“They’re All Technicians”
June 27th, 2015
Ali Marpet speaks at the NFL Rookie Symposium
How bout that rookie Ali Marpet, the pride of Division III Hobart College! He can see that he’s jumping from, say, charming crowds in a preschool production of Jack and the Beanstalk to a Broadway stage.
Marpet noted the wow factor of the NFL during a Thursday night interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio. He talked about how there’s no more “getting by” on athleticism and lineman are professionals on both sides of the ball.
“They’re all technicians,” he said.
Joe already shared how Marpet characterized the playbook as a struggle and he was talking very humbly on radio. There was no chatter about winning a starting job.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Marpet isn’t capable of starting and stunning for the Bucs this year. Thankfully, football is still about blocking and tackling, and Marpet has the measurables, and he displayed a mountain of desire to become a second-round draft pick.
Now it’s up to George Warhop to develop Marpet, who is transitioning to right guard, from Division III left tackle.
Is Warhop up to all the challenges on his plate?
June 27th, 2015 at 9:43 am
i for one applaud marpet for his tenacity and his hard work effort, and it paid off for him, yes we all realize that it was certainly a huge jump from division 3 to the NFL big boy club, but from what I have read on this site and others, it appears tampa was not the only club that wanted him. so I will cut the kid some slack, and will be pulling for him as much as I would for Donovan and the rest of the rookies we drafted. and hope his and all their work efforts pay off in the long run with a lot more W’s than losses! go bucs
June 27th, 2015 at 9:56 am
Market is going to be the Lavonte David/heart of our offense in a year or two.
I have a feeling that this kid is going to be special.
June 27th, 2015 at 10:08 am
There may be a little too being made of the Division III thing. There have been a handful of guys who did not even play college football who made NFL rosters and were good players like Ray Seals DE Steelers who started in Superbowl XXX and later was a Buc. Eric Swan DL Cardinals, Michael Lewis WR Saints and former All Pro and Lawrence Okoye DL 49ers are some of the more noteworthy. Also there are a number of Division III products that were on several Team rosters in 2012 according to Wikipedia.
Division III Football Players on NFL Rosters in 2012
Active Roster
Buffalo: Fred Jackson, RB, Coe
Indianapolis: Jerrell Freeman, LB, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Jacksonville: Cecil Shorts III, WR/RET, Mount Union
Kansas City: Andy Studebaker, LB, Wheaton
Miami: Jason Trusnik, LB, Ohio Northern; Kyle Miller, TE/S, Mount Union
Philadelphia: Nate Menkin, OL, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Seattle: Steven Hauschka, K, Middlebury
Tennessee: Mike Preston, WR, Heidelberg
Washington: London Fletcher, LB, John Carroll; Pierre Garcon, WR/RET, Mount Union
I realize that the odds are that it is a long shot for Marpet but as noted above, there have been guys with no college experience and Division III who have made NFL rosters and been good players. I am going to hope Marpet becomes one of the gems found from Division III. I love rooting for the underdogs and so do all of the rest of you if you root for the Bucs. LOL
June 27th, 2015 at 10:21 am
My friend and old teammate Vince Papale never played a down of college football, and a movie of his Philly Iggle days was made into a Disney movie.
Joe speaks of Div. III as “glorified high school.” Those who know football can say the same things about many 1-AA schools and conferences.
June 27th, 2015 at 11:44 am
I am with you Steve K. I have a good feeling about the kid too
June 27th, 2015 at 1:32 pm
Marpet in time will be our most versatile lineman. He was the fastest OL in the combine, is super strong, good size, and bright. All he lacks is length. If you put him at center he would already be better than EDS. He played Center at the Senior Bowl and was great. Can’t wait to see him pull from RG on a sweep play. He will be a star! Nobody will be able to bull rush him either, and is such a good pass blocker he was a LT at Hobart, and has great character, has a great work ethic, is durable, and a humble good guy.
June 27th, 2015 at 5:17 pm
RayRay- The only OL on your list is no longer in the NFL.
Ex-Texans OT Nate Menkin has signed with the CFL’s Ottawa RedBlacks.
I think long term Ali will be a better C in the NFL than G. But I will be rooting for him either way.
June 27th, 2015 at 5:22 pm
Here are the 1st 3 picks and alternates that they better play better than.
Jameis Christ vs Marcus M.
Donovan S. Vs Jake Fisher
Ali M. vs AJ Cann
June 27th, 2015 at 5:27 pm
He’ll be fine and he’s not a reach.
Tune in tomorrow when Joe reminds us again of how he went to a division III school…
June 27th, 2015 at 7:09 pm
I sure hope Warhop knows what he’s doing with these talented rookies. We need both Smith and Marpet to be solid and its so hard to expect that from two starting rookie OLinemen.
Apparently Koetter wanted to keep Warhop and was probably the deciding factor as to his continued employment as Bucs OL coach.
Lets all hope that Koetter and Lovie made the right decision in keeping Warhop and that the OLine play is vastly improved this year. If that can be accomplished – I think we are in business for Offense and scoring some points in 2015.
Jameis + Evans/Vjax/ASJ + good OLine play and a legit running game = Winning football games with Offense!!
June 27th, 2015 at 7:12 pm
I’m not so sure about Marpet, he got by in college on athleticism. Now he has to be a technician and that’s not who he was before, but I’m pulling for him.
June 27th, 2015 at 11:44 pm
@ Stanglassman
I’m right with you. We had the 1st choice in all these picks,..so we hope we picked the right kids. I like all 3 picks for the Bucs. Some would like J. Fisher, but I see why the Bucs went D. Smith. Was a bigger kid and Agile on his feet. From a prostyle offense. A. Marpet stock kept rising. From his Senior bowl visit to the Combine, teams liked this kid more and more. I can say in the long run he may be better than AJ Cann, but for short term fix..it would have to be AJ Cann. I mean the Bucs are in win now mode, so with a pick in the 2nd round why would we draft another OL guy to sit on the bench and not start. Is Kadeem Edwards ready now,…the 5th rounder from last year. Is he better than a 2nd round pick in Marpet. For some reason guys I don’t like the fact that we trade back into the 2nd,…wasting a pick for a position of need…only to hope he is ready by next year. Our OL needed help now. AJ Cann could of helped now…and kept going for 10 more years(barring injury).
June 28th, 2015 at 6:53 pm
We can still look forward to the waiver wire if we need some extra help on the OL.
I’m having a hard time seeing a lot of success with Ali vs NFL DL vets early in the RS. Let’s hope that the starters are ready to protect our QB, at all costs.
June 29th, 2015 at 9:59 am
I like Marpet. It’s a swing for the fences pick and one where much more heralded guards (AJ Cann, Tre Jackson) were still available. However, if Marpet can tune up his technique and continue to grow as a player the sky is the limit for him.