Since Walt Bell became Maryland’s offensive coordinator, he has used a GIF of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles saying “Cowabunga!” as a way to signal that Maryland has received a commitment from a recruit. He most recently tweeted it out on July 30, but a quick look through his profile shows he uses it pretty regularly. Bell gave the backstory.

“I was born in 1984. Like all kids of the mid-to-late 80s I was a giant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan along with G.I. Joe and Transformers, all when it was really bad animation. But that was the golden age of cartoons, in my personal opinion. So you know, the fact that we’re the Terrapins, any time that I get to include the Ninja Turtles in anything I do in my life I think that couldn’t be anything but positive.”

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What Maryland’s defensive backs coach has learned about Nick Saban

Nick Saban is currently the best coach in college football and already in the conversation for one of the greatest coaches ever. Maryland’s defensive backs coach, Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, spent the last two seasons working with Saban at Alabama. Abdul-Rahim noted that “planning and preparation” are part of what makes Saban successful. Abdul-Rahim also spoke about something unorthodox that Saban does.

“He doesn’t have a computer in his office. Everything is hand-written. So it’s binders beyond binders. You could look in one of his notebooks from three years ago and at that particular date and we’re doing the exact same thing we did three years on that date.”

Mike London doesn’t like DMV traffic

Mike London has been in coaching since 1988, and virtually all of that time has been spent in the DMV. He’s coached at Virginia, Richmond, William & Mary and now finds himself at Maryland. London mentioned the importance of staying in one area for so long, but he did have one thing to complain about: the traffic.

“At one o’clock or whatever time, you could be sitting on 495 or 95 or somewhere, just because of a fender bender.”

Matt Barnes is aware he shares his name with a basketball player

Maryland’s linebackers coach is named Matt Barnes. He is not the basketball player who most well known for trying to fight Derek Fisher. However, Barnes is aware of the shared name and finds humor in it.

“I do get some jokes about that every now and then,” he said. “Sometimes I introduce myself in a group as ‘Hi I’m Matt Barnes, I don’t play basketball.’ But I am familiar with him and some of his antics.”