Mike Locksley on development of Zahir Mathis, what he wants to see vs. Towson, what goes into fourth-down decisions

Everything that head coach Mike Locksley said heading into Maryland football’s nonconference finale vs. Towson:

Opening statement

“As I said on Saturday, I'll never take for granted being 2-0. It's hard to win and it's good for us to get off to a good start. There are a lot of teams in the country that aren't sitting at 2-0 so as I told our team yesterday, we definitely have to acknowledge that we've been able to handle the first two opportunities and get out with wins while still being able to grow, learn and mature as a team. As expected with a young, inexperienced team, we're still working to correct some things that allow us to be the best version of ourselves. When you talk about game two, the biggest jump from game one to game two, you look at the penalties going down from [14] to three. We keep something on offense called margin of error. And this is - you've heard me talk about it. This is where on offense, you have five self-inflicted ways to beat yourself. And two games ago, the first game of the year, we were at about 20% of our plays contained one of those self-inflicted errors, but we were under 10% this game. So if you're looking for the momentum, the scoreboard doesn't always tell you, but I can tell you we played a lot cleaner as a team, made some plays. What I really like about this group is they weren't overly excited about the win because they know we didn't play to our standard. And that's the part that really excited me about this team. They've been diligent in the meeting rooms with their coaches and on their own. They've practiced well the last two, three weeks and so I like the way these guys have taken the coaching as a young team.

It was great to get the extra day of rest on Saturday after the game. And it was a really, as I said, Northern Illinois was a well-coached team. This is a team that had upset [the] runner up national champion last year. We were able to get tested. They run the ball, run first, and so we were able to get tested on defense, and I thought we responded the right way.

On Towson

“Obviously, Towson on deck, is my alma mater, a place I have an affinity for. It's because of Towson I'm able to stand here before you guys. So I got a lot of respect for Coach [Pete] Shinnick, the Towson program, and a lot of fond memories from my days as a Tiger. Coach, Shinnick is a winning guy, a guy that's won national championships at DII level. He's built programs. You can tell that he's got this program going in the right direction.

On the non-conference finale

“Excited to be back in The Shell for a third week. 12,000 students last week. They really were the foundation for the atmosphere, and that was great to see that many students, and I think it's the most that I've had during my tenure, show up the way they have and we're hopeful that they'll show up again this week with an early kick.

Game captains vs. Towson

“Jalil Farooq, Cam Rice and Ethan Gough will serve as our game captains going into the Towson game.”

What Locksley wants to see from his team on Saturday

“I think for me, it always starts with correcting the mistakes and the errors. And if you look at Saturday's game, obviously, as I said, the scoreboard can lie to you. We easily left 14 points on the board with Malik's fumble low in the red area, Dorian’s drop that should have been a pass to Octavian in the end zone. It looks a little different, but I'm glad we were able to get those things because, as I've often said, mistakes are progress in disguise. Each week, I expect us to have to continue to clean and fix things as this team grows. I thought the running game on offense got better in the second half. Obviously our third down issues that we've had on offense, we've got to get fixed. And it's a byproduct on defense as well where we played a lot of plays on defense because of their ability to convert third down. So this week, we spent a lot of time, again, trying to evaluate what we're doing and how we're doing it and the people that are doing it. And so I expect us, much like the penalties a week ago, we're plugging holes. We'll work really hard to get the third down stuff fixed.”

On limiting penalties from week one to week two

“I think they're buying in. We have a standard. And again, good teams don't beat themselves. When we talked about creating momentum a week ago, I told our team it doesn't always show up on the scoreboard. And for some reason, we all think the scoreboard is the end all be all. But we played a lot cleaner as a young team. To be able to get that corrected in a one week window shows me that they're listening to us as coaches and that's why it lends me to believe some of the issues we've had on third down the last couple of weeks, we'll get those fixed here. And if we continue to play clean, get the third down things fixed, you'll see us continue to make progress.”

On the run game, what’s working and what’s a work in progress

“When you have a young quarterback, you're going to face eight man fronts. It's really a math issue. We had some issues there in the what I call the C-area, our tight ends, where when we want to run the outside zone at the point of attack, we've got to win or maintain it. That's an area for us that we've got to do a little bit better job of, our tight ends maintaining or winning the C area because the zone schemes we like to run. But for the most part, it's just a matter of our backs. They're going to have one guy that they have to make miss. And I saw us start to do that in the second half. I saw us we really were intentional to continue to try to run the football, because to win in the Big Ten, we know we can throw the ball. We have good athletes. We got a quarterback. We've kept our quarterback protected. I think he's been hit twice in two games, one of them on his own accord on the sideline. But it's going to be important for us to give the compliment of being able to run the ball efficiently when we need to and whether it's into eight-man boxes or not, covering people up at the point of attack.”

