Latest news with #Locksley
USA Today
02-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Maryland coach raves about pair of Dolphins draft picks
Maryland coach raves about pair of Dolphins draft picks The Miami Dolphins drafted a pair of Maryland Terrapins in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL draft this past April. According to Maryland head coach Mike Locksley, the Dolphins got a pair of tremendous leaders in safety Dante Trader Jr. and defensive lineman Jordan Phillips. "Here in our program we really do encourage our players to learn to be pros as quickly as they can," Locksley told Travis Wingfield on the Dolphins' "Drive Time" podcast. "We define being a professional as, it's 24/7 as opposed to a job, which is eight hours, nine to five, whatever that eight-hour window is." Locksley continued, "Both those guys were 24/7 guys you know from a recovery standpoint, understanding the way to take care of their bodies, proper sleep, morning routines, you know, with guys like Dante and Jordan they both were early risers, that studied the game." Trader, who was even more recruited in the college ranks for his lacrosse skills, has the "it" factor that a defense needs, according to Locksley. "There's no doubt [about] Dante and his aptitude and his football intelligence," Locksley said. "He was a guy that, if you can teach it, then you can execute it. And he's one of those guys that I see all the time grabbing the young safeties, the young corners and imparting the wisdom that he gained from not just his successes but failures as well as a young player." Phillips has multi-sport experience too. The defensive lineman was a wrestler and Locksley says that background makes a difference on the football field. 'Because of wrestling, he understood body-under-body, pad-under-pad, and that's how you eat up double teams, that's how you maintain the line of scrimmage the low man typically wins,' Locksley told Wingfield. "He did his job in our system, and I know coming into this draft some of the knock on him was the lack of production, because what we asked him to do was eat up double teams powerfully, and knock the line back, and it affected the run game quite a bit. "They don't get a credit for that production because it doesn't have a tackle, doesn't say TFL [tackle for loss], but when other people are making TFLs because he's pushed the 'A-gap' three yards deep, people that know football understand what that brings to the table." Safety and defensive line are positions where a rookie could potentially see significant snaps for the Dolphins. Miami has several safeties who will battle for the top two spots on the depth chart. The defensive line was an area of major concern heading into the draft, and Phillips was one of three rookie defensive linemen selected among the Dolphins' eight total selections. With a thin room behind veteran Zach Sieler, Phillips and his draft classmates on the line will be thrown into the fire early. While Phillips and Trader Jr. were Day 3 picks, their collegiate coach is convinced both former Terrapins will make an early impact for the Dolphins. "It couldn't have been to a better organization for both those guys, and I think it's a great fit," Locksley said.
Miami Herald
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Maryland Football Preview 2025: Can the Terrapins Pull Out of the Nosedive?
What was more real, the 4-8 clunker of last season or the 23-16 three-year stretch with three winning seasons and three bowl wins before it?You can only play who's on your schedule, and Maryland did play a Big Ten slate from 2021 to 2023 - that came after six straight losing seasons - but over those 23 wins during that time, how many came against FBS teams that finished with a winning record?Four, and one was against a 2023 Rutgers team that went 7-6, two were against Group of Five programs, and the other was a 16-12 uggo of a 2022 Duke's Mayo Bowl over an NC State team missing a slew of parts. It's not like the success under Mike Locksley came with giant victories over Ohio State, Penn State, and it's not all about the schedule. Last year's version lost to mediocre Michigan State and Northwestern teams, but it destroyed a UConn team that finished with nine wins, and it snuck by year's schedule isn't a total breeze, but no Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Penn State, USC, or … Ohio State. That's not bad. In Year Seven, though, under Locksley, not bad isn't be fair, the 2024 team was really, really young. It was a growing pain season, there were some nice gap-fillers from the portal, and the Terps should be better, but … Maryland Terrapins Preview 2025: Offense X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN- Everything fell apart. The high-octane offense of past seasons went off early, and then failed to get to 20 points in five of the last seven games. The passing game wasn't bad, but the ground game was lousy, the line struggled throughout, and now it'll take some work with just four starters returning.- The line should be okay with a little bit of time. Two starters are back and Rahtrel Perry of Central Connecticut State is one of the best offensive tackle prospects in the portal. The depth is almost non-existent, but the starting five will be running back Roman Hemby left for Indiana, but No. 2 runner Nolan Ray is a decent all-around back who'll be fine if the blocking is better. - With former starter Billy Edwards off to Wisconsin, UCLA transfer Justyn Martin needs to be ready from jump. He's a 6-4, 220-pound former top pro-style get for the Bruins, and he has just enough experience to not be totally green.