$30.5 million worth Michael Locksley marks his presence as Indiana thrashes Maryland in 83-78 showdown: PHOTO

Maryland football coach Michael Locksley was present to watch the Terrapins basketball team get beaten 83-78 by the Indiana Hoosiers at XFINITY Center on Sunday.

Locksley, worth $30.5 million per College Football Network, watched as the Terrapins (15-15 overall, 7-12 Big Ten) lost a 16-point lead to consign themselves to a bottom-four seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

The coach, who joined the Terrapins in 2018, reposted a photo with the team's mascot "Testudo" on his Instagram stories.

Image via Instagram

Michael Locksley reveals Nick Saban's influence

Michael Locksley rose rapidly under legendary coach Nick Saban from an offensive assistant in 2016 to a wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator in 2017 for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

During an interview with Brian Mitchell and JP Finlay on Super Bowl Radio Row, he revealed Saban's influence on his career, especially as a Black coach.

"I mean, I didn't know Nick Saban from a hole in the wall," Locksley said. "But I knew that if somehow some way I could get under the Nick Saban brand, that I would be able to utilize that high tide to rise me back up to get to where I am today.

"And having worked under him in an analyst role for a year and then get promoted to co-coordinator then given the keys to the Maserati as really the first Black branch off the Saban tree.

"I saw how that relationship, how he got to know me and see the value I could bring, and it benefited me and I'm back now and in my dream job at the University of Maryland.”

Michael Locksley also revealed how shocking Nick Saban's retirement news was to even him, having talked to him the day before:

“I talked to him the night before … Yeah, I literally had a conversation with Coach the day before he retired, which is why after he did it and we spoke, I said, ‘Coach, I mean, I literally just spoke to you the day before.’

"The story’s true. I mean, he was interviewing receiver coaches, and being part of our board through the Coalition, he's on the board of the Coalition, we talk and he’ll ask me for some names of guys that he shouldn't look at. And he's interviewing guys for position coaching jobs the day before.”

When Alabama was looking for a Saban replacement, Michael Locksley was considered one of the candidates alongside Missouri Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz and eventual successor Kalen De Boer, according to Football Scoop's John Brice.

"Two other names with some measure of traction in the search: former Broyles Award-winning Alabama assistant coach Mike Locksley and current Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz, per sources in upper levels of college athletics administration," Brice wrote.

“Michael Locksley has garnered significant support from former players, Football Scoop is told, and he also is believed to have key support from at least one prominent Alabama mega-booster as well as top former Tide assistants.”

It's a testament to just how far he has come that the Maryland Terrapins coach was in the running to be a replacement for the legendary Nick Saban.