The Best Is Still Ahead Thanks To Maryland Football’s 2022 Senior Class

The best is ahead.

It’s been a mantra and rallying cry for Maryland football since coach Michael Locksley came to College Park in December of 2018. Today, thanks in large part to the senior class of 2022 continuing to raise the bar year after year, the best is still ahead for the program. 

On Saturday, those 17 seniors will be honored before the game against Rutgers for their hard work over the years and for helping to leave the program in a better place than when they first entered it. 

Four of those guys—Anthony Pecorella, Ahamd McCullough, Chad Ryland and Spencer Anderson—shared their thoughts below on the growth of the program and what being a Terp has meant to them.

Anthony Pecorella

Anthony Pecorella’s first season as a Terp in 2019 coincided with Locksley’s first season at the helm. Through his four years in College Park, Pecorella has seen a complete transformation in the program mentality. 

“When we got here in 2019, there were a lot of individuals that were good, but there was no real camaraderie. But now it’s turned into a place where you go to war for your brother, you fight for your brother.”

It’s also turned into a place that Pecorella will cherish forever, a place that has brought him some of the best memories of his life such as winning the Pinstripe Bowl last year in his home state and being awarded a scholarship earlier this year at a Ravens game alongside fellow senior punter Colton Spangler.  

“Being at Maryland has meant everything. This school took me in as a young, 17-year-old kid who didn’t know much about college football. To be a part of it all the last four years was really special and there’s no better fans to do it with than Terp Nation. I owe it all to those fans, and to the school for giving me the best four years of my life.” 

When Pecorella walks onto SECU Stadium for the last time on Saturday, it will certainly be emotional, but it won’t be somber. 

“It’s one of those things where you’re not so much sad that it’s over, you’re just really, really happy that it happened.” 

It also makes it easier to leave knowing that he and his class played a part in leaving the program in a better place. 

“Not only have we done some really special stuff in my four years, but we set up the Maryland teams for years to come to do something even more special.”

Ahmad McCullough

For Ahmad McCullough, the opportunity to have played such a key role in pushing the program forward is one he doesn’t take for granted. 

“Not too many people can say they’ve been part of a movement like this in their life. I believe we’re all here for a purpose and I feel mine was to be here to help this program grow during my five years here. It’s been really important for me to be a part of something like that.”

Being part of that movement makes the redshirt senior linebacker’s five years as a Terp that much sweeter—and that much harder to let go. 

“This place really means a lot to me. There’s going to be a lot of emotions when I step on that field one last time on Saturday.” 

McCullough, who started his Terp career under the previous regime, has also witnessed firsthand the culture shift instilled by Locksley. 

“The biggest way I’ve seen the program grow is in the culture and just with people buying into the system. Obviously, last year we made a big step with not only going to a bowl game, but winning, and that was because people bought into the winning culture that Locks brought.”

Apart from his favorite memories on the field, McCullough is also forever grateful to Maryland for granting him the opportunity to graduate in front of his family.

“Just allowing my mom and my dad to have that experience of seeing their son walk across the stage, that’s one of my proudest moments,” he said. 

Chad Ryland

After three years setting all kinds of kicking records at Eastern Michigan, Chad Ryland knew he wanted to test out a bigger pond. Subsequently, he enrolled at Maryland to kick against some of the best competition in the country and to be a leader for an on-the-rise program.

The one season as a Terp has given him exactly what he envisioned. 

“I’ve got a lot out of this year,” Ryland said. “Maryland brought me exactly what I wanted, which was the chance to kick on some big stages and make some big-time kicks.

“I’m also thankful for being able to be a leader of this team and in the specialist room even as a transfer,” he added. “I’m hoping that some of the habits and things I instilled in the specialist room will carry on past my time here. I’m confident that room will continue to grow and develop.”

Coming to a Power Five school gave Ryland a chance to not only shine on the field—with a pair of kicks of fifty-plus yards against Michigan in the Big House to his name now—but also to improve his overall fitness to make him a better professional prospect. 

“I’ve gained a firm, healthy seven pounds, which I attribute my stronger kickoffs too. I’m feeling as good as I’ve ever felt in my four years. The resources that Maryland has are just amazing. It’s all what you make of it and I was able to make the most of it.”

Before he officially signed with Maryland, Ryland could see it was a program on the come-up. Now, after spending a season in the thick of it, he’s even more sure that it's developing everyday. 

“If you’re not growing, you’re getting worse and I think Maryland is certainly trending in the right direction there. I said that at the beginning of the season, I’ll say it now, and I’ll say it after the bowl game too: The program here and the team here is growing everyday.”

Spencer Anderson 

Like McCullough, Spencer Anderson was already a Terp for a year when the new coaching staff took the reins. When Locksley first came, it didn’t take him long to win over Anderson with his aspirations for the program—aspirations that Anderson has seen come to fruition. 

“I wasn’t really recruited by any of the guys on the coaching staff now, but when Locks came in 2018, I believed in his vision. The best is ahead for the program. A lot of the times when stuff like that is said, it’s kinda filler words, but it’s really true here. The culture is like a family and the program’s in a great state because of what Locks has instilled.”

A Bowie, MD native who spent five years in College Park, the redshirt senior offensive lineman also got everything he wanted out of being a Terp. 

“Maryland allowed me the opportunity to get two degrees in four years, an undergrad degree and a master’s, and it allowed me to play football at the highest level in one of the best conferences. That’s really all I can ask for.”

Anderson’s favorite memory as a Terp was getting to play in and win the Pinstripe Bowl after watching teams celebrate bowl game victories on TV for years and years beforehand. That win, the Terps’ first bowl win since 2010, is just part of the legacy that he prides himself and his class on leaving behind.