Maryland head coach Michael Locksley said the turnaround from the opener came fast. “We practiced probably a little over 16 hours later. We were in the Jones-Hill House indoor facility for a Sunday night practice…when we play on a Friday, everything gets shifted up a day.”
The Terrapins rolled past Florida Atlantic 39–7, but Locksley made it clear that there was plenty to clean up. “The good thing is we won, but there were a lot of things that could be cleaned up in that game. When you win, you are able to coach guys really hard and the things that we need to get improved, we will.”
He focused on growth in the run game and discipline. “I did not anticipate throwing the ball 43 times. We had some short yardage situations that I did not feel like we played with the right mentality. The pre snap ones are the ones that kind of as a coach get under my skin. I am going to stop using discipline and it is a focus issue. Typically when you are dealing with 18 to 22 year old males with a lot of testosterone, focus is a hard thing to coach.”
𝓣𝓮𝓻𝓹𝓼𝓿𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮 𝓪𝓯𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴 pic.twitter.com/jOwCPdD8RD
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) September 5, 2025
Locksley credited his defense and new coordinator Ted Monachino for setting the tone. “Our defense scored twice. They play really sound and they play really really hard, which is the sign of a well coached team.”
On hosting tonight’s game against Northern Illinois, Locksley said it's an honor to have the national spotlight on College Park. “It gives us a chance to amplify the University of Maryland. Our location is second to none.”
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