When most think of football schools, the University of Maryland does not typically come to mind. For former Terps running back LaMont Jordan, Alabama, LSU, Ohio State and Penn State spring to mind.
Competing against traditional football powers in the Big Ten creates some challenges for Maryland, but Jordan believes Michael Locksley is the right coach to take those on. Jordan, a member of the University of Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame, was a running back for the Terps from 1997-2000 while Locksley was the team’s running backs coach.
“Mike Locksley was the right man for the job,” Jordan said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 8. “I said it then, and I think that he’s showing that now. I think people have to understand this about the Maryland football program, just looking at the reality of it — Maryland is not a football school. … It was going to take a coach like Locksley to come in here and do what he’s doing now.”
Locksley is 23-23 since he took over as head coach of the program after the 2018 season, but the team’s record has improved each year since 2019. Last year, the Terps finished 8-5, and they are off to a 3-0 start this season. He has also coached Tennessee Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks Jr. and others who have made it to the NFL.
The program’s upward trajectory has been aided by retaining quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who is now in his fourth year as the starting quarterback of the program.
“I’m really happy that [Tagovailoa] came back because what he does is gives us the stability at a position that we haven’t had for years because we were always going through quarterbacks,” said Jordan, now a game analyst for the Maryland Sports Radio Network. “When you’re talking about Coach Locksley building this program [and] continuing to get the trajectory headed in a good place, having a quarterback that’s been here for three years, that is important.”
Jordan says Maryland’s offensive line and receivers must get better for the Terps to get over the hump in 2023. He mentioned the drops by receivers during the team’s Week 1 win against Towson.
Maryland does not have the margin of error that other Big Ten teams have, according to Jordan.
“The other Big Ten teams, when you look at Ohio State, Penn State, because of their players, because of their reputation, and because of the consistency of those programs being at the top, they can overcome a dropped pass because … they’ve earned that over the years,” Jordan said. “We can’t afford to continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with dropped passes and missed assignments and not being disciplined in our rush lanes on the defensive side of the ball.”
But Jordan says Locksley’s efforts so far have helped set up Maryland to recruit locally.
“The University of Maryland is a gold mine when you’re talking about sports, especially when you’re talking about football,” Jordan said. “I think that the DMV area has finally started to get the recognition that we deserve as far as how many good football players we put out. … I just think Coach Locksley is the right guy for the job.”
For more from Jordan, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
Originally published Sept. 15. Updated Sept. 20.