Maryland head coach Mike Locksley met with the media on Tuesday for his weekly press conference as the Terps turn the page from Big Ten play back to its marquee non-conference game. Locksley talks about his final thoughts from Saturday, limiting Virginia QB Anthony Colandrea and getting over the hump in 50-50 games.
Opening statement
“Obviously we've turned the page on Michigan State. For me, coming out of that game and now that we've had a chance to kind of watch it and flush it, the big thing for me that jumps out is that you can do almost everything right and still not get what you think you've earned or deserve. When you win the turnover battle, I think 3-to-1. When you look at on offense, we chart what we call our margin of error and it was one of the lowest margin of errors we've had. I think we were at 5.8% of the plays had a self-inflicted wound, which means we played pretty cleanly. But the thing that jumped out, and this is where when we talk about you can do everything right – we had a good week of practice. We did everything right. But that's the one thing about the game of football is that there are no guarantees. And unfortunately, there's no money back guarantees that you do everything right, I'm gonna stand in front of you here today and will be 2-0. We're not – we're 1-1. And so the lesson that I feel like we have to take from it, I talk about the jump from week one to week two and what it would look like. And here's what jumps out to me – how resilient we will be going into this season. I mean, to take a loss this early against again, a team Michigan State, I said that we gave it away. You know what? They took it. They took the victory because they made the plays. That quarterback made some big throws. He made the plays when they needed to be made and we didn't. And so one of the things that I've talked to the team about is that you know what strategy plus execution don't always equals results because it's the ownership of the plus in between the strategy and the execution, the coaches and the players, where we've got to make the right decision as coaches and own it, and they've got to make the plays as players and own it. And I think watching how they responded yesterday on a Monday, some disappointment, some guys that are a little upset, credit to Michigan State. They took the victory and for us, as we move forward, how quickly, how intelligently and how efficiently we move by this because for those that have been around here, we've lost one, and it's become two, three and four, and that's something that, as I told our team, it's going to be how we respond, rather than how we react.
On the upcoming week three matchup vs. Virginia
“Excited about the opportunity that UVA coming in offers us. I know Tony very well, coach Elliott, a friend in the profession. We've competed against each other during his time at Clemson and me at Bama. We got to know each other pretty closely, but through the work of the National Coalition for Minority Football Coaches that I started and he came through that program and is a guy that has his team 2-0. Big come from behind victory against Wake Forest. They were down a couple [of] scores in the fourth quarter. Put a gutsy 12-play drive together. Their defense made some plays at the end to have a come from behind victory on the road, and they're sitting at 2-0. Anybody that's been around here long enough understands the team that we've played the longest of any team. So with the regional rivalry having been in the ACC together, there's some natural commonalities among the two opponents. But I can tell you, I expect Charlottesville, I expect it to be loud. I expect them to be excited, because, again, they've got their team with some momentum coming off of a big road victory. It'll be our first test on the road together and I'm excited about getting down there and having a chance to compete.
On game captains vs. UVA
“Our game captains this week, Tommy Akingbesote, Dante Trader [Jr.] and then Billy Edwards will serve as our game captains as we head down to UVA.”
On QB Anthony Colandrea and the Virginia passing attack
“One, their quarterback, I think he had his kind of coming out a year ago when we played him. He replaced the quarterback that started the game for him, and he came in and this guy kind of has some Taulia Tagovailoa skill set. He's a guy that we have to contain. He runs around and he extends plays. He throws the ball really well, and you're right – Malachi [Fields], the receiver, number eight, a threat. And then they the slot, guy that transferred in, number 11 [Trell Harris], another threat. The thing that jumps out for us is, last week's game, the big plays are what the difference in the game was. So for us, how do we minimize the big plays? And that's where when I say strategy plus execution, that's coaches and players. The work inside is what's got to happen, which is to limit the big plays. We've got to find a way to contain the quarterback.
On UVA’s defense
“Defensively, they are talented team. They've got a freshman All-American linebacker, their front-seven, really, really strong, heavy-handed guys, so be a great challenge for us. But I can tell you that the work will get done this week by our team, just because of the player led culture that's been created. And what I like most is what I saw yesterday, just how quickly, effectively and how intelligently these guys are ready to respond.”
On losses vs. Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State as home favorites under Locksley
“Ultimately, we haven't. It goes back to, and I think I said it's Saturday, I own it as the head coach but at some point, you got to go take the victory. I mean, it's not just words when I say that nobody's going to give it to us. I mean, I think I said this last Tuesday, Michigan State is a program that has been part of the status quo, really talented. And so for anybody to think that it would be easy or anybody to think because we declare we want to compete for championships that it would be easy, for anybody to think that if you do all the work, win the turnover battle and do everything right, that you're guaranteed to win. That's not how it works. So as I said, Michigan State took it. We had opportunities to win the game on the field on offense. We had a chance to win it on defense. We had a chance to win it on special teams. And that's what the plus part is – strategy plus execution equals results. So we all got to do our work. And that's me as a play caller, me as a head coach who makes decisions in-game, the players and their ability to make the plays that are there to be made and Michigan State did a better job. But you know what, the resiliency and how we respond will be the secret sauce for what this season is about.”
On what resiliency within a team looks like
“It details not being distracted because of a setback. It means owning and the fire, the adversity that we face, we will be forged because we've gone through it and we've gone through it together. I mean, that's the good thing, and that's kind of what we've built. I'd be lying to you if I didn't tell you I'm disappointed that we didn't find a way to win that game. And just like I think Sam said earlier, I mean, it's very similar to Purdue two years ago, very similar to Illinois a year ago. And to me, that's the part, from a strategy standpoint, I've got to own and say, ‘hey, what do I need to do? What buttons do I need to push to figure out how to get our players to make that play when it needs to be made?’ Because you know what the team in green and white did that on Saturday. And you know, our guys are resilient, though, but what it looks like is not being distracted, not losing our focus on we still got a lot of football left to be played and we got a good team.”
