Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley previews the start of fall camp

Everything that Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said ahead of the first practice of fall camp:

Opening statement

“It's great to be back as we head into practice number one later today, I know that our message has been simple. As we entered into our team meeting yesterday - anything and everything that took place a year ago, we’ve ripped off the rear view mirror and it’s moving forward only. I'm really confident that we have this strong foundation here. You hear me talk a lot about the foundation and I've said it before, we've had the resources to build the foundation. And what we want to do now is take the next step is to elevate. And the reason that I feel good about the foundation is when you have a strong foundation, it allows you to bounce back. And to me, that's the key for this group, that of young, hungry, talented players, as well as a veteran group of players that knows what it takes to get this program back where we all want it to be.”

“I love the makeup of our coaching staff. I know I had the media out to my house a couple days ago and you guys got a chance to hear firsthand from the experience, from the mentality of what this coaching staff brings. They bring a tremendous amount of energy, a tremendous amount of detail. And from a development standpoint, I've already seen the fruits of having some of the coaches that we've brought in about how the guys work this summer. There's a real excitement in our building. There's obviously been a lot of change within our athletic department. I know my boss, Jim Smith is here today, and as I've said before, there's a tremendous amount of alignment and there's a newness with the energy of bringing in and having the type of change that we've had. I can't wait to get out there today. I really can't to see just - kind of like Christmas in August, as I usually call it, I know it’s July 30 so you guys have said it a little early but it's Christmas time for us as football coaches because we get to find out just what kind of team we have and then we get to start building the culture that we’ll need to get us through a really tough season. With that said, it's time to go to work.”

On avoiding the same pitfalls from 2024 in 2025

“I think the big thing is lessons you get from - and it's for winning and failing. Sometimes when you say things, you guys hear the parts you want to hear but I think what shouldn't be lost is that, as I said, the rear view mirror has been ripped off now for us. I said a week ago, our team reported yesterday and what I'll tell you is that we have a foundation that we've built over the last six seasons. This is year seven for me. With the type of foundation we have, the bounce back for me is the part that we're focused our energies on moving forward. I think our players understand. I think we understand, as the landscape has continued to evolve that we just have to be ready to pivot. If I were to take a lesson from it, it's kind of like I always talk to you guys about being a parent. As a parent, to be a good parent, you have to anticipate things. I didn't anticipate it and that's the part that hopefully you heard. But now that I know about it, as I've said before, we've done things and we’ve put people in positions to where I don't feel like we'll have to deal with those types of issues.”

On the QB competition

“We've done this dance before, Gene, you and I. We will know who our quarterback is on Sunday before we start preparation for game one. We will know. You will know when we walk out the guy that takes the first snap. Because there's a lot of things that come into play, and I can tell you that to stand up and say that I know who the guy is. I know I got a room of really talented quarterbacks. The three that really shine for me: Justyn Martin, Khristian Martin, Malik Washington. All similar skill sets, all similar builds. We only need one genre of offense with this group because they're all very similar. And I'm really excited about looking forward to the competition that I'm about to see here the next 25 days.”

On adjusting to the new era of college athletics

“Probaby a lot like you, Sam. You're going from a student reporter. Now, Baltimore Sun. First year man, let’s go. How are you handling it? I grew up in change. I grew up in the south side of DC and change was every single day for me, so I live in that wheelhouse. It’s something I'm used to. Maybe some people around here aren't, maybe you guys aren't, but I know a lot of the type of guys that I recruit tend to be similar to me in personality. We embrace it. I'm excited about change. Change is a good thing, especially when you have wisdom and you bring in people that understand what you want to get accomplished. There's a tremendous amount of alignment and that gives me comfort.”

On handling a more NFL-model styled program

“You’re a pro now. You’re working for the Baltimore Sun. When you walk in, are you discussing your salary with your counterparts? Probably not. Those are the life lessons that I have to start teaching, that I didn't have to teach a year ago, that I didn't anticipate teaching. Imagine an 18 year old whose scholarship has been the same as everybody else's for the last 100 years, and now all of a sudden, there's a difference in scholarship checks. Those are the things as a parent I should have and needed to anticipate. What I'll say is this is the new landscape. When you start paying people, they become pros. You're a pro. My players are pros because they are being paid. The difference is I have a moral compass, I know my boss has the same moral compass that we're in the business of educating while teaching them how to be pros is the first step for us. Handling that part is easy for me, because I didn't get to be a pro. And because of the degree I’ve earned, I'm able to be and do the things that I do. And there's the moral compass that we have as coaches, as teachers, as administrators, that yeah, they're pros in their respective sport, but we still have some development to do as people. And that's where my energy and the things and the experiences I have, I have to lead from the front.”

