Tales From The Tailgate: Dan Ennis
Matt Gilpin, Maryland Athletics Staff Writer
9/11/2021
Watching your child live out their dream is one of the highest achievements in the life of any parent, but when that dream overlaps with a love and passion of yours, it means even more.
Dan Ennis has been a Maryland football fan for his entire life and has been going to games since he was an 8-year old in the mid-1960s. Since starting his own family, Ennis mimicked his father and started taking his son, Daniel to games too.
The elder Ennis’s love for the Terps rubbed off on his son so much so that when Daniel got into the University of Maryland, he walked onto the football team as a kicker.
“I was so proud and happy for him,” Dan said. “I don’t think he’s ever been as excited as he was when he told us he was a Maryland football player.”
I love the idea of it being a football family. It’s a family and not just a football team and you’re really seeing that under Locksley. He’s getting the right kind of guys in here for the future but he’s also embracing the older guys like my son. It’s amazing to see.Dan Ennis
Daniel was a soccer and track star at nearby Glenelg High School. Daniel was named his soccer team's most valuable midfielder as a senior and was also a member of the state champion 4x800m relay team.
Despite never playing football in high school, Daniel decided to walk on to the Terps in 2002 and it became a great decision not just for him but for Maryland as well.
After Nick Novak left for the NFL, the Terps kicking job was a wide-open competition. Despite having another kicker on scholarship, Daniel won the starting job in 2005.
The first game of that season came against rival Navy inside M&T Bank Stadium. It was Ennis’s first collegiate action, and he was up for the challenge.
Daniel was a perfect 3-for-3 on field goal attempts, including a 40-yarder in a 23-20 win for the Terps.
His junior year was a strong one overall, where he also kicked a game-winning field goal against North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Entering his senior year as the incumbent starter, Daniel earned a scholarship.
His senior year was even better as he was named an honorable mention All-ACC performer after starting all 13 games in 2006. His career-defining moment came in Death Valley as he lined up to take a game-winning field goal against Clemson.
“I couldn’t watch,” Dan said. “His mother and I were probably more nervous than he was because he looked pretty confident running out there.”
Ennis calmly lined up, stepped up, and booted a 31-yard field goal through the uprights giving the Terps a 13-12 win over No. 19 Clemson.
The team then rushed onto the field and lifted Daniel to celebrate his kick. For the Ennis family in the stands, it was a moment it will never forget.
“Seeing him nail that kick was amazing,” Dan said. “You could hear a pin drop in that place and you know how loud Death Valley can be. Then to see his teammates pick him up and celebrate just made it perfect. That’s my favorite Maryland football memory ever.”
Seeing him nail that kick was amazing. You could hear a pin drop in that place and you know how loud Death Valley can be. Then to see his teammates pick him up and celebrate just made it perfect. That’s my favorite Maryland football memory ever.Dan Ennis
Dan and his wife, Rebecca, are Maryland grads, as are three of their four children. The University of Maryland is a defining aspect of their lives, and they show their support any way they can.
Despite all the changes over the decades of Dan’s fandom, one thing has not changed: the tailgating.
Tailgating has become a staple for Dan and his family as they roll up to Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium on game day ready to make memories.
The Ennis family has been tailgating for years, and they took on an even more special meaning when Daniel was on the team. Their best tailgating experience came in Orlando, Florida when the Terps played in the 2006 Champs Sports Bowl.
Dan and the entire extended Ennis family made the trip to Camping World Stadium and made special shirts with #22 printed on them to wear for the game. For Dan, it was the culmination of years of Maryland fandom combined with the love he has for his family.
“Orlando was something special,” Dan said. “It was me, my wife, our other kids, cousins, aunts, uncles and all just there for Daniel and for the team. That was the best tailgate I’ve ever been to.”
For the Ennis family, the idea of a Maryland football family resonates even harder. The Terps have always been a mainstay for their family so to have the program embrace those kinds of philosophies means a lot.
"I love the idea of it being a football family,” Dan said. "It’s a family and not just a football team and you’re really seeing that under Locksley. He’s getting the right kind of guys in here for the future but he’s also embracing the older guys like my son. It’s amazing to see."
