After struggling through a couple years away at college, transferring closer to home would feel like failure for some students.
For Billy Gribbin, it’s been a dream come true.
Growing up in nearby Rockville, the junior attackman had always imagined how it’d feel to don the Terrapins’ red and gold. His parents, both alums, they taught him to love the Terps from an early age.
His family regularly made the 30-minute trek to College Park for games, and Gribbin felt there was something special about playing for a lacrosse-mad state’s flagship university. He wondered how it’d feel to represent the home school.
Last Memorial Day weekend, Gribbin went up to Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium to watch the Terps take on Virginia in the national title game.
But he wasn’t just there as a fan. He was there as a recruit.
After two up-and-down years at Penn State, the attackman had decided it was time for a change. It was time to head home. It was time to fulfill his childhood dream of being a Terp. Shortly after watching the Terps fall short of their first national championship since 1975, Gribbin made it official.
Tomorrow, the No. 9 Terps will host the No. 2 Cavaliers in a rematch of that national championship game. This time, Gribbin will be starting, not watching.
“It means a lot to us,” Gribbin said Tuesday. “I wasn’t on the team last year, but from all the seniors and from everyone that’s played on the team, this game means a lot – especially since what happened in the national championship.”
ROUGH START
When Gribbin was a senior at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, the three-sport captain could’ve committed to the Terps. Then-coach Dave Cottle had offered him a spot on the roster.
But with All-America attackmen Will Yeatman, Ryan Young and Grant Catalino already in the fold, Cottle never recruited Gribbin too aggressively.
So he chose Penn State instead, a place that had wanted him badly, a place where he could contribute immediately. He was excited about the opportunity to go out on his own, to see how he could do living four hours away from the family and friends who’d loved and supported him his entire life.
But his stay in State College, Pa., seemed plagued from the start. Before Gribbin could ever unpack his bags, Nittany Lions assistant coach Guy Van Arsdale – the man who’d recruited him – left for the head-coaching position at Colorado College.
Gribbin decided to honor his commitment, and he still found success his freshman season. He finished second on the team in points (31) and goals (23) and earned CAA All-Rookie Team honors.
But then, for the second time in a year, the unexpected happened. Coach Glenn Thiel retired after 33 years at Penn State, and former Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni took over.
This time, things wouldn’t go so smoothly.
Gribbin separated his shoulder’s AC joint during fall practice and missed the entire preseason. When he finally returned at the start of the regular season, Gribbin had to accept a reduced role. He came off the bench in all but two games last year and tallied just eight points on the season.
Gribbin attributed the drop-off in production to Tambroni, whom he said didn’t value his style of play. The two butted heads immediately.
“It was very difficult,” Gribbin said. “Looking back on it, I wish I had redshirted last year.”
About midway through last season, Gribbin knew he needed a change and decided to transfer. The problem? He had to wait for the Nittany Lions to complete their schedule before the team would grant him a release. And under NCAA guidelines, players must obtain releases before talking to other schools.
That meant Gribbin had to finish out his final few months at Penn State knowing he was headed elsewhere. Not wanting to alienate his teammates, he kept his intentions to transfer to himself.
“The whole situation was definitely weird,” he said.
When the frustrations became too much to bear alone, Gribbin did what he’d done his whole life: He turned to his little brother, Bobby.
“We talked a lot,” said Bobby Gribbin, a freshman midfielder for the Terps. “I would go up and go to most of his games, and I just kind of felt his struggle up there with the new coaching staff.”
After mulling his options with Bobby and his parents, Gribbin decided he’d put his childhood dream on hold long enough. He may have always been a Terp at heart, but the time had come to make it official.
So when he was finally free to contact other programs, the Terps were the first team he called. Coach John Tillman, who arrived in College Park in June 2010, was more than willing to welcome the homegrown product. But not before making one thing clear first: Nothing was promised.
“We didn’t know what would happen [with Billy],” Tillman said. “Normally, if a guy’s going to transfer in, you’re excited that maybe he’ll put up big numbers. Billy hadn’t put up great numbers, but we knew from high school he was a talented player. … We said, ‘Listen, if you want an opportunity, you’ve got one. And whatever you make of it is what you’ll get.'”
NEW BEGINNING
After the Terps’ loss to Virginia in the national championship game last year, the team lost three key attackmen – Catalino, Young and Travis Reed – to graduation. The three seniors had combined for about a third of the Terps’ offensive production last season, and Tillman knew they’d need new talent to emerge to compete in the ACC this year.
