Maryland Head Coach DJ Durkin
Opening Statement:
“Just touching on last week’s game. Can’t say enough about our team, how they responded. Very proud of our guys, how they came together, responded to adversity, and really, I thought, did something special together. To go on the road and get a win in the manner in which we did it, I thought our coaching staff did a great job of putting together a really solid game plan and our players did a great job of executing it. We said, going into the game, that we’ve got to win the line of scrimmage and we were able to do that. We ran the ball effectively, we stopped the run defensively, protected the football. We had two turnovers on defense that we got out and the offense did a great job protecting it. Can’t say enough about Max [Bortenschlager] and how he stepped up. He certainly played a great game, [I’m] very happy and proud for him. I really think, again, it comes back to his teammates around him. I thought our receivers played phenomenal in that game, our O-line did a great job protecting him, as well as our running backs being effective in the run game and converting on third downs. We were really good on third downs and that was really the difference in the game – [being] able to stay on the field. That was all good, all that being said, Sunday, we move on from that. That’s in the past and it’s on to an unbelievable opportunity this weekend. This is a great football team that we’re playing, and I mean that. They’re extremely talented, there’s not any holes in the roster and they’re very well coached. Our guys know the task at hand. We have a great week of preparation and practice to put ourselves into position to have that opportunity on Saturday. That’s the mindset of our guys and we’re looking forward to a good Tuesday practice here this afternoon and get ready to go.”
On QB Max Bortenschlager’s level of comfort:
“Max is very… just the same guy every day. He played here as a true freshman last year and obviously played in the [UCF] game. There wasn’t any ‘I wonder how he’s going to respond out there.’ It was just kind of like [that] he did a great job preparing all week. He had great practice all week. Some different questions came up throughout the week, I kept just saying [that] I think Max is going to play really well because I really did think that. He was preparing well. I think he was confident and comfortable with the game plan. That’s Max. He’s the same guy, he’s got a quiet confidence about him and he went out and played that way.”
On QB Max Bortenschlager’s preparation as a starter:
“He had all week to prepare last week, obviously that helps when you’re the guy getting all the reps with the ones throughout practice all week. This week won’t be any different that way. As you continue to get more reps and more experience, that’s the natural development of a football player, right? As you get more game reps, more practice reps, you should be improving and getting better and better. And that’s the thought, certainly with Max just like anyone else.”
On competing in the Big Ten East:
“All the big picture stuff of the national scene is not anything on our radar screen at all. We feel very confident and comfortable that the conference and division we play in is as good as there is. I don’t think we need to say it or talk about it. It is what it is. I think our focus, in particular on this game and Ohio State, all those other things, that’s kind of for others to debate and talk about and however it falls. It’s not anything we concern ourselves with or worry about, [there’s] nothing we can do. Our total focus is on preparing for this ball game.”
On their third-down efficiency:
“Yeah, it’s something we emphasize and talk about. I think we’ve got to win on third down and get off the field defensively and on offense it’s how you extend drives. You’ve got to be able to convert. I thought DJ Moore and Taivon Jacobs made some great catches on third down, I think Max did a great job putting the ball where it needed to be and the O-line did a great job protecting. There were times where we hit some good runs on third down as well. I think you always got to mix it up, keep teams off balance as to what you’re doing, but at the end of the day you’ve got to figure out what you can execute on third down in order to stay on the field. Again, I thought we had a good plan put together and our guys executed it.”
On beating Ohio State in the recruiting of local players:
“Recruiting is a top priority of the program for sure, on a day-to-day basis. We’re doing a lot of those things to keep those guys around. That’s what’s noticeable in terms of our improvement of our team on the field, our improvement of our facilities, our overall efforts toward recruiting this area. We work tirelessly as a staff to make sure that we are engaged with the area, with the coaches and all the great people in this area to make them feel welcome and at home here. We’re just starting to see the effects of that. We’re still a very young team in terms of that. That’ll be our focus every year – recruiting, in particular with emphasis here in this area, to continue to build a team and a roster that is… I think when you take the talent from this area every year, we can build a team that can compete with anyone. And that’s what we expect to do.”
On K Henry Darmstadter’s 51-yard field goal:
“I thought it was great. More than just that, it was great momentum going into the half. You look how we closed out both halves. The first half and the end of the game, I thought was big in the game and terrific by our guys. It was some great situational football. The play before that, Ty Johnson did a great job of getting down and sliding to save some time on the clock, not trying to gain five extra yards and run out of time. And for Henry to come in and hit that, it was big. It was a 51-yard field goal. That’s something we haven’t been able to do or have here in a while. Yeah, we can certainly build on that. [I’m] very excited for him, he’s been a great addition to our team.”
