Mike Locksley on non-conference success, WR Shaleak Knotts, no sacks allowed, Big Ten play ahead

Ahmed Ghafir
Sep 13
9 min read

Everything head coach Mike Locksley said following the win vs. Towson:

Opening statement

“Great to be off to a 3-0 start, strong finish to our non-conference schedule. Really proud of the fellas the way they took care of business for this portion of our schedule. Credit to Pete Shinnick and the Towson staff for bringing their team in, battle four quarters. Good team, well-coached team.

On what went right vs. Towson

“Some positive highlights. I think one, on offense what we were looking to be able to do is start fast. I think we scored points on the first six drives. [Malik Washington] was really efficient for us, did a really good job of kind of getting the offense rolling early on and gained some momentum. I thought the run game showed up – I think three rushing touchdowns, and like the way that the backs finished downfield. [It] was not always clean, and it was good to see Octavian Smith, who missed a little time during the week, get going and have his first 100-yard game. I'm really proud of our defense, the way they've played, continue to keep people out of the end zone, got pressure on the quarterback today. Probably the best thing that comes out of a game like this is we got to play a lot of players and we got to put some good and bad on the tape. We saw some explosive plays there in the second half where we've got some young players in the game, them understanding that the standard doesn't change for us when we play a bunch of players. You need to have this stuff on tape. You get to put it on tape and coach from it. And a team that's inexperienced like the one we have will be better because of the depth that we've been able to create by playing some of these young guys in situations today and getting it on tape. I'm really happy with the way that happened. I thought La’Khi Roland made a huge play for us in the game with the 100-yard interception return, another one of those young corners that benefited from things that happened a year ago. You see him playing with a lot more confidence and not having Jamare Glasker out there, you threw him and [Braydon Lee] and [Roland] in the mix to where they were able to get a ton of great reps that I think we'll be able to learn and grow from.”

On upcoming Big Ten play

“Big Ten play is upon us. We’ll learn a lot about who we are as a team on the road against Wisconsin, a really good team that’s been a blue blood in the Big Ten for a long time. I know the players are excited about getting out of conference, non-conference 3-0 and excited to go on a road up to Madison and put together a good week of work to put ourselves in position to go get a road win up there in Madison.”

On Malik Washington’s first-half deep balls

“I think the big thing is when you watch Malik, being able to use all 53.5 of the field, the comebacks to the field from the opposite hash. Those are big boy throws. You don't appreciate the throw to [Shaleak Knotts]. Throw behind ball where he just understands where and the type of accuracy that we need to make some of these throws. Again, as I've said before, he's still working, kind of still in that training camp mode, if you think about the amount of work that he missed early in the training camp. But I'm really pleased with how he's protected the football, the decision making. Pep and the offensive staff have done a really good job of force feeding him things and getting them into rhythm. And I thought he did a really good job today early getting going on offense.”

On WR Shaleak Knotts setting a career high

“It's just about the perseverance that he's shown. Everybody knows that I'm a big Punch fan. To see him have success finally, this is a guy that we've thought of very highly, that he's a guy that could be a playmaker for us. It just goes to show, man, you just got to run your race, which he has done, has not been perfect but I really like the way things have worked out for Punch early in the year and we hope to continue to build on it with him.”

On 400 total yards of offense

“I always talk about balance on offense. And I learned under Ralph Friedgen that balance is not running it 50% of the time or throwing it 50% of the time. It’s being able to efficiently do it, do either or based on what you have to get done. Today again, we kept pushing the run game. We were really intentional in trying to get the touches for the run game. You saw us add to Ivy's toolbox, and I like to say Iverson Howard coming in and getting some plays. I like the way Nolan [Ray] and DeJuan [Williams] had been a great one-two punch for us. For the run game in the Big Ten it’s really important that we have the ability to have balance because we got a freshman quarterback that every game is a learning experience for him. And there's not a better compliment than being able to line up and play and knock people off the line of scrimmage and hand it off and get positive yards to stay in those advantageous third down situations, which I thought today we did that.”

On no sacks allowed in three games, leaving QB Malik Washington in midway through the third quarter

“We have work to do. We have a plan at how we want to play our players. This stuff is talked about before the game. We have contingency plans. So we played Malik about what we wanted to do. [We] wanted to get off to a fast start, check, we did that. We wanted to play two drives in the second half. Didn't like the first drive where we ended with a field goal on a 3^rd-and-1. And then we wanted to mix and match the second drive with moving some player players around. Played left guard Isaiah [Wright] over at left tackle because there's going to be a time for the next few, three, four weeks that we're going to have to create depth. And we went in with a plan. I like the way the plan operated. What I'd like to see it a lot cleaner in the second half with our two’s. If you look at what Towson did with their two’s and the guys that they brought in, they were more efficient. But for me, the ability to put that on tape, teach, coach from this young team is invaluable. So looking forward to watching the tape.”

