Maryland Football Preseason Press Conference 7/31/2024

y'all just take up on my space huh I don't have no space for my stuff just kid yeah first of all I'll start by uh thanking as as always man thanking you guys uh for the job you do covering us I know we we had the cookout the other day and we had a chance to again Express just how important you guys are and you know when you look at the week leading up to Camp one of the things I try to do is I try to meet with everybody in our program uh we had an all staff meeting where Jose our cleaning guy to Chef Michael the guy that cooks for our guys we we we met and and what I told him is that number one I want to thank them for the job they've done in helping us build the foundation that we've built for Maryland football uh the second thing is to to challenge them that uh to take this next step that we always talk about will be the hardest step to take and everybody has to do a little bit more and everything you do matters whether it's the cleaning guy and how they prepare our building for recruits when they come in whether it's Chef Michael and finding ways to to get our kids to want to eat the right way and and do things so everything uh matters and and that includes our fans and our fans have been a a major major part of this build and and I can tell you that you know when I met with the whole team and now talking to our fans what you do matters it matters for us as we take this next step and we all have a a role to play um secondly you know I want to wish Francis TIAA I heard he called me out at his press conference so I'm GNA call him out let's go win it Francis and if you can get a good a good time I may try to sneak out there but we got some work to do here um it's the start of your six for for me here as the head coach and I'm proud of what we've accomplished on the field the last three years um three straight Bowl wins I'm even more proud though that this thing has been built as a player driven culture uh the players in the in the locker room those guys have uh led the charge and and and they've done it the right way I think our players understand that everything we get around here that you either got to earn or take and they've embraced that um you heard me talk at the uh the the the Big 10 media day and one of the things I talked about were the three pillars in how we've been able to do it we've done it by expanding the room having new voices different ways of doing things seeing things whether it's bringing in coaches that have been head coaches whether it's adding new teams to the league whether it's how we're set up here at this University uh anytime you expand the room you give yourself an opportunity to learn new ways to do things and here at Maryland that's what we do the next thing is being a service to the community you know I talked about the 700 hours of community service our players have done and that's really really important to me I know it's important to my bosses Damon and Colleen who I work with on a daily basis that if we're going to challenge and ask our fans to come support us game in and game out Win Lose or Draw uh then we've got to also invest back into the community I can tell you that each each and every player that's been a part of our program understands uh giving back um and then last but not least is the the development of a player driven culture where you know as I told our team the other day I mean we work for them you know somehow I think sometimes we get it backwards that they come to work for me but actually if they ever walked in Damon's offense and said we're not playing for locks we ain't going to show up he's going to have a decision to make and it's hard to say we're not going to play the game so we all work for these guys and I can tell you that each and every one of those guys ex understands what we're uh what we're trying to get accomplished this year and taking the next step um as I said in India I want us to dream big you guys can make fun of me you can talk trash when if if things don't go well but I can tell you I've built my career and we've built this team and understanding that you know what setbacks failures adversity is part of the deal that shouldn't limit you how you dream and and the desire for me is to win a National Championship and it starts by competing for Big 10 championships and we have the resources here to do it uh we have the players here to do it we just need to create the environment and the culture outside of just Jones Hill House where everybody has that dream and understands that it's not going to happen just because we talk about it's going to happen because of the work we do and you know what when we failed along the way we learned the lesson from that failure and we bounced back and we show the resilience that that we do so I want my players to dram big I want them to think about championships that's where we are now I couldn't say that five years ago but I can tell you now I'm really excited um you know our mindset in 2024 is the shakeup status quo I've heard Damon say it over and over to our staff what an opportunity it is for us I mean some people look at it we're bringing we finish fifth the last two years we're bringing in four new teams that are well resourced some of them are blue blood programs but you know what we're here to break up status quo and that's what the University of Maryland has done uh if you look at the history of this University we've always been Trailblazers we've always figured it out and we'll continue to do that um we'll be a little bit different team than we've been around here uh we lost to Leah tongue of our Lord and I've talked about the impact he has had in our program I can also tell you that the impact he's left is how how you prepare to win in the quarterback room is the challenge as we try to figure out who the quarterback will be that leads us out against Yukon but what Leah and and what he's done for his legacy of not just being the all-time leading passor in the Big 10 and and when you think of that let that sit sink in a little bit the alltime leading p in the history of big 10 and that's hard to do I mean this this League's been around a long time we've had some great quarterbacks come through it but what he also was able to do is leave a legacy on what the preparation and what the standard is for the room and will be for were ever grateful um I'm putting my defensive hat on you know I spent the first eight nine years of my career as a defensive assistant and uh this year will be a defensive Leed team we've got seven returning starters you all know the job that Brian Williams has done with the defensive staff and the the cohesion there and and and Lance Thompson and James Thomas and uh Zack spavital and and and and all those guys our coaches are all those guys have really done a great job of aligning themselves so that our defense def is align the right way and we got leaders on defense uh we've returned seven starters and then obviously like I said the opportunity with defense we played a bunch of players over the last two three years that maybe have