To compete for a title, Locksley says Maryland must keep DMV talent home
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Entering his 8th season with the Maryland Terrapins, head coach Mike Locksley is in desperate need of a breakthrough year. In his first seven seasons, he's put together an overall record of 33-41 and has yet to reach more than eight wins in a single season.
While criticism of Locksley is fair at this point, there's also the harsh reality of what it means to complete within the Big Ten Conference. With teams like Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, and Penn State all fighting at the top, it's incredibly hard for a program like Maryland to compete.
But Locksley remains confident that a breakthrough season is within reach, and pointed to one thing that can help make it happen: the DMV.
“It’s all about the DMV.”
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) April 30, 2025
Episode 3 of Unlocked dives into what makes the DMV special — and why Coach Locksley believes it’s the key to building a championship team.@CoachLocks pic.twitter.com/8wDSFTVsUM
"If we're able to keep the top players here at home... you look at almost every national championship that's been won over the last four or five years, they have players from the DMV."
It's clear that Locksley is committed to winning the recruiting battles in his backyard, as 15 of Maryland's 21 recruits in the 2025 class are from the DMV area. That class is headlined by four-star QB Malik Washington, the top QB from the state of Maryland and a top 5 QB nationally. In the 2026 class, Locksley has already landed the commitment of five-star Zion Elee, the No. 1 edge rusher in the nation, and he's working on other top prospects like Immanuel Iheanacho and Jireh Edwards. Three of Maryland's four current commitments in the 2026 class are Baltimore natives.
There's no doubt that the DMV is absolutely loaded with talent. Guys like Stefon Diggs, Vernon Davis, Chop Robinson, and Caleb Williams have all come from the DMV area. Michigan's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns, Blake Corum, is a Virginia native and attended high school in Baltimore at Saint Frances Academy. There's a massive pool of talent in that area, and Locksley knows that it can bring a championship to College Park... if he can keep them home.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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