Terp Ties Run Deep for Dino Tomlin

Football has been a part of Maryland wide receiver Dino Tomlin’s life, both on and off the field, since the day he was born, but it has never been more important than his family. 

Tomlin is the son of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and the nephew of former Terp safety Ed Tomlin, who played on the 1988 and 1989 Terrapin teams.

“Football has always been a thing, but our family kind of just treats it as my dad's job,” Dino said. “I never really talked about football with my dad growing up. We'd watch it and I’d be around it more than the average person, but it wasn't necessarily everything.”

Each member of the Tomlin family has always had their own set of priorities.

Tomlin’s father has been coaching in the National Football League since 1999 and began his coaching career in Division I football in 1995. His mother, Kiya, is a graphic designer and owns a fashion business. His sister, Harlyn, does gymnastics and his brother Mason was focused on basketball for a while, but now raps and plays football at Columbia.

And for the redshirt freshman wide receiver himself, he’s always gravitated towards football because he enjoyed playing it and it was easy for him when he was growing up.

“We’ve had our own stuff going on, so it wasn’t necessarily like football was the main thing,” Dino said.

While Tomlin’s family may have always treated football as Mike’s job, it has allowed Dino to learn so much, not just as a football player but also as a person.

Mike Tomlin isn’t just an ordinary NFL coach. He is a two-time Super Bowl Champion with two different teams. Tomlin won his first Super Bowl as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive backs coach in 2003 when the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII. 

His second Super Bowl win came as the head coach of the Steelers in 2009 when they won Super Bowl XLIII. Tomlin, who was 36-years-old at the time, became the youngest head coach to ever win a Super Bowl.

Two seasons later, the Steelers lost to the Packers in the Super Bowl and they haven’t been back to the big game since, which was nine seasons ago - in 2011.

“It puts it into perspective for me,” Dino said. “After my senior year when we lost in the playoffs, I was talking to [my dad] and once you get to the next level, college or pro, it is hard to win. Because of that, I don’t take winning for granted.”

As a son, lessons from your father can always be cherished. Tomlin’s lessons that he’s learned from his father off of the field are equally as important.

“[My dad] emphasizes to stay solid and that not everything will go the way you want it to,” he said. “If you stay solid and persevere, a lot of the time you’ll end up where you need to be. I found that to be true and I feel like that is one of my strengths as a person that I learned from my dad specifically.”

Growing up, most kids love when their parents bring them to work. In Tomlin’s case, when he gets brought to his father’s workplace, he is around some people that are the best in the world at what they do.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver coach Richard Mann had a significant impact on Tomlin during his four years as the coach. Tomlin, who has played wide receiver his whole life, took so many pointers from Mann and translated them into his game.

“[Coach Mann] gave me guidance,” Dino said. “Even when I wasn’t good yet and I was really raw, I’m still kind of raw, and I didn’t have any sort of technique, he would spend time with me getting all of that stuff down pat.”

Tomlin’s family has always been linked to football but more specifically Maryland football.

When Mike Tomlin and Ed Tomlin were growing up in Virginia, they used to attend decorated coach Bobby Ross’ camps when he was the head coach at Maryland from 1982 to 1986.

“We were Terps,” Mike said on current Maryland head coach Michael Locksley’s Instagram Live show “Late Night With Locks.” “We were Bobby Ross football campers. That was the first football camp I ever went to. Back then, money was tight and I’d get football camp for Christmas and would have to wait six months to cash in on it.”

Ed ended up becoming a co-captain and playing safety for the Terrapins in 1988 and 1989. He tied for the team-lead with three interceptions during a productive senior season in 1989.

Dino and his uncle have a close relationship but coming to Maryland wasn’t something Ed pushed on his nephew.

“I have seen him more often since I’ve been down here because he only lives about 20 minutes away,” Dino said. “He was excited when I was coming here but he didn’t really force it on me. He’s always been excited about Maryland football.”

Dino’s father has talked to him about what it was like when he would visit his brother Ed at Maryland. 

“He told me about when he would visit my uncle in school,” Dino recalled. “There was a basketball court on South Campus that they used to go to and he would tell me all about that.”

Now, Tomlin is preparing for the upcoming 2020 football season. Though, when the Big Ten decided to postpone its season in August, Tomlin continued to prepare in hopes that they would still have the chance to play this fall.

“I was excited when I found out we’d be playing this fall,” he said. 

Tomlin stayed positive that the Terps would hit the gridiron in the fall of 2020, as other Power 5 conferences took the field this season.

Whether fans are welcome in the stadiums this upcoming season is up to each university and its state. The question remains whether family will be permitted to watch from College Park.

As the NFL navigates through its season, Mike could potentially be given the opportunity to come see his son hit the field this fall.

“When Coach Tomlin comes down, he’s dad,” said Locksley. “We don’t have him down on the field. He’s just coming to check out his baby boy.”

As a team this season, Tomlin says they will take it one day at a time because the only thing they can control is each day. As an individual Tomlin hopes to help the team in whatever way that he can. He does have personal goals and believes that helping the team will allow him to achieve them.

During the offseason, Tomlin gained about 20 pounds more than his weight that he came to Maryland as a freshman with.

“I gained a lot of weight since I got down here and a lot of that has to do with the meal plan,” Dino said. “We eat a lot of food at Gossett, so I get a lot more food than I normally would.”

Tomlin has also been able to improve on his muscle mass during the quarantine. He was forced to stay home and work out in his basement, though he does not think muscle is his best attribute on the field.

“It definitely helped a lot,” he said. “I put a lot of weight on because I still believe that speed is my biggest asset, but I think developing strength and more body weight will help me play more physically.”

With all the ties that Tomlin has to Maryland, he will look to continue making his family proud as he enters his second season in College Park.

“I do feel great about being able to learn, play and continue to represent my family at the University of Maryland.”