But even with the departures, earning playing time would be no easy task. The Terps had just brought in the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class, which featured several of the nation’s top high school attackmen. There were also a couple holdovers from last year eager to make their mark.
Aware of the situation he was walking into, Gribbin went to work.
The soft-spoken junior impressed his new coaching staff immediately with his humble, diligent approach to the game. Never big on talk or pizazz, Gribbin preferred to let his game speak for itself.
And in a program that prides itself on hard work and toughness, he was a natural fit. It didn’t take long for Gribbin’s new teammates to welcome him as one of their own, even if he was beating them up in practices.
“The way that he plays, he plays like a Terp,” attackman Joe Cummings said. “He fit in right away. With his mentality of working hard, playing hard, playing fast, it was an easy transition for him coming into the program from Penn State.”
After the first weeks of fall practice, it was clear Gribbin would be in the mix to start. By the time the Terps began their preseason slate, Tillman was so impressed with Gribbin’s work ethic and decision-making ability that he started the transfer in the team’s first scrimmage against Loyola.
Gribbin scored the Terps’ first two goals against the Greyhounds and led the team in scoring. Tillman raved about Gribbin after the exhibition, calling him the player of the game.
Since then, Gribbin hasn’t let up. Through seven games this season, Gribbin is tied for third on the team with nine goals. He’s scored at least two goals three times and notched his first career hat trick in an 11-10 loss at No. 12 North Carolina last Saturday.
“I’m really pleased with what Billy’s brought to the table,” Tillman said. “I don’t know where we’d be without him.”
Still, even with everything Gribbin’s been able to accomplish this season, he says he hasn’t earned anything yet. He refuses to acknowledge himself as a starter. He feels as though he has to prove himself everyday in practice.
“I feel like we have so many talented attackmen that every week is a competition,” he said. “And so that’s kind of the mentality that I’m still going about in the season. I still need to show what I can do.”
SIBLING RIVALRY
On the off-chance that Gribbin ever decides to take it easy, however, there’s at least one teammate who will be there to push him. Bobby Gribbin, the kid brother who helped him through those rough times a season ago, brings out the best in his older sibling. It’s been that way as long as they can remember.
The two brothers have always played the same sports. They’ve competed with each other since elementary school, and were on the same three varsity teams – football, wrestling and lacrosse – at Georgetown Prep. Their sibling rivalry – a good-natured desire to one-up each other – has helped them become the athletes they are today.
“We just really feed off each other,” said Bobby, a defensive midfielder who’s seen time at the faceoff X this season.
Both Gribbins have relied on one another this season. Whether it’s a quick chat about home or a head-to-head matchup in practice, they’ve helped ease each other into their new surroundings.
“We’ve always been real close,” Billy Gribbin said. “So to be given an opportunity at Maryland to play together just means a lot to us.”
In fact, it meant so much to Bobby Gribbin that he says his college decision was “100 percent” dependent on where his older brother ended up. The 2011 Washington Post All-Met Player of the Year, Bobby Gribbin had originally committed to Penn State to play with his brother.
But when Billy Gribbin decided to transfer, Bobby Gribbin was intent on following his brother to College Park. He decommitted from the Nittany Lions and signed up with Tillman.
“The friendship, the love and the bond that those guys have, where one was going to go, I think the other was going to follow,” Tillman said.
FULL CIRCLE
As Gribbin prepares for tomorrow’s matchup against Virginia, he can’t help but be amazed with how far he’s come the past 12 months.
Last March, he was stuck on the bench at Penn State, unsure of whether he’d ever have the opportunity to reach his full potential. Ten months ago, he was sitting in the stands at M&T Bank Stadium, wondering whether playing for the Terps would be everything he’d imagined growing up.
Tomorrow, he’ll step on the Byrd Stadium field alongside his best friend, his little brother. He’ll play against one of his favorite school’s biggest rivals, and he’ll do it in front of his entire family.
And perhaps most importantly, he’ll do it all with his home state’s name stitched across his chest.
“He’s really proud to be a Terp,” Tillman said. “He’s really proud to be a guy that grew up in Maryland and played for his state. I think there is something special to that.”
“I’ve realized that I always wanted to be at Maryland,” Gribbin said. “Looking back on it, I should’ve took more consideration. I probably should’ve weighed my options more. But I guess everything works out for the best.”
letourneau@umdbk.com
