Maryland is among the several Power Four schools to capitalize on the new analyst coaching rule with Ron Zook, Corey Liuget, Brian Ferentz, Colton Spangler and Rob Ambrose among those on the field in 2024. But the rule adjustment also set the stage for Will Likely to return to the program he once starred in, this time in a different capacity. Likely joined the program this summer as a defensive analyst where he’s working under new cornerbacks coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, and he joined Talkin' Terps this week to talk about the transition.
On then-OC Mike Locksley testing Likely in practice
“I used to have a check, wheel check, where I saw a little short corner. I'd say, ‘check, fade’ and every day I tried to go at this dude, man, and that's been his life. Everybody looks at him and says, ‘oh, he's a little guy, he can’t, he can’t.’ He's a little train that can and we watched him make magic here and was one of the better leaders. Left here with a lot of special teams records that I know my guy that I had a chance to recruit, Steve Suter as well, was disappointed to have some of his records go down but it couldn't have happened for a better guy than this guy who I was here when we recruited him. We know about the [recruiting] story but [he] had a chance to go to Stanford and chose the Terps, man.”
Likely on why he didn’t go to Stanford
“Because nobody from Belle Glade ever did.”
Locksley on Likely’s role on the staff
“He’s now our assistant corners and nickels coach, and he works with the returners, so I get to spend a lot of time because I am the returner coach. He's my assistant. We have a lot of fun down there with those returners.”
Likely on his versatility during his Maryland career
“I grew up doing it, even from Little League. I started playing running back. Most people don't even know that. I didn't start playing defense until my freshman year, just because nobody wanted to guard the receivers we had like Kelvin Benjamin, nobody wanted to guard him in practice. So that's how I became a DB. Just being competitive.”
Locksley on what attracted him to Likely in a coaching role
“He’s taking those young corners and that was one of the reasons when we brought him in this summer. We knew we would be young at corner and he spent a lot of time with the Braydon Lee’s, the Lloyd Irvin’s, those young guys because he got thrown into the deep end of the pool as a true freshman. Like he came in from day one off the yellow school bus and walked in and was competing against some of the best receivers in the country. Who's kid from Ohio State – Michael Thomas. I mean, I can remember, they kept trying to throw at you. He kept fighting. True Terp.”
Likely on his 100-yard kickoff return for TD vs. Stanford in Foster Farms Bowl
“The funny story about that one in the Stanford, I was kind of went against the grain. I was told not to bring it out, to go in the paint. So got tired of hearing that and took a chance on myself.”
Likely on the toughest transition from player to coach
“For me, it's been great. I mean, I've always felt like I was a natural coach. I just love football. Like even coming from high school, like my head coaches, Reidel Anthony, he taught me the game before I got here so that's how I was so far ahead. So just being around those guys and when I came back during the COVID year to coach, I wanted to see if I like it. And right then there, I knew I liked it. I just had to get the football out of my system. That's what we talked about, which is tough to do and I feel like I finally did that. And when I came back out, I had the right mindset, which was all about just coming in with the right mind frame. And right now I'm just having fun, like I'm excited. Every time I write on my note, did I impact somebody in a positive way today? Every single day.”
Related Links