failed in some critical situations where they didn't make the plays well these guys now have that tool in the toolbox so that when we face that this year I think you'll see a different uh a different result you know on offense I've moved back into the quarterback room uh really important decision but it also gives me a chance to have a front FR seat view on what these guys know you know for the last four years when Leah was here we met every night at 10:00 anytime we had football during the spring or during the fall 10:00 at night until the work was done and and now I'll have a chance to be in that room on an everyday basis and see the development while also working with Josh to figure out which guy gives us the best chance to win uh developing The Playmakers on in our system as we've lost a lot of guys that have made some plays uh I think we've got some of the best skill in the Big 10 um when you look at our receivers not a lot of the household names that people have come to know when we have one or two Marquee guys but I think by the end of this season you'll see why there's so much excitement about our football program because there'll be some really uh talented players and on the offensive sides guys like Kaden Prather and Ty Felton uh shalik punch knots who who you guys haven't heard a lot about but I can tell you probably one of the more talented guys uh Kobe McDonald has had a couple of big Seasons here for us along with obviously Roman heni a guy I'm excited about Nolan Ray really young player that has shown us he has the propensity to hit the big one and then our tight end room uh with Preston Howard and Dylan Wade gives us some flexibility because of the skill set they bring the o line is one of the areas uh where we've really used the portal to plug in play and I think as you guys have watched some of the guys that we've brought in from the portal uh the last couple of years uh some of them coming up from smaller programs and all developed and make it to NFL camps and we've lost four linemen to the draft the last few years um that's been an area where we've brought in some guys that help us grow I mean we signed 10 high school linemen and when you when you see these guys the length the size when we come out of the tunnel we look like a big 10 team but it takes about three years for high school linemen to develop and what I've tried to do is expedite their growth by how I've hired the staff with Coach Robo coming in gives us two full-time coaches all right the rule pass where the analyst can coach now you throw Brian fence into the mix in developing some of the younger players in our uh on our offensive line and so we've really invested in that group uh with with how we've added the resources uh with our coaching staff but also we've done a great job of the evaluation process and I really feel good about how we do that um and then we got the quarterback situation I can't say enough about how hard all those guys have worked this summer uh we'll let the battle play out throughout Camp I can tell you to got it we'll play for us will be the god that gives us the best chance to win it's not a a popularity deal uh if it takes two it takes two if we've got one we'll figure it out but I feel good about the guys in the room and how they prepared to compete um the one thing I I'll finish with and I'll open up with questions is that you know I'm really proud about being from here I think it shows whenever I have an opportunity to talk about what this place means to me and I can tell you that everything that we do each and every day is working towards figuring out how to win a big 10 Championship I mean what a what how great would it be for the University of Maryland to be able to do that and the break up status quo and I can tell you that with the talent we have in the DMV area uh with us becoming a National Conference a national brand from coast to coast it opens up the doors for us to just share how great an area of the country this is and uh we're excited uh to start this thing up today it's like Christmas and August and and excited uh to get going so with that I'll open it up to whatever questions you guys may have raise your hand we get you microphone we have some new faces app start hey Mike Jean Wong The Washington Post what adjustments are there um from previous years if any going into a fall camp where the starting quarterback is to be determined particularly coming off years of stability at the position you know haven't been through it I mean that's the one great thing thing about the experiences I've had over the last 15 years you know we've had quarterback battles at Bama when I was there we've had quarterback battles when I was here as an offensive coordinator we've got a system in place for how we figure it out um a lot of metrics going to it but the biggest one that I can tell you I lean on heavily is what we call our Drive chart where I chart live drives with every quarterback when we whether we do a two-minute period or a live team period And I try I basically chart how the drive ends and as I've said before here every Drive should end in a kick if you're a good quarterback meaning we should either be punting the ball we should be kicking extra points or we should be kicking field goals if we're ending drives turnovers or ending drives you know with you know penalties or things like that then then that's not playing winning football and so I can tell you the guy that that does the best of putting the team in position to score points and finish drives the right way we'll end up being the guy and you you mentioned the the measurable but how much do intangibles maybe experience factor into and familiar with the offense factor into the decision too I mean that helps them show that they can sustain drives that the drive chart will reflect their experiences I mean I've seen a true freshman come in and play in this offensive system Jaylen Herz was a true freshman right off the yellow school bus uh so the experiences obviously help anytime you have the opportunity to fail as a player as a coach if you take the lesson from it and so when I always talk about two boxes for quarterback it's having been in some third and medium situations and games and maybe not made the right decision and then taking what did I see or what did I do and I can tell you that they've been trained this summer over the last year that I've been back in that room with uh mitigating risk and managing bad plays because that's what the the good ones do they manage bad plays they win situations Dave what's up suited and booted expanding on the quarter situation billyon any freshman included I was asking are any freshmen included in there never know you expand on returners what makes of them what gives them ating job and when do you want to have in your mind your heart yeah I mean each e each of their we recruit to a a skill set and so each of the quarterbacks that we've tried to bring in here number one the first thing have they've got to be able to do is throw the football all right you have to be a I don't I I can't have just a running