Guilian Gary Guilian Austin Gary ( first name pronounced " Julian " ) ( born June 5 , 1980 ) is an American football coach and former player . He played college football at the University of Maryland , College Park where he was a star wide receiver . He was the first Maryland player lead the team in punt returning for four years , and the first since 1961 to lead the team in receiving for three years . Gary is most known for the last - minute touchdown reception he made during the 2001 season which secured the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) championship for Maryland . Early life . Gary was born in Horseheads , New York to parents Gregory and Brenda Gary . His father Gregory Gary Sr . played basketball at St . Bonaventure and was a part of the Bonnies ' 70 Final Four team . Brother Greg , played college baseball at . Guilian Gary attended Horseheads High School , where he played football as a wingback and defensive back . As a senior in 1997 , he recorded 24 reception s , 482 receiving yards , seven receiving touchdown s , 95 carries , 948 rush ing yards , and 14 rushing touchdowns . The " Star - Gazette " named him a Co - Player of the Year . SuperPrep ranked him as the number - four college prospect in the state . His team captured consecutive Section 4 Class AA championships in his junior and senior years . Gary , also was an All - American Lacrosse player at Horseheads . College career . Gary attended the University of Maryland where he majored in family studies and played football for the Maryland Terrapins . In 1998 , he saw action as a true freshman in nine games as a receiver and on special teams . He recorded no receptions , but led the team in punt return s with 12 for 99 yards . In 1999 , he saw action in all 11 games including three starts . He led the team in both receiving and punt returning . He made 24 receptions for 257 yards , 35 returns punts for 311 yards , and one kickoff return for 84 yards . That sole kick return came against ninth - ranked Georgia Tech , and set up a touchdown on the subsequent possession . In 2000 , he played in all 11 games , which included 10 starts . He again led the team in receiving and punt returning . Gary recorded 40 receptions , 568 receiving yards , and seven touchdowns . Against Georgia Tech , he tied the school record for most touchdown receptions with three . That tied Jermaine Lewis ' s performance against West Virginia in 1993 and James Milling against in 1986 . That season , he became the first Terrapin to lead the team in punt returns in three consecutive seasons , and he made it four the following year . Before the 2001 season , Maryland hired a new head coach , Ralph Friedgen , who engineered a first - year turnaround for the program . During summer training camp , Gary took an awkward hit and suffered a cervical spine injury . He was evacuated to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore , but fully recovered . Against sixth - ranked Georgia Tech , Gary made a critical 18 - yard reception to the Yellow Jackets ' 46 - yard line with 40 seconds left as part of a drive to push within field goal range . Nick Novak later kicked the tying field goal , and in overtime , kicked the game - winner . The win improved the Terps ' record to 6 – 0 and secured bowl eligibility for Maryland for the first time since 1991 . Against Virginia , Gary recorded five receptions for 99 yards and a 53 - yard touchdown . In the penultimate regular season game , 13th - ranked Maryland played Clemson at Byrd Stadium . Gary recorded five receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown , and the Terrapins won , 37 – 20 , to ensure at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) championship with Florida State . The following week , Maryland played its last conference game against NC State . In the final minutes of regulation , with Maryland trailing , quarterback Shaun Hill mounted a 61 - yard drive . It culminated with an eight - yard pass to Gary in the corner of the end zone to win the game , 23 – 19 , with 41 seconds remaining . The win secured the outright ACC championship . Throughout the season , Gary was quarterback Shaun Hill ' s preferred receiver , and led the balanced Maryland receiving corps . Gary recorded 49 receptions , 727 yards , and six touchdowns . He was the first Maryland player since Gary Collins in 1961 to lead the team in receptions in three consecutive seasons . Gary was named an All - ACC player , which made him the first Maryland receiver honored as such since 1995 . About that championship - winning season , Gary said in 2009 : " Every day , we were told we were nothing . Every day , we were told we were picked to finish seventh in the conference for a reason . Really , we don ' t have a lot of fond football memories . My [ scrapbook of newspaper clippings ] has a thick coat of dust on it . " Gary also lettered in lacrosse during the 2002 season and saw action in two games as a defensive midfielder for the Terrapins . Professional career . In 2002 , Gary was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League ( NFL ) . He attended training camp , but left after being involved in a fight with fellow receiver Steve Smith , a fight that was the first of three separate such incidents during Smith ' s NFL career . He then served as the wide receivers coach at Holy Cross in 2003 . Under his guidance , Ari Confesor set a school record for all - purpose yards , and recorded 90 receptions for 1 , 213 yards and nine touchdowns . The following season , Gary took the same position at Georgetown . In 2005 , he was hired by Towson University to serve as the Towson Tigers wide receivers coach . In 2009 , Gordy Combs was fired as the Tigers ' head coach and replaced by Rob Ambrose . He chose to retain Gary and said , " I know Guilian was a very talented wide receiver at the University of Maryland and I ’ ve heard that he is extremely skilled as a wide receivers coach . "