Mike Locksley on QB Malik Washington, defensive takeaways, freshmen standouts and more

Ahmed Ghafir
Aug 30
8 min read

Everything head coach Mike Locksley said after Maryland football’s 39-7 win vs. FAU:

Opening statement

“Happy and proud of this team for them to get back on the winning track after a long, hard camp where I really think these guys worked their tails off. Obviously, with that said, we still didn't play our best. The things we can correct, you always see your biggest strides usually between game one and game two and so the things that need to get corrected, I expect us to get them corrected, and that's the penalties, that's the sideline organization, things which are very atypical of as many new people we have involved in our program. So I'm looking forward to getting that corrected, especially here with a short week. [We] played a ton of young, impactful players and I've been talking about the freshmen all camp, for a long, long time - the Sidney Stewarts, the Zahir Mathis, the Malik Washington’s. And as I've said there, they've played as advertised. They'll only get better. Our defense, some of the things that affected us a year ago in terms of being able to get our hands on turnovers and the defensive backs contesting catches, I thought they played really well to be able to force six turnovers in the first game. But now it's back to work as quickly as we can get there. This will be a short lived celebration for us with a short week and Northern Illinois coming in here on Friday night to The Shell. And I know our team's excited to be able to get the things corrected, get back on the field this week and put together a game plan to find a way to take care of business next Friday night.”

On the safety, pick six, defensive performance

“It was great to see our defense play that way. During camp, these are things that were a byproduct of what they did during training camp. As I said, to see [Sidney Stewart] make the play did there on the safety. Daniel Wingate has been one of our biggest leaders and playmakers on the defensive side of the ball, to get the pick six to kind of get us going. We started a little slow on offense, but it was great for our defense to be able to make a few plays to kind of jump start us. Once we got Malik settled down, I think we all are starting to see the making of what could be a very good quarterback here.”

On the decision to name Malik Washington the starter, reaction to debut

“As I always say with this quarterback battle, it's always who gives us the best opportunity to win, who gives us the best opportunity to score points? Malik did that. It was a comfort level hehad, the maturity level he showed. And that's not to say that those other two guys didn't play and compete because we feel like, as I've said before and this is not coach speak, that we can win with all three of those guys. But we felt Malik gave us the best chance. And it's a calmness about him, the demeanor that you see as a few - he's a little older than his years, maybe the way he's handled this thing. And the best part about it, he's only going to get better.”

On Malik Washington’s poise as a true freshman after slow start

“I think I said that, I didn't like the way we started on offense. And, to go 1-of-8 is not just a byproduct of a quarterback. It’s the system. We started a little slow. The key to us was to be able to run the ball a little bit to take some pressure off of a young quarterback. But once we kind of got going, our defense kind of jump started us and he was able to get a few completions. I think we started to see the type of player he is. The fact that he missed some work doing training camp. He's maybe just starting to maybe get into the rhythm of what it's going to be like and it's our job to get in there quickly.”

On ten receivers recording at least one catch

“I think just a byproduct of the way we've recruited. We've brought in some talented players. The goal is as an offensive play caller for Pep [Hamilton] is to find ways to utilize those pieces and get them the opportunities. And you know, you got guys like Dorian Fleming, Jalil Farooq and Octavian Smith Jr. Then you throw in some of the younger receivers, Kaleb Webb did a great job. Punch made a touchdown and he's been around here a long time, was great to see Punch get off and get a touchdown catch there. I think that group will just continue to get better but the key [for] us is the more diverse we are on offense, the harder it is to defend and take people out of the game.”

On what Locksley learned about his team in first game

“I think it shows that we've got talent. The players that we've talked about and these high school kids that we've thrown I mean, I have pretty much, four freshmen, true freshmen, starting for you and 64 players that have never played here. And when you look at some of the negative things that came out of the game, I can tell you it's a byproduct of us starting to learn each other and being able to do it with referees and fans. And those are the things that as a head coach, I got to get those things corrected - the sideline organization, the penalties. We'll get those things fixed. But to see the young players that we brought in to do the things that I think they kind of started the show today has been really encouraging for us and we've got to build on it.”