quarterback or kayen PR the thaf those guys they'll go you know receivers all right they're divas and so I got to make sure I have a guy that can throw it first and then have the athleticism to extend plays everybody in that room has those two intangible uh skills the ability to throw the ball I know for some of you guys because of how we've used Billy you're like oh Billy's a runner but we've used them in running situ situations cuz we wanted to take carries off a Leah but I can tell you that Billy throws the ball as well as anybody in the room you know with Cam Edge cam is one of those guys with a big arm can can make the every throw the when you can throw the comeback to the field all right in college ball that expands the defense that creates bigger Lanes he has that ability he also has the mentality all right MJ MJ is kind of a mixture of both of those guys he throws it well he's athletic he can make the plays he's got game experience you know you think back to to guys like you know Billy and MJ have game experience I mean Billy came into the game against Indiana two years ago we were down Leah got hurt we were down critical third down play he uh finds a way to get it executed made some plays for us and the next week beat a really tough Scrappy Northwestern team to put us and get us Bowl eligible those experiences help because he can lean on those MJ has won and played in big games at NC State all right cam played in the Auburn game and and and did did some really good things uh expedited his development by graduating high school early and then I'm going tell you we got some freshmen in that room whether it's champlon Christian Martin uh you know Roman Jensen from over morray we got some young guys that have the ability uh to we're gonna give everybody a chance to win the job I want the best guy you know I'm not just taking the guy that I feel safest with because you know what you want to get over the eight you can't just keep doing the same things you got to be willing to take some chances so excited about the the room and excited that this competition when do I plan on making a decision um you guys will find out when we run out uh you know the first play of the game now the quarterbacks will know sometime you know if I were to go back to Grandma's chocolate chip cookie recipe it usually happens about 5:00 p.m. on Sunday the 25th you meet with all of them together you tell them all the information together at one time you talk about keeping it in house for the week so we don't give Yukon any added Advantage as to who our starters are our starter will be or players will be and and then you guys will figure it out when we run out with the first drive unless we got snitches in our uh facility which I think I've managed to get rid some of those uh leakage we've gotten rid of some of that right yeah it's a lot like what we've done with this defensive line I mean I don't know if you guys when you look at the D line and the Jordan Phillips of the world the tommia King botes uh the Taz Johnson's and a year ago the Dylan fontas leavon Johnson uh you'll see de down in the mix Daniel Owens uh it takes two to three years in the Big 10 to develop the that's where the grown men play because it's like being in a car accident every single play when you're up front and you know I call it grown man strength you know you play around with your son every now and then they get a little muscles on them they think they're ready to you know compete and and battle dad and in that grown man strength puts hands on them and it's like whoa well it takes about three years to develop the grown man strength but what we try to do as I said here at Marland I got to figure out how to do it quicker I got to figure out so what did I do I I go in a quarterback room which opens up the door to hire a second o line coach Josh is unselfish he goes to the wide receiver room which is his expertise and now I've got two guys that can work with these eight to 10 guys that are going to play football for us and expedite their growth you know the o line Five Guys play at a time and when you got one coach for five guys it's hard to get the other guys going and then you throw a third o line guy in the mix and now the young guys those 10 freshman I talked about that we brought in they'll be developing and I think a couple of them may find their themselves in the two deep but the ones that don't when they're down preparing our defense for their game they're not just looking at a card and running it they're actually being coached how to step with the right step how to put the hand where it needs to be so now we're Expediting their growth and and again I'm looking forward to reaping the benefit of of what we've done there and to be able to hire those guys uh helps but it takes two to three years and it's just going through some stuff like getting your getting knocked over getting run through and then learning how to battle George what's up bro G herbo kind tou on with from your perspective coaching and being in that quarter yeah I'm I'm I'm a glutton for punishment because it seems like whenever I was here I mean I I don't know if you guys remember that one year we lost five quarterbacks and I had a scout team linebacker start 10 games Sean Petty he sent me a text Sean what's up he sent me a text come on by but my point is just that I'm used to that and it's part I mean I actually like it because again like you know be nice to walk in and have Leah there for 4 years but I knew at some point that was going to end and that's why we develop and play The Players the way we do when we had a chance to get Lee out of the game we got him out of the game it gave Billy game reps when we had a chance to play a couple of quarterbacks in the bowl game I didn't focus on just sayy wi again I focused on how do I start my evaluation process and I was really pleased the way the two young guys uh well not inexperienced guys Billy and cam played against Auburn but I've been even more excited just seeing like Christian Martin be able to come in in junee and and pick things up like that I've been really excited champ long has probably some of the best skill set of all the quarterbacks and just doesn't have the experience so we're going to we we we practice a certain way that allows all these guys to get reps so even if they're not the starter they're still being developed then I I don't worry because I do know the process of how we prepare and figure these out have been tested and on culture I know a lot of guys gr of you know some of the some of the new guys on the offensive side like Josh Colton bger is a new guy that got here in January but I mean there if there's one person that loves living in a DMV I mean this dude is downtown DC museums he's like Josh is just like a kid in the candy store but he's also uh has shown the humility coming in to hey man I'm but you mean the o line right now has been the tightest niit group all summer these dudes are cooking with each other they're barbecuing I've been trying to get a golf simulator in the player Lounge but I've been told no 100 times by my by