Daniel Wingate Returning To Maryland Football
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Maryland football Head Coach Mike Locksley will have another important piece of his program returning for the 2026 season. Linebacker Daniel Wingate officially put pen to paper yesterday to make his return to College Park for his senior season.
Maryland’s Own 💪@___dw11 is BACK in Terpsville pic.twitter.com/LjushAkI4A
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) January 1, 2026
Wingate returns to a Maryland defense that has kept key pieces of its unit, such as Jamare Glasker, Sidney Stewart, Trey Reddick, and Messiah Delhomme, among others, which helped its improved play this past season.
In 2025, Wingate stepped into a full-time role in the linebacker group and had a stellar season, earning recognition for his play, listed below, from the Maryland Athletic website....
- 2025 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten
- Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week (9/22/25)
- 2025 Bednarik Award Watch List
- 2025 Butkus Award Watch List
In 12 games, which he started in all of them, Wingate recorded....
A team-leading 102 total tackles (62 solo & 40 assisted), which also sat at sixth in the Big Ten, and was 35th in the country. It was the first time a Terrapin player reached and eclipsed the 100-tackle mark since 2018, previously set by All-American Tre Watson (114 tackles).
Wingate also added 6.5 tackles for loss (17 yards), 1.5 sacks, one interception, two pass deflections, two QB hits, and one touchdown.
One of Wingate's best performances came back on September 20th, in the Terps' first action against a Big Ten foe, on the road at Wisconsin. Wingate finished with 11 tackles, one sack, 1.5 tackles for a loss, and a QB hurry that garnered him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. Maryland not only played upset but the defense held the Badgers offense to only 10 points
Wingate's play stood out big time, anchoring the defense in the middle, playing aggressively and downhill, which resulted in his name being involved in many plays. He doubled nearly every statistical category from a year ago. He was one of Maryland's consistent players, hence why he was not only a captain but also recognized as the 2025 team MVP by his teammates, according to the Maryland Athletic website.
Good example of breaking down & coming to balance on an open field tackle.
— Last of the Fullbacks (@TheLastFullback) October 30, 2025
Maryland LB Daniel Wingate.
Wrap, club & collapse the legs and drive through, Cheek to hip. pic.twitter.com/FzTRqhhogm
It's been great to watch and see the development of the homegrown 6'3" linebacker, who played behind the likes of now NFL linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II for two seasons, and got to learn what it looks like handling the middle.
Expect a great senior year for Wingate, who will enter year two under defensive coordinator Ted Monachino's defense. I can envision Wingate jumping to All-American status in 2026 and becoming among the country's top linebackers, setting himself up for an entry into the 2027 NFL Draft.
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.