The old saying “You only get one chance to make a first impression” is generally true however it doesn’t always fit. If you were judging Maryland Head Football Coach Mike Locksley in anyway last season, re-think it. Detractors of Locksley will say this past season proved them right and that he is just as bad as his record indicated at New Mexico. Quick note on New Mexico first, Locksley will be the first one to admit that it was not a good fit and he was way out of his element in New Mexico. It was also his first Head Coaching gig. Locksley is an East Coast guy to begin with and he is exactly where he should be now when it comes to coaching. Now that said this is not me trying to do a sell job on Locksley for you, it is simply to put things in perspective. Before I do that some back story to the situation.
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As I said on 105-7 The Fan back when he was hired, I cannot predict how many wins Maryland will have or how well Locksley will do in the next three or four years, but he was the right man, the ONLY man for the job. Why? Well to begin with he was one of just three candidates that was worthy of consideration that applied for the spot. In fact, I was told there were literally only three which shows you how toxic the job was to the rest of College Football. Let’s also set the context for the job, why was it toxic—Maryland Football was not trusted in anyway in the DMV or throughout the state after the death of OL Jordan McNair and the subsequent investigation into the culture of the program after ESPN broke a story two months after McNair’s death.
The three candidates were then Interim Head Coach Matt Canada, then Michigan co-Offensive Coordinator Pep Hamilton and then Alabama Offensive Coordinator Mike Locksley. Canada given all the circumstances did a solid job in an untenable situation in 2018. Here was the issue though, Canada did not have much in the way of local ties and relationships. He also from a personality standpoint was far from someone who was going to go into a living room and wow a recruit. Canada was never going to make anywhere close to the inroads to fixing what was broken.
Hamilton does have some local ties and some NFL background but he did not have big enough name recognition and he was about to be fired from being Offensive Coordinator of a Michigan offense that had improved in ’18 but was still considered to be too old school and underperforming. Mel Tucker’s name was rumored but we now know he would have been out the door in a heartbeat for a better job, ask Colorado. Good thing he was not hired.
Locksley was the ONLY candidate who could mend fences between Maryland and local high schools. Given the fact he was a local and with his numerous local relationships he could be trusted especially in the DMV. He would be more than given the benefit of the doubt that their players would not be put into a culture that was detrimental to their physical and mental well-being. In addition, it certainly was a huge plus he had previous coaching stints at MD with success and was currently a big name in the coaching circles having coached offense at #1 Alabama. The only other Coach that had a better resume for Maryland is coaching in State College and would never in a million years come back to Maryland, of course that is one James Franklin. That’s the bottom line, even if Locksley never pans out, this was the only hire you could make, and it was not even close.
I rarely like to get so arrogant when making a statement, not quite my style generally but anyone who tells you differently simply doesn’t have a clue about the inner workings or the situation at Maryland. Let’s get to 2019.
The worst thing that could have happened last year was that Terps started out 2-0 especially by the margins that they did over Howard and Syracuse. It gave an inflated view of the program that was not realistic. I bet you even privately Locksley felt the same way. Even though I still say they should have won that Temple game, that game was clearly a sign of the issue in the trenches that the Terps would have throughout most of the season. Remember those 4th and 1s getting stuffed. They could have started out 3-0 and that may have softened the blow of the blow out loss to Penn State where MD was quickly put in their place and given a dose of reality. Although one could argue that would have just built the momentum up even more and made it worse but 3-1 feels a lot better than 2-2 after starting the season 2-0.
The bottom line is Locksley inherited a team that was devoid of what you need the most and that is good trench play. Despite the high accolades of the offensive lineman, they just never performed up to par. To be fair some of them went through so many Head Coaches, Offensive Coordinators and Line Coaches that their heads were probably spinning. They were either not properly developed, never had enough continuity or were busts, frankly all of the above could apply. Josh Jackson is no Shaun Hill but to be fair he could have used better line play. In addition, I think the corner position has been deficient and some of the players overrated the last couple of years in guys like Tino Ellis and JC Jackson. Sean Davis ended up playing both corner and safety and I thought never played as well at MD as he has with the Steelers. Jackson has played well at times with the Patriots but only showed flashes with the Terps. Go figure, Maryland luck.
We also know that the edge rushers Keandre Jones and Shaq Smith from Ohio State and Clemson probably needed to be more situational and used in certain packages than three down OLBs who must hold the edge against the run. There was just not enough around them so that they could thrive.
No matter how creative you are or how many skill guys you have if you do not have line play your sunk. With that said, I did wish for more out of this staff, I was hoping for better development in some areas like WR, CB and to an extent in the trenches. The team also exhibited the same penalty prone issues they had in the 2018 season. Lastly, I was told the coaching staff was lax to some extent on the players when it came to punishment and discipline given the culture that had been in place with Durkin. Now that several players have left and or are in the transfer portal and there are more of Locksley’s guys in the program, you should see more discipline from the team going forward. That all said if Maryland beats Temple, Indiana and Michigan State which all were extremely realistic then we are talking about a 6-6 season 1st season which would totally change the conversation and current feelings of the program.
I would say by the end of the 2021 season we will have a much better idea of where this program is going. Locksley more than salvaged the 2019 recruiting class, ended up finishing in the Top 30 with the 2020 class. As Coach told me on my radio show a few Sunday’s ago, each recruiting class is done in a two year window so in all actuality next season, the 2021 Class will be his first full class that will resemble exactly who he wants on his football team. The new President Dr. Daryl Pines who takes over on July 1st should be more athletically friendly given the fact that his son played on the Championship Men’s Soccer Team. Dr. Pines should have a much better grasp of sports and knowledge of it than President Loh who never has been a sports guy which puts athletics at a disadvantage.
Hopefully this gives a better perspective of the situation at College Park. In the meantime, before Spring Practice gets underway, let’s continue to root on the Basketball teams. Go Terps!
Terps Analyst
Mike Popovec is a Weekend and Fill-In host at 105-7 The Fan. In addition Mike hosts the Pre and Post, Halftime and Scoreboard Updates for the Football Games on the Maryland Terrapins Sports Radio Network. He also hosts the Pre and Post Game Show on weekends for some of the Maryland Basketball Games. Popovec also hosts a local News, Talk and Sports Morning Program at the beach on 92-7 WGMD. He also produces and hosts High School Football Games and Shows throughout the season out of Easton covering the Eastern Shore’s Bayside Conference. He sideline reports for CW54 for the Maryland State High School Football Playoffs with Bruce Cunningham, Doug Duvall and Wally Williams.