Culture Changers: Maryland Football 2021 Senior Class

When Michael Locksley became the head coach of the Maryland football team in December 2018, he inherited a program full of players that did not initially sign on to play for him when they signed their letters of intent as high school players. 

Despite having deep connections to the University of Maryland and the surrounding area through recruiting, Locksley had to earn the trust of those players and convince them that this was a program worth building, worth staying at, and worth taking a chance on. 

Not only did Locksley win them over, but he also counted on them to lead Maryland football into the next generation. Those players, now seniors, have done just that and can leave the program as one of the signature classes that helped define the culture change. 

“When that policing comes from within the ranks, when that guy next to you looks at you when you're complaining or making excuses, and he says, ‘look, man, that's not what we're about,’ and that's coming from within, that's where you know you have a chance to be great,” Locksley said. “We're a player-driven team, and that’s where it needs to be if you want to have success. I've really seen our team take on that type of personality.”

That kind of accountability has started with the seniors becoming extensions of the coaching staff and drilling home Locksley’s messaging of commitment to success both on the field and off the field.  

Seniors like Dontay Demus Jr., Tayon Fleet-Davis, Chigoziem Okonkwo, Brian Cobbs, Jordan Mosley, Darryl Jones, Kenny Bennett, Joseph Petrino, Carlos Carriere, Evan Gregory, Justin Brown, David Brownlee, and Lawtez Rogers were all on the roster before Locksley arrived, and all chose to stay in College Park to help build the program into something truly special. 

Locksley has long preached about the importance of players stepping up and being leaders, and the 2021 class embodies that in every way he has wanted. They have become the building blocks of Locksley’s vision, and he knew that he had to reach them before he could reach any underclassmen or potential recruits.

“Locks is always on us to do things the right way,” Demus Jr. said back in August. “I didn’t do that stuff when I first got here, but with the leaders we had, and with Locks leading the way, it got easier to do it. Now I’m one of the leaders, so I try to do the same thing.”

Three years ago, when Locksley stepped inside Cole Field House, the future home of Maryland football since rebranded as Jones-Hill House, he made a commitment to his future players that he’d be their leader in every facet. 

Winning football games was always the priority, but creating a culture worth being proud of was equally high on the Washington D.C. native's list of goals. That’s happened, but he hasn’t done it alone. It’s taken the sacrifice of this senior class to get the plan in motion which has allowed the younger players also to buy-in.

“I want to create the right culture and environment, and winning will follow,” Locksley said during his introductory press conference. “We have one of the best areas in the country for talent, and we’re going to work our tails off to keep it right here. Football has opened so many doors for me, providing me with role models and mentors, friendship, and people who’ve looked out for me. Being a coach is my opportunity to pay it forward.”

Over the spring and summer of 2021, the players all refocused after the truncated COVID season and dedicated themselves to becoming the best version of themselves that they could be. As a member of a senior clad defensive line, Lawtez Rogers knew that his voice was a valuable one. 

Rogers relished the opportunity to preach Locksley’s message and pass on his knowledge in what very well may be his last season in College Park.

“We have the foundation for a player-driven team,” Rogers said. “You have older guys, leaders on the team, enforcing how practice is going, like coaching up younger players on technique, what they’re doing right or wrong. I feel like in a weird way, that’s even better than having coaches explain things to you.”

Demus Jr. was in a similar situation as he, Jones, and Cobbs became the senior leaders of a richly talented wide receiver room. While Demus Jr. was known as one of the most gifted players on the team, his leadership abilities grew under Locksley. 

??“I feel like there is more of a buy-in,” Demus Jr. explained in September. “Guys have really just bought into what Coach Locksley has been saying this whole time and really just bought into the family atmosphere and playing for not only yourself.”

Over the years, Locksley has added players like Sam Okuayinonu, Ami Finau, Jakorian Bennett, Devon Dickerson, Challen Faamatau, John Berard, Rashard Jackson, Greg Rose, TJ Kautai, Johari Branch, and Ernest Shockley III to round out this senior class and improve his team. 

Players like Okuayinonu, Branch, Finau, Bennett, Rose, and Faamatau all starred at junior colleges and came to Maryland as players with something to prove. They’ve all transformed into high-level starters and have been a part of the change that Locksley has wanted to see. 

Virtually every single player listed as a senior has the opportunity to return to the team next year as every player that played in the COVID-19 shortened season has been given an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA. 

Still, if this is the last time these players put on a Maryland uniform at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium, their impact both on and off the field is immeasurable and can’t just be found in a box score. 

For choosing to endure the trials and tribulations that go along with playing for multiple coaching regimes, along with forging through a global pandemic, this senior class has earned a place in the hearts of Terp fans everywhere for helping to change the culture, ensuring that the best is truly ahead.