Football
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Maryland Football Coaching Staff
Last Game
Penn State
Nov 30, 2024
State College
Next Game
TBA
To Be Announced
Mike Locksley
Head Coach
Michael Locksley returned home to become the University of Maryland’s 37th head football coach in December 2018. Locksley, a Washington, D.C. native with deep personal and professional connections to the area, brings over 20 years of coaching experience, including two separate stints at Maryland, totalling 10 years with the Terps.
The winner of the 2018 Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach, Locksley has spent the last three years working under Nick Saban at the University of Alabama. He served as the Crimson Tide’s co-offensive coordinator and won a national championship last season before being promoted to offensive coordinator in February of 2018 and helping Alabama return to the College Football Playoff.
Locksley, known for strong recruiting skills, was listed as a top-25 recruiter in the nation three different times (2003, 2005, 2006) and was a finalist for 2007 recruiter of the year by Rivals.com. He also engineered top-10 recruiting classes during each of his two seasons (2003-04) as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Florida.
Aazaar Abdul-Rahim
Co-Defensive Coordinator/Cornerbacks
Aazaar Abdul-Rahim returns for his second stint at Maryland in 2024. He will serve as the Co-Defensive Coordinator, Associate Head Coach for Defense and coach the Terrapin cornerbacks.
Abdul-Rahim, a Washington, D.C. native who has deep ties to the DMV area, coached at Maryland from 2016-18. He has experience at the high school and collegiate levels, with stops including Alabama, Boston College and serving as the Head Coach at Friendship Collegiate Academy in DC from 2004-13.
Abdul-Rahim arrives back at Maryland after spending four years coaching at Boston College. He was elevated prior to the 2023 season to serve as BC’s co-defensive coordinator, while retaining his coaching responsibilities with the Eagle defensive backs.
The Boston College secondary flourished under Abdul-Rahim’s tutelage, ranking fourth in the ACC by allowing just 197.1 yards per game through the air in 2023. Abdul-Rahim mentored First Team All-ACC selection Elijah Jones, who led the conference in interceptions (5) and passes defended (13).
A pair of BC defensive backs earned All-ACC honors in 2022 with Jones and safety Jaiden Woodbey claiming Honorable Mention accolades. As a team, the BC secondary was fifth in the ACC at 211.1 passing yards allowed per game.
Adbul-Rahim and his secondary helped BC rank third nationally in passing yards allowed (173.5 per game) during the 2021 season. The Eagles were also top-30 nationally in six other defensive categories: total defense, red zone defense, first downs allowed, third down percentage, team passing efficiency, and defensive touchdowns.
Abdul-Rahim oversaw the development of Josh DeBerry into an All-ACC cornerback. DeBerry was named All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2020 and earned All-ACC Second Team honors in 2021. He was rated 19th nationally among all cornerbacks according to Pro Football Focus for the 2021 season. Cornerback Brandon Sebastian earned a spot on the All-ACC Third Team after leading the conference in interceptions (4), while safety Jaiden Woodbey was All-ACC Honorable Mention.
In his first season in Chestnut Hill, Abdul-Rahim made an instant impact in coaching the Eagles’ defensive backs and helping improve the defense 52 spots in the national rankings in total defense. Boston College allowed 62 fewer yards per game on defense in 2020 compared to the previous year.
On the recruiting trail, Abdul-Rahim showed his prowess as one of the top recruiters in college football, helping to secure two of the top recruiting classes in school history while at BC. The 2021 and 2022 signing classes earned ESPN's best ranking in program history since its rankings began in 2006. BC also earned its best showing in the 247Sports rankings and was awarded its first Rivals top-30 class since 2004.
Abdul-Rahim came to Boston College after spending the 2019 season at UMass as defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Prior to UMass, Abdul-Rahim spent three seasons at Maryland working in the secondary. Abdul-Rahim developed Maryland’s defensive backs into one of the strongest units in the Big Ten, with all-conference recognition given to Darnell Savage, Jr. and Antoine Brooks, Jr. in 2017 and 2018, JC Jackson in 2017 and Tino Ellis in 2018.
In addition to his coaching duties, Abdul-Rahim was instrumental in the Terps’ recruiting efforts. He was a key factor in Maryland signing a consensus top-20 recruiting class in 2017 and a top-30 group in 2018. During his final two years as a member of the staff, Maryland inked 17 four-star student-athletes and eight members of the ESPN300 to National Letters of Intent. As a result, Abdul-Rahim was recognized by 247Sports in 2018 as one of the top recruiting assistant coaches in the Big Ten.