On Towson’s quarterback

“Really talented kid out of St. Thomas Aquinas. We've got Travares Daniels, who's our linebacker, came from the same high school so we know a little bit about the kid. Athletic. He seems to be the guy that makes it go. He's been doing a good job of protecting the football for the most part, talented RPO system. He's a young guy, so we do have to check his oil. We got to do a great job. And Ted [Monachino] will put a good plan together to try to change pictures up for a young quarterback. Some of the same things we see.”

On Malik’s maturity on the field

“Well, it just hasn't been the two weeks. I mean, it's obvious that we haven't started out as fast. Having a couple three-and-outs when you start with a young quarterback in. Two weeks in a row, there were drops on third down. I know Dorian had one the first week, a third down drop, and then we had one, DeJuan [Williams] had one this week on 3^rd-and-three where just those little plays give this kid confidence. The thing I like that is that when it doesn't go the way we want it to go, or expect it to go, his body language and the way he responds, and it's constant coaching, learning, building his toolbox up. And that's what I really like because he doesn't make the same mistake twice usually. He had the fumble there in the red area trying to force a play, and in the red area, it's got to be touchdown, check down. I imagine, because of the maturity that he has, he'll put that one in his toolbox and that's where that mistake is going to be progress for him because now he'll understand exactly what we mean by touchdown, check down. A lot of people don't understand what this kid - this is really like his 11th to 12th practice because he's missed a significant amount of time early in training camp that he's still kind of working through the kinks himself.”

On Malik Washington learning from the fumble

“He's been consistent. I mean, we don't ride emotional roller coasters. The mistake is no different than the touchdown throw. We learn from it and we move on to the next play, and that's kind of been his mentality.”

Whether the learning curve for freshmen is accelerated in 2025

“I think what has happened with the freshmen that you see that have transitioned, I'd say most of them because of the early enrollment. A lot of these guys - Malik was here for spring ball, he got a spring under his belt. Sidney Stewart was here for spring ball, got a spring under his belt. Now obviously, Zahir Mathis wasn't. So I think some of the maturation you see is because of some of the guys and how they're able to get in earlier. I think our coaches have done a really good job when we were intentional in hiring guys that can get guys ready to play now instead of us building like we've done as a developmental program, where we develop guys over two, three years. It's win now and it's developed them now and it's put them on the field now. And so we have to coach better. We have to get them prepared faster, and our coaches have done a really good job of that.”

On the early returns of the freshmen development

“I mean, you love seeing kids develop. I mean, that's why we get into this business. We're teachers. Our jobs as teachers are to make sure that we put them in the best possible situations to create value for themselves, whether it's as football players, whether it's academically or whether it's socially as a person. And so it's rewarding when they have success, but it's also rewarding when guys maybe aren't as successful and you have the ability to give them the tools to get and have success. So that's why we got into coaching. I enjoy seeing the maturation process. Unfortunately, the landscape is they have to grow up fast and grow up now. And we understand that.”

On Zahir Mathis development

“I said the word maturity with that group is across the board. Malik shows great maturity, but Zahir is one of those guys that he has a really strong why. So disciplined in every part of his life. This kid it’s like talking to a grown man when you meet him, as I'm sure some of you guys have had the opportunity to do it, but really understands and knows what he wants and what he needs to do to get it. Coming from a tough background, going to Imhotep up in Philly. We've had great success at that school. He obviously was coached really well there, but the maturity he's shown and his ability to - he's physically able to play. If you look at his body type compared to maybe how we've had to recruit and develop body types like that. To get a guy that comes in with that body type as a freshman is a big get for us and he's played well.”

On the decision making to go for it on fourth down in 2025

“Well, first, it's not a Pep decision. That's a decision that coach Locks makes as the boss. The four down decisions are made by me and typically it's an analytic decision. We do subscribe to analytics. We do chart. Pep knows going into a series, ‘hey, once we cross the plus-45 anything fourth and three or less have a play ready.’ And then when we get to that situation, I'll say Pep you got two downs on third down which allows him to make certain calls on third down differently than maybe he would have. So it's science, it's analytics behind it. It's a feel of the game for me as the head coach, the momentum, how we're playing defense. All those things come into play, but a lot of the what you see is a byproduct of the percentages of making a long kick with the kicker you have versus being able to convert a 4^th-and-two or 4^th-and-three. And those things are the ones that kind of dictate it, but it's also a feel for where we are in the game. And I've made those decisions based on that.”

