Creating A Village

Growing up in nearby Severn, Md., former Terrapin football star A.J. Francis frequently partook in community service efforts as his father stressed the importance of giving back. 

Those experiences at a young age motivated Francis to start his own initiative to support his community. He started the A.J. Francis Canned Food Drive alongside family, friends, and supporters.

As Maryland football hosted Iowa on Senior Day for its final home game of 2024 on Nov. 23, Francis was in attendance collecting non-perishable items for his eighth-annual canned food drive. All the goods his food drive collected were donated to Sarah's House in Fort Meade, Md., a program offering emergency shelter and project-based supportive housing for families experiencing homelessness in Anne Arundel County. 

“My dad always made it a point in my life for me to give back and be appreciative of the gifts that I have,” Francis said. “We didn't always have everything, but we had more than a lot of people. So, when I get an opportunity to give back, especially to these kids at Sarah's House, these families at Sarah's House, who’re down on their luck, I have no choice but to do it.”

Francis, a Gonzaga College High School attendee, played defensive lineman for the Terps from 2009-12. He went on to play in the NFL from 2013-18 with various teams, including the Washington Commanders (2016-17). Francis then carved out a career in WWE from 2020-23, earning the nickname “Top Dolla.” 

The former Terp says this year’s dive was among the best. Although the initiative is proclaimed a canned food drive, it collected various food and personal care items. 

The canned food drive has taken off, as many media outlets and prominent figures have helped support it in recent years. Francis appeared on TMZ with Dean Muhtadi, a former teammate of Francis at Maryland, and on other networks such as ESPN, FS1, NBC, ABC and CBS. Scott Van Pelt, another Maryland alum, even shouted Francis’ initiative out on SportsCenter. 

“Every year, it gets better and better,” Francis said. “It's awesome to be able to have those relationships and those people who care about what I care about and to be able to give back to my city.”

Francis even credits Maryland's head football coach, Michael Locksley, for helping him reach surrounding communities through Maryland’s athletic department. He played under Locksley in 2012 when the coach had just started his second stint in College Park as the Terps’ Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach. 

Every year, Francis also receives help from friends, family and other people he’s met. He says some of the people who assist with his canned food drive he’s known for the entirety of his life and others he just met this year. He expressed his gratitude to everyone involved. 

“It means everything to me that I have enough respect from people in my community, enough loyalty and I've earned enough goodwill from the people in my community that I don't ever have to worry about volunteers,” Francis said. “People go out of their way to help me with what I want to get done because it's not just they're doing it for me, but they recognize that I'm doing it for my community.”

Francis is currently a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) superstar and a former Digital Media Champion. He also appears in Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he’s a member of the World Titan Federation and performs on the independent circuit.

The former Terp hopes to expand his canned food drive and support and feed the entirety of Prince George’s County or large surrounding cities such as D.C. and Baltimore. He also seeks to host other events for kids, such as Toys for Tots, Trunk or Treat and many others. 

As the holiday season approaches, Francis is gifting a plethora of resources to Maryland-area families in need. His reasoning is simple — he wants to help support the people who raised him.   

“I was raised by the community. It takes a village, and I want to be a person who creates that village for everybody in my community,” Francis said. “I'm a kid from Maryland who went to Maryland, who made it out, has had a great life in many different aspects, from the NFL to WWE to TNA to then television to now be able to support the same community I grew up in. It's just a blessing for me.”