Impact Of A Scholarship: Kevin Glover

Kevin Glover will never forget one specific moment during his years at the University of Maryland that profoundly impacted his football career. 

Before starting winter workouts and spring ball his junior year, he was told to report to the gym in the Varsity Team House. When he arrived, there were just three other individuals there: his head coach, Bobby Ross; his offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, Ralph Friedgen; and his quarterback, Boomer Esiason.

Glover, a native of Largo, was recruited to Maryland as a versatile athlete. He played multiple positions in high school, including tight end, defensive tackle, quarterback and fullback. He even held kickoff duties on special teams. However, his favorite position was tight end because it involved him catching passes.

In the previous season, Ross’s first year as head coach in 1982, Glover became the full-time starter at left tackle because Harry Venezia tore his ACL. But Glover occasionally caught passes from Esiason and the Terps’ other quarterbacks during his first two years in College Park. So when Glover saw everyone in the gym, he thought he was finally getting his shot to play tight end.   

“Boomer throws the ball to me,” Glover said. “[He] threw a bullet at me because he knew I could catch. I said, ‘So what's going on there?’ One of the coaches says, ‘We want to see if you can snap the ball to Boomer.’ I was like, ‘What is going on here?’” 

Glover had never snapped a ball before, but because Coach Ross was behind it, he refrained from questioning him further. He and everyone else in the football program unquestioningly trusted Ross. 

The talented, young, relatively inexperienced Glover snapped the ball to Esiason three times before his coaches. The first time was nice and easy, but he sped things up the second time. Esiason told Glover to snap it hard and step on the third attempt, and he did precisely that. 

“Boomer said ‘Perfect’ and walked out,” Glover said.

Ross and Friedgen named Glover the new starting center. There were no long conversations that ensued. 

Glover started in three consecutive bowl games from 1982-84. He went on to win two ACC championships as the team’s starting center in 1983 and 1984. As a senior, he also achieved First Team All-ACC and All-American status. 

His play allowed the Detroit Lions to select him 34th overall in the 1985 NFL Draft. Glover played 15 years of professional football for the Lions (1985-97) and Seattle Seahawks (1998-99). He was named an All-Pro four times and made three Pro Bowls. 

Glover is also part of the Lions’ 75th Anniversary and All-Time Team. He’s a member of the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame and Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame. He was even named a nominee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2021. 

“It's a blessing,” Glover said of his professional career. “It’s also a testament to the journey itself. None of it came easy.”

Attending Maryland was fate for Glover, who spent his entire childhood in Prince George’s County and had a framed knitted M hanging on his wall that was hand-made by his mother. His parents, Robert and Marvoneen Glover, were also huge Terps fans. They attended almost every home football game for more than a decade. His father was an executive for Safeway, and his mother was a nurse at Capitol Hill Hospital in D.C. He says both played a profound impact on his life. 

Glover played most sports, but basketball was his first love. His earliest memories in basketball involved attending Lefty Driesell basketball camps during his elementary and high school years.  

 “I thought I was going to be a 6’8” power forward and be the next Steve Sheppard,” Glover said. 

When Glover was a child, the weight limit for football in the boys' club was 125 lbs. He passed that threshold by the age of 10. His first year playing football was as a sophomore in high school, and he recalls his first time stepping onto the practice field. 

“Ten minutes into the very first practice, I was called up to the varsity field and became the starting tight end,” Glover said. “I started every game my entire high school career.”

Rocco Romeo coached Glover during his three-year varsity career at Largo High School. He refers to him as a mentor and someone who saw something in him that he didn’t know existed. 

Romeo saw him play basketball in a middle school championship game. Glover had no idea who Romeo was or that he was in attendance. But Romeo knew that once Glover entered high school, he would develop him into a tight end on the football field.

Despite Glover’s connection to Maryland, his decision to become a Terp took some convincing from J.D. Gross, who Glover had competed against in high school in basketball, football and track and field. Gross was a year older than Glover and was already on the Terps’ roster. 

Gross and then head coach Jerry Claiborne visited Glover at his house. Gross, a graduate of Northwest High School, explained his reason for staying local. He mentioned that his family could attend all of his games. Maryland’s location and allegiance to the ACC at the time made almost every away game a brief road trip. It all made total sense to Glover. 

Glover committed to Maryland. As a freshman in 1981, he primarily played defensive tackle. However, he didn't play a single game with the varsity team and was relegated to the JV team. It was a tough time, but Glover met his wife of 35 years during his first semester on campus. They still travel the world together and enjoy cycling together. 

Ross replaced Claiborne in January 1982, and Glover was added to the offensive line. He says he learned to play positions on the line by watching Dave Pacella — the team's captain and starting right tackle at the time.  

“There were times in the meetings I wouldn't watch myself at all,” Glover said. “I watched everything he did because he was already a great player. That's kind of how I learned the game.”

Glover recalled his favorite memories from his Maryland career. He mentioned being part of the 1984 “Miracle in Miami” — a 42-40 win at Miami in the Orange Bowl. The Terps trailed 31-0 at halftime and completed one of the greatest comebacks in college football history. 

He also mentioned playing against Bo Jackson at Auburn in 1983. Although the Terps lost that game, Glover believes it set a precedent for his team and demonstrated their ability to compete against anyone.

Glover thanked the donors for his scholarship to Maryland, which allowed him to create so many memories in College Park.  

“The donors play such a big part in the program,” Glover said. “A lot of times, we got a chance to meet them, either during training camp or when they came to travel with us. Without the support from the donors and the long-time supporters, the program does not stay aboard. With their support, it has the opportunity to bring in positive student-athletes that can help the team win.”

Glover and Ross reunited in Detroit in 1997. They spent one final season together before Glover played his two final seasons in Seattle. They remain in contact to this day.

After retiring from football in 2000, Glover became a sports agent. He joined a firm in the Maryland area with Tony Page — a running back he played alongside on Lions from 1987-89 — and Rodney Rice — the father of the current Maryland men’s basketball guard with the same name. Both Page and Rice are natives of Maryland. Furthermore, Glover and Rice grew up in the same neighborhood. They lived just two blocks apart.    

In 2004, Glover returned to Maryland as the athletic department’s Director of Character Development. The position was created to help student-athletes transition from college to the real world. He received the job after then-athletic director Debbie Yow called Glover after he spoke at a banquet. Glover’s speech resonated with Yow and the challenges the athletic department faced. They connected over the phone for over an hour. 

Glover worked with the football team for nine years before becoming the Executive Director of M Club. He returned to the staff in 2017 as the Director of Player Development, where he oversaw student-athletes’ involvement in community service efforts and assisted with internship opportunities. He also helped maintain strong connections with Maryland's alumni base. He kept that role until the summer of 2024.

The former Maryland great is now retired and living in Florida. He has three children, all of whom have graduated from college. He says spending nearly 25 years on campus in College Park as a player, coach and staff member has profoundly impacted his life. 

Glover still speaks with the many student-athletes he’s impacted, including their families. For him, the most memorable part is his bond with Maryland football.    

“It's that same bond that the program was built on years ago under Coach Ross and what Coach Friedgen developed and continued once he came back,” Glover said.