Mike Locksley on Nebraska, reviewing Washington loss & how players have responded

Ahmed Ghafir
Oct 7
11 min read

Everything that head coach Mike Locksley said following the Washington loss and ahead of the Nebraska game:

Opening statement

“As we approach the halfway point of our season, I'm really pleased with where this team sits. Obviously, none of us are happy about the outcome from Saturday. It's an adage where you got to play the game for four quarters and we played it for three. And as I dive into last week, it wasn't the first game that we didn't win the fourth quarter. And that's a standard for us in our system. Anyone that's ever coached in the Nick Saban family tree, winning the fourth quarter is a really important stat. And going into that game, we were tied in the fourth quarter, meaning we hadn’t finished many games the way I'd like to see us finish even when we did win, and because of it, there's an old adage, it gets us when it gets us and it got us on Saturday with us not finishing and winning the fourth quarter, which is paramount of championship teams. Winning the fourth quarter represents finishing strong, head butting the finish. All these are standards for us and so we'll work really hard this week to emphasize the way we finish and expect us to do a better job, like we've done in all the other areas we've had to make these corrections.

On the freshmen

“We've had eight freshmen basically play starter reps. As they reach and get to this halfway point, we're no longer an inexperienced team. I can't stand up here and keep using the word inexperienced with some of these guys because they've played starter reps for almost a half a season and so our expectation rises with them with each and every game. I expect us to use some of the frustration we have with the things that we can control that we didn't control.

On Nebraska

“We'll get that corrected against a really good Nebraska team that I got a lot of respect for. You look at the job Matt Rhule has done. He's flipped that roster, turned around their program. A lot more athletic team, lot more length than they maybe have had there in the last couple of years. They got a big time quarterback and do a really good job in all three phases. I've known Matt for a long time. Went to college with his first cousin, Craig Sponsky, who was a really close friend of mine, and I really have a lot of respect for Matt and the work that he's done as a coach.”

On game captains

“Our game captains this week will be AJ Szymanski, Daniel Wingate and Jamare Glasker.”

On avoiding a hangover effect after first loss

“Haunting hangover. I'll keep telling you guys will be defined by what we do now. Like, once the game is over, we QC it, which quality control it, we figure out what we did, well, what we didn’t and then we move to the next one. So last week's game should not and will not have any impact on this week's game and how we prepare because of the way we prepare.”

On Nebraska’s pass defense, challenges they present

“They also are probably a team that gives up a little bit of stuff in the run game, if you - that's the other side of it. They're a great pass defense. When we study people, we try to figure out what they do well and what they don't do well. I would say that based on what we are scouting of these guys, he's a good coach. So the things they don't do well - play the run some - we got to do a better job ourselves of running the football. We've got some talented skill on the outside. Our guys have to make the plays that are there to be made and I expect us to do that. And so this week, I think we're a team that will match up evenly with this Nebraska team. They're super talented. Like I said, their quarterback is a guy that we've got to do a really good job of trying to affect. They've got great skill in the backfield, as they've always had. And then, like you said, the defensive backfield, a lot of it can be attributed to the pass rush. You know, the [Dasan] McCullough kid that we saw and faced as a freshman at Indiana has now gone over to Nebraska and he's a guy that shows up all over tape that we've got to do a great job of keeping our quarterback healthy. But they also do a great job of playing main coverage, middle field close coverages and we've got to find a way to beat man coverage and create some separation when we get the opportunity.”

On the players reaction after the loss

“Again, we'll be defined by what we do in the present. Last week's loss will have no bearing on what we do this week. I mean, it's just the way it works, Gene. And I know that you guys like to loop things together but last week is over. We have to make the corrections that we will make. We'll make the coaching corrections that we need to make. We turn the page on last week just like we do every play. We got to get to the next play. We get to the next game. We're there now. This is, as having it on Tuesday makes it a little tough for me because I digested it a day ago after we finished with our team and we've turned the page on it. So I don't expect it to have any bearing on this week. I expect us to prepare like we have. I thought we prepared well a week ago. We just didn't finish.”

What Locksley likes about how the team moved forward

“I think probably the most impressive thing was to see my freshman quarterback the way he ended his press conference. I think that showed who we are and what kind of team we have the way Malik, as a young guy, I think kind of wanted to leave you guys with some things and I thought that was impressive. That shows maturity. I think when you see a guy like Sidney Stewart and his reaction to being thrown out of the game and how he responded with his teammates. When you see a guy like number six, who had a tough day at the office stand in front of his team yesterday and own his stuff and apologize to his team that, hey, you know what? I lost my stuff and it affected us. That tells me - these are the things y'all don't get to see and you don't write about. And hopefully me telling you these things will allow you to be a little more positive about it with these guys, but we got a good little team, and I'm going to rock with them. We’re good.”

On Malik Washington’s leadership

“Leadership is as I define it as being able to have a positive impact on people. And from the day I've met Malik Washington, he's done that. He's one of those guys as a ninth, 10^th grader or star quarterback at Archbishop Spalding that's doing when they bring ninth graders up to see the school, he's the guy that's taking care of a ninth grader to show him what a great place Spalding was for him. Those type of leadership traits are something that he's displayed very early. I always say leadership doesn't have to have a time stamp on it, meaning you don't have to be here four years and been through wars to be able to have a positive impact on others. And he's done that really early - not just on our program, but on Terpsville and on our supporters and fans.”

