Mike Locksley returned home to become the University of Maryland’s 37th head football coach in December 2018. And since then, there has been no looking back for the Terrapins. Under Locksley, Maryland posted three consecutive winning seasons from 2021-23 and won bowl games in each of those seasons, the first time in the program history. Last season, despite the struggles, they posted key wins over rival Virginia and Big Ten newcomer USC. Looks like the Locksley charm worked in the 2025 season. Maryland has had a solid start, cruising with a 4-0 record after defeating FL Atlantic, Northern Illinois, Towson, and Wisconsin. But there is a key difference between them and other teams in their conference.

The 2025 transfer season has been pretty tough for Locksley. Maryland lost 32 players, including eight starters, to the portal. Locksley and co. couldn’t match the NIL bids to keep veterans or chase portal headliners. So, he turned to what he dubs the ‘draft,’ the old-school art of high school recruiting. And it definitely paid off.

On October 2, Chris Hummer came with a big update. On X, he wrote, “True freshmen who have played 90-plus snaps this season: Maryland – 8 The rest of the Big Ten combined – 8 On the 2025 class that’s helped Maryland to a 4-0 start, and why the home-grown group playing right away was a matter of “necessity.” So, the moral of the story? Locksley’s freshmen are a big reason why Maryland is undefeated early this season. The head coach has been pretty confident about his approach.

“It was by necessity,” Locksley said. “The days of developing and having time to develop players … it’s more about bringing in players who have the ability to help out now.” Of the 21 players in the Terps’ No. 25-ranked 2025 recruiting class, there are three starters: QB Malik Washington, EDGE Sidney Stewart, and EDGE Zahir Mathis.

The other two, LB Carlton Smith, safety Messiah Delhomme, have played starter-level snaps. Maryland isn’t alone in betting big on youth, but it’s leading the pack. Eight Terps freshmen have cracked 90 snaps, matching the entire Big Ten’s total. Now, what’s the strategy that pushed Locksley to achieve this great feat? He likes to keep it close to home. 60–70% of signees come from within a four-hour radius of College Park. Tapping into the DMV’s rich talent base, Locksley leverages decades of local ties. Maryland also begins courting prospects early, often hosting them on campus for camps while they’re still in eighth grade.

How setbacks strengthened Mike Locksley and the Maryland Terrapins

At the beginning of the season, analysts held a notion about Locksley’s program. As Ari Wasserman said, “They had like a 4-year run where they got a 5-star to flip on Signing Day…The problem with Maryland has been that they’ve been unable to retain those players.” Well, the Maryland head coach had always portrayed things as they are, not offering a rose-tinted glimpse of the dire reality. 

Back in August, Locksley said in an interview, “Last year was tough for me as a coach because those really strong relationships were questioned… I had to decide whether to pay a freshman coming in or take care of a veteran player that helped you go to three bowl games and have success.” 

The program faced growing pains as uneven NIL deals and fundraising struggles tested Locksley’s adaptability in college football’s shifting landscape. The end result? The Terrapins fell prey to a 4-8 record in 2024, Locksley’s third losing season in six years, raising concerns about the program’s short-term health. But again, Locksley being Locksley did not push the issue under the table.

“I own the fact that I lost my locker room. And this is Coach Locks, the locker room king, telling you this landscape, I had to choose between paying young players who were coming in or reward the older players that have been through the fire, three bowl wins, and I tried to do both with limited resources. And that’s what you get: a locker room with the haves and have-nots,” he said. 

But amidst all the hype, the head coach ensures that his team remains grounded before the Big Ten Conference matchup with Washington in College Park. Looks like an old wound still stings him. Before the big game, Locksley said, “There weren’t very many people in December and January (backing us) when everybody was leaving this place and going other places and there wasn’t a lot of direction.” Let’s see what the Saturday’s game has in store for them.