Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen was probably the last coach to actually talk about football during the ACC kickoff event in Pinehurst, N.C., yesterday.

Instead, he regaled a handful of reporters with his "What I Did During My Summer Vacation" story, a tale that -- long story made very short -- included him stumbling into quicksand-like mud during a trip to Charleston, S.C., and then struggling to make it back onto his boat with a few family members.

When one of them asked if he should get some of his scrapes treated, he grumbled "We came out here to go fishing, so let's go fishing."

It was a little bit of a fishing expedition to prod the Fridge into discussing the annual preseason conference poll, which left Maryland in fifth place in the Atlantic Division.

"That's where they usually pick us," Friedgen said. "Where'd they pick us last year? We end up playing Wake Forest, and if we won that game, who knows? Maybe we would have played in the Orange Bowl, too."

There were some other nuggets to come out of the nearly 80-minute discussion, even stuff outside of the impending quarterback battle in camp (Jordan Steffy is still the No. 1 guy heading into August). Most of the Terrapins' wounded from the spring -- tailbacks Morgan Green and Da'Rel Scott, cornerback Isaiah Gardner and others -- are healthy, although cornerback Richard Taylor (partial left ACL tear) probably won't play in the Sept. 1 opener against Villanova.

In terms of Maryland's ever-shifting roster, defensive end Barrod Heggs is gone, following Jared Gaither into the abyss of academic ineligibility. Heggs, you might remember, started at Georgia Tech last fall before not making the trip to Virginia the next week. When Friedgen was asked if it was an ever-nebulous violation of team rules, he produced a classic Ralph-ism: "Yeah, they're my rules."

Also likely out of the scholarship mix for this year are freshmen Carl Russell and Joe Vellano, who will grayshirt and probably join the Terps for spring practice. By my unofficial (and if not precise, then darn close) count, that leaves the Terps at 87 scholarships. However, freshman tight end Devonte Campbell has yet to qualify, Friedgen hinted a few more freshmen might grayshirt and there's always a few borderline players academically heading into August.

That situation will probably shake itself out, perhaps even enough for Friedgen to fulfill one of his traditions and award scholarships to veteran walk-ons who have served the program well -- in this year's case, perhaps field goal snapper Brendan McDermond and reserve wideout and likely field goal holder Matt Goldberg.

One guy not on scholarship this year is lineman Donnie Woods, who left a year early to pursue a military career. Friedgen didn't join in the hoopla last December, cautioning that he wanted Woods to earn a degree. And sure enough, Friedgen stunned a reporter from Tampa trying to follow up on Woods' attempt to go to officer training school with some surprising news.

"He didn't pass ROTC," Friedgen grumbled. "He didn't pass anything this spring, so he's out of school."

As for some other nuggets around the conference:

* Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer is doing away with two-a-days this August, preferring instead to not rush through analysis of practice film at any point. The Hokies better not be tired when East Carolina comes calling on Sept. 1.

* Miami coach Randy Shannon has a "No Calls After Midnight" rule as part of his emphasis on discipline. The gist: News about a player arriving in the wee hours of the night will likely earn that player a game off.

* Georgia Tech's Chan Gailey was especially fired up toward the end of his session with the print media. When someone brought up the glamour of former Yellow Jacket wideout Calvin Johnson, Gailey had a quick reply.

"Y'all blew him up and made him as big as can be," Gailey drawled. "I don't coach glamour. I'm not a glamour guy."

* Predictably, three of the league's new coaches -- Butch Davis, Tom O'Brien and Shannon -- were surrounded with reporters, as were Beamer and Florida State's Bobby Bowden. Getting a seat around Gailey ... not quite so difficult.

* The finest moment of unintentional comedy came when someone asked Duke's Ted Roof about possibly recruiting via Facebook if other avenues (like text messaging) remain restricted. Roof looked a bit frightened, then said he didn't want his picture anywhere near a Facebook page.

* And finally ... for anyone wondering how long it would take Friedgen this season to begin carrying the flag anew for promoting five years of eligibility, the answer was a little under 42 minutes. The over/under on unprovoked rants this season concerning the NCAA's reluctance to go in that direction is eight.

-- Patrick Stevens