- Most of the top targets are gone including All-Big Ten star Tai Felton, but Octavian Smith Is back after finishing fourth on the team with 30 grabs. He's the main veteran, but fifth-year senior Jalil Farooq (Oklahoma) is a deep threat and Kaleb Webb (Tennessee) has a few years of experience. Tight end Dorian Fleming is coming off a 49-catch, six-touchdown season at Georgia State. Maryland Terrapins Preview 2025: Defense - The offense was bad, but the defense was worse. The pass rush was the worst in the Big Ten for a D that allowed over 30 points per game, but there's hope for a big turnaround if the young prospects who took their lumps are ready.- The secondary has some parts. Jalen Huskey and Lavain Scruggs are decent veteran safeties, and the transfer combination of Jamare Glasker (Wake Forest) and Dontay Joyner (Arkansas State) are ready right away.- Daniel Wingate on the outside and Michael Harris in the middle give the Terps a good 1-2 linebacking punch, but a pass rush has to emerge from somewhere. The rebuilding defensive front needs the full fall camp to find the right rotation with Trey Reddick and Neeo Avery needing to play big on the outside. Maryland Terrapins Key to the Season Find a pass up with lots and lots of sacks wasn't the norm at Maryland, but in 2023 it generated pressure from everywhere with several parts 34 sacks were big, the returning talent was there, and - cue the sad trombone - the defense came up with 14 in all with 11 in the first six games. There aren't proven parts coming back, but the pressure needs to be there, so … Maryland Terrapins Key Player Trey Reddick, LB Soph.A good recruit for the program last year, he saw a little bit of work with one start, action in the rotation, and he came up with a sack and 16 tackles. He and junior DJ Samuels have to be the ones who change the defense around. Maryland Terrapins Top Transfer, Biggest Transfer Loss Top Transfer In: Rahtrel Perry, OT would be nice if the 6-5, 305-pound junior was a bit bigger, but as is he has the tools and experience to be an instant starter at left tackle. A superstar get in the portal, the veteran from Central Connecticut State has All-Big Ten Transfer Out: Roman Hemby, RB Sr.A key part of the Terp offense for just over three seasons, he leaves for Indiana after running for over 2,300 yards and 22 scores with 112 catches and five touchdowns. Maryland Terrapins Key Game at Wisconsin, Sept. 20The first three games are against Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois, and Towson - Maryland should be 3-0. After going to Wisconsin, dates with Washington and Nebraska are up next. So five of the first six games are in College Park, all are winnable, and it would be a huge to come up with the first win ever - 0-4 so far - against the Badgers. - 2025 Maryland Terrapins Schedule Breakdown Maryland Terrapins Top 10 Players 1. Jalen Huskey, S Sr.2. Rahtrel Perry, OT Jr.3. Daniel Wingate, LB Jr.4. Lavain Scruggs, S Jr.5. Dorian Fleming, TE Soph.6. Jalil Farooq, WR Sr.7. Nolan Ray, RB Soph.8. Justyn Martin, QB Jr.9. Bryce McFerson, P Jr.10. Dontay Joyner, CB Jr. Maryland Terrapins 2024 Fun Stats - Fumbles: Opponents 13 (lost 8), Maryland 9 (lost 6)- Points Allowed: 1st Quarter 58, 2nd Quarter 137- Sacks: Opponents 26 for 200 yards, Maryland 14 for 94 yards Maryland Terrapins 2025 Season Prediction, Win Total, What Will Happen There aren't enough sure-thing playmakers, there's no superstar power, and there's not enough in place to make it seem like the Terps could and should be better than the 4-8 run last year's team couldn't seem to do anything right in the Big Ten outside of a mini-miracle against USC, but there's no Penn State or Oregon this year. There also no Ohio State on the slate, and three of the five conference road games are against teams that didn't go bowling last year - and Rutgers and Illinois are winnable if the Terps can get the O going shouldn't be a repeat of last year's disaster, but there are still too many concerns to make too much noise. However, the team should match the four wins of last year by the middle of the season, but where are the November wins going to come from?It'll take an upset or two, but Maryland should be two wins better to get bowl The Maryland Terrapins Win Total At … 5.5Likely Wins: Florida Atlantic, Northern Illinois, Towson50/50 Games: at Illinois, Indiana, at Michigan State, Nebraska, at Rutgers, at UCLA, Washington, at WisconsinLikely Losses: Michigan © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Winnipeg Free Press
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
With Maryland at a crossroads, a star local recruit arrives to play quarterback
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — It's fairly common for college programs to shield freshmen from the media. What Maryland did with Malik Washington was pretty much the opposite. Earlier this month, the Terrapins made Washington — a top quarterback recruit who signed with Maryland in December — available to reporters during spring practice. It was a sign of how highly coach Mike Locksley thinks of Washington's maturity and poise, and it was also an acknowledgement of just how much he could mean to the future of this program. 'I typically don't let freshmen talk for the sake of them not being prepared for managing the type of media we have around here. But there's no doubt in my mind he's a little different than the typical quarterback,' Locksley said. 'To give you a glimpse, because I know our fans want to see him, this is part of me changing and evolving.' It's not unreasonable to suggest Washington's performance could make or break Locksley's tenure at Maryland, which so far has included a return to respectability followed by a clear backslide in 2024. The Terrapins went to three straight bowls, but after losing prolific quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, they went 4-8 last season. Locksley said the problems went deeper than just having to replace a productive QB. 