Comparing Malik Washington to other QBs Locksley has coached

“As he likes to say, He's different. They each are. I hate comparing my kids. I've got kids at home and they all have their strengths and weaknesses. He's different and they all are just like all of our kids are. Talented, like some of the ones we've had here. We've got the all time lead passer in the history the Big Ten came out of this program. So he's different if I were to just say, what's the difference between them? He's a little different than the ones I've had.”

On philosophy to end games, drain clock

“Get first downs. That's my philosophy. We needed one more stop and one more drive. One more score, one more stop. So my philosophy is to move the chains in four minute situations.”

Whether Locksley wish he ran the ball more in the second half

“As I said before, my job is to try to move the chains, get first downs. We do everything we can to do that whether it's running or throwing. Balance is having the ability to do both and we didn't do it either very well during those points of the game.”

On the team being closer through the season

“Every team, as you know, has its own personality and with the landscape we're in, this is - you don't have the opportunity to have a three year, four year guide the way you used to. And so 64 new players coming together. Finally, I think Father's Day Sunday was when everybody that's on this team showed up. And for us to expedite and help the relationship things mature, I've been really pleased with it, but it starts with winning each other's hearts and having a ton of respect for each other because of the amount of work that we put in. Maybe contrary to what some of you guys think, I mean, these guys work hard. We work hard to prepare our players, and they work hard to prepare themselves for the opportunities they get. You only get 12 of them. We let one slip away. But this group has stayed together. I like so far how we've handled the adversity of a loss, our first loss here at home, and I expect us to respond the right way.”

On Zahir Mathis’ recruitment

“We’ve had great success up at Imhotep, up in Philly, a great football program has given us guys like DJ Moore, who's come here and had great success and gone on to the next level. Zahir is no different in terms of what the impact he's been able to have. From day one, he was one of those guys that I thought showed a tremendous amount of maturity. He committed early to another program in the Big Ten and kind of shut his recruiting down. And he's a byproduct of the relationship that Malik Washington had with him. We saw him early. We tried to recruit him. He made a decision to do something else, and then because of the Malik factor, during the Under Armour All American game, Malik calls me, says, Hey, Zahir Mathis wants to come visit. Well, let's sign him up. Came to visit, we spent some really quality time, met grandma, who was really important to him and he made the decision to be a Terp. It was probably one of the best things that happened to us in our program is having a kid like him, especially with the type of impact he's been able to have.”

QB Malik Washington’s influence on Zahir

“I would say a huge factor for sure. And I think once he came here, Maryland sold itself.”

On the crowd for the Washington game

“That was pretty cool. I've been around here 17 football seasons. We did not get the corners completely filled up the way I'd seen it before, back in 2001 but to walk out and know that a team from 3,000 miles away. It wasn't their fans because I've been in there when we sold out. It's been more friendly for the visitors. So this is a byproduct of what this team has done. They've created enough interest from our local people to decide, hey, let's go check out what's going on over in Terpsville, and so kudos to our team for those guys putting themselves in that position to create an environment. Great job by our marketing people, our administrative, our staff, game operations people, but we're really proud of the way our fans showed up for us and disappointed that we didn't allow ourselves to build on what we were able to create, but we're looking forward to getting back on the horse and going again this weekend.”

On the improved fan experience through the season

“It's about the fans. I think Jim [Smith], his staff, Diana [Sabau], Joe [LaBue], those guys understand what it looks like. It’s easy to say win games and people will come but it’s a lot more to it. I had lunch here with Mark Cuban here at Jones-Hill House a year ago and he said winning doesn’t bring fans. It helps for sure and it’s my job to take care of that part of it but to know that we’re in partnership with people who understand it’s more than just going on the field and winning. We’ve got to create an environment and an experience outside of just the game. It’s great to see all these things come to fruition, especially at this time as this team that’s no longer inexperienced but just young at certain places continue to grow and grow with some of these new traditions that we’ve started.”

On Ethan Gough

“Again, to not hear his name is a good thing because he didn’t make any mistakes. Ethan is a guy that’s like a sniper – you get one shot, one kill as a long snapper. Sometimes they put people over his head. He’s not the biggest but I tell you what, he’s really skilled at long snapping and short snapping. I think he’ll have the opportunity to do it at the next level which we’ve seen guys like John Condo who’s played 18 years in the NFL doing just that and because of how skilled Ethan has been and the leadership. He’s not your typical specialist. He's a guy that’s part of our leadership council. He’s a guy that has a voice of our team. He’s one of the guys that’s leading us in the community, the service things that we do. A DeMatha grad that’s really represented not just DeMatha but a guy that’s from southern Maryland and really takes pride in playing for the flagship university. Because his name hasn’t been called, he’s done a tremendous job through four years.”

On the first vs. second half defense

“Again, some games we are up ahead and we decide to develop younger players. That’s part of the growing curve of playing younger players. When you have the opportunity to play them and the expectation is the standard shouldn’t drop. When you have inexperienced players playing, mistakes happen. Lessons, things to learn from. The big one for me, though, is winning the fourth quarter as much as the second half because we won the middle eight. I don’t know if you guys know what the middle eight is, I’ve explained it before, we do pretty well in the middle eight which is before the half and right after a half. The one thing that as I’ve said is a staple of our program is winning the fourth quarter because it represents a killer instinct, represents the finish and we tied the fourth quarter going into this game. And so winning sometimes masks some of these things and you know what? It got us when it got us this week in the fourth quarter, we found ourselves in a tight game. Their players number 12, their quarterback number two, they made plays that were there to be made in critical situations and we didn’t. And so to me as a coach, my job now is to figure out let’s get the fourth quarter finish fixed. It’s a big part of what we do and it’s been a big emphasis for us thus far during our prep for Nebraska.”

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