Mike Locksley on Maryland football's Big Ten opener, facing Wisconsin, preparing for QB Billy Edwards Jr

Ahmed Ghafir
Sep 16
12 min read

Everything that head coach Mike Locksley said ahead of Maryland football’s Big Ten and 2025 road opener vs. Wisconsin this upcoming weekend:

Reviewing win vs. Towson

“Recapping Towson, I thought we played a really clean game early. When it came to kind of our margin - we call [it] our margin of error on the offensive side of the ball – [we] were able to get some young guys meaningful minutes to develop our depth for our team. As always, as I told our team, it's great to close the nonconference chapter of our season out 3-0. And again, that's a testament to the work that those guys put in.

On Big Ten play

“Now it's time to put our attention on Big Ten play, which is the new season for us. And we all know, winning on the road in the Big Ten is hard. It's tough to do week in and week out. Wisconsin is a great home environment. They got a great place to go play a football game. It's what you come to play here at Maryland it’s the type of environment you like and want to go compete in. They've got a history of being one of the more physical teams in this league so as I told our team yesterday, there'll be a great measuring stick for us and what kind of team we have and what type of team we can be. But I'm excited for what this game creates for us as we entered a Big Ten season, opportunity for us to learn who we are together on the road for the first time, opportunity to face adversity in a tough environment, which we're looking forward to seeing. Also an opportunity to test ourselves against a really good opponent in Wisconsin who's coming off of a 2-1 nonconference season, played a big game a week ago against a good Alabama team.”

On game captains vs. Wisconsin

“Our game captains leading us into this will be Dillan Fontus, DJ Samuels and Leon Haughton. And with that, I'll open it up to whatever questions you guys have.”

On preparing for Wisconsin QB Billy Edwards, his status

“We're going to prepare as if Billy's going to play. They've also shown the capable guy that has come in and won some games for them also. It's not our job to figure that piece out. We just got to prepare our team for their offense. It's not about Billy, it's not about me, it's not about Maryland and we've always kept it that way. Our standard will continue to kind of lead us in how we prepare with the opponent, the names, who we played doesn't matter. It's kind of what we've got to do. And we've kept that thing up pretty good. And I think it's worked, it’s served us well so we'll keep going that direction.”

On calming the nerves for QB Malik Washington & young players, how staff prepares for road environment

“We do the same thing that we do with all first-year players. It is a great environment to play a football game. Most of us as a coaching staff, some of us as players have been there. And so pipe the crowd noise in which our communication can handle the noise from that standpoint. You can't mimic or show what it will be like but what I've learned about Malik Washington pretty early is that I haven't seen it ever be too big. I think we've done a really good job in how we've brought him along and so that it isn't about him and being too big. And so we'll continue to do that. But this is why I've kind of said this is [going to] be a great barometer for what kind of team we have and what type of team we can be.”

On early season success on special teams

“There's no doubt bringing [Andre Powell] back here, and having worked with him before in this capacity, but now even more, with just his unique role now and of just focusing on special teams, him and Chili Davis both do a tremendous job in collaborating together with our special teams and it's paying off. We also got some talented players. I mean, I've talked about a young guy like Messiah Delhomme, who blocked the punt. That’s a good young football player that's in our program that we think has chance to be pretty special. A week ago, he did his job in the fake punt, fake punt return where we were able to get the ball on the ground. So it's good to see young players having an impact in a game on special teams. Andre and Chili have done a tremendous job from a scheme standpoint and it definitely helps when the goal is for us to score or set up a score and we've done that the last couple of weeks.”

On the biggest challenge facing Wisconsin

“They're a typical Big Ten physicality that comes with their brand, and is what we've tried to position ourselves to become more like. Everybody knows that we have athletes and we can throw the ball, but in the Big Ten you got to win running a football in tough environments during tough times with tough weather. And so we're working and we've started to build again our team to fit that type of team that we're going to have to have at some point. They’re a physical team on both sides of the line of scrimmage. They've got length and size. They're well coached. I mean, Luke Fickell’s had his team in the playoffs. He's a guy that I've competed against, whether it's in recruiting at his time at Ohio State or when he became the interim head coach. A lot of respect for the way he develops his team and his program, and they're one of the blue bloods of the Big Ten so great opportunity.”

