Mike Locksley on Music City Bowl berth, Maryland facing Auburn

Maryland received official word on Sunday afternoon that they’ll head to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the Auburn Tigers in the Music City Bowl, set for a 2 PM kickoff on December 30 broadcast on ABC.

The upcoming matchup between Auburn and Maryland marks the first game between the two programs since 1983, but Maryland will now look to record its third consecutive bowl win in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history. After Las Vegas and Phoenix appeared to be the likely bowl destinations through November, the outcomes of championship Saturday derailed those projections as the Terps will make their first-ever appearance in the Music City Bowl.

“For me, the Music City Bowl elevates our program. It’s a December 30th bowl game. It’s one that, you know, I know our players are excited about getting down to Nashville, which is a great football city. We’ve got a few players that are on TV playing now that, are there with the Tennessee Titans, Chig Okonkwo and Jaelyn Duncan, that are there in that area. So we’re looking forward to getting down there. I know it’s a great bowl game and it’s a great opportunity against an SEC opponent.”

The late December bowl game also gives Maryland roughly a full month of extra practices, something that head coach Mike Locksley has previously referenced as critical to roster development.

“What we try to do is with our players, we want them to enjoy this journey of, of preparing for the bowl game. We get back to the base fundamentals of the game. We reinstall our systems, which gives the younger players that maybe didn’t have as much impact on the season, now this is their opportunity. So for us, it’s all teaching. It’s continuing to develop the players in our program that choose to play in the game. And I know for us, we’ve got some talented young players that I’m excited to kind of see them and their growth over the next 20, 25 days of work that we’ll get. But we’ll also have enough time to get them a break and get them recovered so that we can put the best product on the field that we possibly can.”

More from Locksley on Auburn, his relationship with head coach Hugh Freeze and more:

Locksley on the impact of reaching third consecutive bowl game

”As I’ve said before, the opportunity to continue to develop our team through these practices that we’re able to get because of being bowl eligible for the third straight year, you just can’t put a price tag on it. These games have propelled a lot of the players that have had made pays for us this year, games like this have propelled those guys. I can think back two years ago to the Pinstripe Bowl where guys like Antwain Littleton and Roman Hemby, both kind of came onto the scene a year ago. Octavian Smith making plays, [Shaleak Knotts] making pays for us so great opportunity. I know we’re all excited about it. It’s a December 30th bowl. It’s in Nashville. It helps elevate our program.”

Locksley on Maryland’s expected player availability in bowl game

“We’ve met. We’ve had some meetings with some guys that have decided that are planning on playing in the game. Some guys are still trying to decide, were waiting to see what bowl game and what opportunities we had. So I’m sure we’ll be able to probably solidify who’ll be around. The portal window is opening up [Monday]. It’s still a lot of moving pieces there, but we’ll have a good amount of our guys prepared to go down there, play and put on a great show.”

On QB Taulia Tagovailoa’s availability

“I would anticipate it, but again, until I get back and now that we had the announcement, I’ve not had an opportunity to speak to a bunch of these guys, but it was my understanding that Taulia wants to and expects to play.”

On the outgoing portal departures

“I really don’t have much to say until the portal window opens. Obviously, as I’ve said before around here, the portal giveth and it taketh away. And again, this is the landscape of college football. This is where we are with it. We understand it. We know that we’ll lose certain guys, a certain percentage of guys every year, but we’ll also have an opportunity to improve our team because of the transfer portal. Any time players make decisions to leave the program, they all do it for their own selfish reasons or their own intentional reasons. And we wish them well, as we’ve done everybody else that’s started here in our program and made the decision to leave. We wish them nothing but the best.”

On building the foundation of the program

“It’s unique now because with the opportunities that kids have because of the new rules and the new landscape that we’re amongst. To see guys finish things that they started, it’s rewarding and it’s great to see. We want to put the best product on the field that we can. As we’ve always said, the end of our ‘23 season was the Rutgers game. This is really the start of the ‘24 campaign for the Maryland football family. We’ve got some young players that will have opportunities to come in and kind of make a name for themselves. But we also have some veteran players that want to leave the right way and have one more opportunity to go out with a bowl win, which would give us our third straight win in a bowl game, which is something that I think for their legacies that they like to see happen.”

