For Maryland senior linebacker Daniel Wingate, faith and loyalty have shaped a college career defined as much by perseverance as performance.
Wingate “survived the biggest tumble of his life,” according to his mother, Erica, in a recent Maryland football mini-documentary about the starting linebacker.
Erica was involved in a serious car accident when she was five months pregnant with Wingate, the youngest of her four children. Her van flipped, but both mother and son came away unharmed.
“It was really shocking,” Wingate told PressBox, recalling the story. “Just to see how everything played out showed how great God is. It made me look at life as if I have a purpose in what I’m doing.”
“I think it’s kind of how he got to be who he is today,” Erica said in the mini-documentary.
Faith plays a central role in Wingate’s life. He was practically raised in a church, steadying him in moments of doubt as he leads Maryland through challenging stretches.
The Bowie, Md., native has experienced both highs and lows during his tenure with the Terrapins. Maryland finished 8-5 and secured a third consecutive bowl victory during his freshman season in 2023. The following two seasons, however, brought struggles. The Terps finished 4-8 in both 2024 and 2025.
Wingate’s play, though, has steadily improved. The 6-foot-5, 230-pound linebacker posted 102 tackles and an interception in 2025, and despite the opportunity to seek a fresh start elsewhere after the season, Wingate chose to stay for his senior campaign.
“Loyalty is everything to me,” Wingate said. “I feel like that’s how you get rewarded in life. When you’re loyal to the right people, when you do the right things, for the right people, then you get treated in the right way. Loyalty is something that I value so much.”
Redshirt senior defensive back Lavain Scruggs has a tight relationship with Wingate, having been in the program with him since 2023. Scruggs says Wingate never wanted to leave College Park.
“He’s a diehard Terp since he walked in the building. He never wanted to leave,” Scruggs said of Wingate. “… A lot of brothers are still here. Seventy-one percent of the [team’s offensive and defensive production] came back, so Daniel wanted to end his career where he started.”
Wingate’s commitment to loyalty extends beyond college football. He gave back to his high school, St. Vincent Pallotti, with a donation of an undisclosed amount in December after the school “took a shot” on him when he was unable to attend Gonzaga because the class was full.
Maryland then took a chance on the consensus three-star recruit. Now, Wingate is determined to repay that trust by elevating the program and leaving it better than he found it.
Early in his career, he learned behind veterans Ruben Hyppolite II and Caleb Wheatland, gradually developing before emerging as a clear starter.
“Learning from the guys in front of me like Ruben and Caleb, those are guys that knew ball, knew what they were doing and were doing the right thing,” Wingate said. “So learning from them gave me the growth going into junior year, stepping up into a role to where I had to be a leader now. … I’m trying to multiply on that to be able to be a leader and also have other guys feed off of that and be leaders to others as well.”
Scruggs has seen Wingate develop as a leader firsthand.
“He was one of those guys who was just quiet and was all about his [own] business, and then he had to turn into one of those vocal leaders, and that’s kind of the same thing with me,” Scruggs said. “I just had to turn into one of those vocal leaders at the same time as he did, and that’s what really combined us very tight.”
Wingate was named one of three season-long captains ahead of the 2025 season and became the first Maryland player since Tre Watson in 2018 to surpass 100 tackles in a season — all while playing through a high ankle sprain.
“It wasn’t the specific goal I had, but just being able to reach that was something important to me, it was just a blessing,” Wingate said. “I didn’t even know that was a thing. I didn’t know that nobody else had done it since 2018. Getting back on the bus after the game, it was crazy seeing that on social media. It was a blessing, for sure.”
Because Scruggs is close with Wingate, he could tell that the linebacker was dinged up a bit. Scruggs hopes that’s not the case in 2026.
“If you were to watch film, I’d say that Daniel, who’s 100 percent healthy, is a complete monster,” Scruggs said. “… Once you see him with a full healthy season, it’s a way crazier guy.”
Wingate’s performance helped earn him the 2025 Louis L. Goldstein Helmet Award, given to the team’s most valuable player as voted by his teammates.
“That means a lot to me,” Wingate said. “It’s just so crazy being a kid that really wasn’t recruited. I wasn’t somebody who was ever big on anybody’s list or anything. Just being somebody working from the ground up, it felt good to say that I was able to be the best at Maryland for the year, and it’s only going up.”
Maryland football head coach Michael Locksley sang Wingate’s praises during the ceremony.
“Daniel plays with tremendous toughness,” Locksley said. “He battled through a high ankle sprain for most of the year and never made excuses. He’s a tremendous leader in our locker room and an outstanding example for our younger players. This honor is well deserved.”
Looking ahead, Wingate aims to guide the next generation of Terrapin defenders, including sophomores Sidney Stewart and Zahir Mathis and highly-touted freshman Zion Elee, a five-star recruit and the No. 2 player in ESPN’s top 300 recruits for the Class of 2026.
Still, Wingate understands that talent alone won’t define the team’s success.
“We build off that by just doing the little things, the details,” Wingate said of improving on last year’s 4-8 season. “Finishing the fourth quarter or just having our people do the right assignments when crunch time comes along. Literally just focusing on the little things, having the people realize talent isn’t going to win everything. We need to be on our P’s and Q’s when it comes to scheme and what our job is.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics
Originally published June 24, 2026