Hobart’s Marpet shows he belongs
(SportsNetwork.com) – Exactly one Division III player was invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and Hobart offensive lineman Ali Marpet flashed why on Friday.
The 6-foot-4, 307-pound Marpet broke the 5.0-barrier in the 40-yard dash, clocking in at 4.98 seconds, the fastest time among all the offensive linemen at the combine.
Marpet also showed off his unique athleticism with the top 10-yard split among the OLinemen, at 1.74 seconds, along with top-tier strength, putting up 225 pounds an impressive 30 times, tied for fifth among the big uglies assembled in Indianapolis.
Rewind back to 2014 and the speediest offensive lineman was eventual first- round pick Taylor Lewan of the Tennessee Titans, who was only a tick faster than Marpet with a 4.87 40.
Don’t expect a similar end game for Marpet, who was a three-year starter at left tackle for Hobart and the first offensive lineman to be named Liberty League Offensive Player of the Year. He is, however, regarded as a draftable commodity with most scouts placing a mid-round grade on him while projecting a move inside to guard or center at the professional level.
“He has the ability to be a starting (NFL) center,” NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said of Marpet, who didn’t allow a sack during his senior season at Hobart and was named to the D3football.com All-America first team as well as the Associated Press Little All-America second team.
So why was a talented prospect like Marpet toiling at tiny Hobart in Geneva, N.Y. instead of Alabama, Ohio State or Notre Dame?
Physically, he was a late bloomer, weighing in at just 250 pounds during his sophomore campaign.
If this were still the 1970s, perhaps a 250-pound Marpet could have found a home in the NFL but these days, some quarterbacks are bigger than that and bulking up was paramount.
“I need to eat 3,500 calories a day to maintain my body weight,” Marpet said. “So when I’m exercising, I think I need 7,000 to maintain. So in order for me to gain, I need to eat 8,000–9,000 calories.”
As he got bigger, Marpet was able to maintain his unique athleticism and pro scouts began to notice.
Marpet first showed up on a lot of people’s radars during his junior season at Hobart.
“My junior year, BLESTO (Scouting Service) came by and I ran the 40 for them,” Marpet said. “I took the Wonderlic and they measured me, and I discovered that I had the same physical tools as some of the other offensive linemen, so I said ‘why not me?'”
Others were beginning to say the same thing after a very impressive Senior Bowl week in Mobile, where he was also the only player from a Division III school in attendance.
“It was fun for me,” Marpet said when discussing the Senior Bowl. “I’m a competitive person, so I love playing against the best. That was a huge opportunity for me.”
Marpet even held his own against projected first-round pick Danny Shelton of Washington.
“At first, I wasn’t sure how I was going to match up,” he continued. “Pretty soon, I knew I would be OK. I was invited there for a reason. But it was huge for me, that first day. Going out and getting used to the speed … the speed was the biggest difference going from D-III to D-I. I was able to handle the size, and once I had a few reps, I was fine.
“I don’t know if anyone saw me as a D-III guy — I don’t know if the defensive linemen looked up film on me. I was looking at them, seeing what they were doing. There probably wasn’t much expectation, so I just was doing what I was doing. Just going out and executing.”
Marpet brought the added confidence he gained from the Senior Bowl to Indianapolis where he cemented his ceiling as a potential third- or fourth- round pick.
“He definitely belongs,” NFL Media draft guru Charles Davis said.
Categorized in: NFL