Coach Michael Locksley discussed his vision for a post-Taulia Tagovailoa team on Thursday at the Big Ten’s 2024 football media week.

Coming off its second consecutive eight-win season, Locksley said the Terps are comfortable and confident in who they are. With Tagovailoa, Locksley believed Maryland was an offensive-led team. But without the quarterback, the coach thinks the defense has the potential to lead.

“My first half of my career, the first eight, nine years, I coached on defense, I played defense in college,” Locksley said. “As we transition to a defensive-led team, I’m gonna put my defensive hat on.”

From 2021 to 2023, Maryland averaged more than 28 points a game with Tagovailoa leading the unit. The defense drastically improved over the past two seasons — allowing about a touchdown less each game on average than in 2021 — but the team still revolved around the offense.

That could change in 2024. The Terps lost six consistent starters from last season’s offense, along with three more players that received at least five starts. Seven defensive starters returned.

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The core of Maryland’s defensive line is intact — defensive coordinator Brian Williams returns last season’s three leaders in tackles for loss. The highlight of the group is Quashon Fuller, a 2023 All-Big Ten honorable mention.

Defensive tackle Jordan Phillips is set for a bigger role in his second season as a Terp after starting in 10 games last year. Locksley believes no other player in the country will outwork Phillips. The redshirt sophomore gave reason to that in Indianapolis when he described his profound film preparation.

Phillips said he watches other defensive tackles in college and the NFL, studying both what they do well and where they struggle. He also studies specific scenarios that might arise in a game.

“You can lift all the weights in the world you want, but if you don’t have the IQ to go with it, the weights don’t mean anything,” Phillips said. “So it’s very important that I study situational football and just know what I’m looking at.”

Phillips also cited the importance of accountability and leadership on the defensive side of the ball — aspects he believes Maryland has grown in.

One of the defense’s biggest leaders is linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II, who returned to College Park for one more season after earning third team All-Big Ten honors last year.

Fellow linebackers Kellan Wyatt and Caleb Wheatland, who each totaled more than five tackles for loss and three sacks to lead last season’s defense, complement Hyppolite to create a strong room.

“We’re gonna be a team who doesn’t give up,” Hyppolite said. “We’re gonna play physical on both sides of the ball.”

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Locksley also expressed confidence in his defensive staff at media week, a group he feels has done an excellent job putting players in the best positions to succeed. The staff made a major addition over the offseason with the return of Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, who coached the Terps’ defensive backs and headed recruiting efforts from 2016 to 2018.

Abdul-Rahim, who will serve as the co-defensive coordinator, associate head coach for the defense and cornerbacks coach, most recently spent four seasons at Boston College. There, he worked as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. When he coached defensive backs at Maryland, the team made 10 interceptions in 2017, which was then the most since 2003.

Abdul-Rahim’s hiring will help manage the departures in the secondary of Tarheeb Still, Beau Brade and Ja’Quan Sheppard, who all moved on to the NFL.

The Terps will still have Dante Trader Jr. and Glendon Miller as the stars of the secondary, who finished second on the team in pass breakups and interceptions, respectively, last year.

Maryland’s defense lagged behind its offense the past few seasons. Locksley also believes that will change in 2024, creating a new look to Maryland football in a new era of the Big Ten — the entrance of Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC into the conference will bring a new wrinkle.

No matter who the opponent is, the goal is simple.

“We gotta go win,” Hyppolite said.