Full video of Locksley's post-scrimmage press conference is posted in another thread, but here are the cliff notes. Media only got to see pre-scrimmage warm-ups — some of which can be seen via video in another thread — but Locksley had plenty to say after it was over. Here are some key takeaways:
- Lots of talk about the quarterbacks today. Locks said that he continues to be impressed with the improvement that Pigrome has made as a passer and that he is pushing Josh Jackson here in fall camp. Locksley continues to bring up Piggy's competitiveness as a key trait that has helped him stand out. Jackson and Pigrome are splitting reps with the first team right now and it appears to be a two-man race for the starting job. However, barring injury, I fully expect Jackson to win out because of his proven track record of winning in college as opposed to Pigrome's past sporadic play. Let's not forget, much of the praise Locksley has for Pigrome stems from the fact that Pigrome couldn't throw the ball with any consistency as recently as a few months ago. But the Piggy's ability to grow and dynamic athleticism has to have Terps fans feeling good about the quarterback position as a whole. Locksley said a starter will be named the Sunday or Monday prior to the Howard game.
- Locksley also brought up Legendre, who he said got sprinkled in with the ones, twos, and threes today, but mostly the twos and threes. Locks said the coaching staff wanted to see how the freshman would do in some live reps with "the bullets flying" against the first team. Sounds like Legendre had his good and bad moments but continues to impress overall.
- Locksley also announced that he found out this morning that Max Bortenschlager will miss about eight weeks with a stress fracture in his leg. Locks wasn't positive if the injury was related to Bort's injury from last year, but said he believes they are related.
- Sophomore wide receiver Carlos Carriere got a shoutout from Coach Locks today for being a playmaker in the scrimmage. I saw him make some nice grabs in practice the other day and he seems to be climbing the depth chart. DJ Turner was also mentioned by Locks today and has been brought up several times as a standout this offseason. Tayon Fleet-Davis and Tyler Mabry were also mentioned as offensive standouts today.
- On defense, Locksley pointed out the play of both senior cornerbacks, Tino Ellis and Marcus Lewis. He highlighted Ellis' ability to play the ball in the air, and added that Lewis participated in the scrimmage today but was wearing a yellow non-contact jersey as a precaution.
- Two areas Locksley has been concerned with this offseason is pass protection and the offense's ability to keep drives alive on third down. He said both areas showed immense improvement today.
- Both freshman punters apparently look very good and there is a close competition going there. One is a lefty and one is a righty, which makes it even more interesting. Perhaps both will see action this year. Sophomore kicker Joseph Petrino's leg strength was specifically asked about today and Locksley said they have seen what they need from him in that area this offseason. In fact, Locks talked about how they scripted a situation for Petrino in practice the other day where he had to attempt a 50-yard field goal to win the game at the end of a two-minute drill. He said Petrino hit the kick with ease and plenty of distance to spare.
- Locksley also went in-depth on the Raven-Packers preseason game the Terps attended the other night and the scholarship that was extended to walk-on senior linebacker Bruce Miller — older brother of B'Ahmad Miller.
