UNLOCKED | Season 6 | Episode 1

Maryland Terrapins head football coach Michael Locksley often views his team’s bowl games as a reassuring preview of the promising future. 

“The start of our season was when we got our bowl announcement,” Locksley said when asked what he views as the start of the ensuing season. 

On Dec. 3, 2023, Maryland received the announcement: They would be heading to Nashville to participate in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl against Auburn in a Big Ten, SEC clash — what many regard as the top two football conferences in the nation. 

However, Locksley and the Terps didn’t blink. Maryland trounced Auburn, 31-13, in last year’s bowl game. The win marked three consecutive victories in bowl games over three years, a feat never accomplished in program history. The win also manifested back-to-back eight-win seasons for the first time since 2002-03 and three consecutive winning seasons for the Terps for the first time since 2001-03.

A major catalyst behind the Terps’ blowout victory was the emergence of several student-athletes who will step into more prominent roles in 2024. If the historic bowl win indicates the upcoming season, the Terps are in for a successful campaign. However, Locksley and his players know success doesn’t just happen — it’s earned. 

“We finished the last three years 8-5, 8-5, 7-6,” Locksley said before his team in a meeting. “We’re stuck right there. To get to 10 wins and make the playoffs, you have to do everything right.”

The Terps have high expectations for themselves in 2024 and are doing the necessary work to fulfill their goals and aspirations. Most of that work occurs during “Terp Time,” the football program’s name for its winter workout sessions, during which it prepares for spring practices. Terp Time is designed to create camaraderie through resiliency and commitment. 

It also serves as a breeding ground to instill culture and Locksley’s vision of a brotherhood. Terp Time is often met with sacrifice. While others sleep during the cold months, the Maryland football program wakes before sunrise to tackle the day. Whether breaking down film, working out in the weight room or training in speed conditioning, the Terps work throughout the week to get better and bring them closer to their team and personal goals for the 2024 college football season. 

“Monday through Friday is a commitment to getting these guys better, and it takes place early mornings and late nights in [Jones-Hill House],” said Ryan Davis, Director of Football Strength and Conditioning. “This is really the foundation of everything we do for the year. This is where we figure out what type of team we have. We start to shape our identity.”

One student-athlete who has surpassed what’s expected of them during Terp Time is Jordan Phillips. The 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive lineman has exemplified an unprecedented commitment to himself and the rest of his team. 

He’s regularly the first student-athlete to clock into Jones-Hill House, where he can be seen breaking down film and writing notes. People working in football operations, including Chad Wells, Director of Maryland Football Technology, often hear music blasting from the defensive line room on the floor below early in the morning. 

“Somebody said, ‘You wake up so early in the morning. [Do] you ever get up and you’re tired?’” Phillips said. “Never. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I think about is my Momma. I think about my Momma, and I think about this team. After I do that, it wakes me right up.” 

The coaching staff is tasked with creating adversity for players and seeing how they respond. They’re challenged to get the best student-athletes in the program to do the most challenging things. Maryland football has accomplished that, as they were the only Power Five program that didn't lose a single player during the spring transfer portal window. 

Davis says it's tough to explain what’s happening behind the scenes during winter workout sessions. Only people who have been there with the team in Jones-Hill House would understand. 

“‘What happened during that lift today?’” Davis said, pretending someone was asking the question. “Well, I can’t really tell you because I felt it more than I saw it. I think this team, when you get to be around them, and you get to be in the room with them, you start to kind of feel some of that magic when it's in there.”

Maryland approached the Auburn game, the movie trailer for the 2024 season, with an expectation and standard to win. The Terps are approaching the upcoming season with that same mindset. The foundation the Terrapins built during the offseason reassures the commitment each student-athlete and coach has to one another and the team. 

“The offseason is a time where it will make or break a program,” Phillips said. “For us, I think it’s making our program. I definitely do.”