On the three new coordinators leading Maryland football

“I think the big thing when you bring in the experience that we brought in, I learned under Coach Saban that it's really important that even though you bring new people in, what we do is still Maryland's intellectual property. We're running Maryland's offense, Maryland's defense, Maryland's special teams. Those guys, much like I was able to do when I came in as a coordinator, are able to put their personalities on what we do. I think if you study those three and you look at what Pep has done, his time in Stanford, his time at Michigan. And I said this before, if you were to just take his picture and name off the resume and put it in front of executives that hire head coaches, you'd have a hard time not hiring Pep Hamilton. And I think the other side of it is Ted Monachino and his experience at the NFL level, in a system that is very complementary to what we've done. The genre of defense we played, but maybe some added value that he brings in because of the experience. He's got a young group of outside backers. If there's been an Achilles heel for us on defenses, being able to generate pass rush without adding people. But then the biggest hire for me, and not that it's more important than the other two, but for me, being able to hire full-time special teams coordinator with the experience and pedigree of Andre Powell. Andre and I've worked together before, competed against him. His experience, we have to, because of the type of athletes, the type of players we have in our program, I have an expectation that we should special teams better, and I expect Dre with his experience. We’ve added Chili Davis to the mix with him, another full-time guy, all their energies are on special teams. And as we've seen, special teams generate a tremendous amount of momentum in games. And with those two and their experience, you put those three together. I think, as you'll see as we progress through camp, that experience have allowed us to elevate.”

On Jim Smith’s impact on the program

“I love the hire. Obviously, those types of things happen above my pay grade but I’ve got a lot of respect for the work that Jim has done. You look at his pedigree, he knows what championship level looks like. He's won major league baseball championships. He's been a part of Ohio State, probably has been one of bluebloods in college athletics a long time, and much like myself, having the opportunities to work under people like Nick Saban. To get the chance to work under an administrator that has built pro models, because we're in an area where we need to maybe think outside of the box. And I know from the conversations and the communication that we have, which is pretty much on a daily basis, there's a tremendous amount of alignment that this area could be a very fruitful area in real NIL. And we've got a guy that understands that market. I'm looking forward to working with him to create the value that allows us to keep these top players right here at home.”

On new skill players emerging into new positions

“And that's the part I like to speak in code, and I try to message and code, and when I talk about being excited about the unknown. We have a lot of people that people haven't scouted, didn't scout, can't scout. They're gonna mess around and find out, per se, because we have recruited really well. They're young and we’ve played young. I heard Hal Hunter describe how [in] his 30 years of NFL coach he's always coached a rookie tackle, a rookie guard. And so to me, that's where, when I talk about being excited about the unknown, is because we inside the Jones-Hill House building, understand that we have some talented players. We've seen them all summer, we’ve seen their development, their growth. We've added pieces to the puzzle for this year that again, when you start paying people, they expect results now. And we're trying to expedite their growth. And the type of coaches that we've hired and the systems we put in I think will allow us to play some of these young players and allow them to grow. There'll be adversity, there'll be failures, they'll make mistakes, but what I've learned is that the really talented players, they don't make it often. They don't make them a second or third time. So the unknown is a good thing for us.”

On the addition of Jalil Farooq, return of Octavian Smith in the WR room

“That's the landscape. You got a guy that's been developed like Octavian Smith, and then you got a new guy that I have strong relationship with, have known since he was a eighth, ninth grader playing running back for the Bowie youth football program in Jalil Farooq. That's where we are. That's the part that's exciting for me, because I always say the portal giveth and it taketh and we were able to bring in a guy like Jalil Farooq, his production. He's a guy that's produced three straight years there at Oklahoma, talented player that we know a lot about it. Then you have a guy like Octavian Smith, who was a quarterback in high school. Most people recruited as a corner and you see him develop into where he's one of those guys that's leading that receiver room. A guy who's made plays from the time he stepped on campus. And that's kind of how the sweet recipe for how Maryland needs to be where we build it with the foundation of these local high school players. We’ve done that for the last couple of years with a couple top-25 classes. And then you add value through free agency, the portal, whatever you want to call it by bringing in guys like Jalil Farooq and see the value of what Maryland has been able to do in terms of putting players and developing players for the next level.”

On QB Justyn Martin

“I think the biggest thing with Justyn is his experience. Even though it's not a full resume just yet, the fact that he's taken a snap under center. He's the only guy in that room right now that has done that. And because of that, as I oftentimes talk about, from a quarterback or from any type of player development, you got to fill the toolbox up. He's a guy that has seen some of the defenses in this conference a year ago, super talented guy. Was a highly, highly recruited guy out of high school so not new to being under the lights, per se, but I also see a ton of humility out of the guy. Some new guys come in and they come in with some of the baggage, or some of the attitude of, hey, I'm here. And he really has worked hard to kind of work himself into our team and into our family concept in every part of it. Socially, I look up on Sundays and he's at church, sitting right next to me at church and walking up afterwards, I didn’t even know he's there. He's been that kind of a get for us, has been really good in the quarterback room. Even though there is a competition, those guys are really close, and it starts because of the relationship with Pep, who spent a lot of time dealing with those type of quarterbacks. So I think Justyn's experience is a plus for us. I think the fact that he's an older player that kind of has been under the microscope, which play in that position here tends to do for you, and I think he's prepared to compete to do that.”

