Michael Locksley walked into Big Ten Media Day with the same message Maryland fans have heard before, but this time he sounded convinced the Terps are finally positioned to cash in on it.
The record says 4-8 for a second straight year. Locksley says the performance was better than that, and he pointed to a team that kept putting itself in position before fading late. Maryland’s losses to Washington, Nebraska and UCLA all came in the second half of the season, part of an eight-game skid that closed out a campaign that started fast and ended flat.
“Some people would say that’s the production of a 4-8 team,” Locksley said. “If you look at the last two years of 4-8, [we were] leading in 11 of the 12 games with one of the youngest teams in the country [but] didn’t find a way to finish three really tough games at the end.”
Locksley spoke Thursday in Chicago, where Big Ten coaches gathered for a three-day stretch of media availability ahead of the 2026 season. It was his first public turn at the podium before the new year, and he spent much of it laying out why he thinks Maryland’s toughest stretch is behind it.
The biggest issues, in his view, were youth and the line of scrimmage. Maryland had to survive with an inexperienced group, and Locksley said the program spent the offseason trying to fortify both trenches.
“We’ve had to build our trenches on both sides of the football,” Locksley said. “We feel really good about the depth we’ve been able to create.
We feel that the tough times are behind us now. This inexperienced group now has gained some really good experience.”
That matters because Maryland finished with the fewest rushing yards in the Big Ten last season, a problem the Terps attacked by reshaping the backfield. USC transfer Harry Dalton III and Temple transfer Terrez Worthy are in the mix alongside returner DeJuan Williams, giving the room more options as the season nears.
The help in the run game should also take some pressure off quarterback Malik Washington, who was forced to throw a conference-high 473 passes last season. In his first year as the starter, Washington still put up 2,963 passing yards and 17 touchdowns.
Locksley said Washington’s biggest leap hasn’t been about arm strength or mechanics. It’s been about how he carries himself.
“The biggest area I’ve seen him improve upon has been his leadership. When you come in as a young quarterback, you have to find a role for how you can have an impact,” Locksley said. “Now I think he’s comfortable with the leadership he’s going to need to have at that position.”
New offensive coordinator Clint Trickett is expected to give Washington another wrinkle to work with, too. His offense includes designed quarterback runs, something Washington said changes how defenses have to prepare.
”It adds another aspect to the game. Not just my game, but our offensive game as a total, something defenses have to gameplan and worry about,” Washington said.
With less than five weeks left before Maryland opens its 2026 season, Locksley is betting the combination of experience, depth and a more balanced offense will finally move the program forward.
Elsewhere in the Maryland athletic department, men’s basketball is among eight finalists for No. 50-ranked class of 2027 guard J’Lon Lyons. Former Terps utility man Brayden Martin picked up his first career professional hit with an RBI single. And Maryland baseball’s transfer haul is currently ranked 24th by 64 Analytics.
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