College football is back in full force this weekend, and Maryland takes the first step of what it hopes is a program-defining season. Here is this week’s Terps Top Three notebook for Week 1:
Alma mater: An all-Maryland matchup between the Terrapins and Towson Tigers Saturday (3:30 p.m., Big Ten Network) carries deep personal significance for Mike Locksley. The Maryland coach is a 1992 graduate of Towson, then known as Towson State, and the Baltimore County school played a formative role in his life.
Locksley was a two-sport athlete as a Tiger, playing both football and basketball. It’s also where he got his coaching start, directing the special teams and defensive backs immediately after graduation.
“I look back at my time there at Towson, and very thankful for that opportunity. A young kid from the southwest section of D.C. ended up going to school up the road, and it changed my life,” Locksley said. “The first person in my family to go to college, and it was mostly because of the game of football. I’ll be forever indebted to what Towson has done for me and my family and in my life.”
Offensive surprise: When Maryland’s offense trots out for its first series Saturday, there will be finally be answers to a few burning questions from training camp.
Maryland did not release a depth chart this week, something that has been customary, but not mandated. Penn State hasn’t done so for years, and Alabama coach Nick Saban decided against doing so this week under the guise of it being a “distraction.”
Locksley, of course, is a Saban disciple. He was asked this week about how he plans to deploy his receiving corps, featuring two talented transfers, as well as who earned spots on a revamped offensive line, but was mum on both counts.
A few details did get teased out of quarterback Taulia Tagvailoa and receiver Jeshaun Jones, with both giving a slight preview of what to expect schematically.
“I think with [new offensive coordinator Josh] Gattis, our offense is, I feel like we’re more like “air raid,” and it’s kind of more to my strengths as well as our receivers’ and o-line’s strengths and getting the ball out of my hands quick. Obviously, that’s something we’ve always been doing, but I think this year we added more touches to it,” Tagovailoa said.
Jones expounded on that thought, noting he feels like there’s more freedom and leeway when lined up outside.
“Offenses I’ve been a part of it’s kind of like, ‘this is what you have, and this is what you do,’ and that’s just how it was,” Jones said, “and I feel like we have a little more freedom this year as a receiver group, and I think coach Gattis trusts us and trusts our playmaking ability.”
End of an era: As the 2023 campaign kicks off, pour one out for the current iteration of the Big Ten, which will play a final year of football under the East-West division alignment before massive changes come next season.
The changes were initially made due to the conference adding UCLA and Southern California in 2024, as announced late last year. Divisions have been dissolved, and in their place a “protected matchup” system will allow traditional annual rivalries to remain (11 in total) while teams will play every other conference opponent at least twice in a four-year period.
For Maryland, its protected game is with Rutgers, meaning the Terrapins will continue to play the Scarlet Knights annually. Initially, Maryland will also play current division foes Indiana and Michigan home-and-home in 2024-25, but will dodge having to face Ohio State and Penn State next season.
All of that, though, was announced in early June. Then, just four weeks later, came the shocking departure of six Pac-12 members in a matter of days, including Oregon and Washington joining two of their former mates in the Big Ten next season. Those realignment developments will certainly require another retooling of the conference’s scheduling plan moving forward.
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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