Former Terps Forging Their Ways As Pros

When was the last time the Terps had so many alumni simultaneously realizing success as pros?

Sure, Maryland has a long history of sending athletes to their respective professional leagues, both domestically and internationally, but the rate at which those athletes have made it to that level, let alone thrived at that level, has varied over the years.

Currently, there is a plethora of former Terps making waves in the world’s largest sports leagues — the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Let’s take a closer look.

NFL

The National Football League is loaded with Terps at the moment, some who are making a major impact on their respective teams. The current list of Maryland alumni in the NFL includes:

Antoine Brooks Jr., LB – Los Angeles Rams

Jermaine Carter Jr., LB – Carolina Panthers

Byron Cowart, DL – New England Patriots

Sean Davis, DB – New England Patriots

Stefon Diggs, WR – Buffalo Bills

Michael Dunn, OL – Cleveland Browns

Trey Edmunds, RB – Pittsburgh Steelers

Jake Funk, RB – Los Angeles Rams

Derwin Gray, OL – Tennessee Titans

J.C. Jackson, DB – New England Patriots

Quinton Jefferson, DL – Las Vegas Raiders

Ty Johnson, RB – New York Jets

Keandre Jones, LB – Cincinnati Bengals

Tyler Mabry, TE – Seattle Seahawks

Anthony McFarland, RB – Pittsburgh Steelers

DJ Moore, WR – Carolina Panthers

Yannick Ngakoue, DE – Las Vegas Raiders

Darnell Savage, DB – Green Bay Packers

Josh Woods, LB – Detroit Lions

Of this list, 13 Terps are currently active on their NFL rosters. The rest are either on the practice squad or injured reserve. The names that really stand out are Diggs, Jackson, and Moore.

These three have established themselves as stars in the league. They have Pro Bowls and other accolades already to their names and they show no signs of slowing down any time soon. And don’t think that wide receivers and defensive backs that the Terps are recruiting haven’t taken notice.

Others, like Jefferson, Johnson, Ngakoue, and Savage might not be considered among the best at their respective positions, but they are all starters or solid contributors to their teams each and every week. Ngakoue was on his way to being a star before hitting some career road bumps and switching teams a few times. However, he seems to have rediscovered himself in Las Vegas and is thriving at getting after the quarterback once again.

Maryland is currently well-represented in both NFL conferences and by some playoff teams. The Rams, Panthers, Patriots, Steelers, and Raiders are all organizations that have seemingly taken a particularly strong liking to the Terps, each rostering multiple Maryland alumni at the moment.

NBA

Maryland has long been considered a basketball school. But there have been periods of time where the league wasn’t exactly littered with former Terps talent.

But right now, Maryland has some solid NBA prospects who are flashing here and there for their teams. Here are the former Terps currently in the NBA:

Bruno Fernando, C – Boston Celtics

Kevin Huerter, SF – Atlanta Hawks

Jake Layman, SF – Minnesota Timberwolves

Alex Len, C – Sacramento Kings

Jalen Smith, C – Phoenix Suns

Aaron Wiggins, SF – Oklahoma City Thunder

Huerter, Smith and Wiggins are the aforementioned prospects. They are all young, talented, and getting regular playing time on their respective teams. Wiggins and Smith are both coming off the hottest stretches of their short careers. With the Thunder dealing with injuries and Health and Safety Protocol-related problems, Wiggins just had a six-game stretch in which he played at least 26 minutes per contest and averaged 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.0 steals per game. He now appears to be solidly in Oklahoma City’s rotation and should continue to shine with a game that was always more suited for the pros rather than college hoops.

Stix Smith is the Maryland alum in the NBA that I’m perhaps most excited about. He looks like a beast on the floor at times and is playing well for a good team in Phoenix. Like Wiggins, Smith recently had to contribute to his team more because of regular starters being out of the lineup, and the former Terps forward made the most of his minutes, averaging 15.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game over a five-game span.

Huerter is currently making his way back from an injury and COVID, but he has been activated for Atlanta’s last two games and is coming off 18- and 25-point performances in those outings. He is a regular fixture in the Hawks’ starting lineup right now and will get every opportunity to keep building his NBA resume.

Fernando is still a young, raw talent who could develop into a decent NBA player, and Lens and Layman have been contributing off their teams’ benches for years now. It’s really not a bad showing for Maryland in the NBA right now.

MLB

Maryland doesn’t have a rich history of sending talent to the MLB, but right now former Terps infielder Brandon Lowe is one of the best young players in the league. Lowe is coming off of three stellar seasons in a row with the Tampa Bay Rays, including last year where he hit 39 home runs and drove in 99 RBI while also scoring 97 runs himself. He’s just over a .250 hitter when it comes to average, but his .518 slugging percentage is his calling card.

The Rays know how to harvest talent and Lowe is one of their best currently on their roster.

LaMonte Wade (San Francisco Giants) and Kevin Smith (Toronto Blue Jays) are the next two up-and-comers who could become solid MLB players. Wade is coming off a great year with the Giants in which he played in 109 games and hit 18 home runs. Smith got called up late in the year by the Blue Jays and is one of their most MLB-ready prospects. And let’s not forget about Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Adam Kolarek, who has sustained a six-year MLB career that has also included stops with the Rays and Dodgers. Kolarek isn’t going to get anyone excited, but he’s worth a mention seeing how there are only four former Terps currently on MLB rosters.

Who’s Next?

As former pro wrestler Bill Goldberg would say, “Who’s Next?”

Well, with several members of Maryland’s football team recently declaring for the NFL Draft, we could see a few more impressive Terps in the pros soon.

Nick Cross and Rakim Jarrett have both been my favorite pro prospects Maryland football has had on its team for the past few years. Jarrett has another year with the school but Cross has declared for the NFL Draft and I think he will be a steal for whatever team takes a gamble on him. Perhaps, like Jackson and Savage, he’ll contribute to Maryland being a “DB U” for recruits to flock to.