Maryland Governor Wes Moore wasn’t the first governor to visit a University of Maryland football practice when he stopped by the team’s training camp on Wednesday—but he was the first to actually don a helmet and jersey and run drills with the Terps.
Following a tour of the team’s practice facility, Moore suited up—in a helmet, pads, and cleats—and hit the turf with the team.
“He wanted to be part of the practice,” Terps spokesperson Dustin Semonavick told Washingtonian. “So we tried to make it work as best as possible. Obviously we didn’t wanna hit the governor.”
Terp Jacks, Governor Style@GovWesMoore pic.twitter.com/WJ5F23VCHE
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) July 31, 2024
Moore, who played wide receiver for the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays for two seasons, ran individual drills, stretches, and some wide receiver and quarterback drills. He then team a pep talk, which Semonavick says they seemed to enjoy.
“He left us with some good parting words about how he’s willing to help us in any way,” Semonavick says.
According to Moore’s office, Maryland regularly invites the governor to practices and games, and the governor previously stopped by the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Commanders’ training camps. This was his first time with the Terps; during the visit, Moore filmed a short video with head coach Mike Locksley and the team in which he portrays a new recruit.
DC-grown rapper Wale, a friend of Locksley’s, was also hanging around.
With head coach Mike Locksley, the team filmed a short video in which Moore portrays a new recruit, which will come out tonight, according to the governor’s office.
Before Moore left, the Terps gifted him a jersey with number 63—he’s the state’s 63rd governor—and a football. Other governors have visited college and NFL practices before—including former Maryland governor Larry Hogan, who stopped by a Terps practice years ago—but Moore’s participatory drop-in might be unique.
“In terms of actually getting on the field and being out there with the guys, I, I think the governor is probably [the only one] in the country to go out there and do that,” says Semonavick. “But he did a great job.”
