Football Opens 2019 Fall Camp

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The University of Maryland football team reported for fall camp on Thursday and held its annual Media Day and first practice on Friday, August 2.

Before hitting the field for the first time, first-year Head Coach Michael Locksley, Offensive Coordinator Scottie Montgomery and Defensive Coordinator Jon Hoke met with the media.

"As I tell our players, as a coach, this is like Christmas in August for us," said Locksley. "This is an opportunity for us to kind of open up the gifts we've recruited, and the team that we've inherited, and see what we get. Typically, you get what you earn and to me that's the purpose of this training camp. For our players, number one is to develop chemistry, a type of chemistry that gets us through a season where we know that as with all seasons you face adversity, and that's where all of the trust and all of the things that we've done to develop that chemistry with our players as a staff, we hope to bare the fruits of those labors."

Friday marked the first of 25 scheduled practices during fall camp, leading up to the 2019 season and home opener, Aug. 31 against Howard. Maryland will practice Friday and Saturday in helmets before taking Sunday off. The Terps return to the field on Monday in shoulder pads as they get into the first full week of camp.

"In training camp, it gives us an opportunity to continue to develop the habits and behaviors that it takes to be successful and we talk to our team about that a lot," explained Locksley. "Success is predicated on developing the right kinds of habits and that's what we want to utilize training camp for."

MEDIA DAY QUOTES - HEAD COACH MICHAEL LOCKSLEY

On the significance of having three grad transfers that chose to come to Maryland:
"All three of those guys are a great addition to our program and not just because they're great players. You look at a guy like Shaq [Smith] who comes from a winning pedigree, much like Keandre Jones. Keandre also did just have his waiver approved last night, so he will have immediate eligibility. As with Shaq, Tyler [Mabry], and even Keandre who's not a grad transfer, bringing the caliber of player that they are as football players but the thing that's been impressive to me is the off-the-field things they bring to the table. From a maturity standpoint, the habits and behaviors we talk about, they understand because all of those guys have come from programs where they've had some success and so they've been great additions to our program from a leadership standpoint. These aren't guys that come in with an ego of 'hey I played in and won a national championship' as much as 'these are things that we have done and where I've been with the habits and behaviors to be successful' and so again those were really big pieces and I think all those guys will help tremendously with our program moving forward."

On distributing the ball offensively with the depth at every skill position:
"Well right now, we're not even worried about touches. We're worried about figuring out who deserves those touches, and that's what summer camp is all about. For us, this is where we identify the guys we feel can be playmakers for us based on what they do today, and then do it again the next day and on a consistent basis. And then as we start developing a mindset as a coaching staff of what this guy is capable of, as we start game planning and getting ready for our first game, then we'll start deciding touches. To me, it's really important especially on the offensive side of the ball to be diverse. It enables you to attack all areas of the field with your different skillsets, different personnel groupings, different tempos - which give defenses issues. Right now, we're not really worried about touches. More trying to identify who those guys are that we want to get those touches to when we start formulating game plans."

On the potential of the group of quarterbacks now compared to those in the past:
"Comparisons are the kiss of death for us, but I feel this group is a very competitive group. Three of the guys are guys who have played here. We all know what Piggy [Tyrell Pigrome] has done for this program, he is a competitor. Max [Bortenschlager] has had some opportunities here. We know from the spring what Tyler DeSue brings to the table. I'm really encouraged by the position group, but again we finally now have all the pieces here and get the chance to put them all side by side and statistically we're going to keep all the important data that we need to as we go through the competition. Again, the guy who gives us the best chance to win the ball game is going to be the guy who runs out there August 31^st. We're not in a hurry to figure it out. We'll let it play itself out through the course of our camp. I do know I'm encouraged with all five of those guys and the way that they've approached it and I know they're all excited about the competition."

-MARYLAND-

Players Mentioned

Tyler DeSue

Keandre Jones

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