Terence Damian Garvin (born January 1, 1991) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach and former

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He is the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for Norfolk State, a position he has held since 2025. He played college football for

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

. After going undrafted in 2013, he signed with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He also played for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, and the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

, the

Orlando Apollos The Orlando Apollos were a professional American football franchise based in Orlando, Florida, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The team played its home games at Spectr ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

(AAF), and the St. Louis Battlehawks of the XFL.

College career

As a freshman at

in 2009, Garvin played in 10 games and finished with 10 tackles for the season. In 2010, Garvin started all 13 games and finished with 76 tackles. He started 11 games in 2011, but had knee surgery in December 2011. He played in 47 career games at West Virginia, registering 235 tackles, 10.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles. He also intercepted three passes, returning one for a touchdown, to go along with 11 passes defensed.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

After going undrafted in the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

, Garvin wasn't immediately signed as a free agent. He was invited to attend

rookie minicamp on a tryout basis and was signed to the 90-man roster on May 6. He was waived on August 31 and then re-signed to the team's practice squad. On September 3, 2013, Garvin was signed to the active roster. He saw action against the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

in Week 15 and gained notoriety when he broke the jaw of Bengals punter Kevin Huber with a hard hit during a runback for touchdown by

Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American former professional American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. During his first nine seasons with t ...

. The block was not penalized at the time, but was later ruled illegal by the NFL and cost him a $25,000 fine. Garvin re-signed with the Steelers on a one-year contract on January 9, 2015.

Washington Redskins

On March 17, 2016, Garvin signed with the

. He played in all 16 games primarily on special teams, finishing second on the team with eight special teams tackles.

Seattle Seahawks

On March 24, 2017, Garvin signed with the

Miami Dolphins

On April 11, 2018, Garvin signed with the

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

San Francisco 49ers

On September 12, 2018, Garvin was signed by the

. He was released on September 22, 2018.

Orlando Apollos

In 2019, Garvin joined the

of the

. In the season opener against the

Atlanta Legends The Atlanta Legends were a professional American football franchise based in Atlanta, Georgia, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one incomplete season from February 2019 to April 2019. They p ...

, Garvin recorded 8 tackles and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown, as the Apollos won 40–6. He was named Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. The league ceased operations in April 2019. Through the 8 games played, Garvin made 24 tackles, defended 6 passes, caught 3 interceptions, and recorded a sack and forced fumble.

St. Louis BattleHawks

Garvin was selected by the St. Louis BattleHawks in the 22nd Round (round two of phase three) of the 2020 XFL Draft. In 5 games played prior to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

causing the season to end prematurely, Garvin recorded 36 tackles and a sack. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Coaching career

Florida Memorial

In 2022, Garvin was hired by

Florida Memorial University Florida Memorial University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black college in Miami Gardens, Florida. Founded as the Florida Baptist Institute, today it claims a focus on broader Christ ...

as the team's

s coach, defensive run-game coordinator and assistant special teams coordinator before being named co-

for 2023.

Norfolk State

On January 10, 2025, Garvin was hired as the

at Norfolk State.

References

External links

Florida Memorial Lions bioWashington Redskins bioWest Virginia Mountaineers bioNorfolk State Spartans profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garvin, Terence 1991 births Living people Players of American football from Baltimore American football linebackers West Virginia Mountaineers football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Washington Redskins players Seattle Seahawks players Miami Dolphins players San Francisco 49ers players Orlando Apollos players St. Louis Battlehawks players Florida Memorial Lions football coaches Norfolk State Spartans football coaches