DJ Durkin thought back to advice from Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, the leader who gave him his start and fostered his growth that propelled him to take command of the Maryland football program at 38 years old, Tuesday afternoon, and he cracked a smile.
“The best piece of advice he told me was, ‘Do not tell the media what I told you,'” Durkin said.
Durkin paused as reporters laughed. The moment during his weekly press conference in Maryland Stadium was a microcosm of the positive, light atmosphere Durkin had implemented during his team’s fast start, maintained as Big Ten competition has increased and hopes to bring into Maryland’s match with Meyer’s No. 6 Buckeyes Saturday afternoon.
“He was still the same guy,” defensive lineman Azubuike Ukandu said of his first year coach’s reaction after the Terps’ 56-point loss to Michigan. “He was just saying, ‘Another bump in the road, another, you know, adverse situation,’ because there’s many adverse situations we’ve encountered this season, so just another one for us to overcome.”
Durkin’s started building his coaching philosophy as a graduate assistant under Meyer at Bowling Green in 2001. They met a few times in person before Durkin earned the job, but after a few weeks of coaching, Meyer felt ready to give him “full-time responsibility.”
“That’s how good he was,” Meyer said on a conference call Tuesday.
“I didn’t realize how fortunate I was to get the position,” Durkin added.
A few stops later, including three years with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh when they were together at Stanford, Durkin reunited with Meyer in 2010 at Florida.
Durkin said last week before facing Harbaugh’s Wolverines his coaching experiences and lessons mesh together from one job to the next, but he and Meyer keep in touch and have talked “pretty frequently” since he accepted the top position in College Park.
“He’s a friend,” Durkin said, “and obviously a good guy to seek advice from within the profession.”
When Maryland welcomes this Meyer’s squad to College Park on Saturday, the Terps’ second consecutive matchup with a top-10 team, part of the reason for Durkin’s optimism will be on display.
The Terps have played 15 true freshmen this season. Five have earned starts. Some have shined — running back Lorenzo Harrison is 57 yards away from breaking the program’s rookie rushing record — while others, such as the reserve competition in the secondary amid the unit’s rash of injuries, have struggled.
But that experience has the team hopeful the players can one day mature and build the program to join the Buckeyes atop the Big Ten.
“I’m very proud of DJ,” Meyer said. “I see what are the trademarks of our program — play hard, toughness and guys giving everything they can, so very proud of him.”
That’s why Durkin hasn’t grown too frustrated while the Terps have lost four of their last five games. He sees promise in his new players and has preached positive reinforcement and constructive learning during the week.
Plus, Maryland is slated to bring in the program’s highest-rated recruiting class ever next season. That 2017 bunch trails only Michigan and Ohio State, where his two mentors have built programs Durkin hopes to emulate.
“I see growth in the program,” wide receiver Levern Jacobs said. “It’s no secret that last year we were 3-9, so, you know, this year, we can do nothing but improve. All you can do is go up from here.
“The program is looking nothing but up. I can’t wait to see how Maryland looks through years to come.”
