Friedgen, O’Brien garner ACC honors

A little more than a year ago, Terrapin football coach Ralph Friedgen was fighting to keep his job as rumors swirled that he would be fired.

Yesterday, just days after Friedgen and the Terps finished engineering one of the top regular-season turnarounds in college football, he earned a significant semblance of vindication: The Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association voted him ACC Coach of the Year.

"I hope this serves as an inspiration for a lot of people that have things that aren't going right," Friedgen said at a press conference. "A year ago, people wanted me to make changes, and I refused to do that because I felt like I had the right people around me. I kind of stuck with my guns, and this is vindication that I was right."

Friedgen, who was also named ACC Coach of the Year in 2001, led the Terps to an 8-4 record this season, a six-win improvement from last year's disappointing 2-10 campaign. Friedgen received 29 of 61 first-place votes, 10 more than runner-up Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.

The 10th-year coach said he hadn't really thought about winning the award in the nights leading up to the voting. He also acknowledged that although he felt honored to receive it, the award reflected the hard work of the entire program, a sentiment his starting quarterback shared.

"Football is the ultimate team game," Danny O'Brien said. "You've got to have everyone from the top down — from the star players all the way down to the scout team — going hard every day in practice. I think, especially in football, an individual award reflects the whole team, and we are happy for him because he deserves it."

O'Brien made sure Friedgen wasn't the only Terp to haul in end-of-season hardware, running away with the conference's Rookie of the Year and Offensive Rookie of the Year awards.

When he got out of the shower Monday night, O'Brien said he was greeted by a text message from Friedgen asking for O'Brien to call him. Initially worried about the meaning of his coach's late-night request, O'Brien's tone changed immediately when Friedgen told him about the honors.

"It was definitely a special moment," said O'Brien, who received 54 of 61 first-place selections in Rookie of the Year voting. "It was the first time I was really able to reflect on the whole season because so much of what we have done has been about focusing on the next opponent. It was a real special night."

There was little doubt O'Brien would win the awards. The redshirt freshman won ACC Rookie of the Week honors five times this season and finished with 2,257 yards passing, 21 touchdowns and just six interceptions. His 135.2 passer rating was third-best in the country among freshman quarterbacks, and his touchdown totals were second-best in school history.

"I think it's awesome, and I couldn't be more proud of him," offensive lineman Paul Pinegar said. "He didn't play really the first four games, and to be able to step into that role and win Rookie of the Year, it's just great for him and the team."

lemaire@umdbk.com