After weeks of speculation about his job security, amid a losing streak that has reached six games, Maryland football coach Michael Locksley not only received an endorsement from Athletic Director Jim Smith this past weekend regarding his continued employment, but also assurances that additional financial resources would be allocated to his program.
During his weekly news conference Tuesday afternoon in advance of Saturday’s game against Michigan, Locksley addressed those developments publicly for the first time. He and players on the team’s leadership council also revealed a meeting had taken place Sunday with Smith and senior deputy athletic director Diana Sabau almost immediately before the announcement.
“Not many people know the ins and outs of this campus like I have, and to have two people now that share the same special vision that I have while also seeing the foundation of what we have when we didn’t have all the resources that we needed, I’m excited,” Locksley said. “I see a light at the end of the tunnel. So, really glad about the support, opportunity to stay here, committed to an area that I believe in because I’m from here.”
Smith’s “Letter to Terp Nation,” which he posted to social media Sunday, received resounding approval in the locker room, according to players who unequivocally backed their embattled coach. They have remained in his corner despite disgruntled members of the fan base calling for Locksley’s dismissal during Maryland’s second-longest losing streak since he took over in 2019.
The decision to retain Locksley proved particularly poignant for senior wide receiver Octavian Smith Jr., who has been with Maryland for two bowl victories but also remained loyal to Lockley not just during the current skid but also after a similar stretch last season, when the Terps dropped their final five games.
“When he took the job, it was a job nobody really wanted to take, because Maryland at that time was at its lowest,” Smith said, referring to the aftermath of the death of Terps offensive lineman Jordan McNair in June 2018 from complications relating to heat stroke. “Him taking the job, I feel like, speaks a lot to his character and all that he’s done for the program. He’s built it to where it is now. I feel like he doesn’t get as much credit as he should as a head coach, and not only as a head coach but a Black head coach at that. It’s not easy.”
In the immediate future, with Locksley’s job status no longer in question, the Terrapins (4-6, 1-6 Big Ten) can direct all of their attention toward trying to salvage this season by winning their final two games to become bowl eligible. Saturday marks the final home game for a senior class comprising 16 players, some of whom stayed in College Park despite the option of seeking perhaps more lucrative name, image and likeness (NIL) benefits elsewhere.
Recent performances since the start of last month, however, provide little indication an about-face is at hand. Plus there is the Terrapins’ glaring 0-19 record against ranked Big Ten opponents since Locksley took over six years ago, as well as a 5-20 mark in November.
Maryland has not won a game in November since 2023, losing its past seven. The Terrapins are also 0-4 under Lockley against the Wolverines (8-2, 6-1), who have won eight consecutive games in the series overall and enter the weekend as a prohibitive favorite.
“Obviously no one, including myself, is happy with where we are when you talk about the map and the terrain,” Locksley said. “I’ve never sat up here and complained … about resources. All I say is winning has a cost. I am doing the best with what I have had, and it’s been resources enough to be a bowl-win team, bowl-eligible team. That part is on me. We’re not bowl eligible, haven’t been last season, and we have opportunities to be now, and that’s what my focus is on.”
The fact that Maryland trails other Big Ten schools financially in football operations presumably has resulted in a dearth of depth, especially on defense, that contributed to the Terps being unable to preserve fourth-quarter leads during three straight losses in October to begin their skid. In the last of those defeats, Maryland was without the likes of ailing linebacker Daniel Wingate down the stretch and edge rusher Zahir Mathis for the entire game. UCLA capitalized by driving 68 yards for the decisive field goal on its final possession for a 20-17 win.
Wingate, a junior who leads the Terps in tackles (89), and Mathis, a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Award presented to the national freshman of the year, did not play in the second half of last week’s 24-6 road loss to Illinois because of nagging injuries. Wingate left with a sore left ankle, and Mathis with turf toe.
Locksley said both are expected to be on the field Saturday to face the Wolverines, who rank second among Big Ten teams with 223 rushing yards per game.
That Michigan rushing attack suffered a major blow last weekend when running back Jordan Marshall left with a shoulder injury late in a 24-22 win against Northwestern. Marshall is uncertain to play against Maryland. The Wolverines already are without injured running back Justice Haynes, who is fifth in the Big Ten in rushing, 14 yards behind Marshall, despite playing only seven games.
“We still have an opportunity to do something great here, go to a bowl game and extend our season,” Terps defensive tackle Cam Rice said, adding that players had not allowed discussion of Locksley’s job status on social media to infiltrate the locker room. “The young guys, they’re excited to play their best for the seniors, and the seniors are ready to play our best to finish the season the right way.”
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