Everything that Maryland football head coach Mike Locksley said heading into the season finale vs. Penn State:
Opening statement
“I do want to start by wishing you happy Thanksgiving to all of you guys and then your families. As we embark on this last opportunity for our [2024] football family, really thankful for the time that you guys have given us all year long and how you guys did the positive stories and the highlights that you put on our program. [It] also leads me into how I use that analogy about the map and the terrain a lot and when the map doesn't match the terrain, you go with the terrain. And so for us, that leads me to say, here's where we are. We're mathematically eliminated from being able to go to a bowl game but we do have standards in our program, and one of those standards is how you finish things. And as you saw, I was talking to [Jalen Hurts], he called me on my way here, and he’s like, why you got this flannel shirt on? I'm like you know what it kind of reminds me, we all as coaches and his players got a job to do – finish the ‘24 season the best way we can. And I can think back to Vinita Locksley as you think about Thanksgiving weekend. I think about my mom and how every morning she got up to go do a job, working at Greater Southeast Community Hospital where she had to walk sometimes, it was cold out sometimes, it rains, snowed, but you know what? She just had to get up and go do her job. Because if she didn't, we didn't need we didn't have a place to stay. And so it's kind of one of those weeks for me.”
On closing the book on a tough season
“As we say, how do you finish a tough season? It's been tough. We're not where we want to be. And I think anybody that's followed the program that knows me knows that it's a really frustrating time, because we are a better team than maybe we've shown and at the end of it, when you probably put them all together, you'll see the season can be pulled up in probably 15, 20 plays that somehow, some way, we gotta figure out how to make. But what I also do is I talk to our team about, when you have a job to do, it's like I hated raking leaves. And you look out the backyard, and when I was growing up, it wasn't no blowers, it wasn't the blowers and the tarps, it was a rake and then every now and then, you find a flat shovel, which helps you get it in the trash bags. But the whole time you raked it, you were MFing everybody under the sun as a kid, like, I hate this, why are we doing it, but then you knew the reward of it was like, when you got upstairs and you looked out the window of Grandma's house, you’re eating your chili and your cornbread, and you just see the yard and it's like, wow, I actually did. That's kind of what we want to get accomplished this week as a program. And I got a bunch of seniors that are all for the smoke. They're all for it. They're showing up, they're doing the work. Nobody's hanging their heads. We're all disappointed. But again, as I told you guys before, I'm gonna always choose optimism, and I think this team has embraced it. Gratitude, learn that you really can't take anything for granted in life, and that's what this week's about, especially the time you get what people you care about. And I saw a guy like Taizse [Johnson], man. I saw anxiety on his face when he took his senior picture because the unknown for some of these guys, they've been in a really safe place. They've been in a cocoon here where I've seen these kids grow up and I've kind of grown up with them, as I've said before. And talking to a lot of guys about it, particularly the seniors, I just think we need to be grateful for every second we have left together and it's coming to a close. We like to bring it to a close the right way. Talked about something about how to finish, how you finish looking out seeing the yard perfectly raked and then just having a little sense of pride. And so, you know, a great opportunity against a team that has…playoff opportunities, championship game implications, and great opportunity, a way to finish your career in going up to Penn State.”
On familiarity with Penn St. head coach James Franklin
“Obviously, I go way back with James, very familiar with him as a person, and always enjoy competing against him and his team. Everyone in our building has a lot of respect for their team, a lot of strong relationships, obviously, from guys playing against each other, working together. They’re extremely balanced in what they do. Good defense. Tom Allen, the former head coach, is over there, taking over from Manny [Diaz]. They've done a good job. They've been number two in scoring defense, top five in scoring offense, and really impressed with the way they finished a couple of games this year. You look back and see the USC game and then you see the game against Minnesota, they've played and some really been battle tested, and some really tough, close games. And for us, you know, what? What a great way to finish our ‘24 season is to go up there and compete against a playoff caliber team to really kind of see where we measure up. I expect our guys to compete. We tend to play up, which I hate, and that's one of the consistencies that we got to get fixed. But I expect us to.”
Game captains vs. Penn State
“Kaden Prather, Josh Kaltenberger, Taizse Johnson and Quashon Fuller.”
On health status of QB Billy Edwards Jr.