Overall, 2018 was a rousing success on the recruiting trail and in the secondary for the Terrapins. Abdul-Rahim assisted with the recruiting efforts as Maryland collected a consensus top-30 class before helping the Terps’ defense develop into one of the most disruptive in the nation. The defense recorded 23 turnovers forced, including 18 interceptions and five fumble recoveries, and added 32 pass breakups. The 18 interceptions ranked tied for the fifth-most in FBS during the season.
In 2017, Abdul-Rahim was vital in aiding the Terps in landing nine of the top 20 players from the state of Maryland and three of the top nine players from Washington, D.C. Rivals.com and 247Sports recognized him as one of the top 25 recruiters nationally for the class of 2017.
Abdul-Rahim also made an impact coaching Maryland's defensive backs. In 2017, the Terps posted 10 interceptions on the year, which ranked as the most for a Maryland team since 2003.
Abdul-Rahim joined the Maryland staff in 2016 after a two-year stint at Alabama where he first served as a defensive analyst in 2014 before he was promoted to the assistant director of player personnel in 2015.
During his two seasons at Alabama, the Crimson Tide were selected for the College Football Playoffs in both years and won the national championship in 2015. Additionally, Alabama collected the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the nation during each season, according to 247Sports.
Abdul-Rahim made his mark in his hometown as the head coach of Friendship Collegiate Academy. After he founded the school’s football program in 2004, Abdul-Rahim turned it into a national powerhouse and accumulated 62 wins during his tenure while he also led the team to a District of Columbia State Athletic Association championship in 2012. He helped over 100 players earn scholarships to play college football.
Abdul-Rahim is also the founder “Cover One”, a defensive back training academy that works with dozens of NFL players on skill development.
Abdul-Rahim played three seasons at San Diego State (1997-1999) after a stint at Mesa Community College. After college, the Dunbar High School standout competed for the San Diego Riptide of the Arena Football League.
Zac Spavital
Safeties Coach
Zac Spavital was hired as Maryland’s safeties coach in March of 2023.
Spavital comes to Maryland after four seasons as the defensive coordinator for Texas State. In 18 years as a defensive coach for Texas State, Texas Tech, Houston and Oklahoma, Spavital has overseen defenses that have six times finished top-25 in turnovers forced, twice finishing in the top-10. A 2022 Broyles Award nominee, Spavital guided a defensive unit that improved 56 spots in the national rankings from 2021 to 2022 in total defense and set FBS program records in tackles for loss and nearing the record in sacks and turnovers gained.
Spavital has been part of nine bowl teams during his coaching career and helped lead Oklahoma to two Big 12 Championships in 2006-07, making the Fiesta Bowl in each season.
In 2022, Spavital coached defensive lineman Levi Bell to Third Team All-American plaudits as he totaled a career-high 66 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and 7 quarterback hurries in 12 games. His 13.5 TFLs were an FBS program record for a single season and ninth-most ever by a Bobcat. Spavital’s rushing defense only allowed 116.2 yards per game this past year, a top-25 mark in the nation.
Caeveon Patton and Jordan Revels both earned All-Sun Belt honors under Spavital’s tutelage in 2021. Patton played in 11 games and recorded 51 tackles, including 21 solo stops, four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and three quarterback hurries in 2021, while Revels recorded 59 tackles, including 29 solo stops, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, and seven quarterback hurries in 12 games.
Texas State ranked 47th in forced turnovers (15) and No. 25 in forced fumbles (8) in 2020. The Bobcats ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference after surrendering just 199.3 passing yards per game in 2019.
His defense produced a pair of All-Sun Belt Conference defensive players, Jarron Morris and Nico Ezidore, in 2020. Morris was a Second-Team selection as a defensive back, while Ezidore earned Third-Team honors as a defensive lineman.
Texas State boasted five All-Sun Belt Conference players in 2019. Heading the list were First-Team linebacker Bryan London II, who ended his career as Texas State’s all-time leading tackler, and Third-Team linebacker Nik Daniels. In addition, defensive tackle Caeveon Patton, cornerback Jarron Morris, and Khambrail Winters were Honorable Mention selections.
Zac Spavital went to Texas State after serving as a co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Texas Tech in 2018. It was Spavital’s fourth season as linebackers coach for the Red Raiders.
He helped transform Texas Tech into one of the nation’s top turnover-causing teams in 2017. The Red Raiders ranked sixth nationally in forced turnovers (29), fourth in fumble recoveries (15) and eighth in defensive touchdowns (4). The defensive output helped Texas Tech lead the Big 2 and rank 13th nationally with a plus-11 turnover margin, the highest margin for the Red Raiders since 1997.
