Look Good, Play Good: The Terps’ Style And Swag Has Aided Their Fast Start

Look good, feel good, play good.

The phrase has been used so often in sports over the years that it has become a cliche in some cases. But that’s far from the case for the Terps. 

The team has taken their style and swag game to the next level in recent years. Under coach Michael Locksley, everything is approached with a business mentality, including the way the guys dress and carry themselves. 

“The way we travel is that this is a business trip,” Locksley said. “When you go on a business trip, you dress appropriately. It teaches the guys the proper way to dress and to carry themselves on a business trip, but it also allows them a chance to be creative, to feel good, and to look really good, which I really like.

“The biggest thing for us is that we always talk about developing our players as a whole,” he added. “A lot of these guys have never had to put a suit on before, but when they get done playing this game at some point, they’re gonna have to put on a suit.”

With a 6-2 record for the first time since 2010 along with reaching bowl eligibility at the earliest date in over 20 years, the Terps have jumped out to one of the program’s fastest starts in recent memory and the team’s fashion has played a big part in it. 

“Everybody has their own swag to them,” junior safety Beau Brade said. “It’s a feel good, look good, play good mentality. We take pride in looking good and that helps us play good on the field.”

Of course, the guys love to show off their different styles, but the importance of their fits goes far beyond that. It’s about creating a sense of immense confidence that’s there from the moment they step off the bus and head to the Terp Walk dressed to the nines, and continues until the clock shows all zeros. 

“Every time we play it’s a business trip,” offensive lineman DJ Glaze said. “We dress up just to know it’s business. Everyone wants to look their best. If you come in thinking like that, you’re going to play extremely nice.”

The upscale dress code is a direct reflection of the type of mentality and culture that Locksley has been working to instill since he first arrived in College Park in December of 2018. It’s an all-business approach with high expectations in everything the program does—from the way they dress to how they carry themselves off the field to the way they play.

“Coach Locks says to look professional, be business casual, because it’s a business trip for us,” Roman Hemby said. “We always want to do as much as we can to stay locked in and that’s a big part of it.”

For Liberty transfer Henry Chibueze, the opportunity to be in a professional environment like Maryland’s has been one of the highlights of his year as a Terp. 

“It’s more of a business mentality here,” Chibueze said. “We never had anything like that from where I came from. We wore jumpsuits (at Liberty). It’s been a great experience for me to be able to dress up like that and go through Terp Walk with all our fans.”

The Terp Walk specifically is a common player favorite because of the chance to not only show off their fashion, but to also celebrate with the Maryland faithful.

“Locks always emphasizes that it’s a business and the suits kind of carry over to that,” Dante Trader Jr. said. “Walking on the Terp Walk and seeing all the fans as we’re walking to our business trip with our suits on just makes you feel good before the game even starts.”

Many of the guys feel a direct correlation between how they dress and how they play.

“The suits are important because they kinda help you come in with that locked-in mindset,” tight end Corey Dyches said. “It gives us some extra confidence when we go out and play. A lot of these guys get drippy. That’s how it’s always been since I’ve been here.” 

“Coming in looking clean and being presentable, that translates to us making big plays on the field,” Hemby added.

Hemby in particular has shot up the team ranks both on the field and in the fashion department. Most of his teammates list him as one of the squad’s best-dressed guys. He has also cemented himself as one of the top freshman running backs in the nation.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that his best on-field performance came on the day he put together arguably his best fit of the year. 

Walking through the Terp Walk before the Homecoming game against Northwestern on Oct. 22, Hemby sported a bright green jacket that resembled a karate gi. As big of a statement as he made with his fashion pregame, his play was even bigger as he poured in a career-high 179 rushing yards and three scores, the last of which was a 75-yard dash for the game-winning touchdown.

Of course, the guys can’t all dress up every weekend without there being some form of competition. They greatly enjoy trying to one-up each other to prove they have the best fashion.

“It shows who on the team has style,” Trader said. “You look good in a suit, you feel good in a suit, it’s different than wearing a travel suit. You get to show off a little.”

A lot of the defensive guys, led by Ruben Hyppolite II and Tarheeb Still, will sport sunglasses to boost their look even more, while the wideouts pride themselves on unique suits. 

“We all think we dress the best so we try to show it with our suit game on Saturdays,” redshirt senior wide receiver Jeshaun Jones said. “We take pride in trying to wear a nice suit or put a nice combination together.”

Hemby and Rakim Jarrett get a lot of buzz around the team for sporting some of the nicest fits, but there is a consensus best-dressed among the program.

“It’s hard to beat Jakorian Bennett’s suit game,” Brade admitted after the Terps’ season opening win over Buffalo.

Bennett has been a big dresser since he first arrived in College Park, but he turned heads nationally at Big Ten Media Day in July when he sported a custom-made suit with his name engraved on the inside and the Terps’ mantra “TBIA” (The Best Is Ahead) inscribed on his collar. 

“I love wearing suits,” Bennett said. “During Media Day, I just wanted to add some Maryland flavor to it. It’s just kinda how I always grew up being from the South. We like suits, bow ties specifically for me. That’s just something I can do to express myself and my style.”

Similarly to Hemby, Bennett is not only one of the best-dressed players in the country, he’s also one of the nation’s top cornerbacks with a FBS-leading 26 passes defended since the beginning of the 2021 season. 

“Nice suits have a way of giving you extra confidence and you can kinda carry that over to when you’re on the field,” Bennett said.

Coming off a bye week, Bennett and the Terps will be back in action Saturday when they travel to Wisconsin to take on the Badgers. Just as it always is, the game is another business trip for the Terps—and you can bet the guys will be dressed for it. 

“You look good, you play good,” Jones said. “I’ve always felt like that and that’s how it is here.”