“He practiced yesterday. Yesterday, it was more of a walk-through practice for us as it was planned that way. He's still a little bit banged up. But you know what I've seen, Billy's been banged up all year, and I very rarely talk injuries – had back surgery back in May, a couple of things didn't get cleared till July, really, he fought through all year with some of these things, and I expect him to fight through, to try to make himself available this weekend, to be done. And obviously, MJ will be prepared to take over and lead us into the game if Billy can’t go.”
On whether there’s an emphasis to get Tai Felton the single-season receiving yard record
“I didn't even know that there was something on the table…didn't even know. Shows kind of the guy Tai is because it hadn't come up after…I wouldn't really talk about it, but no, I mean, obviously personal awards are great, and I think for Tai and knowing what he's been through and be great to help him, but the emphasis will be on trying to win the game. And those things happen within the framework of doing that. That’s how it typically happens so I expect Tai to give his best this weekend he plays, most likely this last game as a Terp so I'll be there to help, if possible but the emphasis on us is try to figure out how to win.”
On facing a stout Penn State run offense
“The Big Ten, big backs, heavy-handed, running. They both – both those guys have finishing speed. They run with power, size, and then you throw [Tyler Warren]. That's one of the things when you look at them, 44 is a guy they put in there for the Wildcat quarterback slash and he's taken some of those carries away from those guys, and he's just as talented. So you look at three heavy-handed finishers this time of year in the Big Ten. Obviously, we expect them to try to run the ball. They're very balanced in what they do and they don't put themselves in harm's way a lot. They have a unique scheme and do a lot of exotic formations that create leverage in numbers at times. And so we've got to just be really clean in our alignments and with our eyes, but really good scheme. Guy from Kansas coming up, and you just can see that they put stress on defenses through exotic formations and how they line up.”
On the challenges Penn State’s defense poses
“[They’re] really talented at all three levels, right? They hit, I think they hit home runs in the portal with some of the corners they got. They got really good safeties, the linebackers, and then obviously the front seven of their team is a strength, and it has been for a while. And you know, with Tom taking over for Manny as the D coordinator, you can just see like he put his personality on it with some of the same concepts, and they do a great job on the defensive end. For us, it's going to be important that we find ways to create some manufacturing explosive plays, which has been the missing piece of our offense here the last three, four weeks is just our inability to create the explosives that that we had going on earlier in the year.”
On whether Locksley has anything planned for departing seniors
“I haven't thought about it, just trying to take in each day as we prepare for Penn State, a different feel and environment knowing mathematically that this is it for us. So it brings the finality to it, but I haven’t put a lot of thought into it, other than I know that this has been a special group for me as a coach. And as I said, this was the group that kind of I grew up with as a coach. But I also caution that citizens to Damon, what got us here won't get us there, and that's to me, moving forward, the optimism that I have is that we've got this program to where it is today. For us to go to the championship level of brand and ball, you don't get stronger lifting the same weights. You got to keep adding and improving and elevating. And to me, this game here kind of gives us an opportunity because you'll have some a great opportunity against a really good team that has a chance to play and make the playoffs.”
On whether there’s anything to be learned from mutual opponents
“It’s still us versus us, and then we played really tough Oregon team, really, really tight and close. Sometimes you look at our scores and I think you forget to see that it's a six-point game against Iowa with nine minutes ago. Alright, going to the Indiana game is the score wasn't what that was early in the game, and then kind of once the wheels fall off. It's gonna be interesting as we gotta get through this one, do the work. Get up, put the flannel on, the work jacket with Locks on the jacket, and go get this work done. But I'm also looking forward to kind of diving into this thing and figuring out what got us here, what I needed to get us there. And I'm excited about it. I think you'll see it isn't that far away, because if you look at this [offensive] line and the way they've kind of started to come together, you look at some of the play of the young corners on the back end. These are the battle tested scars that next year will be better for it and it sucks for this year for us, but then you go out and have a chance with my hunting jacket to go out to find a couple pieces that add. One thing I do know is help is on the way.”
