Maryland head coach Mike Locksley previews season opener, Florida Atlantic

Ahmed Ghafir
Aug 26
10 min read

Everything that head coach Mike Locksley said after Maryland wrapped up fall camp and shifts its attention to week one vs. Florida Atlantic:

Opening statement

“Before I get started, I was told I need to make sure I shout out our concession squad for hooking the media up with a taste of what our fans will have, this opportunity to purchase at our games this year, brought the cheesy crab pretzel, the chicken and maple waffles fries, the brisket platter, and a lot more. So I got my NIL deal done. Hopefully you guys enjoyed the food in the back.

But no, let's shift to what's really important, which is coming off of a really strong camp. We broke camp Saturday with a mock scrimmage where we work on the what ifs of things happening, the little things, the minuscule details that come into play as you game manage. We're super healthy. We feel like we're pretty healthy coming out of it. Got a lot of young guys, a lot of snaps and we'll continue to develop them throughout the course of this season. Most importantly, as I said earlier, we came out healthy.”

On FAU

“When you look at FAU, a completely different team than a year ago, a lot of unknowns for us as I'm sure they have a lot of unknowns about us. They got a new head coach, Zach Kittley, a 34 year old guy that's got a background, a Texas Tech background, which having played against Texas Tech's teams and a byproduct of Sonny Cumbie, he's an air raid guy so we expect them to be Texas Tech-like air raid system on offense and that's his background, his wheelhouse. Had a lot of success early at Houston Baptist, also spent some time as well with…Western Kentucky, where he had Bailey Zappe, really good quarterback. So a guy that knows what he's doing on offense. He has a team that has 55 newcomers, transfers, very similar setup to where we are and a revamped defense that has a few Big Ten people on the roster. I know they're MIKE linebacker, former Minnesota player. Cam Rice, our [defensive] tackle, one of his teammates is there at FAU. But as always, when we open up, it's really not going to be about our opponent. It'll be about what we do and that's what we'll focus on as we don't have a lot of information as to what they'll do. And so that's, for us, the important piece to make sure we know what we want to do. We talked about the frustration of 2024 season, and because of it, we've had a relentless work ethic throughout our building the last 273 days. That's how long it's been since we finished up in State College. I've seen firsthand the impact these coaches, these new players have had in our program, and much like you guys, I'm excited to see what they do in The Shell on Saturday.”

Game captains vs. FAU

“Our game captains this week will be Alan Herron, we'll have Bryce McFerson and we'll have Daniel Wingate. As you know, we do game captains here and those three will be the first to lead us as we open our 2025 season.”

On the health of the QBs heading into the opener

“Both are available to play Saturday. All three are available to play.”

What success looks like in 2025

“I'll give you a good coaching axiom - success is equal to production being greater than or equal to our expectation. And it's our expectation, not yours. And those are things we keep in house. Our players know what our desires are. Our players know and understand what we have to do. Obviously, the goal is always to compete for Big Ten championships. We've created a foundation that I think will allow us to bounce back better because of the foundation to get back on track to compete for Big Ten championships.”

On why 2025 team will wash away 2024 season

“Because I'm not worried about 2024. 2024 has no bearing. We're going to be defined in the present of what we do now. Every year, just like a play on offense, defense and special teams, it dies. It doesn't come back. Unfortunately, I have to use that as a barometer for our team because it's where we were. But for us, 2024 will have zero bearing on 2025.”

On what Locksley will look for on Saturday

“I think the big thing is, because of the newness, it's how quickly communication works. And I can tell you, based on the Texas Tech system, the one thing coming out of game one that I know will be a challenge for us is because of, hopefully, the way they play. If they play the way we expect them to, which is speed, pace, the no huddle, it's going to be really important our defensive side of the ball with a bunch of new faces and new people, how they communicate, get the calls in, get aligned and be able to execute the defensive structures that we call. So I would say communication will be the big thing for us in game one. And with a new team, that's the part for us that we’ll work and I'm sure as each game comes, we'll get better and better.”

On position groups that have impressed with development through camp

“I'd say the quarterback room. I'd say the defensive backfield, whether it's the corners, you know the two additions at the corner position, Dontay Joyner, along with Jamare Glasker, and then you throw in a young player like Brayden Lee, who's missed a lot of action a year ago with shoulder surgery that kept him out after playing early. I like the way that they've competed. I like the confidence that they're playing with. And then the quarterback room, just the confidence knowing that we can win with any of those three guys. And it's not just coach talk. We feel really good about the place that we're in at the quarterback position.”

What Locksley has learned about his team’s grit

“It's hard to tell what we learn when we go against each other because we know so much. And that's why I want to always talk about this is like Christmas for coaches, we really won't know what kind of team we have until we face adversity. In actuality, we faced our first bit of adversity yesterday when we handed out the black jerseys, which consist of our developmental squad. And when that usually happens, you see a lot of long faces because a lot of these players we've recruited are stars wherever they come from, and for the first time, they're relegated to maybe not being the star and having to navigate that sometimes is a challenge. And as I've told you about getting back into that locker room, I really like the way that the young players that - or even the players that maybe aren't in pivotal roles going into this game - understand that everyone has an important role, whether you're a developmental player that helps us prepare for FAU or whether you're a young guy that now has the chance to be a starter or contributor. That's the first piece of adversity we faced as a team, and I like the way they've responded because the practice we had yesterday in our preparation for FAU was spirited. It had the energy and was not atypical of that Friday where all the bad stuff happens and all of a sudden you get a different color jersey with a different number. I thought they responded the right way.”

