Mike Locksley on Virginia Tech, James Franklin, atmosphere, Hokies' strength
Everything that head coach Mike Locksley said during his weekly press conference ahead of the week three matchup against Virginia Tech:
Opening statement
“First of all, appreciate everybody being here as usual. Obviously, pleased with the way we played last weekend. We're 2-0, unfinished. The last two games will carry no weight going into this week's contest. As I said after the game, UConn was an audit for us as a team, and I thought we came out of there pretty well. First road test against a formidable opponent. This week will be the first test and a great opportunity for us at home. I expect it to be a packed house. I expect it, hopefully, for it to sell out. I know our players are excited about this opportunity against a really good team.
On VT
“They're 2-0 coming off of scoring 117 points, playing great defense. We know a lot about them. They know a lot about us, so we're excited for that.”
Game Captains
“Our game captains will be Preston Howard, Jamare Glasker and Judah Jenkins.”
On the first meeting vs. James Franklin since 2024 postgame argument
“I've got a lot of respect for James. He's won everywhere he's been, but this won't be about James and Locks. This will be about the players that he has and the players I have that know a lot about each other. That's a storyline I'm more into. This is an upgrade for us as a game. When you look at – we opened up with an FCS opponent. We played a formidable Group of Four opponent in UConn on the road, answered the test really well. This will be our first Power Four opponent, which is our first test. I think that's what it'll be about.”
On VT’s seven sacks vs. Old Dominion
“They've got some guys. When you think of [Kemari] Copeland, one of those stout interior, twitchy guys. Cortez Harris, who I know a lot about, obviously recruited him out of Riverdale Baptist, went up to Penn State, transferred in. The front seven is the strength and I think as I said, not just an upgrade in opponent. This will be an upgrade for us upfront for our first test against a really talented front four. And it's just not those two guys. You look at Noah Chambers, the linebacker from DeMatha that we know a lot about. He kind of runs the show back there for the front and has made some plays for them over the last two games and a year ago. So [a] really talented front seven and will be an upgrade for us.”
On working with Franklin under Ralph Friedgen
“The commonality is that we've worked together, we know each other really well, know families. There's no doubt from a personal level. But like I said, the game here will have nothing to do with the personal. We both were raised – I know I was raised offensively under Ralph. When you look at how I prepare offenses, the way we self-scout, the way we gameplan, the way you call plays. Those are all byproducts of one of the best coaches I've had an opportunity to work for on the offensive side of the ball. I'm sure for him – and you'd have to ask him those things – but I'm sure for him, Ralph had [a] similar impact, maybe on his coaching career. But there's no doubt the commonality is that we both work together. We know each other very well, but this is going to be more about the upgrade in the game for us more than our personal relationship.”
On VT’s rushing attack, offense
“One, they're run-first. They try to establish the running game, the run action pass off of it. They've got a really good quarterback. [Ethan] Grunkemeyer is a guy that throws the ball well, is athletic enough meaning he can extend plays. When he extends, he extends the throw. Runs the system well. They brought the tight end Luke Reynolds, came from Penn State. I think he brought 12 players with him, quite a few on the offensive side. And when you look at that, much like we faced a week ago with Toledo guys going to UConn, that's the new landscape to make it a little easier transition as coaches come in and they bring guys and they bring a quarterback with them helps. They also brought in another quarterback that I think and expect to see him have some form of package. They've always been one of those offenses that creates packages for playmakers, whether it's their tight end, whether it's a second quarterback. So I expect that there's no doubt the rushing attack has been how they establish things. They've got two good running backs. [I] know a lot about Jeff Overton, who we recruited as well. And coming off of the knee injury a year ago, he looks like he's maybe back to full speed because he's had two pretty good games for them.”