On LB Jermaine Carter Jr. and CB JC Jackson:
“Jermaine… that’s our guy. That’s our leader. He’s been productive in every game so far this year. Certainly, him getting downhill and making plays has helped us. He’s got great leadership qualities about him and makes a lot of plays and takes football very seriously and puts the work in everyday at practice. He’s been tremendous. And JC, I think again, he’s getting better and better every week. He’s a phenomenal talent. He’s an extremely gifted corner who’s just continuing to get better and better. If you look at the grand scheme of things for him, he was without football for two years, he came here and played last year, dealt with two shoulder injuries basically the entire season, and just played through it because he’s tough enough to do it. Wasn’t fully healthy, was two years out of football and playing, so there was some ups and downs, inconsistencies, which I think you’d expect from anyone. So now, with him having a full offseason with us, and now playing, he’s starting now to show what his capabilities are. I think he’ll just continue to get better.”
On what stood out when recruiting Bortenschlager, if it was his ‘quiet confidence’:
“I think it was that. You can tell, being around him, he’s got a good presence about him, he’s got a confidence to him, he’s extremely intelligent, he’s very thorough. Those are the qualities you really want – in any player those are helpful – but especially in your quarterback, you want those things. That’s what he is. He’s meticulous about the things he does. I think if you spend some time with him, you can see that, feel that, sense that and I think the same thing can be said for his teammates being around him. It was neat to see that, those guys, everyone in the locker room after the game was obviously very excited about the win, but it was a group of guys grabbing and hugging Max. They were excited for Max. That tells you what type of teammate someone is, when others are excited about another man’s success, that tells you about him. That’s what I thought was really neat after the game.”
On Ohio State Freshman RB J.K. Dobbins:
“He can run. He’s fast, he can make you miss, run you over, he plays with great effort and energy. There’s an excitement when he’s on, you can tell he plays full-speed. Yeah, there’s certainly a lot of different weapons they can use offensively, he’s one of them. For a guy like that, as a true freshman playing, it’s pretty phenomenal.”
On Bortenschlager’s running abilities:
“Yeah, I’m sure that definitely had an effect on him. Really, with the way things are built offensively, is to take what we’re able to get. I think us being able to be multiple and all that certainly helps us. Because I think when we can line up in different formations, and say ‘OK, what’s there, what can we go get.’ And if that includes a quarterback run, then Max has got to be able to do it. I think he showed it. Every guy has different strengths and weaknesses and all that, but I think Max is a complete player. Those are plays for him to make a decision and read, and he made the right decision when he did. He was effective. I don’t think we’re going to have Max carrying 30 times a game, but I think he can be effective, certainly, when it’s there for him.”
Opening Statement:
“Just touching on last week’s game. Can’t say enough about our team, how they responded. Very proud of our guys, how they came together, responded to adversity, and really, I thought, did something special together. To go on the road and get a win in the manner in which we did it, I thought our coaching staff did a great job of putting together a really solid game plan and our players did a great job of executing it. We said, going into the game, that we’ve got to win the line of scrimmage and we were able to do that. We ran the ball effectively, we stopped the run defensively, protected the football. We had two turnovers on defense that we got out and the offense did a great job protecting it. Can’t say enough about Max [Bortenschlager] and how he stepped up. He certainly played a great game, [I’m] very happy and proud for him. I really think, again, it comes back to his teammates around him. I thought our receivers played phenomenal in that game, our O-line did a great job protecting him, as well as our running backs being effective in the run game and converting on third downs. We were really good on third downs and that was really the difference in the game – [being] able to stay on the field. That was all good, all that being said, Sunday, we move on from that. That’s in the past and it’s on to an unbelievable opportunity this weekend. This is a great football team that we’re playing, and I mean that. They’re extremely talented, there’s not any holes in the roster and they’re very well coached. Our guys know the task at hand. We have a great week of preparation and practice to put ourselves into position to have that opportunity on Saturday. That’s the mindset of our guys and we’re looking forward to a good Tuesday practice here this afternoon and get ready to go.”
On QB Max Bortenschlager’s level of comfort:
“Max is very… just the same guy every day. He played here as a true freshman last year and obviously played in the [UCF] game. There wasn’t any ‘I wonder how he’s going to respond out there.’ It was just kind of like [that] he did a great job preparing all week. He had great practice all week. Some different questions came up throughout the week, I kept just saying [that] I think Max is going to play really well because I really did think that. He was preparing well. I think he was confident and comfortable with the game plan. That’s Max. He’s the same guy, he’s got a quiet confidence about him and he went out and played that way.”
On QB Max Bortenschlager’s preparation as a starter:
“He had all week to prepare last week, obviously that helps when you’re the guy getting all the reps with the ones throughout practice all week. This week won’t be any different that way. As you continue to get more reps and more experience, that’s the natural development of a football player, right? As you get more game reps, more practice reps, you should be improving and getting better and better. And that’s the thought, certainly with Max just like anyone else.”