On whether Locksley cares about outside criticism
“I don't see it and I don't hear about it. I haven't responded to very many of my – I get a bunch of text messages. I have a routine too, and when we lose, I don't respond to text messages. I don't get on social media. The only thing I know is when Dustin on the elevator on the way up tells me, ‘hey, there may be some questions about these things’ and you know what? You're going to get the authentic answer. So I don't know what's out there and that's part of staying disciplined in our process of it doesn't matter what other people think. It matters what we think and what we do and how we respond. And that's part of, that's what I think is this the difference with this team? I think they understand that.”
On whether it bothers Locksley when fans say this is ‘same old Maryland’
“I don't hear I don't hear it. I really insulate myself. When I come to Jones-Hill House. I went to church. I drove in. I was in that building till 1 [AM] on Sunday night. I got home, I woke up. I was back in early. I got home last night at 1 o'clock. I wouldn't know what a fan says, other than as I said, my guy, Dustin does know, and he kind of, I guess they're mad at me right now, and as they should be, I'm a little disappointed myself.”
On WR Tai Felton’s fast start through two weeks, establishing RB Roman Hemby more
“I mean, that's critical for us, is balance. And again, when people say let Roman go off, or to be able to establish the run, every week as we prepare and put plans together, the goal is to be able to efficiently do both of those things. And you know what? A week ago, we ran it for over 250 yards against some stuff and made some big plays, but the consistency up front is what we're working to continue to do, figure it out. We had some growing pains a week ago, a really tough front, a front seven that, heavy handed guys, Big Ten football. It was a very early segue into Big Ten play for our team, and to be able to deal with that early, be able to make the necessary corrections, the necessary corrections. I expect us to be able to establish the ability to do both – run and throw efficiently as we continue to work through the season.”
On whether Locksley envisions Virginia on the future schedule
“A lot of these non-conference stuff, I am involved with that piece of it. The conference schedule is the part when it shows up and all those things. And I think I've shared my philosophy. I've talked to Colleen, my boss, who I work with to do the scheduling. I like the regional rivalries. I like Virginia, West Virginia, [Virginia] Tech, old ACC foe. Those are good for Maryland. They're good for our program. They create some excitement because of some of the past, obviously, UVA been a regional rivalry. We've got guys from their state. They've got guys from our state. Anytime we have a chance to keep some of these games alive, because, like I said, it's the longest game that we've played against an opponent over the years. I think it's good for us.”
On playing in Scott Stadium
“As I've gotten older, I've learned that talking about what to expect in the stadium. I just got to get us ready to play. I got to get us ready to take care of the plus in the middle, me create the strategies for us, offense, defense, special teams, the players go execute it, and then the work in between. And knowing that there's no money back, guarantees on Saturday that we're going to get the victory.”
On how the secondary will adjust heading into week three
“We've dealt with these growing pains. You know, Deonte Banks, who's a first-round draft pick as a true freshman, he had rough days a couple times too. And I’m just going to tell you, we got to keep the ball in front of us, obviously. I mean, you can't play good defense, I think we gave up almost 300 yards on five passes. So when you talk about explosives and they couldn't have happened at worse times for us. And so what we've got to do as coaches is go back to the drawing board and make sure that – we have talented players on the outside. They're young, so how do we help them grow without mitigating the risk of what happened on Saturday? And I think that's the part where we got to keep somebody over the top. We got to keep somebody in the middle of field, or sometimes just play man coverage, and let these guys that they're talented enough to run around and cover people. We've looked at the things that happened on Saturday and keeping the ball in front of us, the outcome of this game was dictated by who made the most big plays, and they executed and created the bigger plays.”
On Isaac Bunyun’s transition to OL and development through two games
“Ike plays with pad level. The big thing up front is movement and strength, and Isaac is [a] strong guy. One of the stronger guys in our program. [He] has the ability to play pad on the pad, has good short area quickness, has the ability to create movement. One of the things the way we play [defensive] line, compared to some people, is we do surface blocks. Our goal is to keep people off the linebackers on it on the [defensive] line. And then there are times where we allow them to pass rush. Well, Ike has shown the ability of his leverage, his strength and his power, and then he's smart. And to me, he has the size to hold up. I'd say he's played above average, I mean, because when you think about, I mean, this is his second game playing left guard in the last four years and he went up against a solid front a week ago. He had his struggles, as we all did – coaches, players. I think what you'll continue to see though with Ike is how he responds, and he's a good football player, and I still feel he has a chance to help us tremendously this year, especially at that left guard position.”
On QB Anthony Colandrea’s rushing big-play ability on the ground
“He was their leading rusher a year ago and a lot of it was not necessarily designed [QB] runs. These are runs— the scariest runs for me are when the quarterback dropped backs to the throw and we are in man coverage or we're underneath things, and now he has the open space. And he's one of those guys that we've got to contain rush him, meaning keep him in the pocket, keep him within the confines of the box and make him win from the box because if you let him start running around and extending plays, it's a tough cover for anybody, whether it's a freshman or a first-round draft pick. To cover guys for long periods of time, it just doesn't work that way. So we've got to affect the quarterback, and then we got to find a way to be, you know, to be close to [Malachi Fields]. I mean, him and number 11 [Trell Harris] are two talented players. They find ways to get and create opportunities for him, very similar to what we do with Tai [Felton]. So, on the defensive side we got to find a way to contain the quarterback and keep the ball in front of us this weekend.”
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