Whether 2025 feels like a different season

“Yeah, it's like having a child. I had four of them and each one was a little bit different kind of delivery. So, I mean, I'm looking forward to this delivery Saturday, to get a feel for who we are. This will give us an idea, because it gives us the start. But as I said, I think as a young team, you'll see us probably get better each week because as we get familiar with our routine, I think 64% of our team has never played a game for us wearing the Terp uniform, that it'll be important for us to do a great job as we bring them along to make sure that we have the great communication as to where we are and the things we need to do to continue to improve.”

Who gives the QBs the best chance to do well in practice

“The [offensive] line. For the quarterbacks, they're the saving grace for most quarterbacks because a strong run game for a young quarterback is really important or inexperienced quarterback. Their ability to protect, their ability to take care of them and keep them upright allows them to make the plays down the field to the receivers that we have and I feel good about that group as a whole because I've seen them from the end of last season till now, with the pieces we've added, I've seen an improvement out of that group as well.”

What Locksley likes about each QB

“Justyn, athleticism, big arm. I would say Khristian, his ability to process information and make - he makes bad plays good because he's a big, physical guy. And then Malik's maturity and the calmness that he brings kind of has the aura. And they all three, those are the things that stand out to them, as you just kind of say that. And I think all three of those guys have the ability to execute our system. And to me, that's more important than any of those characteristics. I'm looking forward to seeing the guy trot out there and try to get it done.”

What goes into the QB starter choice

“The guy that gives us the best chance to win and the guy that gives us the best chance to score points.”

Whether Locksley has decided on a starter

“I have.”

Whether Locksley will announce a starter

“You'll see when he trots out there with the first play of the game. We've been down this road before, so you guys all know it's not going to happen. The team knows. They know it's in-house. We're moving forward. You guys will get a chance to see it. And there's no need to give FAU any advantages to who to prepare for or what to prepare for.”

On FAU QB Caden Veltkamp

“He's accurate. The ball comes out quick so pass rush may not be as efficient against the guy. And the expectation. Now this is what we think we're going to see because there's not a full body of work. And so again, for us, when you don't know, we're going to focus on what we need to do and that's the communication on defense, getting lined up, the ability to maybe take away the quick hitting passes from a coverage standpoint to not allow them to get the ball on the perimeter. And then obviously tackling well. I feel good about us going into game one tackling because we had a really physical camp and I like the way our guys were able - if you can full speed thud tackle or full speed thud, tackling is usually a lot easier.”

On year seven as head coach for Mike Locksley

“I still pinch myself. This is still the place when I walked in, Cole Field House, as it was called before we named it the Jones Hill-House facility. The excitement, the energy, I mean, I keep telling you I grew up, literally, I grew up on this campus, and so for some people, it's a pit stop. For me, I've been here 17 years, all right, 17 seasons. Think about being a coach in this profession. Now, three different stints, but 17 years. So knowing where all the dead bodies are, knowing the history, knowing the traditions. I pinch myself every day and every day I recognize it's a tremendous blessing to you know, as I like to say, you don't hope your way from Ballou High School to being the head coach of the University of Maryland. So very few things like I said, my give a crap gage - I'll keep it PG-13 - is on [empty]. I love this job. I love what I'm doing.”

What Locksley is concerned, confident in defensively

“Not worried because fear and ego come from the same place. That's external and we don't deal with external. We deal with internal. Really excited about the pass rush. One of the Achilles heels for us, when you have to add people to your pass rush, you expose your back end. And I feel like we've addressed that and recruited some really talented young pass rushers that have length, that have first step quickness, that have power, speed, really talented pass rushers, and so for me, I've got to see them go do it. I've watched it for the last 30 days here in camp, the iron sharpening iron with our [offensive] line and the other side of it. There's not much to give me angst because I don't deal with fear. As I said, fear is external and I'm not worried about fear. I mean, like coming from Ballou High School to Maryland, fear is not part of it. So not a lot of things I'm worried about other than the unknown, which we'll find out Saturday.”

On the RBs heading into 2025

“We don't ease our way into anything. You just can't do it. When you hit the start button of the season, it’s ignite and to elevate you've got to ignite. Our goal, we got Nolan Ray back healthy, had some offseason procedure that I think will allow him to maybe finally reach the potential that we thought he has or we see he has. DeJuan Williams, coming off the ACL his senior year in high school, as we all know, it takes about a year and a half for that thing to fully heal. So a year ago, you saw a small sample size of it. Then you throw in guys like Eli Mason, who we put on scholarship this past weekend, who's become that utility guy for us. We made some power moves by moving DJ Samuels from the outside linebacker role to our fullback and he brought an intensity to our offense that we need to have. And Rocket Howard, who is healthy finally, missed some time during camp, but he's healthy, so I feel good that the depth and the skill set in that room is Big Ten-caliber but we got to go out and do it. Won't be easing into it.”

Whether there are any similarities in QB competitions the last two offseasons

“Yeah, the camaraderie. That position group all has Taulia-ish impact, which means you can tell that this group, there's not one of the three that have competed for the job, that when they walk in the huddle that there's not a confidence from the people around them that they can get the job done. So that comfort level is one that I felt obviously, having a guy like Taulia for three years and the records he was able to accomplish here, all three of those guys give me that feel. Again, this room is a room that I as I've said before, similar skill sets, same genre, really talented group and really close knit group as well.”

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