Maryland has been able to secure the top talent out of DeMatha (MD) over the years, but an unlikely hero from the powerhouse WCAC program has emerged this season as defensive tackle Greg Rose cements his legacy. The former lineman enrolled at Lackawanna Community College following high school before running backs coach Elijah Brooks put Rose on head coach Mike Locksley’s radar. Rose was among a long list of junior college players joining the Terps’ program ahead of the 2020 season, but his rise to stardom isn’t one that he expected—especially coming out of juco.
“We all just came in here with that same mindset as no one's gonna give us anything and we got to work. We all understand what it is to get the mud because juco is a different type of story so when we all got here we were like let’s show what we can do now,” Rose said on Tuesday. “I mean, everybody in juco, everybody begs for that one chance and when you get that one chance, you’ve got to show what you're going to do.”
So far this season, Rose taken advantage of his chance with Maryland.
When the Terps’ defense needed to make a stand last week, it was Greg Rose who emerged as the unlikely leader on two different drives. Midway through the fourth quarter, Rose and linebacker Deshawn Holt stuffed Illini running back Reggie Love on a key 3rd-and-2 to give Maryland the ball back with a chance to tie the game. With a 17-17 tie in the closing minutes, it was once again Rose on the ensuing possession who pressured quarterback Brandon Peters on 2nd-and-21 to force Illinois into a deep third-down conversion attempt. Maryland's defense was able to force an intentional grounding on the ensuing play, setting the Terps up with one final chance to retake the lead in regulation.
For Rose, getting the ball back to the offense was the only thing on his mind. “I was just on to the next play, I wanted to make sure that they punted it and I wanted to make sure that we went down, we got good field position and you know, I just wanted to win at the end of the day,” Rose said after Tuesday’s practice. “That's all I cared about. That's all I care about, the team and us winning.” Rose made his first start of the season against West Virginia and posted two tackles, but his performance against Illinois set a career-high for tackles (3) and sacks (2) as the veteran has become a staple along the defensive line. “It was my first actual first game I got to start away in a different type of crowd, different environment, you know, it was just very unreal. It’s not like juco where there's no one in the crowd. It’s like thousands of people all with their flashlights, you know, rooting not for you. That's different,” he added.
But the starting role hasn’t changed Rose’s approach in his preparation or mindset on gameday as he noted “it takes what it takes” as he’s risen on the depth chart. “if I gotta sacrifice my body, I'm willing to sacrifice my body for the team,” he added. “It was just always, it's always good to come together as a defense and all be on the same accord.”
The mindset that Rose has brought with him to the program was noticed well before Maryland kicked off the season against West Virginia. Rose joined the program as a walk-on but it wasn’t until mid-August when he’d receive the life-changing news that he would be put on scholarship for the 2021 season. Having DMV legend and NBA star Kevin Durant deliver the news was the cherry on top for Rose in what he called “a complete surprise.”
“I go there a lot. Every night, I go back to that same moment because that's the moment that changed my life. I'm really grateful to just be here and like when I heard that, Kevin Durant was not was going to offer me a scholarship, but like, grant it to me and he said it out of his mouth on Zoom, it was just unreal because we're in the middle of camp, we had another motivational speaker, Ray Rice just came in talk to us so that was the last thing on my mind. Next thing on my mind was getting snack and going back to sleeping here ready to do the thing all over again…it was just unreal. Like, even to this day, I go to sleep at night and I wake up it's just unreal that Ray Rice really like he was there to witness and I got to shake Ray Rice's hand, I got to speak to Kevin Durant and my daughter and my girlfriend was there, like, just see the whole experience. So I'm really grateful to be a part of Coach Locksley’s team and I'm really grateful that he gave me a chance. Every night, when I go to sleep, I think about I can't change, you know, I had to add a hunger and I had to grind that I had when I was a walk on that nobody was ever gonna give me anything and just because I'm on scholarship, nothing changed. I still have that same hunger is to the same mindset that I get to come out here and play. Not I have to, I get to come out here and do what I love.”
With three games and the non-conference finale looming, Rose is doing his part to make sure the defense maintains the standard.
“So it's just the pillars right? So you got toughness, we play with a lot of toughness, we play with a lot of effort, we play with a lot of relentlessness, and we play a lot of pride and the only thing after that is success. We play with those four pillars and that is our standard. Our standard is to play for the name on the front of the jersey, that’s Maryland. Play for everybody who wore that jersey before you and just wear it with pride.”