Coach Mike Locksley became the leader of the Maryland football program in 2019, and since then, fans have probably heard him throw around many slogans in his time at the helm.
But the meaning behind those slogans was unknown.
That was until Locksley joined the Under The Shell podcast. The podcast uncovered what “Maximize it,” “Locked in,” and “The Best Is Ahead” mean to Locksley and the football program.
Maximize it:
Sitting on the desk in Locksley’s office you will find hourglasses, which serve as a reminder to respect time.
“At the end of the day, we’re not guaranteed tomorrow,” Locksley said.
In 2017, Locksley’s son Meiko was murdered in Howard County at the age of 25. At the time, Locksley was the offensive coordinator at the University of Alabama under Nick Saban. After the season opener in Atlanta, Locksley and his wife received the news around 3 a.m. when University of Alabama police officers knocked on his door.
That changed his life.
“I was one of those guys that maybe didn’t always respect father time,” Locksley said.
When Locksley took the job at Maryland he wanted the idea of maximizing every second of every day to be a foundation of the program, and to find a way to honor and remember his son.
“Maximize it for me means I am going to maximize every ounce of time that I’m given in the course of a day,” Locksley said. “And when I lay my head down at night I’m gonna feel comfortable that I didn’t waste any time.”
Locked in:
Being “locked in” is not a slogan that Locksley specifically coined, rather it became recognizable because of the play on words with his last name.
Early in the interview Locksley discussed what he learned from previous head and assistant coaching jobs. He kept a journal of his mistakes when he was the head coach of New Mexico from 2009-2011.
“There were times when I was a coach and I didn’t respect time,” Locksley said. “I’m doing this interview, but in 20 minutes, I gotta meet with [a] coach who’s waiting outside my door. So I’m not totally locked in here because my mind is all over the place.”
Locksley uses “locked in” as a cue phrase to stay focused and give his undivided attention to the task being worked on at the current moment.
The Best Is Ahead (TBIA):
Locksley instituted TBIA after his first year as head coach at Maryland as a way to honor his friend Trevor Moawad, who worked as a life coach and motivator with Locksley at Alabama before passing away from cancer in 2021.
Moawad worked with many college and professional football programs, as well as professional sports teams. He most notably had a very close relationship with Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. The pair have released two books together.
Locksley described Moawad as someone who “put everybody before himself.”
“He would end all of our conversations with ‘Hey locks, the best is ahead for you’,” Locksley said.
It’s a reminder to Locksley that he is always working to get better.
“The best version of me, the best version of Maryland football, the best recruit, the best of everything is ahead of us,” Locksley said. “Understand that you work toward that.”
Other hits from the interview:
Locksley shared he was a two-sport athlete at Towson University, walking onto the basketball team during his senior year. He appeared in 12 games averaging 1.4 points per game. Locksley also played on the football team as a cornerback and safety.
When Locksley was an assistant coach at Maryland, he recruited future tight end Vernon Davis at a Quiznos while Davis was working. Locksley was concerned that Davis may flip his commitment after he visited the University of Florida earlier in the week and was “missing in action.” So on the final few days of recruiting, he visited to make sure Davis was still committed to Maryland.
“We spent about an hour talking in the kitchen about how he had made a great decision to coming to Maryland, and why it was important for him to maintain that commitment,” Locksley said. Davis went on to have a successful career in the NFL and nabbed a spot in the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame.
Locksley said it’s important to know where recruits hang out and what their schedules are.
“I became a big Quiznos fan after that,” Locksley said.
To listen to the entire episode visit:
