Image courtesy of Ayden Pereira’s Twitter account.

Former Central Catholic star and University of Maine quarterback Ayden Pereira has announced he is transferring to Merrimack.

Pereira made the announcement last night on his Twitter page. We caught up with Ayden and talked about why he ultimately decided to transfer to Merrimack. 

“There were many things that appealed to me about Merrimack. The strong relationship I have with Coach Curran and Coach Baun that goes back to before recruiting.  Having past teammates being there. I feel like the offense fits my skill set well and the opportunity to max out my potential.”

Pereira spent the past two seasons at Maine after redshirting as a freshmen. He still has three years of eligibility left. 

When asked if he chose Merrimack because it was closer to home, Pereira said that wasn’t a deciding factor but that it certainly helped in his decision. 

“Playing closer to home wasn’t something I went in to this saying “I definitely wanna play closer to home” but it was definitely a plus.”

Now Pereira has an opportunity to go into a situation where he can compete for the starting job. At least that is his plan. When asked about that possibility, Pereira was pretty clear.

“Yea, The plan is to compete to start. This is my goal any year.”

The Auburn, New Hampshire native will get that opportunity despite most of the Warriors quarterback room returning.

Pereira was an electric player at Central Catholic and if he gets the opportunity to prove that he can be the guy, he can be that type of play maker at Merrimack moving forward. 

Getting a commitment from Pereira is a coup for Dan Curran and his staff.