Ryan Davis doesn’t like typical Thanksgiving food.
Maryland football’s strength and conditioning coach enjoys prime rib and crab legs on the holiday. So, when Davis led the Terps’ Thanksgiving celebration on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at SECU Stadium, there was bound to be vast dining options.
One of Davis’ friends, the owner of Miss Toya’s Southern Kitchen out of Laurel, Maryland, catered Cajun food. There was also mac and cheese, banana pudding, collared greens, rice, egg rolls, fried chicken, beef and sausage available. Maryland sports nutrition associate Gina DiRenzo baked cupcakes featuring the Terps’ script lettering for dessert.
“The guys absolutely smashed the food,” Davis said.
In previous years, turkey, stuffing and other common Thanksgiving foods were the expectation. Former Maryland defensive coordinator Brian Williams started the annual tradition when he hosted dinner at his house near Owings Mills, Maryland for the holiday in 2019.
Just a few defensive players attended the first year, but by 2021 almost the entire defense showed up. Most of the roster attended last year, when Williams rented a clubhouse in his neighborhood to fit everyone. This year, Davis said all team staff and players joined.
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“It’s really important to us that we don’t leave any of these guys that don’t have family here alone in their dorms,” coach Michael Locksley said.
With Williams no longer on the Terps’ staff, Davis took over planning the Thanksgiving celebration after he previously cooked for players over summer and took them out to eat and attend church on Easter.
He grew up with nine aunts and uncles on his mother’s side and 13 on his father’s. But once Davis started coaching, he realized players and coaches became each other’s families.
Davis said giving players a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal is part of what parents entrust coaches with when players sign with a college to play football.
“Anytime we get to learn [about] them as players and people, it’s always a good thing,” Davis said. “When guys trust you and they know you love them and they know that there’s a mutual respect there, the guys are going to allow you to push them to their absolute limits.”
Davis’ first move was getting feedback on prior years.
He met with players on the Terps’ leadership council, including junior DJ Samuels, senior Octavian Smith Jr. and senior Alan Herron. They suggested moving the event earlier in the day and closer to campus.
Samuels shared the idea of hosting in the Presidential Suite.
The junior saw it during his official visit in his senior year of high school, and proposed it since most players had never been inside. Davis called senior associate athletic director Kirby Mills to confirm logistics. Players could show up until about 4 p.m. after practice concluded at 1:15.
“It was a big stress reliever to keep it on campus and make it more of a … flow in and flow out [event],” redshirt senior Ethan Gough said.
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Some players, including Samuels and Gough, ate outside and admired the view from high outside the suite in SECU Stadium. Players also competed in the Spades card game, Madden NFL 26 and EA Sports College Football 26.
“When we’re all together like that, it’s definitely special, not thinking about football or what you got going on in life,” Samuels said. “Just having fun with the guys.”
Samuels interacted with players at different position groups. They spoke about Thanksgiving traditions, including Samuels’ grandmother’s signature mac and cheese. Gough talked with teammates about upbringings and how playing at Maryland impacted them.
This celebration wasn’t the first non-football activity Davis planned. He makes at least three “connection events” every offseason, which included fishing, paintball, Topgolf and K1 Speed go-karting last summer. Davis led the fishing charter with about 25 players on two boats across the Chesapeake Bay.
Considering what college football has become, Davis says it’s easy to forget players still need guidance, discipline and structure. He looks for any opportunity to foster connections among the team.
“Things like that on Thanksgiving, it’s just like putting a chip in the bank of continuing to build that trust and build the bond with the guys,” Davis said. “I think it helps in your locker room, it helps in your culture and it helps in being able to develop the types of players that [Locksley] wants.”