On intraconference transfers, playing against familiar faces in Big Ten play

“I mean, it's what happens at. The level above us, they play against their former teams. They have their motivations, their whys. Well so do we. We take pride in the name on the front of our jersey. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that when guys leave here, I block them, I don’t follow them. I’m kind of petty with that. It’s just how I operate. It'll be interesting to play against former players. I've done that before. It's not a first time but it's the landscape. You do things systems wise. That's why you’ll see us huddle a little bit more because we've been a no huddle team that uses a bunch of signals that now all of a sudden, you got guys spread all over the conference that know things so anticipating like a good parent should do. We'll mix and match our tempos, but every year is a new team. I think we're not the only ones dealing with it. So other teams will have new players as well that we've got to figure out, that they'll have to compete against some of their former players. And I think it makes the game more fun and gives us a little bit of competitiveness that maybe wasn’t there.”

On revenue sharing

“We limped to the finish line waiting for revenue share. Revenue share as I code, I told you I talk in code. A year ago, I said revenue share is a good thing for Maryland because it closes the gap between what we had a year ago to what we'll have moving forward. And to me, that's a good thing because I think if you look at the way we've recruited, the way we evaluate, the system that we have in place for acquiring players, having the resources to do it, I'd be lying if I didn't tell you we lost players because maybe we didn't have enough. But what we've done and again, instead of sitting around crying about what we didn't have, we've chosen to say, hey, let's focus on the high school recruit. Let's get some of these talented players that are now maybe being overlooked based on people going to the portal. And that was kind of our wheelhouse in our space that we lived in for the last two, three years. And it's been really fruitful. When you look up and you see guys like Jaylen Gilchrist, Malik Washington, Zahir Mathis, Zymear Smith, some really talented high school players that will be thrown to the deep end of the pool, per se, and kind of teach them fast.”

On QB Malik Washington

“I think the biggest thing with any position, and not just the quarterback position, is just what you said, making the strides. Typically, the way you make strides is by failing. And so we've got to put guys like Malik in positions in practice. It's almost like you hear about Tiger Woods, how he throws the ball into the sand trap and deliberately practicing one of the toughest shots there is. Well, we've got to create that environment and practice the next 25 days for all these young guys so that we can maybe get some of the failures, we can build some of the experiences that they will be able to lean back on. That's been a great benefit for us having a guy like Malik here early is that we went through a spring with them, having some of these really talented high school guys, we've been able to give them some of the experience that hopefully will allow them when they do make mistakes, to bounce back from a lot quicker.”

On the assistants along the OL

“It’s paid off well and it was a suggestion Pep made to me about five years ago. Pep and I have always been really close. And when I studied what the NFL had done and you look at they've got two or three line coaches. In college we hadn't gotten to that point, and we were able now to hire analysts that can coach and do some other things it allows us to have guys like Brian Ferentz here to help with the development of some of these young [offensive] linemen that a year ago, you didn't get a chance to see. But unlike being on the scout team and reading a card from a DB guy that’s showing you, we had a guy over there coaching those guys every single day on the scout team about the fundamentals of those positions. And that's kind of what when you look at the way staffs are built to win in the Big Ten, there's no doubt you have to be really good up front. You have to be able to run the ball, you have to be able to stop the run. Everybody knows we can throw the ball and we know how to create explosives, but to line up in 3^rd-and-1, 4^th-and-one, get tough yards, be a tough team. That's where adding guys like Hal Hunter, who works closely with [Damian Wroblewski] and bringing Pep on board with his Battle of Gettysburg mentality of putting a bunch of people in there, let’s just be a little physical. And I think that's the type of camp you'll see us have as we try to build our program to compete in November.”

On comparing his vision vs. reality of the program in year seven

“That's a unique question that I've thought about often because when you look at a year ago, it makes you question and ask yourself the tough questions. I doubt that there'd be very few people that have been around here since I got here in 2019 that would have a hard time saying the program isn’t better than it was when I got here in 2019. We all know that I walked into, what we've been able to build. We’ve navigated COVID. We've done something that hasn't happened here in 130 years in Maryland football and then the goalpost shifted with the landscape. We've pivoted, navigated. There's been change. That's the newness that keeps me really excited about what this year brings because I see this year being a year of elevation. I see this year for us because of the foundation that we were able to build over the last six seasons, that'll allow us to bounce back quickly.”

On what Locksley has observed from the young players heading into the fall

“I always use this analogy of throwing a snake in the crib with a baby. That's what it's kind of been like for me, because they don't know what they don't know. They haven't been conditioned based on experiences and games of how good the type of teams they're going to face. And so that eagerness for them to compete is why I'm excited. Some people see it as a negative I see it as a really positive thing because, you know what, I don't know, but the people we play don’t know either. What they're going to see or what they're going to face and it's my job and our staff’s job to create structure and boundaries that allow these guys to excel on the field and bounce back the way we want our program to bounce back.”

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