On competing in the Big Ten East:
“All the big picture stuff of the national scene is not anything on our radar screen at all. We feel very confident and comfortable that the conference and division we play in is as good as there is. I don’t think we need to say it or talk about it. It is what it is. I think our focus, in particular on this game and Ohio State, all those other things, that’s kind of for others to debate and talk about and however it falls. It’s not anything we concern ourselves with or worry about, [there’s] nothing we can do. Our total focus is on preparing for this ball game.”
On their third-down efficiency:
“Yeah, it’s something we emphasize and talk about. I think we’ve got to win on third down and get off the field defensively and on offense it’s how you extend drives. You’ve got to be able to convert. I thought DJ Moore and Taivon Jacobs made some great catches on third down, I think Max did a great job putting the ball where it needed to be and the O-line did a great job protecting. There were times where we hit some good runs on third down as well. I think you always got to mix it up, keep teams off balance as to what you’re doing, but at the end of the day you’ve got to figure out what you can execute on third down in order to stay on the field. Again, I thought we had a good plan put together and our guys executed it.”
On beating Ohio State in the recruiting of local players:
“Recruiting is a top priority of the program for sure, on a day-to-day basis. We’re doing a lot of those things to keep those guys around. That’s what’s noticeable in terms of our improvement of our team on the field, our improvement of our facilities, our overall efforts toward recruiting this area. We work tirelessly as a staff to make sure that we are engaged with the area, with the coaches and all the great people in this area to make them feel welcome and at home here. We’re just starting to see the effects of that. We’re still a very young team in terms of that. That’ll be our focus every year – recruiting, in particular with emphasis here in this area, to continue to build a team and a roster that is… I think when you take the talent from this area every year, we can build a team that can compete with anyone. And that’s what we expect to do.”
On K Henry Darmstadter’s 51-yard field goal:
“I thought it was great. More than just that, it was great momentum going into the half. You look how we closed out both halves. The first half and the end of the game, I thought was big in the game and terrific by our guys. It was some great situational football. The play before that, Ty Johnson did a great job of getting down and sliding to save some time on the clock, not trying to gain five extra yards and run out of time. And for Henry to come in and hit that, it was big. It was a 51-yard field goal. That’s something we haven’t been able to do or have here in a while. Yeah, we can certainly build on that. [I’m] very excited for him, he’s been a great addition to our team.”
On LB Jermaine Carter Jr. and CB JC Jackson:
“Jermaine… that’s our guy. That’s our leader. He’s been productive in every game so far this year. Certainly, him getting downhill and making plays has helped us. He’s got great leadership qualities about him and makes a lot of plays and takes football very seriously and puts the work in everyday at practice. He’s been tremendous. And JC, I think again, he’s getting better and better every week. He’s a phenomenal talent. He’s an extremely gifted corner who’s just continuing to get better and better. If you look at the grand scheme of things for him, he was without football for two years, he came here and played last year, dealt with two shoulder injuries basically the entire season, and just played through it because he’s tough enough to do it. Wasn’t fully healthy, was two years out of football and playing, so there was some ups and downs, inconsistencies, which I think you’d expect from anyone. So now, with him having a full offseason with us, and now playing, he’s starting now to show what his capabilities are. I think he’ll just continue to get better.”
On what stood out when recruiting Bortenschlager, if it was his ‘quiet confidence’:
“I think it was that. You can tell, being around him, he’s got a good presence about him, he’s got a confidence to him, he’s extremely intelligent, he’s very thorough. Those are the qualities you really want – in any player those are helpful – but especially in your quarterback, you want those things. That’s what he is. He’s meticulous about the things he does. I think if you spend some time with him, you can see that, feel that, sense that and I think the same thing can be said for his teammates being around him. It was neat to see that, those guys, everyone in the locker room after the game was obviously very excited about the win, but it was a group of guys grabbing and hugging Max. They were excited for Max. That tells you what type of teammate someone is, when others are excited about another man’s success, that tells you about him. That’s what I thought was really neat after the game.”
On Ohio State Freshman RB J.K. Dobbins:
“He can run. He’s fast, he can make you miss, run you over, he plays with great effort and energy. There’s an excitement when he’s on, you can tell he plays full-speed. Yeah, there’s certainly a lot of different weapons they can use offensively, he’s one of them. For a guy like that, as a true freshman playing, it’s pretty phenomenal.”
On Bortenschlager’s running abilities:
“Yeah, I’m sure that definitely had an effect on him. Really, with the way things are built offensively, is to take what we’re able to get. I think us being able to be multiple and all that certainly helps us. Because I think when we can line up in different formations, and say ‘OK, what’s there, what can we go get.’ And if that includes a quarterback run, then Max has got to be able to do it. I think he showed it. Every guy has different strengths and weaknesses and all that, but I think Max is a complete player. Those are plays for him to make a decision and read, and he made the right decision when he did. He was effective. I don’t think we’re going to have Max carrying 30 times a game, but I think he can be effective, certainly, when it’s there for him.”