Colleen because you know they like to sit around and hit golf balls and that's the new way yeah but but also just spend time together like I'm just tell you the the when it comes to spending time together that's so important that's what this this team has done and the leadership on the offensive side guys like lub ball and and and Kyle Kyle long who's now three years later he's a guy that's in the mix as a competing for a starting position uh moving Isaac bunan from dline over to o line and and him at the guard position so there's some there's some leadership over there Ty Felton is is working really hard Tai's not a guy that is a loud guy but he's trying to come out of his shell Roman heni a guy that typically kind of leads himself I see all these guys really going out of their comfort zone cuz when you talk about you can't do the same thing expect a different result I'm starting to see on the offensive side some of these guys not be just internal leaders where they lead by how they do things but they're they're they've taken the next step of being able to you know peer-to-peer pressure hey coach Jacob Steinberg with the Baltimore Sun you talked earlier about up Jacob how are you I'm good how are you good man you you talked earlier about uh Player Development and I'm curious with having six defensive backs drafted in the past six NFL drafts four in the last three years and a couple other guys in NFL camp right now at that position what are the biggest keys to Player Development and what is your recollection about the competitive spirit in that room between those guys I think the biggest thing is how you recruit to that room when I talked about being comfortable and confident I again comfortable isn't saying we've arrived comfortable is knowing who we are and if you look it's not by chance or happen stance that we've had the success of that room and how the NFL has valued or viewed uh the guys that have come through that room and so I would say it starts in an evaluation and uh process but then we've had some good DB coaches along the way here man guys like you know Henry Baker and and Cory Robinson and and some of those guys John hope that have been here they've we've we have a system in place that no matter who's there we have an evaluation system of what we're looking for uh and I can tell you that we've got some really talented young ones uh what's developed that culture there I think it's the tradition of the room I mean when You' got big shoes to fill I mean first round draft pick like Deontay Banks and you got to feel those shoes like it it put some some a little bit added pressure on you to understand and the fact that guys like Deontay have been back here and joran and some of those former players are able to come back and stay in touch and tell the story of hey man if you want to get here this is how and what I did and being able to do the things earlier in their career and I think that's probably one of the biggest areas where we've got young players that come here with a pro mentality like I know some of y'all get mad when they say oh college is about you know academic not well you know what it's my job to make sure the academics are taken serious just like as a parent it's your job to make sure your kids understand what's important but I'm going to let these guys be Pros before they're Pros meaning how they recover and the fact that we have the modalities and the resources to help us stay healthy which is important um how they prepare for games what type of work they got to put in some of this stuff has been passed down and that's what's happened in the quarterback room for these guys but it's also happened in that DB room like you alluded to our last one from so dramatic when he ask a question y ever noticed that come on let's get it all right you seemed seem really happy the other night you seem to be extremely happy today comfortable is a good word for it I go to therapy now you do well I'm just telling you man therapy man but you've looked great what's your journey to slimming down and looking so coach like well I mean you know I I run five to six miles a day um I I eat less than 500 calories no I'm not going to lie to you I've had a little help Dr Rooks our team physician has worked with me in creating a plan but to go in a quarterback room uh I'm back on the front line and and I need the energy I need the we talked about sacrifice I sacrificed giving up like saying I don't have time because all I wanted to do was ball well I'm being a little selfish I do therapy once a week I I get massages I'm I'm a I'm a complete makeover of who I am and you a y'all ain't going to piss me off you ain't going to see Angry locks no more cuz you know what what's the worst thing can happen I fail publicly I think I've done that a few times or two thank you coach coach thank you very much how about the national media man they didn't know yep coach is on his way to the podium app some of them are awesome thank you guys for coming out obviously it's uh excited to be going into year two leading this offense uh when you look back and reflect over last year um we accomplished some really great things offensively obviously finishing uh top five and seven of the major offensive categories uh in the Big 10 uh lead the league obviously and in and passing yards per game and also scoring more than 30 points in over a half of our games uh the thing that I'm excited about this 2024 season and this 2024 team uh is these guys don't want to reflect back on last year they want to build a new identity uh and build a a Rost uh build a program uh based on the guys we have in here and we're really really excited about the the young men they've been here all summer working uh their butts off and and we're really excited to see that uh progress for us to take the next step uh We've obviously uh had some big shoes to feel uh when you lose such of players that we've lost obviously along the offensive line and DJ glaze uh at the quarterback position toia Tong of valy those guys have meant a lot to this program over the last few years uh but we feel really good about where we are as a program we obviously went to the um transfer portal uh to address some of our needs along the offensive line bringing in Josh Colton bger aluba uh Allan haran okay and uh being able to address some of those needs there but then also being able to address some of the needs that at the quarterback position MJ Morris and some newcomers uh that'll be joining our roster that everyone will be able to see and so um we're really excited about this upcoming season uh our guys have built such a culture that's driven right now by the players and it's a different field around our program I think obviously going into year two you have a little bit more of a um understanding of who your players are what they can do uh but they also understand the expectations set forth of this program by coach Loxy and they've embraced it uh the chemistry is very very high U we're just looking forward to getting out there and enjoying uh getting back together you know coach coach Ryan Davis has