Maryland QB Malik Washington on managing the noise, losing streak, homecoming vs. Rutgers
Quarterback Malik Washington took the podium on Tuesday amid Maryland football's four-game losing streak and ahead of homecoming vs. Rutgers:
Whether he feels he’s in a position to succeed right now
“Definitely, yeah. I have an amazing opportunity. I get to start at a school that I love. I get started at a Power Four school in the Big Ten. It's just an amazing opportunity in front of me.”
Why results haven’t gone the way he wanted
“It's nothing to do with our work. I think the team's working really hard. We have the process. We're trying to iron out small details, all of that thing. Sometimes the result just isn't what the result is. You try not to focus on the result, really, just the process and the work, and let the result be what it is.”
What simplifying the game has looked like in games
“Just really sticking to what we do well. Of course, you game plan teams, you want to attack their weaknesses, but also you kind of have to play to your strengths as well too. If there's a weakness that a team has, but it's not a strength of yours, and you know it might be something you put in the game plan for certain situations, but not something you try to emphasize too much, and then stick to really what you do well.”
What has been taken off Malik Washington’s shoulders
“Not too much, really. It's kind of the same process, really, for me – pre-snap, post-snap, all those things.”
Managing the outside noise
“Just off of socials, really. It's just a bunch of negativity out there, so just staying off of that, not reading any headlines about anything. Really, just sitting with my family, staying with myself, watching TV, pick up some new TV shows and movies and watch those when I'm by myself.”
Whether it’s easier to navigate through with experience
“Definitely. It comes with time. It's nothing – no matter how much prep you can do, like it's nothing you can really do for that mental battle of seeing things like that, all the negativity and stuff like that. You kind of – it’s something you have to learn as you go along. You kind of got to build that thick skin and that callus for it.”
On Rutgers’ defense
“A different team than they were last year. Defensively, they have a new DC, so it's not the same. Before it was quarters, tilt nose, field under, like all that stuff. They're a little bit different, but they do stick to their rules, right? They're going to do what they do, and they're going to do it well. As far as like mixing things up, they have their different coverages and different blitzes and the stuff they'll show, but it's nothing we haven't seen before. It's stuff we're prepared for.”
On the slow starts
“Really, just first and 10. Like when when we do good on 1st-and-10, the drives pan out a lot better. If we're picking up positive yards, we're not in second-and-10 or second and long. If we get it to second and medium, and we can operate out of a third down or third and medium, we're a lot better as an offense.”
On the nutrition team
“They do an amazing job really. Basically providing everything we want. I heard [Sidney Stewart] talk about his gushers for gameday. I don't have a game day snack, but they do a really amazing job, making sure we're carbed up, energy, all the stuff that we need. There's nothing we ever lack. Whatever you need, you’ve got to ask for, and it'll be there for you.”
On whether this weekend is a must win
“Each game is like that. Really, you want to go into every game 1-0. You don't want to try to lump any games together. You don't want to get into your head and go, ‘okay, we just have to win this one, this one, and this one. We can lose this one. Like you just want to go about it as best as you can and try to go 1-0 each week.”
On homecoming
“Just shows how much this program can shape you as a person. Really, people that are willing to come back, watch the team. No matter what's happening within the team, the guys are there. People like you said have come back who were just here last year and come around just to get the energy from people, guys that played over 50 years ago, come. coming back just to see the team and check on everybody and share stories about the tough times that they got through or the good, the bad, the ugly, all the indifferent. The wisdom that a lot of those older players have that they can shine light on us.”
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