Big Ten Daily (Jan. 12): Mike Locksley Reportedly a Candidate With 'Traction' at Alabama
Mike Locksley's name has surfaced as a potential candidate for the most prestigious job in college football. Per a report from John Brice of FootballScoop, the Maryland coach has gained "traction" for the Alabama vacancy.
Nick Saban retired earlier this week after a 17-year run with the Crimson Tide. Some major names popped up as strong candidates at Alabama, including Washington's Kalen DeBoer, Florida State's Mike Norvell and current Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
But FootballScoop reported that Locksley has received some support from key individuals around Tuscaloosa.
"Two other names with some measure of traction in the search: former Broyles Award-winning Alabama assistant coach Mike Locksley and current Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz, per sources in upper levels of college athletics administration," Brice wrote.
“Locksley has garnered significant support from former players, FootballScoop is told, and he also is believed to have key support from at least one prominent Alabama mega-booster as well as top former Tide assistants.”
Locksley was a former offensive coordinator under Saban at Alabama. He started his time in Tuscaloosa as an offensive assistant in 2016, then was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2017.
In 2018, Locksley was the full-time offensive coordinator. He helped lead the team to a 14-1 record and a national championship appearance. The Crimson Tide averaged 522 yards and 45.6 points per game that year.
After incredible success at Alabama, Locksley landed the head coaching job at Maryland. His tenure started out rough, finishing 3-9 in 2019 and 2-3 in 2020 (the pandemic-shortened season). But things have turned around since.
Maryland has made bowl appearances in each of the last three seasons and posted back-to-back eight-win campaigns in 2022 and 2023. Those are achievements the program hasn't enjoyed since the Ralph Friedgen days.
Right now, it doesn't sound like Locksley is the top candidate in Alabama's pool. But reports indicate he is in the mix and that he has support from some influential people.
It's something to keep an eye on as the Alabama coaching search heats up.
Michigan State Falls Again
Remember when we thought Michigan State had it figured out? When the Spartans defeated No. 6 Baylor 88-64 on Dec. 16, it looked like Tom Izzo's squad was finally putting the pieces together.
One month later, I'm not sure we can still make that argument.
Michigan State dropped another Big Ten contest on Thursday, falling 71-68 to No. 10 Illinois in Champaign. The Spartans are 1-4 in conference play, tied for last in the league.
Coming into the season, the Spartans were tabbed as a potential challenger to win a Big Ten title. Right now, they look like an NCAA Tournament bubble team — that's being generous.
Despite the loss, Izzo did have some positive remarks about his team following the trip to Champaign.
"We did everything except win the game," Izzo said. "If we would've played that good, we would've won three or four more games."
Michigan State still has talent on the roster, but it needs to figure things out, and fast. Otherwise, this is a team that might miss the NCAA Tournament.
It would undoubtedly be the biggest disappointment of the Izzo era.
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