done a tremendous job uh with our players this summer and hats off to him and his staff and the commitment the time the sacrifice that they've put in uh to prepare ourselves for day one and so uh as we uh as I end on that I'll obviously open it up for questions about the season Josh Dave Preston WTOP radio in Washington building and rebuilding and revamping this offensive line what are the challenges in today's day and age where a lot of new pieces you know show up and what will be the focus in getting this team on the right track the front five you know I think when you look at the offensive line specifically that's typically a position that takes about two to three years uh to really get going from a cohesion standpoint and and and um you know coach uh coach brazwell and and uh coach Robo they always talk about you got to slow clip that position you know that's a position that takes time obviously uh spending communicating takes time jelling together uh we obviously went out and addressed that position in the transfer portal and you saw this spring you know we had some hiccups along the way obviously just coming in learning a new system learning terminology language different techniques um but I'll tell you what all the young men in that room have done a tremendous job this summer just growing and bonding you know they're constantly out uh in the communities cooking for each other um there's some great Cooks in that room um they spend a ton of time away from football and that's what you need first and foremost you need chemistry uh because that's the one position that takes all five uh playing collectively as one and so um we're excited about some of those new and then obviously some of the guys that returned um we're just looking to continue to build you know continue to build along that offensive line obviously we addressed it with the portal we also hired an extra offensive line coach coach Robo uh to come in and then also having Brian Fen so really just devoting all of our effort and time uh to really develop in that position you know we signed 10 guys out of high school so it's going to be very very important for us to really bring those guys along hey Josh Jean Wong Washington Post when you when you and the offensive staff are evaluating the starting quarterback kind of what are the components that rise to the top that you look at first and the followup would be kind of how is fall Camp different with um a quarterback to be determined as opposed to an incumbent who's you know set records yeah I think the the three things that I'm looking for is guys that are going to be able to own command and operate the offense you know and that's one of the Key C uh key um attributes you look for at the quarterback you know uh someone that's going to be able to obviously have the trust of his teammates have the trust of his team uh but just do what we ask him to do and understand obviously the positives the negatives of certain uh schemes uh be able to be a problem solver okay out on the field okay and not just obviously a guy that can uh just can run the show and so uh we're excited um we feel really really good about that quarterback room obviously there was a deep competition going on in the spring that competition is going to continue on through fall camp and then with the moment we we feel like we we've uh identifi the guy that's going to lead us we'll obviously make that decision um but right now we're just looking forward to just seeing all of those young man take the next step and you know I think it's a very competitive room but the one thing that I'll say about that room is um that room Embraces each other the Friendship um the type of young men in that room you know LED obviously by Billy Edwards cam Edge uh MJ um champ long um you've seen Jaden Sur obviously now adding in uh Christian Martin you know those guys are just they're close and when you've got a healthy competition like that that's going to bring out the best in each and every one of those young men and so I'm excited to see them go out uh day one today and take the next step hey coach uh no obviously coach uh coach lock a couple days ago I know he mentioned at his house that you you guys have a really good working Dynamic and I know obviously with K locks back in the quarterback room um you know how do you feel like that Dynamic um has kind of been able to click I know you were able to kind of work uh with each other at Alabama but what do you feel like it's kind of been going right through the first season going into year two oh it's been awesome just the you know the new rule now just allowing everyone to coach you know so having so many hands on deck obviously uh helps take a lot of things off the plate um but you know uh going into year two I think what's different now than year one is last year we also had three new coaches so we hit the ground running in the spring we hit the ground running in the fall um we had to spend a lot of time really kind of catching up being able to speak the same language I think with everyone returning now uh with the addition obviously of Coach Robo um we feel that chemistry is there you know everyone speaking the same language pulling a rope in the same direction uh my past familiarity with Coach Loxley and our time that we've spent together you know I know what he wants I know what he expects and so um it's my job obviously as the offensive coordinator to create an identity for our team offensively um that as he envisions and so being having him in the quarterback room I think also helps him with his relationship with that position because the head coach and the quarterback they've got to be hip to hiip that's a very very tight-knit relationship in college football in all the sports and so um being able to have him help assist that position I feel there a tremendous honor also allows me to be able to coach the coaches and be able to spend time amongst other positions uh and also moving back to the wide receiver position I've got two young great uh coaches uh Derek Keef and Timmy Morris who helped me out with that position uh but that's my background into developing skill players and so I I feel uh we're at a really really good place and being able to continue to develop our skill players and we've got some pretty exciting guys and you know kton Prather and Tom Felton hey coach how you doing um so you you you talked about how um you you you guys um got a lot of players from the transfer Porter so I was wondering um what players from the transfer pter off the top of your head are you really hoping can um make a um a huge impact for this team in 2024 well I think right away when you when you look at the offensive line uh Josh Colberg Alo bah and Allan Haron those guys are going to be immediate impact guys for us um seeing the the the type of uh transition they made coming over in the spring uh to now um you know when you look at Josh curer he's a guy that's played four years in the Big 10 he understands this league he know what it takes to compete at this league and then you got Alan haran who's a a guy that's a massive