Maryland Football Camp: Week 1 Recap
Matt Gilpin, Maryland Athletics Staff Writer
8/13/2021
Maryland football has wrapped up its first week of camp after a fierce and feisty few days of practices.
The Terps held their first practice in full pads on Thursday and moved to their indoor practice facility to escape the heat.
Head coach Michael Locksley was proud of the way the team handled the adversity all week and liked his team's effort and level of competition. With the team now on the field, the coaching staff can finally gauge just how deep the talent level is at all positions.
“The big thing is that we’ve got bodies,” Locksley said. “Normally in the spring when you’re a little thin you’re not able to practice the way we would want to practice. I’ve been pleased with our depth and I’ve been pleased with how we’ve upgraded the roster from top to bottom.”
Gallery: Football: Fall Camp: Day 1
Despite the rigors of camp, the Terps have made it through the first week relatively unscathed and hopeful for the future.
With last year's camp being heavily impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, both freshmen and sophomores are somewhat new to the full camp experience. Locksley has been impressed with their grasp on the playbook and with the expectations put forth.
“The big thing that’s always held players back from being able to contribute early is their ability to retain the information of what we do on offense, defense and special teams,” Locksley explained. “If there’s one thing that’s really jumped out to me is just how much information they’ve been able to retain because we’ve really thrown a lot at them.”
First day in pads ??#TBIA pic.twitter.com/L0Lzhq8HAX
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) August 9, 2021
Gallery: Football: Fall Camp: Day 3
Camp is also the time where playmakers can show that their offseason gains weren’t just all talk. The Terps have a plethora of returning playmakers, but the coaching staff is not going to hand out starting positions based on years past.
Whether they’re well-known names, returning starters, newcomers or even those who didn’t play much last season, Locksley is giving everyone the same chance to make an impact.
The receiver group garnered a lot of hype during the offseason and while they’ve had a strong start to camp, Locksley is expecting more out of them as a unit.
“I've been pleased with our receivers in terms of them making plays,” Locksley said. “I want to see consistency out of them. We had a few too many drops for my liking. If they want to be an elite group they’ve got to practice elite all the time.”
Gallery: Football: Fall Camp: Day 4
In recent years the Terps have begun treating their annual summer camp as seriously as they do in the professional ranks. The team headquarters themselves in The Hotel which is located just outside campus.
The idea is to give their players and staff a place where they can solely focus on football and not have to worry about potential outside distractions.
It’s places like this where the leaders of the team step up and lay that foundation for what is expected of the entire team.
“Leadership comes in all different sizes and grades and mannerisms,” Locksley said. “You don’t have to be a freshman to lead, you don’t have to be a starter and you don’t even have to be a scholarship player. Leadership is just being able to bring a couple guys with you and have some type of impact in a positive way on them.”
"We lit in here y'all!"@IamDeonteBanks_ is mic'd up. #TBIA pic.twitter.com/0Au7AVctD9
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) August 11, 2021
Gallery: Football: Fall Camp: Day 6
With week one now officially in the books, Locksley and his staff are even more excited and optimistic about where their team stands.
Locksley knows that the first week of camp doesn’t define any team, but it can be a barometer for where his team stands and also shape where they want to go.
As the team gets ready for their first scrimmage this weekend, Locksley will get an even better idea of where both his players and his new coaches stand after duking it out amongst each other.
“This Saturday will be a great test for us,” Locksley said. “It’ll be the first time in a game-like situation. We’ve only got two real scrimmages before we get to play, so this Saturday will be a big day for us.”
