https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-0VjgxuFwY Maryland wrapped up its second and final live scrimmage on Saturday with 97-plays ran in what Locksley called “really our last full contact that we’ll have before we start our preparation midweek for Buffalo.” The team will be off on Sunday as they recover with the season right around the corner, but before then, Locksley reviewed his team’s progress following the third week of camp. Get your single game tickets for Maryland football here
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Defense Shows Improved Efficiency in Scrimmage #2
It’s normal for the defense to be ahead of the offense during preseason camp even with Maryland returning the most production from last season in the Big Ten, but Locksley credited the defense for their competitiveness, tackling and generating pressure in the trenches. “The thing that jumped out and that's without even looking at the tape is that we really tackled pretty well today. I was happy to see our safeties get the ball on the ground when it broke out. I love the way we attacked the line of scrimmage. We had different situations and I liked the way our defense showed up today,” he said.
Generating turnovers remains an emphasis for Maryland’s defense and while Maryland looks to get back into positive territory in that department this upcoming season, Locksley also highlighted the experienced depth at linebacker with Lance Thompson leading the inside unit. “We got some guys with experience like Ahmad McCullough, guys like Ruben Hyppolite have played a lot of football for us. Fa’Najae Gotay coming back from injury. With the inside guys really, really been impressed with their leadership. The newcomers like Caleb Wheatland and Jaishawn Barham got here early and so they're a little more further along than what most true freshmen will be and I expect those guys to play quite a bit or have roles for us.”
Special Teams Shows Improvement, More Ryland Praise
One week after Locksley said the special teams unit was an “Achilles’ heel” for Maryland after the first scrimmage, the unit drew more positive remarks with freshman receiver Octavian Smith and junior cornerback Deonte Banks receiving praise for what they showed in the return game. "I saw us make strides in the return game. Deonte Banks had a couple of returns, and you know, guy like Octavian Smith, one of the younger players that's in the return room for us, did some good things and the blocking and stuff up front. We are making a commitment to play our best players on these teams because it's really important at the third phase and it's not third because it's the third most important, but it's one of the three phases."
For the second consecutive week, Locksley also praised transfer addition Chad Ryland as he drilled a 58-yard field goal in Saturday’s scrimmage. “I'm gonna just tell you, this guy is one of the best kickers in the country and probably the best transfer portal pickup we were able to get this year because of his ability to score the ball for us,” Locksley added. Ryland drilled a 65-yard field goal this summer at Kohl’s Kicking Camp and revealed that his career-long is 75-yards, but it’s evident that the former Eastern Michigan standout has the trust from the coaches.
“We talk a lot about the kick line as we start a drive so our quarterbacks understand once we get into this kick position where we can score the ball, and for us, it was the 40-yard line. And I said, are you sure? And we got to the 40 and he basically called my bluff and, you know, kick one through from 58 with some room to spare and it didn't help that the strings were facing him when he kicked it. So I'm really happy with Chad Ryland and his development and the way that we're coming along there on special teams.”
Elsewhere, Locksley added that freshmen like Jaishawn Barham and Caleb Wheatland will find a role on special teams “because they’re runners and hitters.”
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