Maryland football closed out its second and final scrimmage of fall camp on Saturday afternoon as head coach Mike Locksley met with the media for the final team ahead of week one. Locksley talks about the ongoing quarterback competition, Andre Roye being one of the “stars of camp thus far”, the development of the wide receiver room and more.
On whether the second scrimmage provided separation in QB battle
“No, I’ll tell you the big takeaway for me from today’s scrimmage was I saw improvement up front on the offensive line. I thought we protected the quarterback better. I thought we ran the ball a little bit better than a week ago, but as to be expected…defense usually starts a little further ahead, but I’ve been really, really pleased the way the first, second and even some of these young thirds have come along up front out of this scrimmage. I thought we hit some situations this week that we last week maybe weren’t as sharp on offense. I saw us improve in the red area today. I think all three quarterbacks really did a good job of managing the offense in the different situations we put them in. We had them in some third-down situations. We had a couple of two-minute situations. We also had some move the ball drives and some red area stuff. So really good work for us to be able to get, see on film and get evaluated. But if I were to come out of it, I’d say they all three played a pretty clean scrimmage.”
On what’s next between second scrimmage and week one, beginning of game prep
“We’ve got probably about two or three more practices before we get into game mode. We’ll start our UConn prep next Wednesday as we typically do, which gives us a dry run of two solid four practice opportunities leading into the game. So I see us starting to start that UConn prep sometime Wednesday, Thursday of this week, and then be able to sit down with these quarterbacks on Sunday afternoon, evening, make some decisions on what we look like moving into game week and continue to develop our roster along the way.”
On the improvement of the CBs under Aazaar Abdul-Rahim
“When we talk DB play, you know, with Zac Spavital back there coaching the safeties, Aazaar coaching the corners and the nickels. They both have done a really good job of when you lose the impact of NFL guys like Jakorian Bennett, Deonte Banks, both playing at the next level, Ja’Quan Shepherd being signed and playing it out in Vegas and Tarheeb [Still] with the Chargers, we’re replacing a lot of reps. And I think Aazaar has done a great job of the younger guys. The way we practice allows us to bring along the depth. And I think people here now kind of understand why we practice the way we practice because it allows us to bring these younger players along as fast as possible and you’re starting to see the fruits of it.”
“As far as Aazaar as a coach, obviously his experience, man, and the relatability as this generation, it’s a one of one generation. And his ability to connect and figure out how to connect with the young guy to get them to buy into buying into our standard. That’s what he does. I call those type of coaches lion tamers and has all has that ability and we’re seeing the fruits of it with how fast some of these young corners have grown up during training camp.”
On Locksley’s relationship with Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, AAR’s reputation locally
“He’s a guy that’s he gets it. It’s one thing to be from here, but to really understand the lifestyle of what the fabric of being a DMV guy represents is what Aazaar is, a product of Dunbar High School, a DC public school guy. I’m a DC public school guy, graduating from the south side. So I think the authenticity that he offers when he goes and sits in people’s homes with a really clear, concise plan for how we develop you, not just as a football player here. And I think that’s the part that people, you can’t make up. And I think because of the resources that have been poured into him, much like myself, by the coaches that raised us, it’s kind of we’ve learned what our fathers taught us and that’s pouring back in. And anybody [who] knows Aazaar, knows myself, knows that this area is really important to us as well as the players that come out of this area to give them a chance to change maybe the lineage of their families like we’ve been able to do through the game of football.”
On the development of the WRs under Josh Gattis
“I would say, as I already evaluate just off the top of that group, we’ve seen the consistency out of the top two – [Kaden Prather] and Tai [Felton] and that their playmaking ability. They’re going to have the ability to make plays for us down the field, ball in hand, they both are weapons. The one I’ve been really pleased with is Octavian [Smith] maybe didn’t put himself in the best position this summer, dealt with a lot of different issues all summer long that kind of put him behind the eight ball per se. And he’s worked his way out of it, man. I like the way that he’s practiced. I like the effort in which he’s practiced and he’s shown up on tape making plays here probably the last six, seven practices. [Shaleak Knotts] as again, as a younger player that I have big expectations for, this is gonna be a big week for him. We need to see him take that next step. And I expect that he will. So I liked the way they are coming along in that room. We’ve got some depth. Robert Smith has had a big camp for us. When you, every time you look up, those third-down plays, those Jeshaun Jones-type plays that we are going to need from that position group. I’ve seen Rob because of his versatility, be able to add some value and depth to the room.”
On whether the offense will need time to settle
“The expectation is that we’re going to develop our team as a whole. That’s the way our program is set up. That’s the process that I’ve learned from being at a really successful organization is you’re always developing the weakest part of your team. And we’re young on offense but we don’t get excuses. I mean, we’ve got players in our jobs as coaches are to prepare them to play to the best of their abilities and that ain’t going to change based on freshmen, sophomore. We’re here to develop them now and not to wait. So what I would say is we’re going to continue to fail our way through it. We’re going to figure it out as we continue to go along, as we’ve always done with the expectation that we’ve recruited the right way, we have the system of plays that allows our offense to come along as the season gets better. I would expect all three phases of our team to improve as the season goes on because that’s just the way our program’s built.”
On the run game in 2024
“You know what? You achieve what you emphasize. And to me, if you look at the emphasis, we’ve put on developing the offensive line, there’s no surprise what we want to do. For us to take the next step in the Big Ten, winning in October and November means establishing the ability to play physical, run the football, play and win at the line of scrimmage on defense, which we’ve built the defense to do that. And now what we’ve got to do is continue to bring that young [offensive] line, those inexperienced guys along with I’ve been really pleased. I mean, it’s been the one positive of this camp is that I see the development piece of the resources we poured into that position group starting to come to dividends. But again, we still have a lot of work to do up front. That’s the area where it takes the longest to develop a guy because of the strength that goes into playing up front in the trenches.”
On OT Andre Roye
“He would be one of my stars of camp thus far. Dre has kept his mouth shut. He’s managed the emotional part of the game that from a maturity standpoint, I see him taking that next step, man. And I’ve talked to him about that piece. He plays it the way you want to play it with that effort and he plays with a little edge to where he’s playing right to that echo of the whistle and how you want to see a young pup kind of grow up. And so I like the way Andre’s coming along. He’s playing and practicing with the purpose and now it’s the, will the consistency be there? And that’s the part with a young team and young players, the consistency of playing that way day in and day out. And that’s what we were striving for as we fight through camp and we hit those plateaus in camp, got to push through.”
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