Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Maryland chronicles emotional debut for Josiah McLaurin one week after father’s tragic death

Sean Labar

By Sean Labar

Published:

Maryland Terrapins freshman RB Josiah McLaurin entered Saturday’s season opener — his first football game at the collegiate level — with a heavy heart.

Just one week prior to the Week 1 game on Aug. 24, his father Robert Todd McLaurin and his cousin, Kirk, were killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident in Harlem, New York.

On Tuesday morning, the Maryland football social media accounts released a special tribute video to McLaurin’s father, which detailed his bittersweet collegiate debut from a behind-the-scenes perspective.

It perfectly captured the best moment of the day in the Terps’ 50-7 victory over UConn. Late in the fourth quarter, McLaurin, who is currently listed as a backup running back on the Maryland roster, caught a 26-yard touchdown catch.

“Hey man, it’s just God’s grace, man,” McLaurin said in the video. “It’s for my pops, always.”

The video then takes the viewer into the Terrapins’ locker room where the team gives McLaurin the game ball.

“Our guy has been through a lot, he’s been through a lot, man” head coach Mike Locksley said. “But this is what family is all about, taking care of each other. Really proud of you.”

Finally, to close out the video, there’s a unique one-on-one interview with the Maryland freshman asking about scoring a touchdown and the bittersweet moment.

“It meant a lot to me, I had a pretty hard week and football is the only place I get where I’m like mentally free,” McLaurin said while holding back tears. “I don’t have to think about anything but what I’m doing on the field. But that touchdown meant a lot to me it was for my dad.”

It’s clear McLaurin is overcome with emotion at this point so the camera cuts away. When it comes back, the freshman running back shared how much the day meant to his family.

“I know it meant a lot to my family and I made my dad proud today, I just wish he was here to see it,” McLaurin closed.

Sean Labar