Former player talks coaching against Maryland in opener, FAU evaluates new coordinator

Ahmed Ghafir
Aug 25
3 min read

Maryland football is set to kick off year seven of the Mike Locksley era this weekend against Florida Atlantic with the Terps a two-touchdown favorite heading into kickoff on Saturday.

The Owls return just seven starters from a season ago, including two on defense, but they’ll be led by head coach Zach Kittley, former Texas Tech OC before becoming the youngest head coach in FBS this offseason. But the first-ever matchup between the two teams will a homecoming for one with JaJuan Dulaney set to take the opposite sideline for the first time in nine years.

Delaney, a Georgia native, played in 13 games in four seasons with the program after arriving as an offensive lineman as a three-star prospect out of McEachern High School (GA) before transferring to Texas Tech in 2017.

“It's definitely an honor to go back and play against the alma mater. Mike Locksley was somebody that recruited me, I got an opportunity to play for him. It's gonna feel good walking back into the stadium, getting back there,” Dulaney said last week. “I haven't been back there since I graduated, but ultimately, at the end of the day, it's all about us. We're trying to try to win a game. We got to keep it as such.”

As for the game itself, head coach Zach Kittley called it an “unconventional first game” given the three new coordinators now in College Park working under head coach Mike Locksley.

“Special teams coordinator, he’s coordinated special teams for a long time and so we feel pretty confident with what we’re going to see there,” Kittley said.

“You’re looking at their new defensive coordinator, he hasn’t called plays since 2016, 2017 in the NFL for the Colts. So those are really his only two years of being a true defensive coordinator. He’s been more of a defensive line, outside linebackers kind of guy his career. He’s got a great resume, been around the block a long time, coached a ton of football so I have no doubt we’re going to see some really good stuff defensively from them. But as far as be able to say this is what he’s called in the past, this is what it’s supposed to look like, we really don’t know. For us, we feel like we’ve got a good gameplan going in and we’re going to have to adapt as we go because we really don’t know. They got a few snaps in their spring game but spring game don’t tell you [anything], in my opinion.”

While no announcement on the starting quarterback is expected to be made until the team takes first-team reps against the Owls on Saturday, the Terps’ identity over the last six seasons has been the strength of the passing attack given the offense has finished top three in the Big Ten in passing yards each season since 2020. But Kittley is mindful of the pedigree that new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton adds to the Terps’ identity as the offense looks to find more balance in 2025.

“Coach Locksley, great coach, great offensive mind. He’s been doing it for a really long time. He likes to put the ball in the air. He hired Pep Hamilton to be his offensive coordinator who’s really, really good in the run game. And you’ve got to find some stuff in his past, marry his run game stuff with what coach Locksley wants to do in the pass game, see what kind of play action pass stuff can they do.”

Kickoff is set for noon on the Big Ten Network.

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