Following the Rutgers game and heading into the Iowa game, Maryland head coach Mike Locksley dives into stopping Iowa, how the 2024 season has played out, Tai Felton’s success and how hard it is for a true freshman QB to start:
Mike Locksley’s shoutouts
“Obviously Tai Felton being named to the semifinalist list for the Biletnikoff Award, which is a great honor, individual honor that I'm sure if you were to ask Tai, he’d give a lot of credit to his teammates. Then secondly, I know this weekend, I think it's AJ Francis is doing his canned food drive. Shawne Merriman did his coat drive a week ago. This is a tremendous work being done by our alums, continuing to give back to the university and to the College Park community. I know AJ has his canned food drive this Saturday. So I appreciate those two guys and what they've done every year around here. And then, as always, good luck with Sasho. I know with men's soccer, they start their run in the NCAA Tournament this Thursday here at home so good luck to our soccer program.”
On the 2024 football season
“As we transition into the obviously the football piece here. I'll start by saying, look, I mean it's been a challenging last few weeks, to say the least. We've been working really hard as a team and as a program in terms of taking accountability for what's gone wrong and doing everything we can to create some momentum and create some change. And one of the things I said, I said this to you guys earlier in the year, I'm gonna choose optimism over pessimism. I’m going to choose growth and process progress over dwelling on the past. And you know what? That's kind of been the way around here. I know we are nowhere near where we want to be as a program. When you look at it, let’s call it what it is, but I still know we are who we want to be. When you look at the character of the team, you look at the way our team continues to show up, continue to fight, continue to practice. So again, I'll reiterate, we aren't where we want to be but we're still who we want to be. And I can tell you that there's nobody over in that building that is not willing to continue to put the work in to find a way to finish this thing the right way. And we're a team. We're a team that stays in it to the last seconds on the clock. We fight hard until the end. You don't see us just lay down and quit. Our head is down and we're going to continue to focus on progress each and every day.”
On senior day vs. Iowa
“And so we got a group of seniors that are going to be honored here Saturday, on senior day. And I want to take this opportunity to thank those young guys and the young men for the work they put into this program over the last for some of them, one, two years that are transferring in, but for others that have, like a Ruben Hyppolite who's done six years here, and you know, the Tai Felton’s of the world that have spent their last four or five years in this program. I just can't thank them enough for the work that they've done to put us in position, lay the foundation that will allow us to get where we want to go. And I can't thank those young men enough that will be honored Saturday. It's a group that's helped define and showcase the vision I have for this program and building the culture. With three straight winning seasons heading into this year, they can leave here holding their heads high that they left the Maryland football family in better shape.”
On Iowa
“Even with the tough season that we faced this year, when you talk about Iowa, obviously, ton of respect for Kirk Ferentz and the job he's done there with the consistency of his program. It's one that, as a young coach, and you look at the way he's built that consistent program there, he does a great job and their formula has always remained unchanged. I mean, they're going to run the football, they're going to play really good defense and really balanced and everything how they do it. I think they're sixth in scoring offense, sixth in scoring defense and this is even with injuries. And I know they're battling some injuries at the quarterback position, but again, that ability to line up and know who you are, and they're very comfortable with their way of winning, is a reflection of Kirk and the job he's done there over the years.”
On game captains vs. Iowa
“We've got a bunch of game captains. We got three on here, but I think I did Roman Hemby, I did Glen Miller did Ruben Hyppolite and Tai Felton, are our four captains. We did four this week and this is to honor those four guys and have them lead us as they spent the most time in our program.”
On how the senior class has led the team through the rough stretch
“I think the big thing with this group, where their biggest growth has been, is this has been a group of players that have been developed. Again, I say this, and this is not a knock because I think this is a great compliment to our staff and the evaluations of our the general manager at that time, Gerald Dixon, who came in as one of the first in that role, his ability to evaluate and bring players in like Tai [Felton], like Glen Miller, like Ruben Hyppolite, these are guys that maybe [weren’t] the five star guys, but obviously what we've seen with Tai being named to the Biletnikoff Award, obviously really talented players. To see players come in and develop is a lot like coming into where we came in, and seeing the program get to where the expectation is, we're disappointed right now. I take that and I welcome it because we should be disappointed. But I think the biggest area of this group of seniors is to see their development and not just the talk of wanting to build something, but you actually see that they’ve built it. So to give a vision and then see it built, this is a pretty neat thing and I think that's what that group has brought to the table for us.”