One of his linebackers Dakota Allen was a two-time All-Big 12 selection, earning First-Team honors in 2018 and Second-Team in 2017. Allen recorded 73 tackles and recovering two fumbles in 2018 after leading Tech with 102 tackles and picking off a pair of passes.
Another linebacker, Jordyn Brooks was named Honorable Mention All-Big 12 after leading the Red Raiders in tackles for the second time in three years in 2018 (84). He became the first freshman to lead Texas Tech in tackles during the school’s Big 12 era (86) in 2016.
Brooks garnered All-Big 12 honorable mention accolades and was named to the True Freshmen All-America Team by 247Sports.com in 2016 after finishing fifth among freshmen nationally in solo tackles per game (5.1).
Tech forced 25 turnovers during Spavital’s first season in 2015 as the Red Raiders went from a minus-13 in the turnover margin prior to his Spavital arrival to a plus-2 advantage.
Spavital has been part of nine bowl teams during his coaching career. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma in 2005. Tech made a postseason appearance in the 2015 AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl and 2017 Birmingham Bowl with Texas Tech.
Prior to joining the Red Raider staff in January 2015, Spavital spent seven seasons at Houston coaching defensive backs for the Cougars while also serving as recruiting coordinator under both Kevin Sumlin and Tony Levine.
Spavital, a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, coached an all-conference performer in each of his final three seasons at Houston. Adrian McDonald and William Jackson both earned all-conference honors in 2014 after McDonald totaled five interceptions and three fumble recoveries to garner first-team accolades while Jackson was named to the second team.
The Cougars closed Spavital’s final season in Houston ranked 19th nationally in total defense (334.6 yards per game), 11th in scoring defense (19.5) and ninth in turnovers gained (30). Houston also allowed just 136.3 rushing yards per game to rank 31st nationally.
Houston led the nation with 43 turnovers during the 2013 season to help lead the nation with a plus-25 turnover margin. Spavital’s defensive backs unit accounted for 29 of Houston’s 43 turnovers that season as Trevon Stewart set a Houston record with six fumble recoveries while Adrian McDonald led The American with six interceptions. Steward and cornerback Zach McMillian, who also had five interceptions, were both named to the All-American Athletic Conference Second-Team.
In 2012, Spavital’s unit produced three players with All-Conference USA honors, as D. J. Hayden was a First-Team selection, Stewart was on the league’s All-Freshman Team and McMillian earned C-USA Honorable Mention honors. In addition, Stewart was on the FWAA Freshman All-America team as he led all freshmen nationally with 126 tackles. McMillian led Conference USA with five interceptions while Hayden was second with four. In all, Spavital’s group accounted for 14 interceptions.
Under Spavital’s leadership, Hayden became the first Houston player selected in the NFL Draft’s First Round since 1997 when he was selected 12th overall by the Oakland Raiders in 2013.
Houston’s defense was vastly improved in 2011 and ranked third nationally with 21 interceptions. Hayden was the Conference USA Defensive Newcomer of the Year and was a Second Team All-C-USA pick. Overall the secondary allowed 16 yards less per game through the air despite breaking in three new starters and allowed two less touchdown passes in two more games played.
During the 2010 season, Spavital’s four safeties combined for 213 tackles, four interceptions, 3.5 tackles for loss and eight passes broken up.
The Cougars recorded 11 interceptions in 2009 with cornerbacks Jamal Robinson and Brandon Brinkley finishing first and second on the team. Brinkley posted four pickoffs for 108 yards was an All-Conference USA Second Team selection. Robinson sealed a victory at No. 5/6 Oklahoma State with a 26-yard return for touchdown. Brinkley finished his career ranked among the Cougars’ all-time career leaders in interceptions, games played and pass breakups.
During Spavital’s first season in 2008, Houston’s defensive backs picked off 13 passes with the four interceptions by Brinkley and Loyce Means leading all players.
Spavital went to Houston after serving three seasons as the defensive graduate assistant on Bob Stoops’ staff at Oklahoma. There, he worked with the defensive secondary and the scout team. During that span, the Sooners won a pair of Big 12 titles and made two appearances in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
Statistically, in each of his three seasons at OU, the Sooners’ defense ranked at the top of the Big 12 and among the elite units in the country for total defense. Oklahoma never finished outside of the top two in total defense in the Big 12, leading the league in both 2005 and 2006, while ranking second in 2007. Nationally, the Sooners ranked 13th in total defense in 2005, 16th in 2006 and 26th in 2007.
While at Oklahoma, Spavital helped coach six All-Big 12 performers and five players who signed NFL contracts, including 2007 third-round NFL Draft pick Reggie Smith.
Before beginning his coaching career, Spavital played football at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for two seasons before playing two years at Murray State in Kentucky. He was an All-Conference and All-Region selection and a Gridwire Scholar All-American.