human being strong at point of attack he's the guy you want coming first off the bus uh and uh you know for him it was just getting adjusted to this level of football but he's a very talented young man Alo Bobs he comes from a very respected program in the University of Georgia and so you know those three guys have really made an impact on our offensive line um because we're very young and inexperienced at that position we've got the bodies we feel really really good about the coaching coach brazwell has done a tremendous job uh developing that position over the years you look at the amount of success uh we've had sending guys to the NFL draft um we feel like we have the pieces left in that position to pick off and really take the next step for us because that's going to be a huge emphasis as we create this new identity for us offensively um we want to be able to run the ball and uh sorry one yeah one more question um so I read that you were transitioning into a uh a more a walk around o OC role so I was wondering what was the kind of process that went into that and talk about how much you're looking forward to having um even more of a a hand in this offense it it's really the NFL model you know when you look at the NFL model all offens coordinators defensive coordinators they walk around and with the added uh privilege of the NCAA now passing uh the coaching rule um we've got some talented coaches on our staff not just our older guys that everyone assumes are the full-time coaches but some of the younger guys that as coach likes to say are around the table and so uh that allows us to really um devote all our time and resources and developing our players and so um like I said we've got three offensive line coaches you know it's really like four or five guys in that pod we've got three guys working um with wide receivers we've got two guys obviously Eric nerian a former quarterback here is also working with that quarterback room and I think he made a tremendous impact in that room with his relationship and so we just want to pour every resource we have in the building uh into our players and help develop those young men and college football has changed um with all the new rules and all the new things that are happening nil the landscape um we've got to continue investing in these players and the added privilege of being able to have everyone coach uh is just a tremendous asset to this program heyy Josh uh your Running Room your running back room a veteran almost now in in a lot of ways is that something that's helpful in terms of leaning on that early in the season as you've got a new quarterback coming into learning the offense full-time it is you know uh Roman heni is um he's what this program stands for you know when you talk about putting the face out in front of this program tremendous young man uh he's been here he's played a lot of football just does absolutely everything the right way but I think there's going to be some names in that room that you know are going to people obviously um everyone's where of Kobe uh but Nolan Ray is a young guy that uh you know that have really came on this spring and probably made one of the biggest jumps and biggest impacts on our team that people are really excited about and so I talk tell coach Scott all the time you know he's got some problems on his hands now to figure out uh how many carries how many touches everyone's going to get but you know we got some really good skill players not only at the running back position you look at uh the tight end position I'm really excited about you know Dylan Wade and Preston Howard those two young guys uh played a ton of ball for us last year's freshman and so um being able to get those guys' experience being able to grow their confidence um those guys are going to take big jumps as we move forward as well they do they do I I believe both of those young men have got uh the ability to be game changers um they're both elite players two of the best in this league if not the country and so um they're hungry they're motivated to show everyone also think people are going to learn the name of shalik KN you know punch has had a tremendous spring for us tremendous um um player in our program just really excited about him but we're really deep at that position I think when you when you look at the depth offensively we've we've got the best depth at that wide receiver position so being able to use guys octavien Smith Braden wizowski um Ryan Manning we've got some guys that we can kind of go deep into a combination there and play a bunch of those guys but when you look at the the key headliners uh I think shalik Knox is gon to be a guy that's going to shock the world this year out here in this league and and uh Tai and KP are gonna continue to take the next step those two guys are Big Time Players lastet last year with you know all these quarterbacks but if you have so many quarterbacks of that's a great question as I told our our players and our staff you know the spring we did the installation of a system uh this fall is all about creating identity for an offense um we're going to be a lot different than what we've been in the past um you know what tiia has meant to this program um he's left a tremendous impact and Legacy on this program but our guys are excited now to create a new one and uh based on that quarterback room the depth the talent all the different skill sets they have I'm really excited you know uh we've got a no Flinch mentality right now where you know next man's up we're going to create a new identity um what that identity will be uh will be shown obviously game one um but we're excited we feel like we got all the different pieces and really what I challenge our offense Y is you know there's two type of players really in our offense um there's guys that have the ability to be difference makers and there's other guys that have the have the ability to make a difference you know we feel like we have everything we need we've got some high-end guys uh that are difference makers and those type players but then we've got a a core select group of guys that are willing to make a difference in whatever we ask them and they know their clearly defined roles and and what we're asking them to do and so we're excited to build this identity we're working hard at it we've obviously done a ton of offseason studying and understanding who our guys are and we're excited to put it all together well tight end position uh Preston Howard uh Dylan Wade those two guys are exciting players um for those guys that go out there and contribute the way they did last year as freshman for us Preston being a red Shir freshman Dylan being a true freshman we feel really really good about that position I think you've seen uh this offseason AJ sansky take the next step reshaping his body looking more more like a tight endend his commitment to that position we're really excited about him so I have no doubt in my mind we're going to get a ton of production at the tight ended position and and we're one of the few teams left that still use that position often times it's