NORTH ANDOVER – For the second time in three years, Ayden Pereira has elected to enter the NCAA Football transfer portal.
On Tuesday, the former Central Catholic star said he has nothing but fond memories from his time at Merrimack College over the last two years.
“I’m just looking for a change right now. I need something different,” he said.
After transferring from UMaine before the 2024 season, Pereira emerged as the Warriors’ starting quarterback midway through last season. He completed 28 of 46 passes for 419 yards, with five TD passes without an interception, while rushing for 157 yards with another score.
This season, he was the No. 1 signal caller all season and put up big numbers, despite the team’s 4-8 record, and despite a young and inexperienced offensive line. He completed 158 of 309 passes for 1,813 yards with nine TD passes and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 1,030 yards with seven more touchdowns.
His game really took the next step in the final two games. He threw a pair of TDs and rushed for two more in a win against Sacred Heart and then led a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback win, with two TD passes in the five minutes, over Fordham in the season finale.
“I’ll cherish my time at Merrimack forever. Merrimack is a very special place,” he said, noting that he has just one year of eligibility left. “When I had gone into the portal the first time without any film, they took a chance on me. I’ll forever be grateful for that, and that’s why the decision was so difficult to make.”
“The memories I made here and the people I met have all been fantastic. I have developed so much as a player and as a person that I can’t thank Merrimack enough.”
Having already gone through it once, Pereira said the portal process is nothing but a wave of emotions.
“It’s a lot of wait and see. It’s a lot of nerves, excitement, and just a lot of emotions. It’s a big decision, and there are a lot of emotions that you go through, but I’m excited about this,” he said.
This time, though, is entirely different. The first time he had one college completion under his belt.
“I only officially had (an offer from) Merrimack,” he said. “I had other schools that reached out and were talking to, but Merrimack was a done deal from the start in a lot of ways. It just made a lot of sense to me. Obviously, there was a built-in relationship, plus being ten minutes down the road, so there wasn’t this whole relationship-building process because that was already done, so it made that decision quicker for me.”
Pereira said that location won’t factor into his next school.
Until he decides where he will play next, Pereira will continue his off-season program, which has a slight twist.
“I want to improve in all areas of my game, but I really want to work from the pocket more and stay in there, taking some hits as I throw instead of bailing out and trying to run,” he said. “There’s a fine line of balance with that because that’s a big part of my game to create off schedule, but it’s something that I’m focusing on, just finding that balance.”
Before reaching the collegiate level, Pereira became one of the state’s all-time best dual-threat high school quarterbacks, throwing for 5,551 yards with 68 TD passes and rushing for 1,614 yards with 31 more scores. He was named the Eagle-Tribune’s Offensive Player of the Year twice and was also the Mass Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021.