Baltimore Sun

Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen delivered an impassioned defense of Jordan Steffy yesterday, likening the beleaguered quarterback to his own son and making an unusual appeal to Terrapins fans to quit harassing Steffy.

“If you want to boo me, boo me. Don’t boo the kid,” Friedgen said during a media briefing noteworthy for the coach’s intensity, but also for the fact that he wouldn’t commit to starting the fifth-year senior Saturday at Middle Tennessee State.

The team was waiting for X-ray results on Steffy’s thumb, injured in Maryland’s 14-7 season-opening victory over Delaware at Byrd Stadium. Friedgen labeled the quarterback “questionable” for the game. But even if Steffy is healthy, Friedgen said it was premature to say who would start.

“First of all, we’ve got to see if he can play at all,” Friedgen said of Steffy.

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Chris Turner and Josh Portis have been taking snaps in Steffy’s absence. Steffy was unavailable for comment yesterday but is expected to be available today.

The Terrapins might have an uncertain quarterback situation – again – but Friedgen was clear in his feelings about Steffy and about some fans’ hostile treatment of the player at Saturday’s game. Steffy was booed periodically, the fans’ displeasure growing as he threw two interceptions in the second half.

Friedgen paused for several seconds to collect his thoughts before launching into his defense of Steffy, his voice quickening and becoming more emphatic as he spoke.

“You know, there are a lot of things that bother me right now with this whole thing,” the coach said. “I’ve got a kid who has done everything that I could possibly ask him to do. Would I like him to make some better decisions or throw some better passes? Sure. But this kid to me is the epitome of what we want in this football program.

“You know, I’m like the father. If you’re booing my son, I’m going to get upset. That’s how I look at this kid. If he was a kid that didn’t give effort, that didn’t prepare, then that would be a different story. That’s not the case with the kid,” the coach said.