hard to find you know people throwing the ball to the tight end or using that position um but for us they're the Swiss army knife of our system you know we we ask those guys to do do a tremendous amount of things they got to be great in the Run game great in the pass game great in the pass protection game and so uh they really got to be fully um developed in everything that we ask him to do uh then the wide receiver position we're excited you know um I think KP TI are still under resected in this league and across the country um I've developed a lot of wide receivers in my past and been really really successful that position those two guys are right up there at the top when you talk about skill set and ability and I think it showed last year the only problem last year is we had so many guys you you know you had uh Cory diges catching passes you had Jan catching passes as well and so you know it's hard to compare those guys numbers to a guy that maybe caught a thousand yards but he was the only wide receiver at his program those two guys complement each other well and when you look at what they did in this league versus respected competition you know I think obviously they're going to be ready to take the next step and they're hungry they're motivated uh we're looking forward to it thank you coach appreciate time awesome thank you guys take care coach William up here next open remarks from coach Williams take you guys questions good a well good morning um appreciate you guys coming out um here we are again another first day of fall Camp uh just like always man there's a lot of excitement here in our building uh I think the way it's a little different this year is the fact that we um every season brings about adversity and times where you need to be resilient and uh this group of guys that we we we have assembled this year they they they seem to really be ready to embrace all the good and bad that comes with uh taking on the challenges of a season so um that in itself gives you a little bit more excitement than normal so um really really fortunate to be here really fortunate to to be going into my sixth year here at Maryland with coach and uh coach lockley and and very grateful for the opportunity so um again very fortunate to coach the young men that I get a chance to coach as well so uh with that I'll open up for questions morning Brian Dave Preston WT radio in Washington with with even with the amount of talent you have coming back and the starters you have returning the world doesn't stay you know in in in one place what do you feel the challenges are for your defense this fall to keep Pace with and outpace Pace the other offenses in the Big 10 yeah so you know you want your guys that have experience coming back to really show that you want them to to take the next step and and be a different player than they were last year relative to their experience while you kind of bring along the players that are doing it for the first time we we got some talented guys in our secondary that are that are hadn't started a game yet so uh the guys that have started they need to lead the way the speed of the pack is determined by the speed of the leaders so uh if there's a challenge it would be just you know growing the young guys up as well as the older guys really showing that they that they belong and and you know they've been able to benefit from their experience defens you've been t uh in the past three years with some other guys in NFL camps just the healthy competitiv those guys what do you recall about that how integral do you think that was in devel yeah I mean it's uh you just look back and you think we still show examples of guys like joran Bennett Nick cross um you know Deontay Banks tar he still I mean those guys were competitive and competed at everything they did from from day one to to the time they left uh they really showed the example and really a lot of the young guys that are coming up Perry Fisher liono Whitaker uh guys that were around when they were here you know they got a chance to see that firsthand so anytime you you're able to um you know produce guys of that stature it's a blessing and you know it gives us a chance to to have a model to show the guys that we have here now if they put the head down and go to work the way those guys did then the opportunities are there for him hey coach Michael stamato with the diamond back so coach loley earlier mentioned that this was going to be a defensive Leed team this year who do you see being the defensive leaders both vocally and with their play style yeah so you know when when when coach says that I mean really what that entails is the fact that we we have some guys that are it's their time to lead they've been in the program um for a few years now and and have really made a contribution and now it's it's their time to really take the bull by the horn so guys like Tommy aing bod Taz Johnson Kellen wde obviously Dante Trader Ruben hippolyte uh you know guys that have have continued to uh really be to the Forefront of of our leadership and uh they know what it takes to get it done they're at that stage where they know why it's important to do the little things and um they're able to you know grandfather that end to to the rest of the team so uh we we're very fortunate to have those guys leading Us in that in that [Music] regard Wayne Viner TP talk uh you got a couple of safeties once against a star position for you can you talk about what Trader has done done so far and then what theow glender your yeah so I I'll start with Glendon first you know lendon has really been a kid that has benefited from being here at Maryland he's a guy that you know he's faced different obstacles and times where he's needed to be resilient where whereas some guys have moved on and and through the portal whatnot but uh Glenn has stuck it through he's he you can see his maturity develop on and off the field uh and he's definitely one of the guys that we're Leaning On In terms in terms of leadership in terms of playmaking ability uh the whole nine you know Dante uh he he's been as solid as they come you know I am excited for him this go around because if you remember last year he was coming off the heels of the lacrosse season in which he performed at a high level uh and that's you know that's leave one physical sport to go to another to come back to the physical the most physical sport so uh the fact that he gets the opportunity this year to to really have a good summer under his belt to get healthy uh he's you know he's the the old man in the room now so he's able to coach up the young guys and you know he's the epitome of the speed of the pack is determined by the speed of the leader we're going to go as he goes and and we're excited about it yeah hey hey coach Gary Stein from pressbox at wcbm Radio Baltimore um not that you didn't have Powerhouse teams in the conference before obviously you do but now you've got four more uh that come in from the West Coast can you just talk about the conversations that you're having with your defense about the offensive challenges that these teams are