Lavain Scruggs worked toward the line of scrimmage on a wide receiver screen against Virginia last month.
Scruggs met Virginia’s Malachi Fields at the 45-yard line. His blow popped the ball loose, and Quashon Fuller recovered it.
Kellan Wyatt, who was off the field for that snap, shuffled down the sideline to the spot of the pile with his arms pointed toward the Terps’ endzone. Scruggs mirrored Wyatt’s gesture across from him.
The split-second reaction displayed the pair’s unparalleled connection. Their close bond is eight years in the making, going back to their freshman campaigns at Archbishop Spalding.
“My freshman year [at Maryland], and my sophomore year, I was always on the sideline watching [Wyatt] completely just ball out. And that’s how it was in high school,” Scruggs said. “Now, me being out there on the field with him is just an amazing feeling.”
Wyatt immediately carved out a role on Spalding’s varsity roster. He played in his first game as a freshman against Good Counsel, wearing an oversized No. 35 jersey after he picked last. During that contest, Wyatt burst through the offensive line for a sack.
“This kid’s gonna be big time,” Spalding coach Kyle Schmitt recalled saying after the play.
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Scruggs’ path was less simple. He began the year on junior varsity as a quarterback, but midway through the season, a flu made its way through the varsity’s defensive backs. Defensive coordinator Tyrone Forby needed a solution.
Forby went to the junior varsity practice field and asked Scruggs if he wanted to play varsity as a defensive back.Scruggs never took another offensive snap.
From then on, Wyatt and Scruggs were teammates on the same side of the ball.The two became close their sophomore year, when Scruggs became a full-time starter. Wyatt’s teammates voted him as a captain, a role he held for three years.
Schmitt and Forby said it was clear they belonged physically.
Wyatt, an outside linebacker, and Scruggs, a safety, communicated routinely throughout games. Off the field, they led by example.
Schmitt said they were influential in setting a culture and modeling it. In practices, meetings and seven-on-seven workouts in the summer, the duo always put in extra time.
“I saw those guys probably more than my own son at times,” Schmitt said.
That connection wasn’t limited to football.
Forby often took the entire defense out to eat. It started as a reward for what he deemed “good football,” but quickly turned consistent.
He felt those opportunities let players enjoy being high school student athletes, a relief from coaches’ pressure.
But stress didn’t seem to affect Wyatt and Scruggs. Their talent was evident.
Wyatt was one of coach Michael Locksley’s first commits in the 2022 class. He immediately knew he wanted to go to Maryland.
Scruggs had to prove himself a little more. He attended a Maryland football camp in summer 2021 — where he ran a 4.5 40-yard dash, according to Schmitt — and the Terps’ staff extended an offer.
“Kellan was the no-brainer, and then it was like, ‘Hey, this guy Lavain is pretty good too,’” Schmitt said.
Wyatt and Scruggs officially signed with Maryland together at Spalding on National Signing Day.
“It was pretty cool, just because we basically grew up in high school together for four years,” Wyatt said. “It was one of those moments I’ll never forget.”
Scruggs and Wyatt lived in Denton Hall in the summer when they arrived in College Park before their apartment was ready. They’ve lived together since.
Wyatt made an instant impact for the Terps. He appeared in 11 games with four starts as a freshman, totaling 16 tackles and a sack. He led Maryland with 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles-for-loss last year after becoming a full-time starter.
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Wyatt said he models his game after talented edge rushers such as Maxx Crosby, T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons. He tries to pick up characteristics from them that fit his skillset.
Scruggs described Wyatt as relentless, someone who puts his all into everything.
“He just has that dog mentality that you don’t see in a lot of people,” Scruggs said.
Scruggs redshirted his freshman season and played in 11 games last year, notching his first career interception in the bowl game victory over Auburn.
Wyatt said Scruggs is a player who wants to hunt and is always in the right place at the right time. He described Scruggs as open-minded, a “sponge for the game.” That was evident in Scruggs’ forced fumble earlier this season — he read the design and played it perfectly.
Scruggs and Wyatt’s journeys haven’t been the same, but they’re linked. Their bond is unmatched, and the results are clear.
“When we knew that we were both committed, it was just a matter of [showing] them why we chose to come here,” Wyatt said. “Show them what we’re capable of doing.”
