Veteran DB Jalen Huskey getting "very comfortable" as Maryland football's safety

The secondary was one of the top priorities for Maryland football and head coach Mike Locksley this offseason with a need to upgrade the cornerback room while battling through new faces taking over the back line of the defense.

Maryland went out to sign Jamare Glasker (Wake Forest) and Dontay Joyner (Arkansas State) to replenish the top of the cornerback room, but it also didn’t take long until buzz began to emerge that senior Jalen Huskey had seemingly found his footing in a new position in the secondary.

After arriving in College Park in January of 2024 as an All-MAC selection during his time at Bowling Green, Huskey battled through the highs and lows of the 2024 season as he struggled to get comfortable at the Power Four level. Despite playing in all 12 games, Huskey totaled 45 tackles, four pass deflections, three interceptions and 2.5 TFLs as he eventually moved out of the cornerback room and under then-position coach Zac Spavital.

After starting the first four games at cornerback, Huskey drew his first start at safety against Indiana before starting the final five games of the regular season alongside Dante Trader Jr. Heading into 2025, the former Quince Orchard standout has found his footing as not just an on-field leader for the secondary, but showing signs of becoming the next NFL safety to come out of College Park.

“A year ago early on, he was tested, and I just saw the kid keep battling,” head coach Mike Locksley said. “Very similar track to what I saw the young guys like Deonte Banks and Tarheeb Still, how they started out rough early in their careers, but as they earned those calluses and they got those scars, you started to see the ability. We saw that out of Jalen Huskey this spring.”

“I think I've really embraced my role as a safety and embraced my role as a leader on the defense. I think this move is going to be really positive,” Huskey said after Saturday’s spring game.

Head coach Mike Locksley even noted Huskey was starting to become “very comfortable at playing in that deep part of the field.”

“He's a guy that has corner skill set while playing in deep part of the field, which allows us a lot more versatility because he can play man coverage,” Locksley said on Saturday. “He can cover slots, he can cover tight ends, and that adds value to our defense when you have a safety that has that ability to match up the way Jalen allows us to.”

“I think last year during the season, when I was playing safety a little bit during the Oregon game, it kind of really started to click for me and I started to get more confident as the game wore on. And then this offseason, just every day, putting it together, having good practices, day in and day out. I think that’s really what it is.”

That unit is now lead by assistant James Thomas, who is back coaching the secondary after previously coaching the OLBs and special teams.

“I think just allowing us to play a little bit faster, play more together, just building a tighter knit group than we had previously. And that's no that's no slight to anybody, or that's or anybody from the past. I'm just saying now, I feel like everybody on the defense is able to line up, get their feet in the ground and play fast.”

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