Spavital graduated from Murray State in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He has two children, Leah and Hayden.
Latrell Scott
Running Backs Coach
Latrell Scott possesses over 20 years of collegiate coaching experience, including eight seasons as a head coach at the FCS and Division II levels at Richmond, Virginia State and Norfolk State. The coaching veteran was most recently the Passing Game Coordinator/Tight Ends/Inside Receivers Coach at East Carolina for two seasons.
Scott possesses a 46-43 record as head coach, including a 19-3 record at Virginia State in 2013-14. The Trojan's won their first outright CIAA championship since 1996 and recorded the program's first-ever NCAA playoff appearance and victory during the 2014 Division II Championships, earning Scott CIAA Coach of the Year honors.
In 2013, Scott earned Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) College Division State Co-Coach of the Year and the Touchdown Club of Richmond's state Division II/III Coach of the Year accolades after guiding the Trojans to a 9-1 overall record and perfect 7-0 CIAA ledger, which also included a team-first Top 25 ranking in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) weekly poll.
At East Carolina, Scott played a crucial role in the Pirates having a top-25 offense in 2022 by averaging 461.1 yards per game. His passing offense averaged 290.5 yards per game, the 16th-best mark in the country. In his two years in Greenville, East Carolina won 15 games and eclipsed 400 yards of offense in 16 different games, including 500-plus yards in eight different games.
At Norfolk State from 2015-20, Scott led NSU to its best season in eight years by winning five games against a 2019 schedule that featured a pair of FBS opponents. Scott oversaw an offensive unit that turned in its most prolific performance in the school's Division I history by averaging 28.9 points per game, while ranking second and third in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in passing and rushing, respectively. Scott had 56 players earn All-MEAC recognition while at Norfolk State.
Before serving as a head coach for eight years, Scott held collegiate assistant coaching positions at Western Carolina (2001), Virginia Military Institute (2002-04), Richmond (2005-07), Tennessee (2008), Virginia (2009) and James Madison (2012) – all on the offensive side of the ball. Scott began his coaching career at the prep school level at Fork Union Military Academy in 1999.
A Richmond native with deep Virginia ties, Scott was a three-year starter at tight end during his playing days at Hampton University and was part of one CIAA championship team and two additional MEAC title winning squads. He also was part of a Pirates team that qualified for the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
James Thomas
Special Teams Coordinator/OLB Coach
James Thomas Jr. will serve as the Terrapins Special Teams Coordinator and Outside Linebackers coach.
Thomas spent the 2021 season as a Special Teams quality control analyst for the Terps before briefly joining the University of Florida’s staff earlier this year in a quality control role working with the Gators cornerbacks.
Prior to Maryland, Thomas Jr. served two seasons (2019-20) as co-defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at Angelo State University. Under his guidance, the Rams defense was one of the top-performing units among Division II schools, ranking third nationally in scoring defense (14.8 PPG), fifth in defensive pass efficiency (93.17), and 10th in interceptions (17).
Thomas Jr. also spent three seasons at Clarion University (2016-18), where he served as the Golden Eagles defensive coordinator. In 2018, Clarion's defense ranked sixth in interceptions, eighth in takeaways and 14th in red zone defense.
A native of Orlando, Fla., Thomas Jr. started his career at Western New Mexico in 2010, where he coached the receivers his first two seasons (2010-11), and served as special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach (2012-13), and defensive coordinator (2014-15).
Thomas Jr. is a graduate of Graceland University, where he played cornerback from 2004-08 and earned his degree in physical education and health in 2009. He also has a master's degree in educational leadership from Western New Mexico.
Brian Simerville
Director of Athletic Training/Head Football Athletic Trainer
Brian Simerville returned to the University of Maryland in Feb. 2019 as the Director of Athletic Training/Head Football Athletic Trainer.
Prior to returning to College Park, Simerville served as the Head Football Athletic Trainer for the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
Simerville started at Maryland in 2013 as the Assistant Football Athletic Trainer. Simerville provided athletic training coverage for the Maryland football team and served as the Insurance Coordinator for all the University of Maryland Student-Athletes.
Simerville came to Maryland after three years at the United States Naval Academy, where he served as the assistant athletic trainer with Ice Hockey, Football, Women’s tennis and Golf teams. Prior to that, Simerville worked as an Associate Athletic Trainer at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida from 2007-2010.
Simerville received his Master of Arts degree in Exercise Science from the University of South Florida in 2007. While at USF Simerville served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer with the Men’s Soccer team. Brian received his Undergraduate degree in Sports Medicine Athletic Training from Eastern Michigan University in 2005.