For Northern High School senior Jacob Purcell, playing college football was always just a dream.
“Since I was a little kid I have always dreamt of playing football at the college level,” Purcell said. “After about seventh- or eighth-grade, it really never occurred to me that may actually be a real possibility of mine.”
On a family vacation a couple of months ago, Purcell’s dream became a reality.
“I was actually on a snowboarding trip with my family, literally snowboarding down a slope, when I felt my phone ringing in my pocket,” Purcell said. “I checked my phone and it was [Northern football head] coach [Steve] Crounse and he had told me that Maryland had offered me a preferred walk-on spot this fall.”
Purcell will begin his college career as a walk-on for the University of Maryland football team, but will have the opportunity to be put on a scholarship the following year if earned.
“This is a great opportunity for me, and I will primarily be playing outside linebacker in college,” Purcell said.
In his senior season at Northern, Purcell essentially was still a freshman on the field in terms of experience since the Patriots’ defensive end and outside linebacker only played one year of football in high school.
“Now that I had played [football] this year, I wish I had also played last year,” Purcell said. “With getting a new coach I didn’t know how it was going to be, but after seeing their energy and success I knew that I wanted to be a part of it.”
Crounse was looking to fill a void at defensive end and Purcell’s physique fit the bill.
“With Jacob’s length, speed and quickness, it was a very easy decision to move him to defensive end,” Crounse said. “Defensive end would allow him the least amount of a learning curve, and he would be able to be an impact player for us immediately.”
Purcell was best known in Northern athletics for his stellar play on the lacrosse field his first three years, which is the only thing Crounse knew about him.
“[Jacob] walked into the equipment room August 8th and expressed an interest to join the team,” Crounse said. “I knew very little about him, other than he was a big-time lacrosse player. His athleticism immediately made an impression on our entire coaching staff. He was quite possibly the best defensive end in the league from week one. His change of direction, motor and relentless effort jumped off the film when evaluating games.”
After his first season playing football, Purcell accumulated numerous honors and accolades. He was a first-team all-conference selection by the Southern Maryland Football Coaches Association was chosen to play in the Chick-fil-A Challenge All-Star Game that featured players from the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference taking on players from Prince George’s County.
“The coaching staff has taught me pretty much everything in my first year,” Purcell said. “In high school it is so much different than youth football where you don’t really have that many plays and different sets and stuff like that.”
Before embarking on his journey to Maryland in the fall for college football, Purcell will finish out his Northern athletic career playing the sport this spring that he has for most of his life: lacrosse.
“I started playing lacrosse when I was 4 years old and I have played for Northern all four years,” Purcell said.
When asked what sport of the two is his favorite, Purcell said he loves both football and lacrosse.
“I chose to play football because I like the energy and hype of college football. There is nothing like it, especially in the Big Ten,” Purcell said. “I chose Maryland because it is my home state and I wanted to stay close to home. I also like the fact of staying in state and playing for your state team.”
Crounse added: “Jacob is an extremely coachable young man. He is a great teammate and fierce competitor. These are all attributes that will serve him well as he makes this journey into big-time college athletics. He is going to a situation at Maryland where he will be given every opportunity to earn his way and grow as an athlete and student. I couldn’t be happier for Jake and his wonderful family. The ceiling is very high on how far he can chase this dream, and he has skills he hasn’t even tapped into yet. It was fantastic getting to know Jacob as a young man and a blessing to have had the opportunity to coach him.”
Twitter: @johnniswander2