On the chance to still become bowl eligible
“One game at a time, still. We know we had three one game seasons. We let one out last Saturday, got another opportunity against a really good team, and that's the one we focus on. And for our seniors, I want to lay it on the line and do the best job I can as the guy that's leading the charge to ensure we prepare the right way to give ourselves a chance to win at home. Our last home game in The Shell for these guys, that's a special moment, and it's one that I'd love to see our guys, this group, especially because of what they've done and what they've meant to us over the last four or five years. I'd love to see those guys leave here with a great memory of their last time in The Shell as a player.”
On Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson
“Balance and power. I mean, every week we got these running backs, I mean, Oregon’s running back, this last week, having him number five back for Rutgers. I mean, it's the nature of the beast in the Big Ten. And again, he's one of the best, if not the best, in terms of just when he's over 100 yards, they win. So I guess we better do a great job of trying to minimize his ability to get over 100. But his power, his vision, with running backs it’s not always about speed. It's about power, vision and the ability to make something out of nothing. And this guy is at load and runs behind his pads and will be a physical challenge for us.”
On Maryland’s success running the ball in the first half vs. Rutgers
“We took some of the RPOs off, and when you do that, you have to schematically, ensure that you have enough people to block people. If you just get into the math, always say football is a math game. And what we did a week ago with the emphasis of, hey, we need to run the ball because it takes pressure off of our young offensive line. I think we had seven drives last week where we moved the ball down the field, but we don't come up with enough points. That's not enough production and not a big plays, which we did have opportunities. There were some big plays that we left on the field. And do I think our team, after yesterday's meeting, all had a chance to see it. We watched the tape together as a team, which we hadn't done all year, and it now gives our defense a chance to see offensively, you know what, we got some guys [who] didn’t make plays. And it gives our offense a chance to see on defense, hey, you know what? So now that leadership, as I said, our defense was a more veteran group going into the season, and now, when you do those things, it holds each other accountable to saying, hey, am I doing my job? Because I get held accountable a lot for the job of the leader, which I should. Well, the landscape of college football is changing to where, you know what, players are going to be held accountable as well. And they understand that, and it's part of the lesson that we're teaching as we transition into where we are in college athletics.”
On WR Tai Felton’s records in Maryland program history
“Tai is one of my favorites and he has been even before he caught the ball. And I think had this year, this breakout year, and I think Tai will attest to over the years, I've been Tai's, probably next to his mom who is huge cheerleader, I've been probably his biggest cheerleader, other than mom, because I always thought Tai had had that in him probably more than he thought of himself. And we've worked really hard with Tai on the mental piece of sports performance. I put them in that category of like a Jakorian Bennett – really talented player that somehow, someway, we got to get them out of their own head. And so for me, it's so rewarding to see Tai be able to have this type of year. He’s a guy, I said a year ago, this is not the pillow talk but a year ago, he had a chance to leave here. But here's what I respect about Tai, this is why the relationship is really strong. Because he remembered when he lost a bunch of people when he had his injury in high school, that a lot of people didn't stick with him, and to see young kids that have that type of loyalty, and remember, you know what? You did have my back – Maryland, Maryland football – when nobody else did. And when he had a chance to leave, because people saw his potential at the end of last year, he stuck it out. He stuck it out with a quarterback, you lost Taulia Tagovailoa, all-time leading passer. He trusted me that we'll have somebody and develop somebody. And so for that, that's where that relationship is really special for me. I hope Tai's legacy lives like guys like Torrey Smith and Stefon Diggs and Rakim Jarrett and all these great that have played here over the years. And he's one of those guys.”
