Maryland football made the trip up north on Saturday with the sixth practice of spring ball set at Morgan State, allowing fans to watch both teams practice and interact with the players and coaches. While Maryland will do the same at Ballou High School the week before the spring game, head coach Mike Locksley talks about the impact of practicing in Baltimore, where the quarterback battle stands, Isaac Bunyun’s move along the offensive line, Roman Hemby’s development and more.
Locksley On ‘Baltimore Day’
“One, obviously coming up here for Baltimore Day gives us an opportunity, like I said before, to thank Baltimore for the support that we have. I mean, it’s our largest city in our state. As far as practice, I mean, we got a red area practice. This wasn’t a full scrimmage. We actually had one period of live scrimmage where we were able to take guys to the ground. We got through today’s practice with being able to install the last part of our systems, which will allow us to build up into our first scrimmage next Saturday when we get down to the Ballou High School, my alma mater.”
On where the QB battle stands through six practices
“It’s a marathon…we’re going to live with the ups and downs that go along with the competition. As I told the guys, we won’t know our starter until a week before we open up against UConn. We’ve got a lot of work to get done. When you lose a four-year veteran like we did with Taulia, this next group is going to take some time. I do like the way that we’re developing. Being back in the room has been great because now I have a bird’s eye view of what they know and it helps us as we start making some decisions.”
On the identity of the program now
“I think the foundation, [Taulia] gets a lot of the credit because of the position he played but there’s so many people that have put us in this position to where we can say now that we’re ready to compete in the Big Ten Championships. Those guys had to put the foundation down and we’ve been able to now recruit and maintain and develop players that I think gives our program a chance moving forward.”
On the 2024 TE room
“Today for the tight ends, we missed a couple [of] guys. A.J. Szymanski was out today, in a limited capacity. Preston [Howard]…he was out, didn’t get to practice today, so we’re limited. But Dylan [Wade] is one of those freshmen, a year ago, that played quite a bit. The trio of freshman tight ends. When you lose the production that Corey Dyches gave us over the years, the tight end has been a focal point, Chig [Okonkwo] and the job he did for us. I think Dylan has a chance to be really special in that position.”
On Isaac Bunyun getting reps along the OL
“We’re taking a look at Isaac Bunyan on the offensive side. In the spring is where we typically do some of these things. We’ve done it over the years where we give a guy, Ike has been a three-year guy that’s really rotated and played a lot of good football for us on the defensive line, but I do think for him to have an opportunity at the next level, we’ve evaluated him over the last two to three months in our Terp Time workouts. We identified him as a guy [who] could possibly help us and give us a presence there, especially a veteran guy. He’s athletic, he’s strong, he’s got good power. So we’re taking a peek the first seven practices to see if this is a chance to improve our team and create some value for Ike.”
On the impact of local recruiting
“I think the big thing is I’m a byproduct of what we did here today. Having played right up the road at Towson State University, my high school coach, Frank, my youth league coaches, growing up in the DC area in the boys and girls club, this is us paying it forward. And to me, I’d be remised if I didn’t present the same opportunities that I’ve been given. What a better way to do it through the great game of football. And we’ve got a lot of guys that are taking advantage of this opportunity.”
On the unity having Morgan State and Maryland practice on the same day
“If you know the history of this thing, I have a chance to see the Commanders and I get a chance to root for the Ravens and one of the things that just jumps out to me is the passionate fanbase that we have up here in Baltimore. The way they represent and love the game. And so for us, we’ve got to do all we can to continue to put a product on the field that we can unify the state. We’re bringing it from the western part of the state, from the eastern shore, from Baltimore, all down to the flagship university. And through the goodwill of us extending ourselves and taking our show to them, they feel the love and appreciation we have for their support.”
On the addition of the portal offensive linemen
“[Aliou Bah] came in a little under the weather today, so we held him and then with [Josh] Kaltenberger, has stepped right in. His familiarity with the system, having been with Josh [Gattis] before heading over to Purdue gives us a presence of a veteran guy at the center position. As I said, we’ll be a high school centric recruiting process, but to be able to bring in guys like Aliou Bah and Kaltenberger and even Alan Herron over there, the right tackle position allows us to grow those young linemen up the right way and not necessarily have to be forced to throw them to the fire, but I do like the additions the way they’ve kind of adapted to our program.”
On the workload for RB Roman Hemby in 2024
“We lost a lot of firepower on the offensive side of the ball, but I feel like we’ve recruited well and we’ve developed the talent behind it. Roman is a byproduct of one of those guys that has continued to develop in our program each year. I saw it today. I saw a lot of explosive stuff at the backend where maybe a couple of years ago, he wasn’t making that safety miss. I saw him really develop and he’s added tremendous, tremendous value to our team. But I think what you’re going to see is we’ll have to have some other guys step up. I thought today we saw Nolan Ray, the young tailback, step up. Great balance and body control a year ago. He didn’t get to play as much, dealt with some medical conditions that prevented him, but I’ve been really impressed with the way he’s kind of acclimated and the reps he’s had, he’s made plays for, so feel good about it.”
On how close Maryland is to a Big Ten championship
“I mean again, you look at what we’ve been able to accomplish. If you look at us a year ago, I think we finished fifth in the league and with the addition of the four teams coming in, I now say that we’re the best and the toughest conference in the country and the work’s cut out for us, but I do feel that the players that have been in our program over the last three, four years have really laid a foundation for us to build on as we head into what the new look Big Ten looks like. And to me, we’re not backing off the desire to compete for Big Ten championships. I know we’re capable of doing that. We’ve shown that we can compete at a high level. What we got to do now is get the right people in here. We’ve got to control the three-hour radius of our campus, do a great job of showing that we are a program that has the ability to take you where you can’t take yourself. And I’m gonna tell you, the sky’s the limit, the best is ahead.”
On the balance of one position group shining at another position’s expense
“But that’s what practice is all about. One of my big things going into this year is that you know what, you’re going to have to fail a little bit. Success and failure go hand in hand. And you’re going to have practices where you fail and when you fail, we’ve got to take the lesson from the failure. And then when we have success, we’ve got to quality control and say why it worked and then do a great job of teaching from both sides of it, the failure and the successes. So, as you said, we will have winners and losers in practice. I like to see the ebb and flow of it throughout the course of a practice because it’s a lot like a game. There’ll be times in a game where the offense is doing a tremendous job. Defense may not be holding up and we’ve got to take care of doing the necessary things to find a way to win and vice versa. So, I’m okay with the ebb and flow of how practice goes and the big key for me is staying healthy and developing our team as we head into the summer.”
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