Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley met with the media for the final time on Thursday as the Terps prepare to face Michigan State for a 3:30 PM kickoff.
No Changes in Injury Status
Two days after saying that both quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and wide receiver Rakim Jarrett are gametime decisions, Locksley reiterated that message on Thursday.
“[Rakim] was actually able to have a practice yesterday. He will still be a gametime decision for us, as will our quarterback be a gametime decision as all of coaches in this league have decided to do. I’ll stay right along with those gametime decisions,” he added.
Taulia was sported wearing a brace on his right knee during the open portion of Tuesday’s practice as he rehabs his hip and knee injuries sustained during last weekend’s loss. Maryland will hope to have linebacker Ruben Hyppolite available alongside both Jarrett and Taulia as they look to start 4-1 for the second consecutive season. Maryland will also be without safety Glen Miller on Saturday.
Long Return for Demus
Not only will this weekend’s game be the first game inside SECU Stadium, but it’ll be the one year anniversary of the season-ending injury that Dontay Demus suffered last fall. The long road to recovery even suffered a spring setback, but was still able to return to the field before becoming a full participant during July’s player-run practices. Demus hasn’t generated the production that he did through the first four games of last season, but Locksley sees a player that’s gradually returned to form.
“I think the biggest thing when you think about, like you said, a year anniversary, the fact that he’s back and has been back for quite some time. Testament to his work ethic but I also would say that though statistically maybe not on the track that he was at the point going into his injury, he’s still offering so much more to this team and has been a great asset from a leadership standpoint, a toughness standpoint. The things we’re asking them to do, and again, even if he’s at 85%, 85%, Dontay Demus is better than a hundred percent of a lot of other guys in the country. And so I think you’ll see him continue to get better as the season goes on because, you know, the more time he has, the stronger he gets.”
Demus came close to coming down with his first touchdown in the week two win at Charlotte, but has yet to find the endzone through the first four games with just eight catches for 69 yards. Locksley sees a path for those numbers to improve through the course of the season. “We’ve kind of brought ’em along somewhat on a pitch count, watching how much load we have on them. Now that we’re into the, the Big Ten season, you know, I would imagine he’s gonna continue to get stronger, with each practice, with each day, and I can see his contribution increasing as we move forward.”
Maryland Preparing for Weather
Saturday will likely be a wet one with currently a 70% chance of rain as Hurricane Ian makes landfall. Locksley added that “ball security becomes even more important” with Maryland looking to win the turnover battle against the Spartans for the first time this season. Weather conditions was something that the team covered in practice this week.
“We actually took care of [that] yesterday, we had a couple of our different periods where we utilize wet balls where we sprayed the balls down before we snapped them so the quarterback and receivers have to be used to operating with wet footballs. As a receiver when the ball is wet those gloves that they manufacture nowadays aren’t great. So we talk to them about the importance of using their hands and then even when in traffic body catching at times to secure the ball. Talk on the defensive side of a wet ball, a wet field. The importance of having your feet underneath you.”
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