What Locksley remembers as a coach under Friedgen, qualities James Franklin shows from then
“That's a long time ago. I wish I still had the memory that I had. I just know that we did some really special things together under Coach Friedgen. For me, it was a little more personal when we worked together because I was here for the duration of Ron Vanderlinden’s staff and James came in a year prior to us being let go. I know we both had to do a lot. I learned a lot of ball. Ralph coming in as an offensive coach and the structure in which he implemented. He forced – I know he forced me to grow as a coach really quickly. I've always enjoyed that part of it. Ralph is one of the best offensive minds I know of staffs I've been a part of between he and the late Charlie Taff, who was one of the best play callers I've seen. So we both spent time with those guys. So obviously they will have some impact on us. I don't know the impact they had on James. He was a great friend, still is a guy that I call a friend, but Saturday will be about the upgrade and who we play, coming off of two good wins and our big first test this Saturday.”
On message to fans, student section, atmosphere
“I think I've been on the record. Our student section has been great over the last two years, three years here for us. Even more so, I thought this year even more of an impact in Game One, facing an FCS opponent and to see 10,000 students there at the beginning of the game, really is encouraging that they get it. We definitely will need them to be here this weekend. A night game here at The Shell, opportunity to defend The Shell for us, opportunity for both teams to advance in their season, and our last true non-conference game before we get into the conference.”
On Maryland’s offensive & defensive line
“I got to obviously give a ton of credit after watching the tape to UConn's front seven. They were a formidable opponent for us and really heavy-handed defensive structure, did a great job of running the schemes that they ran, and it forced us to really have to work hard to run the ball. We went into the game because of understanding that, and obviously not having DeJuan [Williams], who was a big piece of what we want to do in the run game, we turned to those two young guys and I think they answered the bell. Maybe production-wise, when you look at the total yardage and just the stats, you don't see it, but some of those third and medium runs that [Iverson Howard] hit up in there, and the 90-yard drive down the field that he finished with a touchdown. I thought both those young guys ran really hard, which helped us. But we're going to have to be better in the trenches against this team because the talent they have in their front seven is evident and we've got to execute at a really high level, especially in the run game.”
On importance of regional non-conference rivalries
“I think there is. Obviously that's a philosophy I like to carry having grown most of my career here as a coach. These regional rivalries, whether it's the West Virginias, the ACC opponents, the Boston Colleges of the world, I think they're really important because our fan bases enjoy those games. With the nine conference games that we've played since we've joined the Big Ten, to play these regional rivalries definitely helps us. I like to play where we recruit because it gives us opportunities to put our product in their backyard. So definitely important to continue to do these things. What I've tried to do philosophically is we'll schedule a FCS team, a local, whether it's Morgan, Howard, Towson, Villanova, Hampton this year. One of our regional rivals that we play traditionally, we've played the West Virginias, we've played the ACC opponents, we've played Boston College and then play anybody, anytime, anywhere and then get into the schedule for our Big Ten opponents, which is tough enough.”
On being retained on Ron Vanderlinden’s staff
“Once you get in this business, you realize I think that was my first time being part of a staff that was let go as a young coach. A lot of uncertainty. I thought I'd done enough body of work in terms of showing value that I created for the program to where at that time I think Debbie Yow, our AD at the time, had kind of put me in charge of overseeing the program because I was the recruiting coordinator. And then obviously James being a part of that, and I think Elliot Uzelac was also held over but more in an administrative role. So those were trying times, but for me, I think the beauty of it is I got to see the fruits of the labor that we put in to be a part of the ACC championship team that Coach Friedgen came in and won in his first year. The 30 wins or more over his first three seasons, to me, was a byproduct of the type of players we brought in, him teaching a team how not to beat themselves and how to win. And those are all things that I've kept with me as I've taken some tough jobs of having to build programs and I've used some of those experiences.”