On depth heading into Big Ten

“For us, we've talked about our lack of depth. We talked about how limited the numbers are for us. We're not - some people are at 120 players and we're at like 103. And so for me, that's a point of diminishing returns with as much reps and how physical the conference we're going to be playing in, which is why we had to move guys around. Our depth will come from a guy like Isaiah Wright, who can play left guard playing some left tackle when we need to take a few plays off of Rahtrel Perry. It will come from moving Kerm [Humes] from the nickel slot to playing outside corner because Jamare Glaser is out. And so today we were able to mix and match some personnel groupings. We got Trey [Reddick] doing a little more pass rusher, which got us putting 23 [Keyshawn Flowers] on the field. There was a lot of Rubik's Cubes movements with trying to play enough players at the right time in the right positions so that we can create depth and when in fact, we do need it. And I like the way coaches were able to execute the things that we went into the game with those plans.”

On the defense heading into the Big Ten

“We're going to always be plugging and fixing problems with this young team, inexperienced team. Today, we fixed some of the third down issues that we had a week ago. And so what I'm learning really quickly about this group is you're going to achieve what you emphasize. And so we're getting some of the third down things fixed from a week ago. Two weeks ago, we got the penalties in what we call our margin of error cleaned up. We'll be fixing things all season long. I really like the way that our guys take the coaching, take the learning. Today, adding the depth that we've been able to use and create will help our team down the road. So really pleased with the way things panned out for us.”

On the OL

“I like the way that we've taken care of the young quarterback in the protection standpoint. Credit to Hal [Hunter] and [Damian Wroblewski], both those veteran line coaches that we brought in. And you're right. We've got guys like Rahtrel Perry that was a DII, Central Connecticut player a year ago. Now he's playing in the Big Ten and Hal’s got him competing and playing at a high level and a lot of it can be attributed to what he faces on a day to day basis from those young pass rushes we have in practice. And we always talk about the iron sharpening iron possibilities when you have those type of competitors on the other side, Hal and Wrobo have really done a good job of cleaning the pocket for us. Obviously, I think our quarterback does a really good job of getting us picked up for the most part. Today was the first time I saw some blow protections where some of the young running backs that haven’t played in those situations, we put it on tape. We get a chance to show them the importance of your check release, seeing your backer on the tail, you get out on the route. So lot of good learning that will come from this tape. I'm looking forward to getting on it.”

On defensive standouts vs. Towson

“For me going into this, obviously, when you lose Jamare Glasker, who's a scratch force this week - we expect him back this coming week. But to be able to now have to make a shift to where, who's our fourth corner? And our fourth corner, obviously, is moving Kerm from the nickel slot position outside, which now puts [Jayden Shipps] on the field for us. And it was great to see [Shipps]. He got lucky with a drop ball on the deep shot. Imagine being able to coach and teach them off of those things. And so what I liked about the defense is that when we had our top guys on the field, they got off the field. And that was what we needed to get accomplished on third down, which we didn't do a week ago, or even do in the first week. So I feel good about that. I thought we tackled a lot better again this week. Last week, a couple of missed tackles, bad angles showed up. It became something we emphasized and got it fixed. What we need to do is those young guys, when they come in on defense, we can't do up 70, 80-yard explosive shots in quarters coverage where we should have a guy doubled and we should be top-down with our safety. So putting that on tape, it's ugly. It's not something that, as a head coach, you want to see. But it couldn't have happened at a better time, and to be able to learn from it with getting a quality win and finishing up the non-conference schedule will be better because of it.”

On the senior WRs

“With [Octavian Smith] and Jalil [Farooq], obviously, and Punch, those three guys have really been the guys that we've tried to create opportunities for. We really tried to force feed Jalil today and we got him going early with some of the things that he does well, which is getting the ball in his hand and allowing him to be a run after catch guy. I think we saw Oct today utilize the vertical speed that he brings to the table that creates those big spaces where our quarterback made some big-time throws. And then Punch is like a safety net for our young quarterback. Almost to a fault, because there's times where he's looking for Punch when the ball could probably go somewhere else, would be a lot cleaner look, but just shows the confidence that he has in all three of these guys. And they're all three seniors have provided tremendous leadership for us. And we're going to need these guys to play well as we hit the road next week to start conference play.”

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