On the progression of RB Nolan Ray
“I think the biggest place is two weeks ago, and I even told the story, I know where I told it, but we're in the middle of a blitz pickup. And, you know, we got some really heavy-handed young linebackers, 16, Daniel Wingate and Keyari James and [Keyshawn] Flowers. These guys are really big, heavy-handed guys. And they're on our scout team, playing linebackers, so they're giving us the look. Well, a couple weeks ago in the blitz pickup period, I just heard one of the loudest collisions of all year, and it was Nolan and Keyari James in the A gap. It was a collision. And, you know, Nolan kind of got the best of that one and kind of came back and it was almost like an ‘aha’ moment, like, you know what? When young running backs learn to play without the ball, that's when you start to see them come along. And that was a big time pickup in a scout team deal but it was the first time I saw him put his hat, hands and like, be really physical. It was almost like, wow. And I think from that point on, I started to see him, it's like when Roman came on into the Virginia Tech game and all of a sudden, he hit the scene. And I feel like that's the direction I've seen Nolan going the last couple of weeks. But it also has also been tied to what this young O-line, the Hershey's, the Terez Davis is, the Bahs and Alan Herron who had a tough day a week ago but that tough day will benefit us.”
On whether young players will play if Penn State game goes sideways
“Well we do that in practice. To be honest, that's why we practice the way we do. And I respect the game too much that, when you do make those type of changes and switches, it's not because of the course of the game, it's because you want to continue to develop other players. And that's what we've done around here a lot and it's kind of been the secret sauce for when you build your team through the draft, which is when you build it through high school players, the secret sauce is, how do you develop them quick. And the only way to do is when you practice ones and threes, twos and fours and these reps become kind of foundational pieces in practice. Once you get into a game, if we're if we're afforded the opportunity to get a player ten to 15 plays in the game, I think that's always great for us and how we develop. They got to be the right time at the right place.”
On what’s been difficult about this season
“It’s just we underachieved and I'm the leader of a bunch that I had high expectations for because I wanted for them. It's like parents, you want your kids to have success and they worked. I mean, it wasn't because we didn't work. It was because we didn't necessarily work to the level of which we're capable or make the plays that were there, and some other, as I've said, is once we get through this game, it’ll be interesting to be able to go through it. But I can tell you, you look at this season, it's probably a handful of 15, 20 plays that will dictate kind of the way this season went. It's just a matter of making those plays in our favor being the difference.”
On what Locksley is thankful for
“As I've said before, man, to be able to be a head coach to get a second chance growing up with these group of seniors. I mean, I came here in 2019 and obviously the program where it was at that time, and to see I sold the dream to you guys, and to me, the work of that dream where they put this program on a foundation, because that's what I was selling. I was selling the dream. So I'm really thankful for the parents, the kids, the ones that are here still and even the ones that came for a short season, or for a season of playing a small role in creating a foundation that we actually have expectations, man. We're sitting here disappointed about how we played this year. And you know, always ask yourself the question, is it a better place than when you came here? So I'm really thankful that this opportunity was presented to me, but even more thankful for the tons of kids that have come through this program over the last five, six seasons with me to help me rebuild Maryland football and create a foundation. I feel really confident that we'll be able to build.”
On constructing a Thanksgiving table in today’s era of college football
“It has, man, because, you know this group with Portal and amount of NIL involved, these guys don't eat Kraft macaroni and cheese out in the box. They have a really high palette taste for high-end food. So little caviar here. Fine Cabernet, silver oak on the side. Something really nice. But no, we'll do Thanksgiving really well. We're actually doing it at my house because I got to get on the bus the next morning, and it didn't feel like driving all the way down to Fort Washington, to the outlaws house and hang out there and then stop getting to hide around my house and go, kind of take a nap somewhere, not have to worry about a place to take a nap and be comfortable.”
Locksley on his favorite Thanksgiving dish this year
“What I did do is I did some preliminary scouting. And you know, I know this place called GrillMarX that I'm a big fan of this place across the street, and they've got an executive chef, chef named Doug. And Doug makes this Turducken and is a turkey that’s stuffed with chicken and duck and stuffing. And so I saw it, like, for some reason, I don't know why this – is it X or Twitter or whatever – but like, things just keep popping up. I was thinking about the turkey, and then Turducken thing comes up, and I'm like, so I screenshot it and send it to Doug say, can I get four of these Turducken? So Dougie fresh is going to look me up with a Turducken over there, GrillMarX. You should try it, great place before you go watch Derik Queen. The Turducken is the thing this this year. I got four of them too. So I got a few players that maybe stopping over. We’ll see if Chef Doug knows what he's doing because you got to put that cage in, kind of shot in its kind of a New Orleans-style deal so looking forward to that.”
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