'I thought for my first time as a coach, I lost my locker room,' Locksley said. 'It wasn't because I don't know my guys. It's the first time at Maryland, we dealt with haves and have-nots. Imagine a guy like (receiver) Tai Felton, who maybe didn't get an NIL dollar, and he sees young guys coming in that come in because, based on the market, they get something. … That's what we faced a year ago. I own that. So what I've done is gone about fixing the locker room.' Now entering his seventh season, Locksley will have a new athletic director after Damon Evans departed recently for SMU. If the Terps stumble again, expect plenty of speculation about Locksley being on the hot seat. But Washington may be arriving at just the right time. He was the No. 5-ranked quarterback recruit by 247Sports, and he's already made a name for himself in Maryland after playing at Archbishop Spalding, where he threw for over 7,000 yards to set the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association passing record. 'I saw him build a program that wasn't one of the blue bloods in his high school conference,' Locksley said. 'He has natural leadership, and we always define leadership as having a positive impact on others. I think probably the most surprising is how quickly he's been able to have that impact on our team and on the players in our program.' Maryland plays its spring game Saturday. If a local player can turn the Terrapins into contenders in the Big Ten, that could go a long way toward improving attendance and helping Maryland football compete with some of the other sports options in the area. 'The DMV has a lot of pride, especially Maryland,' Washington said. 'Being the flagship school, it means a whole lot to be able to elevate this program to the next level.' When Washington spoke with the media, his comments were pretty routine, but the fact that he was put in that position was noteworthy. Maryland is ready to turn the page on 2024, and this next era can't arrive soon enough. It could be a while before Washington's role next season becomes clear, but Locksley sounds unafraid to play a freshman at quarterback. Before taking over at Maryland, he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama when a pair of future NFL quarterbacks — Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts — were on the team. Those two certainly showed they could handle expectations and pressure, and Locksley has been willing to compare Washington to that duo. 'I've seen guys like a Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa embrace that,' Locksley said. 'To me, he's in that mold of quarterback. He's different than a typical freshman quarterback.' ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
With Maryland at a crossroads, a star local recruit arrives to play quarterback
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — It's fairly common for college programs to shield freshmen from the media. What Maryland did with Malik Washington was pretty much the opposite. Earlier this month, the Terrapins made Washington — a top quarterback recruit who signed with Maryland in December — available to reporters during spring practice. It was a sign of how highly coach Mike Locksley thinks of Washington's maturity and poise, and it was also an acknowledgement of just how much he could mean to the future of this program. Advertisement 'I typically don't let freshmen talk for the sake of them not being prepared for managing the type of media we have around here. But there's no doubt in my mind he's a little different than the typical quarterback," Locksley said. 'To give you a glimpse, because I know our fans want to see him, this is part of me changing and evolving.' It's not unreasonable to suggest Washington's performance could make or break Locksley's tenure at Maryland, which so far has included a return to respectability followed by a clear backslide in 2024. The Terrapins went to three straight bowls, but after losing prolific quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, they went 4-8 last season. Locksley said the problems went deeper than just having to replace a productive QB. 'I thought for my first time as a coach, I lost my locker room,' Locksley said. 'It wasn't because I don't know my guys. It's the first time at Maryland, we dealt with haves and have-nots. Imagine a guy like (receiver) Tai Felton, who maybe didn't get an NIL dollar, and he sees young guys coming in that come in because, based on the market, they get something. ... That's what we faced a year ago. I own that. So what I've done is gone about fixing the locker room.' Advertisement Now entering his seventh season, Locksley will have a new athletic director after Damon Evans departed recently for SMU. If the Terps stumble again, expect plenty of speculation about Locksley being on the hot seat. But Washington may be arriving at just the right time. He was the No. 5-ranked quarterback recruit by 247Sports, and he's already made a name for himself in Maryland after playing at Archbishop Spalding, where he threw for over 7,000 yards to set the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association passing record. 'I saw him build a program that wasn't one of the blue bloods in his high school conference,' Locksley said. 'He has natural leadership, and we always define leadership as having a positive impact on others. I think probably the most surprising is how quickly he's been able to have that impact on our team and on the players in our program.' Maryland plays its spring game Saturday. If a local player can turn the Terrapins into contenders in the Big Ten, that could go a long way toward improving attendance and helping Maryland football compete with some of the other sports options in the area. Advertisement 'The DMV has a lot of pride, especially Maryland,' Washington said. 'Being the flagship school, it means a whole lot to be able to elevate this program to the next level.' When Washington spoke with the media, his comments were pretty routine, but the fact that he was put in that position was noteworthy. Maryland is ready to turn the page on 2024, and this next era can't arrive soon enough. It could be a while before Washington's role next season becomes clear, but Locksley sounds unafraid to play a freshman at quarterback. Before taking over at Maryland, he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama when a pair of future NFL quarterbacks — Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts — were on the team. Those two certainly showed they could handle expectations and pressure, and Locksley has been willing to compare Washington to that duo. Advertisement 'I've seen guys like a Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa embrace that," Locksley said. "To me, he's in that mold of quarterback. He's different than a typical freshman quarterback.' ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Associated Press
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
With Maryland at a crossroads, a star local recruit arrives to play quarterback
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — It's fairly common for college programs to shield freshmen from the media. What Maryland did with Malik Washington was pretty much the opposite. Earlier this month, the Terrapins made Washington — a top quarterback recruit who signed with Maryland in December — available to reporters during spring practice. It was a sign of how highly coach Mike Locksley thinks of Washington's maturity and poise, and it was also an acknowledgement of just how much he could mean to the future of this program. 'I typically don't let freshmen talk for the sake of them not being prepared for managing the type of media we have around here. But there's no doubt in my mind he's a little different than the typical quarterback,' Locksley said. 'To give you a glimpse, because I know our fans want to see him, this is part of me changing and evolving.' It's not unreasonable to suggest Washington's performance could make or break Locksley's tenure at Maryland, which so far has included a return to respectability followed by a clear backslide in 2024. The Terrapins went to three straight bowls, but after losing prolific quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, they went 4-8 last season. Locksley said the problems went deeper than just having to replace a productive QB. 'I thought for my first time as a coach, I lost my locker room,' Locksley said. 'It wasn't because I don't know my guys. It's the first time at Maryland, we dealt with haves and have-nots. Imagine a guy like (receiver) Tai Felton, who maybe didn't get an NIL dollar, and he sees young guys coming in that come in because, based on the market, they get something. ... That's what we faced a year ago. I own that. So what I've done is gone about fixing the locker room.' Now entering his seventh season, Locksley will have a new athletic director after Damon Evans departed recently for SMU. If the Terps stumble again, expect plenty of speculation about Locksley being on the hot seat. But Washington may be arriving at just the right time. He was the No. 5-ranked quarterback recruit by 247Sports, and he's already made a name for himself in Maryland after playing at Archbishop Spalding, where he threw for over 7,000 yards to set the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association passing record. 'I saw him build a program that wasn't one of the blue bloods in his high school conference,' Locksley said. 'He has natural leadership, and we always define leadership as having a positive impact on others. I think probably the most surprising is how quickly he's been able to have that impact on our team and on the players in our program.' Maryland plays its spring game Saturday. If a local player can turn the Terrapins into contenders in the Big Ten, that could go a long way toward improving attendance and helping Maryland football compete with some of the other sports options in the area. 'The DMV has a lot of pride, especially Maryland,' Washington said. 'Being the flagship school, it means a whole lot to be able to elevate this program to the next level.' When Washington spoke with the media, his comments were pretty routine, but the fact that he was put in that position was noteworthy. Maryland is ready to turn the page on 2024, and this next era can't arrive soon enough. It could be a while before Washington's role next season becomes clear, but Locksley sounds unafraid to play a freshman at quarterback. Before taking over at Maryland, he was the offensive coordinator at Alabama when a pair of future NFL quarterbacks — Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts — were on the team. Those two certainly showed they could handle expectations and pressure, and Locksley has been willing to compare Washington to that duo. 'I've seen guys like a Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa embrace that,' Locksley said. 'To me, he's in that mold of quarterback. He's different than a typical freshman quarterback.' ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
