Maryland football opens the regular season vs. UConn in ten days, head coach Mike Locksley met with the media at the end of the final practice of fall camp. Updates on the ongoing quarterback battle and when Locksley expects to name a starter, the offensive line and praise for veteran safety Glen Miller:
Locksley on the QB competition to close out fall camp
“Great movement. We had the second scrimmage, which is really the last opportunity other than situationally to see them and they all have gotten better. All three of those guys in their own way have gotten better, improved in the areas you want to see them improve on. The one thing that comes out of this competition is that I feel very comfortable with the quarterback room and its ability, no matter who wins the job, we feel like we’ve got the depth that you need to have in the Big Ten.”
On how close he is to naming a starter
“Sunday, 5 PM. They’ll know. Dustin said I promised y’all last spring that I would say Tuesday’s press conference. Let me go back and check the tape on that because I don’t see myself doing that [on] Tuesday. I see myself playing coy. Our team will know. If you figure it out, you figure it out. I feel comfortable we’re moving in the direction that we need to. The confidence that I have is that all three of those guys – the whole room has competed. But the three that went into this, Cam, Billy and MJ, have all improved and when you improve that way your team improves.”
On whether it’s a one-man QB job
“It’ll be a one-man job but as you guys know in college football, injuries are a part of it and unlike the NFL there’s not a waiver wire and one of the things I learned during my time in Tuscaloosa is that you’ve got to continue to prepare guys. I think back to the Tua [Tagovailoa] – Jalen [Hurts] when Tua became the quarterback, we still kept developing Jalen and come the SEC Championship game, Jalen was prepared and ready to come in and do his job. Once we name a guy, it’s his job. There won’t be a guy looking over his shoulder and I wouldn’t be surprised to see us continue to develop some guys that we feel can make our team better.”
On the QB competition
“As you guys know, I always say every drive should end with a kick and I think they all understand. We have this saying – the mind of a coach, but the skill of a player. That’s mitigating risk on plays when they come in. It’s 3rd-and-2, I got a fade ball and I got a hitch, which one should I throw? Let’s, let’s mitigate the risk and the more efficient throw is the hitch. I think all three of those guys understand that. And so that in itself makes us a better team.
On the state of the 2024 offensive line
“I am excited about it because we’ve got a really talented group of players. I see young players that will be in our two deep. And to me that means we’ve expedited their growth because we signed a big class of high school offensive linemen. I see two or three of them being in that, I call them two and a half mode, two-deep. One may be kind of a swing, three, two guys and to have that depth, to have that ability with the way they develop and it’s a byproduct of the resources we’ve poured into the position.”
How the defense shapes the QB competition
“It’s the quarterback’s best friend is when people don’t score the ball. Again, we’re counting on the leadership on that side as we’ve become a defensive-esque team in that the leadership on that side has been great, you know. And it’s not just them leading defense because we’ve talked a little bit about sometimes you take the guy from the winning boat and put him on the losing boat and he has the ability to have effect on that losing boat to where they win. And I see where this team is a little different than some of the others where that side of the ball, the red jerseys are over with the white jerseys and not in that competitive nature, but hey, bro, ‘let’s go’. We got to get this going. And so that being defensive-led and the emotion in which our defense practices and plays is spilling over to where you’re starting to see the offense gain a defensive mentality.”
On the added comfort RB Roman Hemby provides in the backfield
“There’s no uncertainty at quarterback. We’ve got a quarterback in our program. We have a few quarterbacks in our program that we think can play winning football. If anything has come out of this, when you ask how the quarterback is doing, I have a room that can play winning football and the expectation is that any of the three can do it. But is it nice to have Roman Hemby as an insurance policy behind you? It sure is. And Colby McDonald and the Nolan Rays of the world and we got a couple of freshmen that have really popped on tape for us as well. And I’m excited for that room. If the run game can improve like we’ve seen and we have the talent at the running back position, obviously people know about Tai [Felton] and [Kaden Prather]. We got some guys. We’ll be okay.”
Where the TE room stands heading into the season
“They’ve played a huge role in the last couple years. We had Corey Dyches who is no longer here, the production he’s given us and you look at that position, I mean, [Chigoziem Okonkwo] is in the NFL. Tyler [Mabry] is in the NFL still playing, tight end with Seattle…and that position has always been critical, and those two guys were recruited to play the position. Some of the other guys we’ve had, we’ve inherited it. So with the length they both have and the athleticism that Dylan [Wade] and Preston [Howard] have and Leron Husbands who has struggled and fought through injury and now I’m starting to see the things that I know attracted us to recruit them here. That room is the one I think that has probably the most promise. And I can remember a year ago talking about the young receivers or the young running back room. That young tight end room has a chance to be pretty, pretty good room for us.”
On how SAF Glen Miller fits into the defense
“He’s a Swiss Army knife and he’ll continue. The last guy I can remember that had this skillset that you see out of Glendon is a kid Minkah Fitzpatrick, played corner, can play star in our defensive system, played safety. And Glen’s one of those guys. All the players in the program, he’s one of the guys that I think has come the furthest, and I’m talking from his off the field habits to becoming a leader, a guy that’s graduated with a degree, and I mean, Glen is – you ever have those kids that when they start to get it, and as a parent you’re like, [sigh] finally. And that’s where I’m at with Glen and he’s been a great leader and you know what? You gotta have players that have his testimony in your program because they help some of the younger guys maybe avoid some of those pitfalls and I see Glen taking on that type of role and the talent is there. He’s a guy that will play on Sundays and I think he’ll be a guy that has his name called early.”
On the progression of DL Neeo Avery
“Neoo is a guy that everybody, a big recruit, a guy that came in with a lot of notoriety. A guy that has battled through adversity and you’ll hear that a lot about this team. And that’s what I think I like most about this team is you got to go through things, you got to fail, you got to have injuries, you got to have a testimony to pass the test. And Neeo’s been one of those guys, man. A couple of years of high school ball taken away from him. He gets here, he’s got a wrist, he’s got an arm and knee. He’s finally healthy and I know I’m excited to see him. He’s back, put on some good weight, he’s in really good shape and he’s the guy that we’re counting on as one of the younger players in our program to elevate us because you know, as an interior pass rusher, a stand-up pass rusher, he’s strong, powerful, big body. If he stays healthy, I think he’ll be able to contribute and create a role for himself.”
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