Maryland football, Michael Locksley feeling sense of urgency: ‘We need it’

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

COLLEGE PARK — Maryland football coach Michael Locksley has said in the past that coaches are as good as their records. So he understands that back-to-back 4-8 campaigns have painted his tenure in broad strokes.

“We’ve had two different 4-8 seasons, and at the end of the day, it’s 4-8, and I’m not diminishing that I am a 4-8 coach the last two years,” he said Wednesday morning during the team’s media day at SECU Stadium. “But the 4-8 last year was a lot different than the 4-8 the year before.”

Locksley’s defense of last fall’s result that began with four consecutive wins before ending on an eight-game skid will likely fall on deaf ears. And that might explain why the embattled coach largely kept his comments short and sweet.

His opening statement was concise and included his repeated refrain from the spring that he, his coaches, and his players would not participate in a war of words and that they had to ensure their body of work spoke for them. He noted that three straight losses to Washington, Nebraska and UCLA came when those opponents scored on their final drives.

“We had opportunities to win more games than we did,” he said. “And when that happens, that’s when you have to take a close, dark look at yourself and say, ‘What things can I do better? How can I get these corrected? How can I learn from these losses?’ And every year I do that. I’m the first person to stand in front of you and own all my [stuff]. I’m the first person to do it, and I think what you’ll see now is a team of players that understands they also have an accountability to doing and being productive when the time comes.”

That climb to respectability would appear uphill. The unofficial Big Ten preseason poll, compiled by the media, predicted that the Terps would finish 15th in the 18-team conference.

This season is critical for Locksley, who is entering his eighth year with the Terps and has two more left on his contract, which includes an average salary of $6.1 million per season. Calls for him to lose his job reached a fever pitch in the midst of that slump, but athletic director Jim Smith instead publicly backed Locksley for at least one more go-around and vowed to devote more resources to help the team improve.

The sense of urgency to turn around the program’s misfortunes has not escaped the players’ attention.

“We need it,” said sophomore quarterback Malik Washington, a Glen Burnie native and Spalding graduate. “It’s something we need as a program, and not just as a program, but as a university. When football is doing well here, it just makes the university seem better. The day’s a little brighter, the birds are chirping a little bit louder, all that good stuff. So it’s something that we need.”

Added redshirt senior safety Lavain Scruggs, a Baltimore resident and Spalding graduate: “Everyone in the building has their antennas up. We’ve got to be at full-go, no matter what. Just like Locks said, we’re not doing too much talking. We’re just going to play football.”

The ingredients for success would seem to be available. The Terps welcome back 71% of their production from last fall, the second-highest mark in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, according to ESPN.

Washington and outside linebackers Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis stayed in College Park after successful freshman seasons. And five-star outside linebacker Zion Elee headlines a freshman class that ranks No. 22 nationally by Rivals/On3.

Locksley, who turned his reputation as an offensive guru into his second head coaching job, will likely lean on Washington, who led all freshman quarterbacks in passing yards (2,382) and set Maryland freshman records in passing yards and completions (273). But Locksley dismissed the notion that his job security is tied to his quarterback’s progression.

“My future has nothing to do with Malik,” he said. “My job is to coach Malik, to coach these players, to execute in critical situations. We’ve done that. We will continue to do that.”

Related Articles

Locksley has consistently tried to defend and shield his players from outside scrutiny over his own longevity in his current role. But senior middle linebacker Daniel Wingate said he and his teammates know they can help repay the coach who has believed in them.

“If we’re successful, if we’re able to win these games, it’s good money for everybody,” the Pallotti graduate said. “Everybody’s happy, everybody’s getting better. It’s good.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos