Maryland football is less than one week away from the start of fall camp with the 2023 season inching close. Head coach Mike Locksley left no grey area during his turn at the podium on Thursday after stating, “our program is at a point finally we can say we’re here to compete for Big Ten championships.”
With a blend of new faces complementing the returning veterans to lead Maryland into the fall, Locksley dove into where the program stands heading into his fifth year as head coach.
“I like the trajectory of the program. I like where we are,” Locksley said on the BTN set. “But as I’ve always said, we’re a developmental program. So we’re still looking to get better and to be able to show the last couple of years, just kind of what we have become. It’s good to see but we’ve got to knock it all down and start over. You know, too many times, people have the opinion that you can build on what you did a year ago when you really can’t. You start over from scratch and that’s where we are right now.”
One question looming over Maryland is how their offensive line will perform this season. Locksley mentioned how big of a necessity it is to have stellar play at that position. “We all understand [that] to win in the Big Ten, it starts with how you play inside the trenches,” he said at the podium. “So, there’s been no doubt that we put a premium on how we recruit to prepare to play in the Big Ten,” Locksley said. Maryland did so by adding three veterans from the transfer portal to fill starting role, a group that Locksley has confidence in.
“I think it’ll show dividends early to be able to go get a guy like Gotti [Ayedze] from Frostburg, to go get a guy like Corey Bullock from North Carolina Central. If you look at the way we’ve attacked the portal, I kind of like guys that are coming up,” Locksley said.
Not only will a strong offensive line benefit Maryland’s running game, but also Tagovailoa and the passing game. One area Locksley wants to see the senior quarterback improve is hitting on deeper routes and staying true to his progression.
“I thought we left a few big plays on the field in the deep passing game, Lia, and his ability to do the things off the platform and create big plays when nothing is there is unmatched,” Locksley said. “The next step for him this year is the ball placement on the deep post, the ball placement on the seven route, being able to get through the progression and not come off and throw guys open.”
Coincidentally, Tagovailoa said deep and big shot plays are what first-year offensive coordinators Josh Gattis and Kevin Sumlin have brought to Maryland’s offense. “I think the biggest thing for us last year, we didn’t really take shots down the field…with coach Gattis [and] coach Sumlin here, I think we’ll be making more down the field throws and really airing the ball out,” Tagovailoa said.
Gattis also brings a running aspect to the offense and Hemby touched on the plethora of running backs the Terps will use this season.
“I feel like we have a great running back room. Not just me and Antwain [Littleton], outside of that. And we got a lot of people that can make plays on the field no matter when they’re given the opportunity,” he added. Maryland returns its entire running back room from last season and its depth will loom large as the Terps look to create a balanced attack.
“We know a lot of the times during the season, people get worn down and that’s just the nature of everything,” Hemby added.
Maryland is coming off its first eight-win season in over a decade, but what fans are still awaiting is a signature win against the Big Ten elite. Maryland gave Michigan a scare last fall in Ann Arbor, and Ohio State needed all 60 minutes to outlast the Terps in College Park weeks later.
Heading into 2023, the hope from fans remains that with Tagovailoa leading a new-look, yet veteran team into the fall, Maryland can pull off an upset against the Big Ten elite. The margin for error against them is slim, though, and that’s been a point of emphasis through offseason workouts.
“Our strength coach actually brings it up to us,” Hemby said. “He says there’s about nine plays that kind of decided our season last year and I feel like in order for us to have a successful season and take that next step, we want to be on the right side of those nine plays this time. And hopefully, we’ll be where we want to be at the end of this journey.”
In a season filled with cautious optimism for Maryland, Tagovailoa addressed what he thinks it’ll take for the team to have a successful season. “A successful season to us is winning ten-plus games and winning the Big Ten championship.”
Training camp starts for Maryland on Aug. 2 in preparation for the season-opener against Towson on Sept. 2.
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