UNLOCKED | Season 6 | Episode 2

Maryland head football coach Michael Locksley has enjoyed success developing offensive talent since transitioning from coaching on the defensive side of the ball earlier in his career. 

Now at the helm of the program and in his third stint at Maryland, Locksley has centralized his attention on offensive development to the quarterback position. Under his supervision, Locksley has helped signal-callers reach new heights. The most recent example is Taulia Tagovailoa, who became the Big Ten Conference’s all-time leading passer in 2023. However, Tagovailoa departed after the season and began navigating a career in the pros. 

The quarterback position is up for grabs in 2024. But Locksley’s resume, paired with a plethora of returning offensive talent and equally successful surrounding coaching staff, sets the Terps’ future signal caller up for success. The collective breeds confidence that whoever the starter may be, they will be in a position to succeed. 

“It would be egotistical of me to think it's about me and my development because Josh [Gattis] worked with the quarterbacks a year ago,” Locksley said. “I've had Dan Enos here, I've had Scottie Montgomery, I've had some really talented coaches. I think the thing that gives me the most confidence is knowing the process and how we figure it out, as well as recruiting the skill set that this offense needs. When I talk about being comfortable, I'm talking about knowing who we are, which goes into play with the quarterback.”

Before returning to College Park, Locksley was an assistant coach at Alabama under Nick Saban from 2016-18. Locksley won the 2018 Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, while serving as the offensive coordinator for a record-breaking Crimson Tide offense. 

Alabama averaged 45.6 points and 522.0 yards per game while setting school records for points scored (684), single-season total offense (7,830 yards) and passing yards (4,854) in a season. Locksley was the one calling plays for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the future No. 5 overall draft pick by the Miami Dolphins, who threw for 3,966 yards and a school-record 43 touchdowns that year. 

The year prior, while serving as the co-offensive coordinator, Alabama won a national championship on the heels of quarterbacks Jalen Hurts, the future No. 53 overall draft pick by the Philadelphia Eagles, and Tua Tagovailoa. Both quarterbacks are now NFL superstars, as Hurts was named an NFL All-Pro in 2022 and a two-time Pro Bowler in 2022 and 2023. Tua Tagovailoa completed the 2023 season with Pro Bowl honors while leading the league in passing yards. He was also the NFL’s passer rating leader in 2022.

Locksley became head coach at Maryland ahead of the 2019 season. In each of the last three seasons, the Terps ranked in the top five in the Big Ten in points per game, total yards per game and passing yards per game. He also brought in offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who engineered the 2023 offense that propelled Taulia Tagovailoa to lead the conference in passing yards (3377), rank tied for first in passing touchdowns (25) and second in completion percentage (66.4). Tagovailoa was awarded Second Team All-Big Ten honors for his stellar campaign. 

“This system is so friendly that we can shape it and create it how we want,” Gattis said. “We've got tremendous faith in this system. We've been running it for a long time, and we understand the ins and outs. Based on our backgrounds, we also have confidence in our ability to build and create an offense patent it to the quarterback we choose. We've all been around different types of quarterbacks and had various kinds of success.”

Each quarterback on Maryland’s 2024 roster attended a QB camp this offseason. The camp focused on throwing mechanics, and each student-athlete worked on their posture, demeanor, dropbacks and warm-up processes to develop their arms and relieve stress.  

The returning offensive talent surrounding the quarterback position also provides confidence. Maryland’s two-time All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and former freshman All-American running back, Roman Hemby, returns for his redshirt junior season. The Big Ten’s top two wide receivers in yards per catch, Tai Felton and Kaden Prather, also return for their senior seasons.  

“I feel like we're in a great system to do whatever we feel like we can do,” Hemby said. “We have a lot of great players who can help us get to the next level. [The quarterbacks] have people to lean on, and I feel like those are the tools that can take us to the next level.”

In the post-Taulia Tagovailoa era, the Terps have a decision to make. Whatever direction they choose, their starter will be in an offense built around his skillset and surrounded by a coaching staff that prioritizes player development. 

“That’s a really good [quarterback] room,” Gattis said. “It's a different skill set than Taulia, but that's not a negative. That's a positive because it allows us to do some things we couldn't do in the past, and we can tailor the offense to some of our quarterbacks. We're excited as we continue to develop those guys to build it around.”