On RB Roman Hemby’s production
“Roman plays a position that, as you look at it over the years, it's if you give him 35 carries, you heard his NFL opportunities because now he has a lot of wear and tear on his treads. And if you give him 10, 15 touches, I gotta deal with why he ain't getting enough touches. And so there's a fine line between we try to use Roman in the ways that best accentuate what he does well – tremendous vision, speed, catches the ball well out of the backfield. The running back position in this system has always kind of been the way you see it play out. We've always had two or three guys from, Anthony McFarland, Javon Leake, and Jake Funk and Leake. But you know before that, Bruce Perry, Lamont Jordan and Chris Downs, we've always played backs. And contrary to the stats, Roman has been as valuable a piece of this offensive system over the last three years, and it's like when you play the [defensive] line and you do your job really well but because you don't see a touchdown or you don't see the 20-yard run, you think he's not contributing. But the value that Roman Hemby has contributed to this program, you can't put a tag, a price tag on it. I hate that maybe he's looked at he didn't have a great year this year, but if you look at the what he's done for us in a tough year, he's worth everything that he's earned here.”
On the sense of pressure around the team
“I don't describe it as no sense of pressure. We're just getting ready like we have always for the next game, just the way we prepare, it’s the way we game plan. Again we don't – I hate doing earnings calls every week. I hate every week having to come up and explain last week, this week, where we're going, where we're not going. These are things where you at the end of the year. So we try to prepare for every game the same way. There's no added pressure based on what we have to do because when you do that, that means you're not in the moment. And so right now, the focus has been on Iowa. How do we best put ourselves in position to win a game at home against Iowa the last two, the six, and even get the six. I mean, we do understand that. I mean, I have to acknowledge that piece. But the emphasis has not been on we got to get these next two. It's about Iowa.”
On what the fanbase should look forward to when Locksley says he chooses optimism over pessimism
“I talked to the people that I need to about that – that's my boss and my team. And so I really, my give a crap gage is on [empty] about explaining optimism to anybody outside the program. Because if you really are a true Maryland football fan, and you look at this team, sure it’s disappointing, man. We've left some plays on the field. We left some games that we could have won, should have won. That's happening all around college football. And so what I will say is that the kids in the program, the way they play and the way they prepare and the way that they have recruited, and we're still having a great year in recruiting. I mean, nobody's falling off the wagon based on this year, because, you know what, we speak very authentic and honestly about where we are. And where we are, this record is where we are. And it's my job, obviously, as I said when I first started, very disappointed where we are. But I'm also gonna tell you, I'm gonna choose optimism over pessimism. The optimism is, you know what? We got a really good team that's young, that's earning their stripes right now in two of the toughest places to earn your strikes. We got a great quarterback that's coming back to play another year, that's one of the top in the country. We've got a young offensive line that will be battle tested, that has gotten better the last two weeks. We've been able to cover people up. The next step is to knock people off the ball. So I see signs the last two weeks, contrary to the outcomes that we've gotten better as a team. And I'll challenge anybody – you want to, let's look at the tape.”
On how to replicate basketball’s atmosphere for football
“I didn't catch it. I was somewhere game planning with the team, getting ready for the game, so I can't speak on it. How close are we to have in that type of environment? I mean, I really enjoyed this season here in The Shell, the way our fans and the students have supported us even through a tough year. I mean, they've shown up and so, again, we don't get into – that's not my job to figure out how to get people to come. I've tried to put a product out on the field. We have tried to show that we've got a really good team. Now the record doesn't always reflect it yet, but I feel really comfortable that as we continue to bring in the right kind of players, and we continue to build this program to the championship level that I envision and intend to do, I think you'll see them come like they have over at Xfinity.”
On how hard it is for true freshmen to start at quarterback, what skillset it requires
“Well, let's see. Jalen Hurts was a true freshman. He started. Tua Tagovailoa started as a true freshman. I played Juice Williams, I coached him as a true freshman at Illinois. He started as a freshman. This system is a quarterback-friendly system. But the good thing is, is that you know what? We’ve played true freshmen, and we've played returning starters at the position. And the one good thing is they're all gonna get coached, and they're gonna get coached and developed like we've shown in this system. And so I'm excited about Billy returning in the system for a second starting season, possibly. I'm excited for the unknown people that you referenced to be here. I'm excited to be able to add a bunch of pieces. If you if you really want to know, that's the optimism I have, if you want to write that in your column, that's the optimism I have. Is that, you know what, we've built and designed a structure and strategies that have allowed us to grow this program.”
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