Mike Locksley arrived at Big Ten Media Day in a bright red Maryland Terrapins-themed suit, but the message he delivered was all about restraint, growth, and keeping the program grounded.
The Maryland head coach made clear that the upcoming season matters, yet he stressed that the Terps cannot force results by sheer expectation alone. For Locksley, the path forward is about urgency paired with patience, especially after Maryland has stumbled through back-to-back 4-8 seasons.
“As I said before, going into last season, we've had back-to-back 4-8 years. Very humbling.
I can also tell you in 2019 I stood up here very grateful for the opportunity to lead the university that I grew up as a kid rooting for. That has not changed for me.
Sure, the last two years have been a lot of losses, but what I've learned, when you build the team the way we've had to build our program through the high school player, I learned a lot about myself a year ago in that I have to coach with urgency, but I also had to still have the patience to allow this young group of talented players to grow through their mistakes, some of the things that we went through a year ago.”
That balance has become the core of Locksley’s message. Maryland’s recent record has created pressure across the program, but the coach framed the issue as one of development as much as results. He pointed to the reality of building through high school recruiting and the growing pains that come with a young roster.
The Terps entered 2025 with a roster full of youth, and that inexperience showed in several close games. Locksley cited losses against Nebraska, Washington, and UCLA, where Maryland held four-quarter leads but couldn’t finish. Those moments, he said, were shaped by players still learning how to close out games.
Locksley also made it clear that the offseason was about more than just adding names. Maryland brought in Cam Brickle II, Darrell Carey, Kaden Carter, and Zion Elee, while also working to build depth and competition across the roster. The goal was not only to find players who can help right away, but to push the group internally and keep raising the level of play.
He also pushed back on the idea that expectations alone can carry a team in the Big Ten. For Locksley, the real separator is what happens up front.
“The only way you win and have success in the Big 10 is in the trenches.”
Locksley was joined by several of the program’s key figures: starting quarterback Malik Washington, senior linebacker Daniel Wingate, and center Michael Hershey, who is in his third season and has become a steady presence on the line. Their presence fit the broader point Locksley was making about development inside the program and the players who are now expected to help move Maryland forward.
Locksley has already won three bowl games at Maryland, but the bigger question now is whether the roster around him is finally in position to take the next step. With a young core, added depth, and what was described as a favorable schedule, the belief is that 2026 could bring real progress in College Park.
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Senior linebacker Daniel Wingate made sure to point that out at the 2026 Big Ten Media Days, praising the defenses fast, physical identity and the way it had started to come together. The bigger question for Maryland is whether that early promise can hold up over the grind of a full season, because while the Terps flashed real potential, there were also stretches later in the year when opponents were able to lean on the run game and test the group in ways it did not always answer cleanly. [Read more 🡒]
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Fernandez did it in emphatic fashion, pinning every opponent on her way through the bracket, and the result put her in a class all her own as the first non-Japanese female wrestler to complete that three-peat. Next up is a jump to the U20 World Championships in Slovakia, where Maryland-area fans will get another chance to see how far her rise can go. [Read more 🡒]