Maryland football lands veteran portal linebacker

Ahmed Ghafir
13 minutes ago
1 min read

Days after visiting College Park, former VMI linebacker Stephen Dean has made his decision.

Dean will transfer to Maryland for one season beginning in 2026 after arriving in College Park for an official visit beginning Monday into Tuesday.

After appearing in 11 games through his first two seasons, including three appearances during the 2022 season to preserve his redshirt, Dean stepped into an impact role during the 2024 season where he started in ten games at inside linebacker where he totaled 43 tackles, including 19 solo. Dean then stepped into a captain role in 2025 where he started in all 12 games, totaling 117 tackles and nine TFLs. That includes 17 tackles against Chattanooga back on Oct. 4, one of four games with double digit tackles during his fourth season with the program.

Dean arrives where he restocks the linebacker depth after watching Michael Harris depart this offseason, adding more experience to a unit that features an anchor. Veteran Daniel Wingate returns after bypassing NFL and Power Four interest to anchor Maryland's front seven in 2026.. CJ Smith returns after playing in every game as a true freshman while Keyari James returned to practice after missing the 2025 season due to injury.

Dean becomes the second portal commit of the day after running back Terrez Worthy went public with his decision.

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