Maryland’s Michael Locksley finds football lesson in vacation frustration

July 29, 2023 at 5:00 a.m. EDT
Shortly before the start of preseason football camp each summer, Maryland Coach Michael Locksley makes it a point to seek a dash of inspiration, whether from a particular player’s arduous journey or other adversity within the locker room. He wants to forge an even stronger bond among his players.
This year was a bit different, however, with a lesson in patience Locksley recalled unfolding in cramped Lettsome Airport in the British Virgin Islands, where he and his family recently enjoyed a vacation.
The trip home turned tense when dozens of flights were canceled, leaving passengers stranded and scrambling to rebook. The wait reached eight hours when Locksley noticed a gentleman at a newsstand in the terminal providing disgruntled fliers with snacks and gentle reassurance.
“This guy had tremendous customer service,” Locksley said this week at Big Ten media days in Indianapolis. “He made the best out of a tough situation for a lot of people, and he did it with a smile on his face. It made me think, a coach’s job is to take players where they can’t take themselves.”
Locksley has delivered on that mandate since he took over in 2019 and reestablished roots a short drive from his birthplace in the District. Last season Maryland went 8-5 and won a bowl game for a second straight year, a first for the Terrapins since 2002 and 2003 under Ralph Friedgen.
The Terrapins have never won three consecutive bowl games, but Locksley and his charges are aiming to become the first group in program history to do so thanks in large part to quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa electing to stay for his redshirt senior year.
Locksley, 53, recounted spending many restless nights anxiously awaiting Tagovailoa’s decision about his immediate football future and whether he would add his name to the transfer portal. Maryland’s spring game was April 29, one day before the portal closed.
Tagovailoa transferred to Maryland in 2020 from Alabama, where his older brother ascended to national stardom and went No. 5 overall in the NFL draft to the Miami Dolphins. Tagovailoa indicated he sought advice from his sibling before recommitting to College Park.
Virginia football relies on local talent as it prepares for a new season
“No, I was not comfortable until I saw him run out after that portal window closed up,” said Locksley, a former assistant and offensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide. “But even then a guy that’s a graduate can still leave and go play elsewhere.”
During Big Ten media days, Tagovailoa revealed the temptation of $1.5 million stemming from an NIL deal at an unspecified SEC program if he chose to transfer. In the end, leaving an indelible stamp on an ascending Terrapins’ program trumped financial incentives elsewhere.
Tagovailoa, who holds nearly every meaningful passing record at Maryland, was one of 10 players tabbed for preseason all-Big Ten in a vote among media. He became the first player at Maryland to receive the honor since the school joined the conference in 2014.
Tagovailoa is the Terrapins’ career leader in passing yards (7,879), passing touchdowns (51), total touchdowns (59), completion percentage (67.4), passing efficiency (146.2) and total offense (8,067). His career completion percentage is first in Big Ten history among players with at least 875 attempts.
“If I was in a different situation where maybe I didn’t have a brother in the NFL or maybe my parents, it’d be a different situation,” Tagovailoa told reporters Thursday in Indianapolis. “It would be hard for me to go to another place and not be happy but have all the money in the world.”
Tagovailoa again is the centerpiece of an offense that ranked fourth in the conference in scoring (28.2 points per game) last season. He spent much of the spring becoming familiar with the terminology of offensive coordinators Josh Gattis and Kevin Sumlin, each entering his first season at Maryland.
The duo replaces Dan Enos, who left for the same position at Arkansas, where he also had served as the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator from 2015 to 2017. Locksley, Gattis and Enos worked together at Alabama as part of Coach Nick Saban’s staff in 2018.
Gattis was the winner of the Frank Broyles Award for outstanding assistant coach in 2021 when he was at Michigan. That year the Wolverines won the Big Ten championship and secured a berth in the College Football Playoff.
The Terrapins begin fall camp Wednesday and play their season opener Sept. 2 against Towson, Locksley’s alma mater.
“I think when Coach Gattis came in, he really emphasized the details of the plays and stuff,” Tagovailoa said. “He added in some of his plays as well, and I think it’s been really good for us. I think the biggest thing for us last year, we didn’t really take shots down the field, and I think with Coach Gattis and Coach Sumlin here, I think we’ll be making more downfield throws and really airing the ball out.”