going to show you yeah you know the guys uh they they kind of come to me and say you know coach I was playing against USC last night on the video game um but uh you know it's exciting man if you're a competitor you you want that you know you you want to have to to deal with the fact that uh now our competition stretches all the way across to the other end of the country in a new time zone so you know we can't look ahead to opportunities that we have this year like going out to Oregon uh but definitely there's an excitement there and you know it just gives you a little more added push you know I'm sure it gives the guys a little more push to do more obviously we have to broaden uh our summer scouting and how we prepare because you know there going to be a lot there a lot of newness in terms of what we're dealing with this year so it's exciting and it challenges challenges everybody you know it puts us in an uncomfortable state for a little bit but you know that's also a good thing for you right Brian what uh what sort of growth are you expecting from Ruben hippolite and what what makes him so special in that room on the field for you you know what the the probably the biggest area where I see Ruben growing right now is just he's really getting to um you know kind of Express his leadership a little bit more now you know he's got younger players under him whereas um you know there were guys around that came in around the same time he did that's that's kind of been the deal for him since he's been here but now he's he is like Trader he's you know he's the old man in the room so him really getting to express his his leadership qualities and skills uh I think it it it's a plus for us uh on top of the fact that he's he's playing a lot faster he's seeing things a lot better and he's knowing how and when to utilize his his speed he's gotten stronger in the wait room so he's playing with more power and uh it's you know it's it's it's like a cheat code to have him right now for us so we're very fortunate coach the corners that I that I asked about earlier you hear defensive coaches talk all the time about how one of the most important things for a defensive back is you know being a goldish you know flushing a bad play and just moving on with those guys in particular how quickly they that just in your experience defensive coordinator how hard is that toach a young defensive back flushing a back play and just you know moving on next yeah you know you you you have to really it starts in recruiting you know you really have to do a really thorough evaluation of of of who you're looking at if if you're going to ask kids to come to your campus and play Man coverage against the likes of Marvin Harrison Jr players like that of that statute you know you they got to have a short memory and you watch them in high school play against really good competition and uh you want to see how they respond in those moments where they need to be resilient where they need to bounce back because uh they can make a wrong move a wrong uh you know action one way and it shows up you know in six points on the board so um definitely having guys that that uh have the ability to bounce back in those scenarios along with obviously the talent but you w you know there's a difference and you you want to find that out really early in recruiting uh before you you know commit to someone in that position in my opinion coach can you talk about Phillips and then Johnson and the guys who really play the nose and anchor that line and what's theing foran um you know Jordan is he's special his his work ethic uh you know his will to play hard his will to to be there for his teammates is is unique so guy like that there is no cealing in my opinion I think he can go as far as he wants to go as long as his mind and body will allow him to be at this pace um you know a guy like Taz Johnson you know Taz Johnson for us last year played all across the front you know he was kind of the guy that you know spelled guys but you know he played a lot because he he spelled guys at different positions he played DN for us he played the three technique uh he played the zero and he he's really our best interior pass rusher so he created a lot of gaps and opportunities for some of guys like Donell Brown Kellen Wyatt Jan baram last year to rush the passer through him being penetrating gaps and and really opening up Lanes so he's also selfish player as well selfless player excuse me so uh you know his leadership Jordan's leadership even though they're unique in how they do it uh they're guys that uh we we feel confident going into any stadium and lining up and and being Stout you have you know qu Sean is he qu Shan is the type of guy man when the the larger the stage the bigger the lights the more he'll show up and the more he'll turn around and make a play we watched you know we took clips from last season where we we wanted to show some effort plays and you know a big play in the Michigan State game on the road last year when he kind of tackled the quarterback do for him and and made the play on the one yard line and we eventually through that series got a goal line stand which really gave us a chance to kind of get some separation which as you as the game went on we needed it but those plays like that and those situations is when he raises his level and rise to the occasion so uh looking for him to be more consistent with his fundamentals and technique and and being able to match his his athleticism and talent but uh really expect a lot of big things out of Quon this year back here uh Mike retto with uh staff writer for Maryland athletics um going off with the question about uh Jordan Phillips just how have you seen you know his mindset you know how he just approaches things kind of rub off on other people I feel like having a guy like that in your program you know really starts to change culture and have you know a lot of other people like him approach you know the game of football game of life even the way he does yeah he he's Jordan's come in and earned it you know um a guy coming in out of the portal from another school his first actions here was was to find out the little things that we did around here that made us who we are he wanted to indoctrinate himself in what we were already doing uh so he didn't come in with any type of uh you know U what's the word I'm looking for he's he didn't come in expecting anything if you will he came in really really coming in to buy in and I think you know early on obviously his unique way of working and approaching his work uh was a little different for some guys But as time is going on people see that he's guys see that he's real about what he's doing he believes in it and um you know he's earned the respect of his teammates and um he'll earn the respect of his opponents as well thank you coach appreciate it thank you guys we're going to head down to the second floor play president suite we're going to have four offensive players and then six defensive players in about 20 minutes you can take elevators two and three they open up directly to the presid now