Mike Locksley on Ravens practice, Octavian Smith, Aazaar Abdul-Rahim

Ahmed Ghafir
7 minutes ago
4 min read

For the first time, the University of Maryland is set to host the Baltimore Ravens for an open practice today, Aug. 1 as head coach Mike Locksley and assistants made the trip to Owings Mills on Friday. Locksley spoke about the upcoming practice, having former Terps now in a Ravens uniform and more.

On hosting the Ravens in College Park

“It's super exciting. Obviously anytime we get the Ravens to come down to that neck of the world, I know. For me, as a college coach, we love for our players to see what it looks like at the next level, so they have a great idea of what's expected, how they practice, how they keep each other healthy. And in this new landscape, we have to learn to practice like they do, because again, we want to keep people healthy, but also develop our team.”

On coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim

“Aazaar was a guy that was a high school coach, and when you think about high school coaches and their ability to teach. I'm a big believer, you got to teach, manage, and then recruit. And Aazaar does all three very well. I've known him since he had cornrows and the Super Tim boots, but to see his development as a coach, the way he is able to communicate, one of the top defensive back coaches in the country, does a great job assisting Ted Monachino, our [defensive] coordinator as a co-coordinator and really good alignment.”

On having the fans in College Park for Ravens’ practice

“I think the big thing for us is being the flagship university of the state of Maryland. It's our job to promote the game of football. Who else better to promote the game than to bring our state's team, the Ravens, down to the DMV area? And anytime we can show football – and we've got great youth football in the D.C. Maryland, Virginia area. We've got great high school programs like St. Frances and DeMatha and St. John's. But to be able to bring this product down, the best product in the state at that level is a great thing for all of us.”

On the Maryland assistants in attendance for Ravens practice on Friday

“The Ravens have always been real gracious. I have a really strong relationship with Ozzie and Steve Bisciotti, and those guys have been great allies for us as a program. And they're always welcome. Had a chance to meet Coach [Jesse Minter] today, an opportunity to get to know him a little bit more, even though he was a Michigan guy. But no, it's always good to be able to come watch it done at the highest level in the way it's done. I'm a big believer they model it for us, and with our landscape changing to becoming more like them, I think we need to do our due diligence to learn.”

On Ravens HC Jesse Minter

“Know a lot about his defensive structure. Know that he's one of the top defensive minds in the NFL, has been, great personality. In this day and age when you're teaching and developing, relationships matter and he's one of those guys that understands that and meets people where they are. So, having a chance to see a practice today, the tempo, the rhythm of it, was really impressed with what he's put in in such a short time and how he's been able to get people to buy in.”

On WR Octavian Smith signing as a UDFA with the Ravens

“Yeah, it's always good to see your former players reach their goals, their dreams. We got Corey Bullock, who also spent the year with us after leaving North Carolina Central, and we've had quite a few players that have had a chance to to play at the next level. At Maryland, we've done a really good job of developing pros and putting guys in the league and to see [Octavian] be able to chase his dream. He's been able to go to high school in the state, college in the state, and now hopefully make a name for himself here with the Ravens.”

On being the only minority HC in either the Big Ten or SEC

“It really hit me. I was at Big Ten meetings back in May. And to look at one point, the Big Ten had five minority coaches, head coaches, and now between the SEC and the Big Ten, to be the only one and the founder of an organization that tries to promote, not push, but promote that we have people like Patrick Graham and guys that are qualified to become head coaches at any level. And that's the the youth coach that wants to become a high school coach, a head coach. Our organization, the coalition, is built to develop you to reach the status you want to reach as a coach. And there is a lot of moving of the goalpost, two steps forward, one step backwards in terms of the minorities that are leading programs. But you know what? We just got to keep pushing and keep showing that we have qualified guys that can do the job.”

On Towson

“The coaches there at my alma mater. I'm really involved. I want to see Towson do really well. I want to help them get players that can help Towson win, but at the same time, I got to take care of the University of Maryland and cut my grass too.”

On locking down the DMV, Baltimore in recruiting

“Man, it's super important. I mean, we're the flagship university, the number one high school program in the country. St. Frances is located right in the heart of Baltimore, downtown Baltimore. There's programs like all of the MIAA programs. We've had great success with the Spalding program, which is just outside of Baltimore. But there's no doubt as the flagship university for the state, we've got to know all the players in our backyard and make sure we do a good job of educating them of what a great product the University of Maryland can be, both academically and providing you opportunities to get to the next level of football.”

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