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Maryland (0-0, 0-0 B1G) vs. Towson (0-0, 0-0 CAA)When: Sat., Sept. 2 | 3:40 p.m. EST
Where: SECU Stadium
Watch: Big Ten Network - Joe Beninati, Anthony Herron, Justine Ward
Listen: 105.7 FM (Balt) / 980 AM (DC) - Johnny Holliday, Steve Suter, LaMont Jordan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWjzsIZfQZw
Maryland opens its 2023 season on Saturday at 3:30 PM when Towson and first-year head coach Pete Shinnick head to College Park.
Shinnick joins Towson after dominating the DII level, leading the University of West Florida to a national championship in 2019 and playoff appearances in four of the last five seasons played.
“If you check the history of him and obviously being a Towson alum, what’s really important to me is we embarked on hiring a coach to kind of know who he was,” Locksley said on Tuesday. “And then the guy, all he does is win, whether it’s at North Carolina Pembroke, whether it’s at West Florida. To see what he’s been able to do with those type of programs and in a very, very fast time frame. I mean, he didn’t come in and I have to wait four years to declare championships. He did it in two, so that speaks volumes to the type of coach that that he is and how he’s able to get his team prepared to play.”
Maryland, meanwhile, officially closed the book on preseason at the start of the week as the team wrapped up what Locksley called “by far the most productive camp that I’ve had since I’ve been back here as the head coach.”
“A lot of it is because of the type of locker room we have. And I’ve been talking a lot about that locker room. And I know that we’ve made quite a bit of headlines with declaring that we’re now ready to compete for championships, which to me, I don’t know what the big deal about saying that is other than, it’s important that we now have the foundation that I think is necessary in the locker room with the player-driven culture that allows us to go do just those things.”
Sixth-year players Fa’Najae Gotay, Jeshaun Jones and Colton Spangler will serve as game captains against Towson while an official starting offensive line has remained quiet with the program no longer releasing depth charts. After Locksley and fourth-year quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa made it clear that the Big Ten championship is the goal for the 2023 season, Saturday marks the start of the Terps’ momentum through nonconference play.
“As I told our team yesterday, I mean, I’m not going to sit up here and make Towson Tigers, the ‘85 Chicago Bears. But they also need to realize that this is a team that a game like this can make their careers, make their season and the type of coaching staff and the type of program that they have. They’re not gonna come in here and just lay down. It’s gonna be important not that we focus on Towson, but that we focus on Maryland. And I’ve said this in here since I’ve been here very few times. We don’t prepare for Towson. Differently than we prepare for a team like Ohio State. We have a standard that’s set. Our players believe in that standard and they’re upholding the standard. And it’s going to come down to what we do Saturday, how we execute, and whether or not we play the Terp way.”
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