Maryland AD Damon Evans joined 105.7 for his weekly interview on Wednesday and dove into basketball’s dominant win on Tuesday night, Maryland football’s 2025 schedule and the transfer portal efforts:
On Maryland’s blowout win vs. Saint Francis
“Well, I like what I've seen so far. Obviously, we have several players who can shoot the basketball, which is different from last year. You got Selton Miguel who could knock down the three, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who can knock down the three, Rodney Rice who can knock down the three, even you start looking at [Jay] Young off the bench, as well as Tafara Gapare. So we got people who can knock down the three, which is helpful. You know, as you said, let's not get over our skis here. We played - no disrespect to Saint Francis last night - but we did what we're supposed to do. When you're playing teams like that, you've got to win by a large margin. But I like the way that we shot the ball. I like the way that this team continues to gel, and I think this team has great upside. I like the mix. They're starting to play better together and when we get into this conference it’s going to be tough, and we need to have a good season. So excited with where we are, still room for improvement and we'll see what happens.”
On Kevin Willard’s roster reconstruction
“I want to give Kevin and his staff credit. Obviously went into the portal and found some good players, whether it's a Gillespie or Rice or Selton Miguel and others. And then also being able to land Derik Queen, who's been phenomenal for us. And then not only that, but getting them to come together and play well as a team when you're trying to figure out all these different pieces. He and his staff have done an exceptional job at that and I still think that we're just seeing the beginnings of what this team can really be. I think as we get into conference and we continue to play together, I think we're going to see even better performances moving forward. So kudos to where we are right now, but I don't want us to rest on our laurels. This conference is tough and we've got to take care of business as these opponents come before us.”
On the transfer portal & College Football Playoffs overlapping
“I don't think it makes sense to have the portal going on during our postseason. I think it over complicates things. I think it puts some student-athletes in a bad position. It puts some coaches in a bad position. I don't want to take away - I understand that the kids want to have their right to transfer. I just think we got to find a better solution that will be beneficial to all concerned. What's happening right now is not what was intended. This is - I don't want to use the word that everyone's using out there, chaos. That's not the word that I want to utilize. I just think we've got to get our arms wrapped around this and get some better mechanisms in place and controls that benefit the student-athletes, that benefit the programs and that benefit the coaches so we can all accomplish what we want to accomplish.”
On the 2025 Maryland football schedule
“They are. I look at the schedule and, you know, you try to size it up. I tell everybody this, when you get into the Big Ten schedule, in my humble opinion, every game is tough. I know we talk about the Penn State and the Ohio States and the Oregons. I don't want to take anybody for granted. There are some good coaches in this league, whether you're playing against Nebraska or Wisconsin or Iowa - this is a tough league and we saw that this year with the results that we had, results that did not meet what we had expected. And we've got to make sure that we prepare ourselves and not take any of these teams lightly. I'm not looking at the schedule anymore going, ‘oh, we don't have Ohio State or we don't have Penn State or we don't have Oregon’. I'm looking at the schedule ‘well, we got a tough Big Ten schedule, and we better be looking at all those opponents and thinking about all of them in a high manner.”
On Maryland women’s basketball ranked seventh nationally
“You know what? I'm gonna sit here and say, no. I'm gonna sit here and say Brenda Freeze has shown us time and time again of what she's capable of doing, and that she will adjust and adapt accordingly. And I have every bit of confidence in her. I know last year didn't live up to what she normally does. And some people were like, oh, what's wrong with women's basketball? And Brenda, true to Brenda Frese, she was able to figure it out. So I always know that she will. And I'm excited for her. I'm excited for the young ladies on the team she put together. This is a squad, guys. Let's make no mistake about it. She's got a lot of good pieces, she's got a lot of depth. She's got young ladies who can go get buckets when we need buckets. We've got good point guard play and we've got great chemistry and that's why they're ranked where they are. So surprised, no, just excited about the opportunity that lies ahead for them.”
On how involved Damon is with football and the portal efforts in the trenches
“Well, I'm going to sit here and say we definitely have to shore up the offensive line and the defensive line. I don't care how great the receivers are, the quarterbacks or the cornerbacks. If you can't block for your quarterback, you can't get the receivers the ball. If you can't block for your running backs, they're not going anywhere. And DBs can only cover people for so long. You got to get some pressure on the quarterback. So I'm looking for us to get some really good linemen and build there and then, you know, obviously we still need to fill some holes and receiver and DBs and so forth. So I'm kept informed of what's going on. I probably talked to Locks daily to understand how we're moving forward. And I know he's being meticulous in his approach. I know some people are saying, ‘oh, we haven't heard many announcements out of Maryland with regard to people in the portal’. Rest assured, we are getting individuals. Kids are here on campus, and there will be more announcements forthcoming. But this is a new era in which people are to why are so many people leaving? That's college athletics today, and let's be candid, you want some people to leave as well. So it's a give and take. As we said, the portal giveth and the portal taketh and hopefully it gives more than it takes and better positions us in the future.”
On WR Tai Felton named Third-Team AP All-American
“I'm so excited for that young man. Tai Felton just had a fantastic year. You know, you're talking about a kid who towards ACL, a kid who had to fight back from that, and he's a shining example of if you persevere, if you work hard, if you study your craft, work on your craft, you can have great success. And for him, the sky's the limit and he's going to have a terrific career in the NFL, and it's all due to his hard work that he put in.”
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