BTN analyst Gerry DiNardo dives into fall camp takeaways, 2025 expectations for Maryland football

Ahmed Ghafir
Aug 6
6 min read

Days after watching one of Maryland football’s first practices of fall camp, BTN analyst Gerry DiNardo dove into his early season outlook on GCR and talked about Locksley’s expectations in 2025:

Whether DiNardo felt a sense of pressure from Maryland on BTN tour day

“It’s a great question, because I have this theory, when you look at the last few years with Maryland football, if you look at 2021 and 2022, they won eight games. They won two bowl games. When you go to 23 okay, they start off 5-0. The conversation is is Maryland ready to challenge the best teams in the conference? They lose their next four games, and they wind up not beating any of those teams. They come back last year and they win one conference game. And my point is this, they got distracted in 2023 when everyone started saying ‘they're going to challenge the best teams.’ That's the worst thing you want to your team to hear, and now they're trying to dig out of that hole. And so I don't think this is an ‘X and O’ year. I don't think this is a scheme year. I don't think this is anything but getting this team to play as hard as they've ever played to win the three non-conference games they open up with and to beat the matchup opponents and not worry about beating the best teams in the conference and getting distracted like they did a few years ago.”

How competitive the program can be in the Big Ten

“In 1972 when Title IX was passed and the scholarship started getting cut for football so that our daughters could have the same opportunities as our sons had when, when that started happening it was the end of college football. We were losing all our scholarships, and we went from unlimited to 105. Then we went 105 to 95 then we went to 105 to 85. And every time there's been a seismic change in college football, everyone thinks about all the negative and that it's not going to work, and yet, the haves and the haves. It's a have a have not business. Indiana can come along like they did last year. I'm not saying that can't happen, but you could pay them not pay them. You could do NIL not do NIL. I've never been - and I've been involved with college football since 1971 in one way or another - I've never seen a rule change or anything else change that makes a have, a have not and a have not a have. Now that can happen temporarily, but it won't last very long, because the haves will not have it.”

On Maryland’s QB room, managing Malik Washington

“Well, you know, I don't think it's changed. I think it's pretty simple, who, whoever wins the job in camp. We can't start coaching, worrying about the portal and worrying about players leaving again, I go back to the haves and the have not. We just do whatever we can. The best thing for Malik, or whoever starts a quarterback at Maryland, is the run game on offense and being better on defense. I mean, the quarterback's the most important position, maybe the most position of all sports. But you can't throw someone in there that's not ready and then expect them to win a game that you wouldn't have won if there wasn't someone else at quarterback. Play the matchup, opponent. Beat the non conference schools. I think that's where the focus has to be. They just have to rebound from the last year. And the last year, you know, nobody liked it. [Locksley] talked about he lost the locker room and he could put, he put his desk in the locker room. He's doing all the right things, saying all the right things. He's just got to make it come true.”

Whether a true freshman can be ready to handle a Big Ten slate

“I believe a true freshman quarterback - now, Malik, you know, was limited [Monday], a couple days ago. Everyone knows that, so we didn't get to see him at full strength. It depends who they're playing. Depends who they're playing. Do I expect him to be good enough to beat the three non-cons that they start with?...Now keep, keep going. And you know who else in the conference now can they match up with? Yeah, you win the non con, and you the matchups in the in the conference. So do I think he can do that? I mean, again, I didn't see him a lot, yes, two days ago. But yes, I think any quarterback could do it if they don't have a run game. No, he can't do it. If they can't stop anyone on defense, no, [he] can't do it. If they support him with the with the other 21 players, yeah, I think we can do it.”

On the 2025 conference schedule

“I'm not trying to say that Maryland can't beat the best teams in the conference and all that. I'm just saying it's got to be one step at a time. It's got to be people will continue to support you if you're beating the teams that you should beat. From first hand experience, when you lose to a team as a coach that you are better talented than I mean, that's on you. I mean, there's no greater pressure than a coach losing to a team who has less talent. So that's where it starts for me, with the team that's on the rebound right. And Locks has done that. Locks has done that until last year. Then we started talking about, competing in the Eastern Division. I didn't think that was smart. I'm not saying them. I'm saying everyone's following Maryland. I got tired of guys on BTN desks talking about that. I kept saying, you don't just all of a sudden challenge the best teams. They've been doing this for 100 years. It's gonna take a little bit more time than being 5-0.”

On describing Locksley’s tenure at Maryland to-date

“Well, I mean, I think he's done a terrific job. I mean, I think that his best coaching is not behind him, and his best coaching better be this year, because I think it's fair. I think that's a fair expectation. And if he has the best year, he's revamped the staff. One of the issues is he only had 103 at camp. He's allowed to have 120 but he couldn't have 120 because some of the things that the administration had said to him, and so it was a miscalculation on both sides of it. So, he wasn't even three deep in the offensive line two days ago. And there's a lot of things that he can't say that are out there. It's a very difficult job. I'll say this. So it's not as difficult job as it was when it was east and west. So that's a plus.”

Whether it’s good that Maryland has a young team

“Well, if you're not motivated to start over after winning one conference game a year ago, I don't know what would motivate a team. And again, you and I have both great fans of Locks, I think he's doing all the right thing. There's been a lot said about this. He has a sign outside his locker room, leave your jewelry, money. So, yeah, I'll move my desk in the locker room if I have to. I mean, he can't be doing anything more than he's doing, and the players have to realize that. What player on the team wants to start a season where we won one conference game the previous year who's not highly motivated? I don't care what year you are. If you're on that team and you're coming off a one win season in the conference, you know, it's not about X's and O's and scheme this year. It's about attitude. It's about toughness. It's about being together. It's about not arguing about NIL and the money issues that we're all adjusting to. They got to put it behind them and move on.”

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