https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy4UaPj5sRg Just the sixth pledge in the 2019 class at the time, then-three-star McArthur (FL) linebacker Ruben Hyppolite put his trust in head coach Mike Locksley, defensive coordinator Brian Williams and the Maryland staff after hearing the vision for the program. “Faith, man. That whole decision was faith-based,” Hyppolite said at Big Ten Media Days. Williams played a marquee role in Hyppolite’s decision to head north for college as the Florida connection immediately put Maryland in the conversation in his recruitment. Hyppolite made his first trip to College Park following his junior year before returning for the 2019 spring game, which proved to be the day he went public with his decision to play for Williams. Hyppolite spurned interest from Penn State and Miami (FL) through the summer before Nebraska threw their hat into the ring during his senior season. Yet Hyppolite never showed signs of wavering on his commitment despite the continued outside interest, while the 54-7 loss vs. Nebraska during his official visit didn’t deter his belief in Locksley’s vision. “ sent the opportunity, but, you know, I had a lot of control about how I wanted to go about it. There was a lot of downs, there was a lot of ups as well, but at the end of the day, I stuck with it,” Hyppolite added. “I reaped the benefits of it and still looking forward to continuing to reap benefits from it. All in all, it's been a great experience, great collegiate experience.” Jordan Phillips described his defensive coordinator as “a man of his word” as the Florida connection loomed large to reel the one-time high school target out of the portal ahead of the 2023 season. “At the end of the day, I love Coach B-Will. He’s gonna always tell you the truth even if you don't like it. He's still gonna tell you the truth because at the end of the day, the truth is what you need. And it'll be conducive to you getting better. Whereas if somebody were to tell you what you want to hear, that's good for your emotions, but that's not good for yourself in terms of what you want in life. So I love that about coach.” “It's 90% mental, this game. And he definitely fulfills that 90%. And the 10% is easy. You go lift, you go run, you go get faster, you get stronger. That fulfills the 10%, but Brian Williams definitely helps with the 90% of the game. He makes it easy for us to go play," Hyppolite added. Hyppolite and Phillips starred for a defense that allowed the fewest points per game (22.4) since 2010, marking the fifth consecutive season that the defense allowed fewer points than the year before. And in order to maintain that, a player-led meeting was called ahead of offseason workouts to reset the focus on both sides of the ball. “When the workouts got started back up, we kind of set the standard where we wanted,” wide receiver Tai Felton added. “We want to win. People say you want to win a Big Ten championship, you want to win ten games, so we have to act like it. Now heading into his fifth and final season with the program, Hyppolite said a successful 2024 is centered around “consistency and discipline.” “Like I've been saying all day, how are my habits going to help us win football games? And that's what I've been checking myself on. That's what I've been checking my teammates on. Consistency. How our habits are is how it's going to equate to how successful we are. So, just working on my habits, being consistent, staying disciplined, just gaining one percent each and every day. That's what a successful season looks like for myself and our team.” The addition of Aazaar Abdul-Rahim as co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach reinforces the defense’s identity. “He's very passionate, very demanding, but not in a negative way. He wants the best out of his corners, out of the defense, out of his players,” Hyppolite added. “Coach Aazaar and I have a good relationship. We've built a great relationship over the past, like since January or whenever he came. So I definitely understand like his ‘why’. He shared that with us as a defense and I know why he goes about it, how he goes about and coaches and how he does his thing.” With seven returning starters back in 2024, Hyppolite added the Terps' defense does "a great job of playing physical and getting the ball back to our offense." "We give our offense a lot of opportunities to go in and to go be successful. I think we pride ourselves on not letting each other down and hold each other accountable. Our credit goes to Brian Williams." Related Links
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