Mike Locksley on homecoming, run game, Zion Elee, whether Rutgers is must-win for Maryland football
Opening Statement
As always, appreciate everyone that's here for your interest in the program. As I told our team on Sunday, we're at the halfway point in our season, and this is a checkpoint, not obviously the conclusion. And so we look at the first half of our year; 2-4 ain't good enough. And I'm super frustrated. Our players are super frustrated because we know we're better than what we've played, and that's what motivates us. I believe we played some really good teams in the first half of our year. I think we've learned some great lessons playing these really good teams and I'm looking forward to a 1-0 start to this week.
On Rutgers
"Obviously, we have Rutgers coming in for homecoming. Our focus is on playing our best on Saturday. That's been the missing piece. The work has been the type of work we need, but playing our best on game day has not been, and that's on me as a coach. I have to own that, and the goal now is to, as I say, do more with less, meaning let's find a way to to run the things that our players can get executed on Saturday, and that's what we're looking forward to do. I still believe in this group. I understand the work that we have ahead of us.
On homecoming
"Obviously, starts this week, homecoming. A lot of great teams. I've had a chance to be here for 18 homecomings, and so for me, when I think of a week like this, I become very grateful for the opportunity to have played a little part in the lives of 18 different teams here that have come through Maryland, and a lot of those guys will be back and looking forward to catching up with them.
Game Captains
"Our captains this week will be Daniel Wingate, Daniel Owens, and Malik Washington."
Midseason grade, defensive focus, WR KJ Duff
"Halfway grade not good enough. I think I have to own that as the head coach. I've got to be better. We got to be better in all facets of our program. So that that's that grade. With KJ Duff with Rutgers on offense, this will be a special teams game. When you study how Rutgers tries to win ball games, and it's a they they have it down to a science. They shrink the game on offense, use as much clock as they can. They play really good on special teams, which for me is where we have to have to play really, really well this week. Special teams is something that they've branded. They're one of the better special teams programs in the Big Ten, and for us, we got to match that this week and play really well in our special teams game.
When it comes to KJ, he's a lot like what we faced a week ago [against Jeremiah Smith]. I mean, he's super talented, makes a lot of contested catches, has the ability vertically to get down the field, but also he's one of those guys that third down can work the intermediate area. So he'll have our attention. We've got to do a better job this week in making sure we take him out of the game plan, and if we can do that, we'll give ourselves a chance."
On Locksley and Greg Schiano's lack of success in Big Ten
"I can't answer for Rutgers, but I can answer for us. If you look at the history of Maryland, whether sustaining success, I mean, I'd venture to say we had three decent years at some point in my career here where -- and then you have to double down on it. We seem to both have come in at the same time as partners in the Big Ten, but I'd say be hard pressed for -- we've done some good things in the football side. We haven't done it consistently. And to me -- I've been here for 18 seasons, and I can tell you that through 18 seasons here, finding how to consistently win is not just a coach Locks problem. It's a problem that I think any coach that's worked here. And it [starts] with doubling down on doing all the extra things, the investment. We're in a new time now with -- I think during my time here, we've had COVID, we've had the portal, and we've had NIL. It's a matter of having plans in place, which we have now, and I look forward to building it."
Lessons learned in 2026
"I think the biggest one for me is to continue to have patience while allowing these things to grow and get fixed. I mean, I'm very impatient and I get asked the question a lot. And sometimes I have to stand up here and go give coach speak. I'm not a patient guy. I have to stand up here, breathe deep, and pretend that I'm not super frustrated. But I'm super frustrated because we're not getting it done. And my job is to figure out how to get it done and that's the one part because of the kids over there and how grateful I am about being able to coach the type of team that every day shows up and practices hard and and gives me their best. And that's what motivates me to give them my best."
On avoiding the noise for a program that he says he loves
"I'm like them -- I'm super frustrated. It's great to have a fanbase, a student section, people that care about Maryland football because I've been around here during some years, 18 seasons where people didn't care. And so because of the wisdom I have from being around here for so long, I've seen these cycles. I'm super frustrated like our fans because, as I've said before -- you asked me the question. I think Saturday, why do you deserve to coach here? Or someone asked me why you deserve to keep being able to coach. And it's because I'm one of the most grateful people to have this job. And not because of any other reason is I love the place, and that's kind of what leads me into homecoming. A bunch of kids that are really important to me over the years, I've done grateful work. I've been able to play a small part in helping them become better fathers, better husbands, better football players at the next level, whatever it is. And so, I'm frustrated like our fans, but I also have been here to know what it's like when you get it up over the hump, and I think we're -- I've seen a shift in the last two weeks that we're on track."
On Locksley's with president Pines
"President Pines has been a super leader of our campus, not just athletics, not just academics. He's been a super leader for campus. I have a strong relationship with him. He cares about Maryland Athletics. He cares about the University of Maryland, whether it's from the academic side, where he serves as a dean in our engineering program to now taking over as a head coach, he's been a great support for all of athletics, not just me, football. You see him at all the events. He's a guy that, like me, grew up probably as a professional on this campus, and and I think he has the same love I have.
On Malik Washington's struggles
"Malik is doing well, doing really well mentally. I mean, he's a kid that, as I've said before, and I think as you guys have seen, super strong foundation. A lot like me, and I lean on him sometimes when my frustration kicks in just because of the mentality that he approaches, because he starts with what can I do better? And when you got a bunch of guys like Malik, like a Daniel Wingate, like a Daniel Owens, the guys that are serving as captains, a bunch of the guys over there in Jones-Hill House who care about each other, care about this place, it's easy to come back and keep fighting, keep working to figure out the answers that we got to have to to get us back on the right side of the column."
Whether Rutgers is a must win
"No, I mean they're all must win, man. As I said before, this landscape, every game for a coach is a must win. Every decision you make as a coach is a must win. One of the things I've learned though through these years of having a chance to grow and learn as a coach is the best thing you can ever do is put your focus where it belongs, which is putting your team as a head coach in the best position with creating processes that allow you to win. And that has not changed for me. It doesn't change based on who we play. It doesn't change based on the record. I've just been disciplined to think Rutgers is the most important game for us this year. We are at the checkpoint. This is probably the longest I think I've had before we've gotten into a bye week. And so, as I looked at the halfway point, I said, 'hey, who are we? What do we need to do to beat Rutgers?' And to me, the thing that came to mind was less is more. We need to be really good at doing the things that we have efficiently been able to do and continue to do them."
On Zion Elee's first six games
"Zion is probably -- I'd say he's a little ahead of where I think most freshmen defensive end coming in. A little ahead in that he's a special talent, especially in obvious passing situations. He has a gift to rush the quarterback, and every opportunity he's been given that that gift, that ability to rush the quarterback, he's made plays for us. But I also think that much like a young quarterback, how much you give them early is important because he's continued to put on the size that he's going to need to play in the Big Ten. I like the way that we've brought him along the first half of the year. I think you'll see a lot more of him because he's at that point where as a coach, you say freshmen aren't freshmen after the halfway point and after they play so many plays. And I've been really pleased with the production. I haven't been pleased with the post-snap things that have happened. And as I've said before, because I've done this a long, long time, it's it's being a parent, it's teaching. Every one of those moments are teachable moments. I could easily match his energy and kind of go off and overreact to it. But one of the things I did on that on his 15 yarder this week was I said, tell me why they threw the flag because if you watch the play, the ref allowed both guys to kind of chirp a little bit, which we don't want to do. And as he came off and he's super hey, tell me why you got the flag, and he did. I said you got the flag because you went back. And so the teaching lesson was you can't go back if the ref is going to allow you and the guy to kind of do what you do. When you walk away, you walk away. And that's the teachable moment. And that's how I try to bring all these guys along as we try to build this program."
On the run game, return of DeJuan Williams
"I saw small progress in the run game because the run game is the one area where if one guy doesn't do his job, the back has to make him right. And having DeJuan back and healthy, as we've seen on some of those long runs, he's made the maybe an unblocked guy or a guy that's fallen off a block, he's made it right. He's as close to 100% now to to what he was before he went down, and that really should be able to help us. I think getting Terrez Worthy back possibly this week is another. He's a guy that we brought in with a specific skill set, and I think you'll start to see the run game for us. I saw signs of life with the backside cut-offs and backside B blocks. And then sometimes when the run game isn't going, it's misreads where the hole is over to the left and the back maybe missed the cut. Much like the passing game, each one of these things are things we show them on tape. The more we do something over and over and over consistently, the easier it is to fix it, and that's where we've really gone with the run game where we've really, hey, let's run the plays that give us the ability to get four more to stay on track and that's where we're at with the run game."
How on-field performance influences recruiting
"That's the really good thing about for me in recruiting is that I'm really transparent in recruiting with recruits. And so when we sign guys, we don't sign them based off of what our record is, based on how we've performed. I'm constantly, I mean, I recruited Malik Washington here off of a tough year, but what I do is when we call them and we're consistent with calling, you show them, hey, here's the areas where we're struggling, and this is where we see you fitting. This is where we see you being able to maybe help us. And so, winning is important, probably in the recruiting battle for most kids. But a lot of the kids that we've got committed are committed because they understand what our ultimate goal is and what their role will be."
On lack of TE production
"Again, there've been games where I think Dorian [Fleming] had eight or nine catches. There've been games where he's had two or three. This week we had 53 plays, and it was by design. Our goal was to try to shrink the game, which we expect Rutgers to do to limit the opportunities for their offense. And so sometimes when you do that, our goal is always to get our best players, what we call touches in the in the system. Preston [Howard] was out for three or four games, three games I think, and got back last week and he had a couple targets. Dorian's been nicked up. He missed -- or didn't miss, but was close to where we didn't play him in certain ways because of what he's been dealing with. And as I said before, they're both healthier than they were last week and the week before. And for us to have the type of success we need to have on offense, and for us to be efficient, our tight end production has to pick up. And we've got to do a good job of targeting and finding ways to get them involved. I think we got Damon Hall involved at the end of the game there, and he's one of those young players that is starting to show up for us that I think you'll see more of."
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