How Locksley prepares for selection day

“For us, number one, we knew that there’s about two or three games that we would have an opportunity to be a part of. We started doing preliminary scouting reports on some of the potential teams and things that we read and heard about, but it’s really, we don’t have any control over it and it’s how kind of things slot and fall. But I knew that because of our team and the way this team has fought, having an explosive offense at times, defensively being one of the more improved defenses, that we would be attractive to a lot of different bowls with the type of players we have. And so to have the opportunity to be selected, and if you look at the pecking order in which they are able to select, I mean it speaks volumes to what the Music City Bowl thought about our program to pick us. Because they had opportunities to pick others and they chose to pick us. And we hope Terp Nation shows up and responds the right way by showing up down in Nashville supporting us.”

On the chance to expand the Maryland brand into Nashville

“It’s great. Nashville is a city that I’m pretty familiar with having spent time in Tuscaloosa, understanding that Nashville is a great, great city. It’s a place that I know for our fans and opportunity, not just to see a great football game against an SEC opponent in Auburn, but also, take in music city down there. And so to me, I think it’s a win-win. Obviously it elevates our program. When you play games as close to January 1 as you can, those extra practices, but also it elevates in the way our program is viewed. I think it’s great for us here at the university.”

On relationship, familiarity with Auburn HC Hugh Freeze

“In 2016, when Coach Freeze was at Ole Miss, I was there as an analyst at Bama and was a part of seeing that. I actually was part of, we interviewed Coach Freeze for a position as well so I’ve gotten to know him over the years and he’s one of those guys that did it the right way. He came up through the ranks as a high school coach, really successful high school coach there in Tennessee and climbed the ladder and really has done a tremendous job. Great offensive mind, a guy that I got a lot of respect for him and the job that he does. I know that they’re finishing their first year under him but there’s no doubt that he’ll recruit at a high level and that he’ll have his team continue to get better and better.”

On Locksley’s general thoughts on Auburn

“I couldn’t tell you the last time we faced an SEC team either, but obviously, you know, the SEC and the Big Ten are two of the top conferences, if not the two top conferences in all of college football so anytime you have an opportunity to compete against the SEC, it’s something that’s important. Auburn being the opponent, talented team. They recruited a really high level there. As I said earlier, Hugh Freeze and his staff are guys that I have a lot of respect for them as football coaches and having faced, Hugh as an assistant when he was the head coach at Ole Miss, have gotten to know him over the years that this will be a great opportunity for the Terps to go up against a great SEC opponent like Auburn.”

On P Anthony Pecorella’s recovery

“I think one, it’s so unfortunate where we are with the landscape of college football where these teams are, kids come into programs and leave for their own different reasons and coaches leave.

But, you know, I’m one of those guys that once we recruit you and you’ve been a part of this program, regardless of whether you finish here or how you finish here, I think it’s important that these are not just four-year relationships, but the next 40 year. And Anthony did some great things for us here in our program, played a part in helping us create the foundation that we are on. Any time you see a family member go through some tough times and health crises like Anthony’s just faced, it’s important for us to support and I know our family reached out to support [him]. The Maryland football family has always been behind him, his former brothers and his teammates that played with him here at Maryland. It was important when we found out about it that we got him and I know our specialist created a GoFundMe deal with, for every kick made to raise money to help support Anthony and his cause. So it’s a win-win and we’re just grateful that Pec has come through this thing the right way.”

On what it means to see Pecorella ring the bell

“It just means that our prayers have been answered. To see him go through the things he went through and see him battle, we’re not surprised. That’s the same type of leadership and the same type of culture that we’ve instilled here in our program and Anthony’s a byproduct of the battle of fighting cancer and to be able to win the battle is great and we’re all grateful for him.”

On whether there’s added motivation against Auburn as a former Alabama assistant

“No, not at all, man. My biggest battle will be at the house. I got a daughter that graduated. She has an Auburn degree hanging up in our house. I spent time obviously at Alabama so I just got to be careful of not game planning and taking anything home that she might be able to decipher and kind of give them any edge. But no, it’s, it’s great opportunity. I mean, Auburn is one of those programs that when you think of college football, they’re part of that pageantry of college football. It’ll be a great opportunity, a great town being in Nashville. The TransPerfect Music City Bowl is a step up for us in terms of elevating our program and I know we’re all excited for this opportunity.”

Mike Locksley on Music City Bowl berth, Maryland facing Auburn

Ahmed Ghafir