On establishing the run vs. Wisconsin

“It's always what I said about creating balance, being able to do both well when you have to. We have a system that allows us to, if we add RPOs, it helps the run game. If we decide to take them off, it develops us as a physicality where you know, when you talk about physicality, it's basically numbers. It's you running into numbers and one guy beating up another guy and making a play. And to me, that's kind of what we've started to develop, again, this mentality, because we know that at some point in the Big Ten you're going to get into a fight in a phone booth. And we're developing that mentality, and that's why a game against Wisconsin on the road as an opener for us is a really great measuring stick for our team.”

On not putting energy into players who depart the program

“I mean, I block guys on Twitter. I'll block you, Sam. I'm telling you like I'm petty and I tell us not to read it, but sometimes you get bored and you just start blocking people. But when I say abandonment, like, you know what, Billy was a good football player during this time here. This is the new football. This is the landscape we're in. We're not preparing any different because Billy's on that sideline. I guess that's the point I'm trying to make. And our team has a standard for what we've got to do to prepare to win a game like this. And for me, the goal is to meet that standard today, Wednesday, Thursday, how we travel Friday and then go out Saturday. And a lot of these questions will be answered at the end of the game. Looking forward to answering them.”

On preparing for the first road game of the season

“I think it showed up even on Saturday. I can remember when our defense gave up that long touchdown pass and before that they could get off the field, Jalen Huskey, 22, was up and had the defense called up before they were walking off the field, saying that's not what our standard. I mean, he sounded like a coach. And so to see the older guys in our program embrace that type of leadership, it's growing. As I told this team is growing right before my eyes as the coach because every week is another opportunity for them to learn, get tools in the toolbox, and I like the direction that they're going in. This week would be really, really good for us to see just what kind of team we've got.”

Whether Maryland is developing closer to traditional Big Ten teams in the trenches

“We've increased our length and we've increased our size in both lines of scrimmage. We may not have the depth just yet but I think we all are facing. I think they're playing three young guys on their offensive line, which, again, it's the way it is. It's develope them now, and so we are starting to have the size. We've been able to recruit guys. When you recruit freshmen that look like [Zahir Mathis] and [Sidney Stewart], like they're coming in with the right kind of bodies. The goal is to be able to match up and we haven't always been able to do that. But I think that when you look at the way it is roster and team [is] being put together, you see the difference, and that's why this will be a great opportunity to see just what kind of team we have.”

On kickoff improvement since week one, Phillip Noyes

“From game one to this game, there's no doubt the kickoff, as you described, has improved, and it starts with getting the ball up in the air. I mean, he's got a strong leg. I think for him, it's what you will see the typical growth of an inexperienced or young player. He's a guy that hadn't kicked ever before in the game here and he's thrust with that opportunity. And I would venture to say that if you were going to be judged by 50,000 people and however many watching on TV, you get a little tight. And I think the more he kept doing it, the better he got. And now it's become a confidence thing where he's getting the ball up in the air, giving us a chance with the type of covered unit we have to get down and be able to get the ball tackled. Which that was a big play for us a week ago, that opening kickoff, putting it in the sweet spot of where it's returnable and our guys did a good job of getting down and covering it.”

On the difference between Noyes and O’Haire on kickoffs

“No, we have a guy that kicks off the best. We have a guy that makes field goals. Those two are two separate positions. And some guys do both. We've chosen to use Sean as just our field goal kicker as his strength. And Phillip’s leg strength gives us the weapon that we're looking for as a kickoff guy.”

On whether Indiana & Illinois climbing nationally gives Locksley hope Maryland can do the same

“It's always good to see what parity looks like in this league. And I think when you look at the way both those programs have been positioned and resourced in the Big Ten, you see where it's happening. I've spent time in Illinois so I understand that area. I do think it gives a lot of us in the Big Ten the hopes of that as long as we are able to get the right guys on the field, and we do a great job as coaches of putting them in the best position. Bret [Bielema], I got a lot of respect for him as a coach, obviously. And then Curt [Cignetti] over at Indiana, again, we're from the same family tree and it's good to see that in college football.”

On the improved pass rush through nonconference, how it bolsters the secondary

“There's been a lot of collaboration. We do a good, bad and ugly tape every Monday where I get to coach the whole team. And the last couple of weeks, we've had plays in there where we've got sacks on four-man rushes. And I think I said this earlier in camp, that when you're able to rush four and get pressure on the quarterback, it makes the backend’s job [much] easier. I also saw places where the last two weeks, we've done a really good job in coverage and how sticky we've been in our coverage which has allowed the rush time to get there. And so they've worked really well. Ted [Monachino] and his defensive staff have done a really good job of putting blitz patterns together and finding ways to create one-on-ones for some of our talented pass rushers that we'll get a chance to see continue to grow.”