On Malik Washington’s performance vs. UConn
“I think to start off, he completed his first pass. It didn't bounce out there and I know for some people that's a not a big deal. But for a quarterback, when you don't get off to a fast start and I think versus Hampton, his first pass was a bounce pass or not a great accurate pass. And we wanted to get him off to a good start, get his confidence going. I think the biggest difference in Malik week one into week two was that he didn't press, kind of like – I had a conversation with him about Phil Jackson taking over with Michael Jordan, and then also doing the same thing with Kobe in that the triangle offense was about flow and everybody kind of being involved and touching the ball to where you don't feel like you have to do everything. And I think he got into a flow, and for me, I always talk about the diversity of how we spread the ball around as a weapon for us, and he did a tremendous job with the flow of our offensive system whether it was the tempo, getting the players involved, making the right decisions and not forcing things. But I also thought that he didn't come into the game feeling as though I have to play above my head. I just think he let the game flow.”
On long TDs allowed vs. UConn, evaluating the secondary
“Any time you give up explosives in the secondary, you don't want to see that. I attribute it a lot when you look at it because in both instances, the first touchdown there was no undercoverage to the defense, which forced the middle field safety to come out of the top of the coverage. Lavain Scruggs, if you watch that touchdown, first touchdown pass, he came out of the top of a middle field closed coverage, zone coverage because the deep over route was wide open, it was a play action. Everybody sees the safeties get beat, but nobody sees that our linebackers got sucked up in the run action and didn't get depth, which is a no-no. So he comes out the top, and two wrongs don't make a right. The second one is just poor eye discipline. We're in zone coverage and cover three, and you get beat with an out and up. That's a byproduct of, as I tell our players, don't get bored with the basics. Jamare’s a guy that's played a lot of football. He's a really talented corner. Sometimes I can remember watching my son, Kai, in the center field playing youth baseball and they get bored sometimes when they don't have a lot of shots. And against Hampton, we didn't have many opportunities down the field. A nd then in this game, there weren't a lot of passes come in their direction. And you can't get bored with doing the basics and the fundamentals. And I think that's what happened with Jamare. Those are things we got to get fixed. We put it on tape and you don't want to put things like that on tape.”
On DeJuan Williams’ availability
Note: Maryland announced prior to press conference that head coach Mike Locksley is not answering any player availability-related questions
Whether Locksley views this weekend is one of the biggest games in years
“I don't. It's the next opponent. For us, we've tried to really keep it about the next game on our schedule, and as I've said in here before, the opponents can't matter to us. It's going to be more about what we do. Virginia Tech's the next game on the schedule, and it's really important for us to understand that it's an upgrade from the last two games and that nothing that has happened will have any impact on what we do Saturday, other than how we prepare [Tuesday], Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and then go out and play Saturday night.”
On WRs Chris Durr, Na’eem Gladding
“I would say that both those guys are super smart players, understand the system. But when you think of Chris Durr, you think of a guy that [his] short area quickness jumps out. He has the ability to make guys miss, super first step quickness, which coming in and out of breaks as a slot guy is really important. I think with Na’eem, the big thing with him is just the way he practices. The plays you see him make the last two games are things that he's done consistently in practice. So I just think taking it from the practice field to the game, they’ve both done it. They've developed really strong relationships with the quarterback as well, put in a lot of work together.”
On the atmosphere + Bruce Posner makes a statement
“I appreciate the statement. Obviously, those things, like I said, [that] have happened will have no bearing on the game, and yeah, I would love -- yeah, we got to make The Shell a hard place to play and not because of anything personal. Because as I said, this won't be about James. This won't be about Locks. This will be about the players on the field, guys like [Tommy Ricard] and [Noah Chambers] and their quarterbacks and running backs. All of those things need to be taken care on the field. And I'm for all of that energy, matching that energy on the field, playing with discipline, protecting the football, doing a great job of creating explosives on offense and not having them on defense. And if we can do those things, we'll have what we want at the end of the game on Saturday.”
Whether Locksley preaches anything to players about VT from Washington game in 2025
“No, not really. It's our first home game against a Power Four opponent. That's the upgrade. Our last home game was against an FCS opponent, and I think for us, the more we keep it about the work on the field, the more we keep it about the upgrade and who we play. That's the only thing that's really going to be important for us.”
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