The biggest schools recruiting Ali Marpet out of high school were Fordham and Holy Cross. Both schools wanted him as a defensive lineman, however, and neither ever offered. Marpet's decision to go to Hobart was academic. He joined the Statesmen as a 230-pound offensive lineman.
DIII school’s first NFL Draft prospect is too busy to be surprised by his success
Ali Marpet is on the verge of becoming the first player ever drafted out of Division III Hobart. The only person who isn’t shocked is him.
Glenn Andrews-USA TODAY Sports
Marpet wasn’t offended. He knew how much offensive linemen were supposed to weigh. It’s plainly obvious now, however, that those other programs whiffed.
Marpet has been one of the fastest draft risers since the end of the college football season. After catching the eyes of NFL scouts at the Senior Bowl and the Combine, he has a chance to become one of the highest drafted players ever to come out of a Division III school. The last DIII player to be selected within the first 100 picks of the draft was Ferrum College's Chris Warren at 84th overall in 1990. Marpet is currently ranked No. 83 on SB Nation's Top 300.
“I think if bigger programs actually looked at my tape and actually looked at me as an individual and saw that I had the frame to put on weight, then they would have had no problem giving me a scholarship,” Marpet said. “But you know, it’s whatever. That doesn’t bother me because the path that I chose has worked.”
Marpet worked out hard during his early offseasons. He would go to LA Fitness or New York Sports Club with teammates and other Division III players. He ate A LOT to put on weight in college. He is still eating. Over the course of four or five meals per day, Marpet packs in 7,000 calories. With that dedication, it’s no surprise Marpet quickly became a fixture for the Statesmen.
Marpet started from his sophomore season onward. He is a three-time All-Liberty League first teamer, and was a D3football.com first team All-American his senior year. Yes, it was just DIII football, but that still made Marpet an upper-percentile player. He was named the Liberty League's co-Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the first offensive lineman to ever earn the honor. Marpet would have been remembered at Hobart even if his football career was destined to end after his senior season.
No Hobart football player has ever been selected in the NFL Draft, so imagine the surprise of BLESTO scouts when they paid a cursory visit to spring practice in 2013 and saw Marpet run sub-5.0 in the 40-yard dash. Marpet looked up the physical dimensions of draft-worthy linemen, and figured he belonged.
“I mean, I’m not on scholarship here -- I was just playing because I love playing football, and I love the team and I love getting better,” Marpet says. “I realized I stacked up with the other offensive linemen that were trying to play on the next level. So I figure, why not me? And since then, it’s sort of been my goal to try and make a roster.”
Marpet began frequenting DeFranco’s Gym in Wyckoff, New Jersey (since relocated to Austin, Texas), where Joe DeFranco regularly trained NFL players. Marpet’s motivation came from within. Though Hobart offensive line coach Kevin DeWall played a significant roll in Marpet’s development on the practice field, Marpet made certain he was moving towards the stringent goals he set for himself whenever he left Hobart’s campus.
Marpet went super nova at the Senior Bowl. At first he was caught off guard by the step up in competition -- both the size and speed of Division I talent -- but by the end of the week he had more than adjusted. Marpet was named a draft riser by damn near everyone. He won reps against the likes of projected top 10 pick Danny Shelton and comfortably made the transition from tackle to guard, his likely position at the next level.
“Even going there the first day I wasn’t sure how I would match up with some of the other Division I offensive linemen, but after a couple days after sizing them up I realized that I’m just as athletic,” Marpet says. “It’s not like the guys at the Division I level are working any harder than the guys at the Division III level, you know?”
While working with NFL trainer Chip Smith in Atlanta in preparation for the NFL Combine, Marpet reportedly added 20 pounds to his 6'4 frame and added 10 reps to his bench press. In Indianapolis, Marpet was arguably the most athletic lineman in attendance, recording the fastest 40-yard dash (4.98 seconds) and the second-fastest three-cone drill (7.33) and 20-yard shuttle (4.47) after weighing in at 307 pounds. The times corroborated the eye-level praise that came out of Mobile.
All that despite being thrown into a stressful and foreign place.
“What people don’t see is just the lack of sleep,” Marpet says. “So where at a pro day you have your shakes, you’re sleeping in your own bed, when you’re at the Combine they’re waking you up early and you’re going to sleep late. They’re taking you to all these different places. They’re kind of making you not very comfortable.”
Marpet hasn’t rested. When I asked him how much free time he has had, he thought and answered “None?” as if he just realized how occupied he had been. Until the draft, Marpet has maybe a day or two days that haven’t been scheduled for a workout or a meeting with another NFL team. They all ask the same question, “How did you end up at Hobart?”
Arguably no one is as nonplussed by Marpet’s ascension as Marpet himself.
“All that happens at all these events is sort of surreal,” Marpet says. “But for me because it has happened so fast, I think what helped is just focusing on that next workout -- that next event, that next interview, whatever it is -- and just trying to do that the best that you can.”
Marpet is too busy to be shellshocked, giving him the clarity to focus on his tasks at hand. He is trying to learn center so that he can sell himself even further on his versatility. He has spoken several times with New York Giants lineman Justin Pugh, another player who rose during the draft process and is capable of playing five positions up front. Pugh's biggest piece of advice was to stay confident.
“Know that I belong, that I’m there for a reason, because I come from a D3 school,” Marpet says. “So play aggressive, don’t play scared.”
Marpet grew up a Giants fan in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. Getting drafted by either of the New York franchises would mean a lot to him -- his home has always been in the Empire State.
Of course, Marpet would adjust just fine to another city. He has dealt with more change in the last three months than perhaps any player entering the 2015 NFL Draft. What’s a new state of residence after every other test he has passed? Eventually he’ll be taking reps in a real live game, and nothing he has experienced during the draft process will matter.
“I’m ready to play. If I could start practice tomorrow for the NFL I would,” Marpet says. “So 100 percent I want to play football right now. As soon as I can.”
Marpet may be the last person paying any mind to his pedigree.
See More:
