‘He’s got a blueprint’
What Big Ten football coaches and experts are saying about Locksley’s tenure at Maryland
INDIANAPOLIS — When Mike Locksley became Maryland football coach in 2018, he was in a tough spot.
Locksley was tasked with changing the identity of the program after the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair and the firing of coach DJ Durkin, who was let go shortly after an extensive independent review determined the team “fostered a culture where problems festered because too many players feared speaking out.”
After a three-win season in 2019 and a shortened 2-3 campaign in 2020 due to the pandemic, the Terps took major strides last year, securing their first winning season since 2014.
It ended on a high note, with a dominant 54-10 victory over Virginia Tech in the Pinstripe Bowl, the program’s first bowl win since 2010.
As Locksley enters his fourth season as coach, he has received praise from fellow Big Ten Conference coaches and experts for rebuilding the program with recruiting and a high-powered offense.
“He’s got a blueprint,” said Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald, who was a defensive graduate assistant at Maryland when Locksley was a running backs coach in 1998.
“He’s been with some great head coaches, but he’s gonna make it his own.”
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz — the longest-tenured coach in the Football Bowl Subdivision — said he has a lot of respect for Locksley, calling him an “outstanding coach,” and thinks Maryland is putting together a good team.
Meanwhile, Indiana coach Tom Allen said Locksley is building confidence and belief in the program one day at a time.
Allen and other Big Ten coaches applauded Maryland’s talented offense, which is led by a group of dynamic receivers and redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who is coming off a season in which he set program records in single-season passing yards (3,860) and completions (328).
“[Tagovailoa] is a game-changer,” said Big Ten Network analyst and former college football coach Gerry DiNardo. “If you look at programs that have been built historically, they’re built with a great quarterback. And I think that’s where they are.”
Tagovailoa, who is entering his third season with the Terps, was named All-Big Ten honorable mention after tying former Maryland quarterback Scott Milanovich’s record for single-season passing touchdowns (26). Locksley, a former offensive coordinator under Nick Saban at Alabama, has said several times that he thinks Tagovailoa is one of the most underrated players in college football.
Although Tagovailoa threw five interceptions in a loss to Iowa, he led the third-best passing offense in the conference despite not having senior receivers Dontay Demus Jr. and Jeshaun Jones for most of the season.
ESPN senior college football writer Adam Rittenberg said Tagovailoa has a “gunslinger mentality” and believes the younger brother of former Alabama star and current Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has developed nicely during his time in College Park.
“He’s got confidence and receivers who can make plays down the field,” Rittenberg said. “[Tagovailoa] is setting up to be one of the better quarterbacks in the conference.
“Maybe not at [Ohio State’s] CJ Stroud level, but the secondtier quarterbacks. Whether it’s [Purdue’s] Aidan O’Connell or [Michigan State’s] Payton Thorne, Taulia is right in the mix.”
Fitzgerald said he has seen a lot of improvement from Tagovailoa since he threw four interceptions in a loss to Northwestern in 2020, which was his first game as a college starter.
“He’s a different quarterback than he was then,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s really impressive and [he] can do it all.”
But for all of Maryland’s accomplishments on offense, DiNardo wants to see Maryland improve defensively after allowing
the second-most points in the Big Ten.
Brian Williams, who was promoted to defensive coordinator in February, will be the fourth coach to take that role since 2019.
Rittenberg said Locksley has continued to build on his solid reputation as a recruiter by being aggressive on the high school level and in the transfer portal.
This offseason Locksley landed Florida transfer receiver Jacob Copeland while getting four-star St. Frances linebacker Jaishawn Barham to flip from South Carolina to Maryland.
Locksley’s past two recruiting classes both finished among the top 31 in the country, according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings.
When evaluating Maryland’s next step, Rittenberg said he wants to see if the Terps can develop into a team that can compete for something more than seven wins in a season.
“That’s going to be hard in that division,” Rittenberg said. “I think it’s a program where talentwise, they’re getting closer.
“But can they take that step to start beating Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State on a regular basis? That’s the next step for Mike.”