On WR Shaleak Knotts

“For punch, it's like I said, it's what I always envisioned. I would hope it would have happened a year or two earlier for him. But he has run his own race. And I think what you're seeing is there's still two sides to this landscape. You still have guys that are going to be in your program for four years that you want to see come in as boys and leave as men. And there's no doubt in my mind, I've watched Punch come stand up here in front of you guys and just blow me away. The maturity that he shows and it's a byproduct of hopefully the time that he spent here in our program, but even more testament to the resolve that that kid has.”

On how important four-year players are to the standard of the program

“That starts with me and our staff that make sure that that culture doesn't change in the messaging. And to me, as long as I've been here, we've talked about what our pillars and our standards are, what we've got to do now and what we have done is pivoted to how do we expedite teaching the standard. And we've seen that because we've got 64 players that never played a down together play the last three games and I see the growth out of that group, and the more they play together, the better they'll be. And that's why this week against Wisconsin, this will be a great opportunity for us to see just kind of what kind of team we have a chance to be.”

On shifting from a development to win-now mindset

“As I've said before, I don't hide behind it. When you pay people to do a job, people have a different expectation. And I know that as an adult, but this is part of the landscape teaching that goes on in our program because we have players that people know they make money. And so the day of saying, hey it's okay to drop it on 3^rd-and-2 because you’re a freshman and next year we’ll get it. We don’t have time for it. We all have the pressure of having to perform at a higher level as quickly as we possibly can. To me,that has been brought down to that level where our players understand that they have jobs to do and that they have expectations, that we can't wait until next year. I need it from them now.”

How to balance a win-now mentality with freshmen

“You don't balance it. It's what they have to do. I can't negotiate. Even the freshmen, you can't negotiate that standard. They all are coming in and they know what their expectations are. They know what the expectations are in our program and we're not going to negotiate off of that. We won't love them until they get it right but we're going to push the buttons to get it done now.”

On putting QB Malik Washington in the run game

“We can’t just give all of our secrets up out here about what's in the playbook and what we're going to do on 3^rd-and-1 but everybody has QB sneak whether it's the tush push, the tempo sneak. We all have those things. We've been intentional in what we've done in some of those situations to where we test and try to see and figure out the best groupings that gives us the best chance on that down and distance. When it comes to Malik in the run game. I think you saw aspects of it last week. As I've said, he missed some opportunity during training camp with some lower leg extremities. Our job was to keep him kind of upright. There's ways in our system to take pressure off the quarterback from having to run, but I think anybody that has seen him play, knows that his dual threat capabilities are there and the fact that he's shown that he can win in the pocket without using his legs has probably added another element to prepare for.”

How Shaleak Knotts got the nickname ‘Punch’

“I don't think I know the story. I just know him as Punch. We went and did his home visit. I'll never forget, because it was one of those brunch, midday home visits where grandma was cooking eggs and bacon and sausage. And they had pancakes, but then they had like potatoes and hams. It was a good southern style family brunch. And Punch is Punch. I mean, anybody in that neighborhood, I don't think they even knew his name was Shaleak. He was Punch and I thought it was on his birth certificate so I don't know where punch came from.”

Whether it helps with familiarity of Wisconsin’s QB in Billy Edwards

“I mean, from a mental makeup, sure. I mean, I spent a lot of time with Billy Edwards. Has been well documented but the mental makeup of the quarterback if he were to play, yeah, we know that part about Billy but we also thought enough of Billy that he was our starter here and did some good things for us a year ago as a starter. So that's no knock against that but our preparation won't be about Billy, his strengths. It's about Wisconsin’s strength. They've got a trio of running backs with the guy, Dilin Jones from right up the road, big time back. Got [RB Cade Yacamelli] coming in, rotating in. Two grown men at tight end. They've got great length on the edges. [WR Vinny Anthony II], their return guy, receiver is a big play threat had returned to kick a week ago. Lot of good players. [Christian Alliegro] on defense, he's long, athletic, creates matchup issues. So there's a lot more people than just about Billy and Terps, they got a really good team and this will be a great opportunity for us to measure our team against a Big Ten blue blood on the road.”

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