&#39; Friedgen said. ``I don&#39;t know how they&#39;re going to respond in front of 80,000 people because of our youth. For a coach, the unknown is nerve-racking.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Midshipmen have only six starters returning, so inexperience will be an issue for them, too. But Navy has the triple-option, which could prove particularly troublesome for a defensive line consisting of one junior, two sophomores and a freshman.<br> <br> ``You can&#39;t simulate the speed of it. I think our defense is familiar with the plays and how they&#39;re run, but we can&#39;t run them (in practice) as well as Navy runs them,&#39;&#39; Friedgen said.<br> <br> This is similar to Friedgen&#39;s first season at the school, when he was seeking to turn around a program that finished 5-6 one year earlier. But this squad doesn&#39;t have nearly as many upperclassmen as the 2001 team, which won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.<br> <br> ``The only difference is, our first season we had a more mature team,&#39;&#39; Friedgen said. ``They had played before; they just hadn&#39;t won a whole lot before.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> This team, like the 2001 squad, starts a quarterback with very little experience. Junior Sam Hollenbach, who enjoyed an outstanding summer on the practice field, hopes to duplicate the success of Shaun Hill, who directed the Terrapins into the 2002 Orange Bowl.<br> <br> Hollenbach threw only 36 passes last year, none of them for touchdowns, but Friedgen believes he&#39;s found the right man to run an offense that last season scored more than one touchdown in only one of Maryland&#39;s final seven games.<br> <br> ``He&#39;s really improved from where he was in the spring,&#39;&#39; Friedgen said. ``He&#39;s seeing things better, his decision-making is very good, and his accuracy is probably as good as we&#39;ve had since we&#39;ve been here. The biggest thing Sam has to do now is take it from the practice field to the game.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Hollenbach expects to do just that.<br> <br> ``We haven&#39;t really had a game situation in this camp, so you&#39;re never really sure how it&#39;s going to be,&#39;&#39; he said. ``But I have faith in the coaches. I think they gave us a pretty good look in camp, defensively, and I felt good in the scrimmages.<br> <br> ``I really just hope I can come out there Saturday and be relaxed, have fun out there. That&#39;s probably my No. 1 goal. Like the coaches say, winning is having fun.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Friedgen has been counting down the days to the opener, mainly because the start of the 2005 season will officially mark the end of the 2004 downer.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m excited. I&#39;ve been waiting a long time to get back on the field and get our winning ways again,&#39;&#39; he said. ``I&#39;ve carried a year of losing, and I don&#39;t like it all. I hope (the players) don&#39;t like it, either. We&#39;ve got to go back out and re-establish ourselves, get back the respect we earned. I don&#39;t know about them, but I&#39;m ready to go.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Notes: Dan Ennis will do the place-kicking against Navy, but Chris Roberts remains in the mix. ``Dan has won the job, at least for this week. We&#39;ll continue the competition,&#39;&#39; Friedgen said. ... Navy is 3-0 in openers under coach Paul Johnson, outscoring the opposition 102-29.<br> <br> (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)