On the jumpstart between first and second quarter

“It's our first game, George. You know, I hate it. I mean, to have six penalties on the first drive on defense. A couple of them were competitive penalties, which I've said around here, I can deal with competitive penalties. But it's just a byproduct of a new team. 65 guys that hadn't played here, six new coaches that hadn't coached here. These are the things that we [will] get the kinks that will get worked out, and that's why when I say you typically get better from game one to game two. It’s my first opportunity to make some of these corrections that I'm gonna have to make, whether it's with the staff and getting the right guys on the field, but also making sure that guys that don't play real smart, they won't play. And we'll get it fixed that way.”

On the offensive style under Pep

“I think anytime that you know you bring in a new coordinator, they bring in things that we don't have. And anyone that knows Pep knows that he has an acumen in running the football. And I think we'll only get better with it. We're still kind of in that embryo stage with five new guys up front, one returning starter in [Michael] Hershey. That group will get better, and that's why we brought Pep in and Hal [Hunter] and some of the new coaches that have really done a great job of organizing things. But now we've got to get the details cleaned up. And the best part is we get to get it cleaned up from a game with a win. I got to emphasize and I'm not going to let y'all send me down a rabbit hole of being negative - we got a win today and we haven't won around here in a long time. So I'm going to take the win and enjoy it for about 12 hours and get ready for Northern Illinois.”

On freshmen Sidney Stewart, Zahir Mathis

“We throw them from the yellow school bus right into the big leagu, and they responded the right way and those two guys are made of the right stuff. But then you take a look at see number 40 [Nahsir Taylor] and 56 [DD Holmes] come in, and they're both kind of like - I know 40 is a true freshman, 56 to transfer to red shirt freshmen didn't play a lot - to add the depth that we've added as pass rushers and playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. It was a point of emphasis for us to see them play well and still have room to learn and grow is encouraging for me and is encouraging for us on the defensive side of the ball.”

On LB Daniel Wingate posting ten tackles

“Daniel Wingate is a warrior. We're very fortunate to have that guy around here. I hate comparisons, but I was around here for a guy who wore number 42 and played heavy handed and physical in EJ Henderson, one of our most decorated players. And I would say he is in that category because his leadership, he plays tough, he plays hard, he plays smart. He has a positive impact on our team in all three phases. He's running out covering kicks as a starter. We're really fortunate to have Daniel as a true junior. I think he's only going to get better, and like I said, I'm looking forward to him having a big year for us.”

On limiting FAU’s big plays, performance of DL

“Again, those interior guys, Cam [Rice], number 10 in the middle, I know, Dillan Fontus, 46, 98, Eyan Thomas. Those are the guys that are the workhorses. And the edge guys get a lot of the credit because they make the plays, but we did a really good job of pushing the pocket back down their throats, where the run had to bounce, and then we did a really good job of tackling. I think, I got to give Kerm Hughes a lot of credit. He has two big fourth down stops on balls where the guy catches it and he makes contact and runs his feet. And to see Kerm play the way he played, I was really, really impressed with him, but the front seven of our defense is a strength of ours, and I really like the way those guys are coming together.”

On snap distributions into week one

“Well, those things happen before the game. We have a big staff meeting in the morning and it's where I get to tell the guys how I want to see us play, and we play the ‘if-then’ and have an idea of going into it. And if we're able to play some young guys how I want to see them play. We knew that if we had an opportunity to play a second quarterback, that we’d play both those guys because they both have earned the right to play. And really, like I said, we want to develop all those guys because it's a long year. The Big Ten is a tough league and we will need the depth, especially because we're not as deep as we've been in the past. So we've got to find opportunities to develop the younger players when we can. Maybe not as much as we've done in the past but today was a good day for us to win, develop some young players, and, for the most part, get out healthy.”

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