On Ted Monachino’s imprint on the defense

“I think the big thing is we brought in the kind of guys that allow us to play man coverage. We had a couple of coverage sacks that showed up. One of the first sacks of the game when Zahir Mathis came around on a late twist. I mean, the quarterback had nowhere to go with the ball, and that's a byproduct of what we're doing on the back end. Guys like [Jamare] Glasker and [Dontay] Joyner and Jalen Huskey and Lavain Scruggs and [Kevyn Humes] and those guys have really done a good job of what we call plastering guys and being in position to force the quarterback to hold on to the ball. And when you can rush the quarterback with a four-man rush, which we're able to do now with the young guys like Sidney Stewart and Zahir and then even you saw [Nahsir Taylor] come in and get a sack, number 40, to have those kind of guys that are winning the one-on-ones allows us to have a little more coverage. And to me, that's what really helps.”

On Kevyn Humes development in year two

“And his ability this year is a byproduct of going through the fire. I mean, corners in this league will go through the fire. We got great receivers in the Big Ten. We played great opponents and that's one of the toughest jobs in the country, to play corner as a young player. And he didn't have a lot of success a year ago, but he built the toolbox. And I always say, mistakes are progress in disguise and he's progressed because of a year ago, much like guys we've seen leave here, Tarheeb Still and Jakorian Bennett and some of these other great players that are playing at the next level that also struggled as young players. And that's a part of the development piece of it. And it's great to see the way he's playing at a really high level this year. But I can tell you it's a byproduct of kind of what he went through a year ago.”

On his memories of former Maryland DL Andre Monroe

“Dre was a, first of all, he didn't look like the package that you typically have as the all-time leading sack guy, but his tenacious ability, like he was so powerful because of his leverage. He was able to split double teams. His interior rush was second to none and he knew how to finish on the quarterback. But most of Dre's success came from a relentless motor. He was in great shape all the time and he played every down really hard.”

On Jalen Huskey’s composure and leadership

“I think the big thing with Huskey is, first of all, the unselfish nature he showed a year ago moving from corner to safety because we needed it. And he's one of those guys that has corner ability, has safety range, has the physicality to be a down guy. He's kind of a Swiss army knife DB. Could easily play the slot nickel for us which allows us to play man coverage. When you have a safety that has the ability to cover the slot, you disguise better. So his versatility has really opened up the playbook for Ted to be able to do some of the things that we do to match up because of his coverage ability. But also his ability to get the ball on the ground physically when we need to in the run game.”

On LB Daniel Wingate’s impact on the young players

“The leadership Danny has shown has been tremendous. As I've said here many times, he's shown this leadership ability at a very young age. We try to identify players that have leadership qualities like Daniel Wingate. He's been part of our leadership council from the time he stepped on campus. Typically with guys like him, it goes back to their why. He wasn't a guy that was heavily recruited by a bunch of people and so he had a little chip on his shoulder. He's a guy that came in and as a freshman, played really, really well for us and has really developed much like we've seen some of the other greats have. And I compared them to EJ Henderson, who I know was here this past weekend, and having had a chance to know EJ’s story, very similar. And so we're hopeful Danny stays healthy, he's able to continue to mature, get better. I still think his best football is ahead of him, but it's great to see him playing at a high level, but even more, being a great leader for a team that's coming off of a tough year. He was one of the rocks that kept this thing going.”

On Locksley’s memories of Towson

“I think the biggest thing I got from Towson was I got married. I met my wife there. So I was really fortunate. Towson hooked me up, man. I was able to get married, meet Kia there. I was a junior, she was a freshman so I'd already been well traveled on campus. Just kidding, you got me going down a rabbit hole? No, but Towson was a great place for me. I played for a great leader in Phil Albert, who's no longer with us and I know that you know Coach Albert, some of the things I do after practice, when I have my call up and I tell goofy stories and stories of life, that's how it was when I ended practice playing for Phil Albert. And his impact on me, my coach, Jay Robinson, who was my DB coach. I remember him talking about being a renaissance man, where you're good at a lot of different things and just, it's been a great place for me. It was right down the road from home, so I was able to still get back and forth from home and earned a great business degree in marketing. Byproduct of the Tigers.”

Related Links

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on Instagram

Follow us on YouTube