Ali Marpet, OL, Hobart

I've been following this player closely. Marpet, by many accounts, could be argued as one of the highest upside players in the draft. A rare, top-flight Division III prospect who pretty well dominated his entire college career and then looked anything but out of place at the Senior Bowl, stepping in like he belonged with the elite prospects. At the Senior Bowl where he was used at both guard and tackle, reports surfaced that in two separate instances he was able to stonewall potential first round picks DT Danny Shelton, and DE/OLB Nate Orchard.

At the combine so far, he's already put on an athletic show, throwing up the bar more times than any other OG prospect except one and clocking the fastest 40 time. Now, obviously you don't look at those measurables by themselves, but when you pair them with what he's done on the field, you see a guy that is the sum of his parts.

I'm curious if Baalke would have this small-schooler on his radar, because I have to admit, I'd be pretty excited to have this player on our team.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/small-school-standout-ali-marpet-putting-tiny-hobart-college-on-nfl-radars-004839486.html

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/ali-marpet?id=2552332

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000463559/article/which-undertheradar-player-created-most-buzz-at-senior-bowl

NFL Combine Numbers



Height 6-4, Weight 307, Arm Length 33 3/8, Hand 10, Forty 4.98, Bench 30 reps, Vertical 30.5, Broad 9´0, 3-Cone 7.33, Shuttle 4.47

Marpet probably moved himself up from a 4th RD projection to at least the 3rd RD, maybe goes end of 2nd.

Great call OTC. This kid definitely is worth a look.

Originally posted by crew:

Marpet probably moved himself up from a 4th RD projection to at least the 3rd RD, maybe goes end of 2nd.

Before the combine, he was considered a late 3rd, early 4th. Would not be surprised to see him taken in the 2nd round by a team loving the upside.

Thanks OTC - interesting to see were he lands.

I'm not sure Trent would go for him in the 2nd

outstanding physique and athleticism. reminds me of alex mack. i see ali as a center.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Before the combine, he was considered a late 3rd, early 4th. Would not be surprised to see him taken in the 2nd round by a team loving the upside.

Agreed, just like Silatolu of the Panthers a few years ago

Originally posted by 49ers808:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Before the combine, he was considered a late 3rd, early 4th. Would not be surprised to see him taken in the 2nd round by a team loving the upside.

Agreed, just like Silatolu of the Panthers a few years ago

It'll be interesting to see what happens. Round 2 is awfully high for a DIII prospect, but do you really knock him for his level of competition if you saw what he did at the Senior Bowl? Bottom line: if you had no idea what level of competition he played at, and saw what he did against first rounders Orchard and Shelton, how would you grade him? That's what I think GMs will need to factor in. It is just one small sample size, so they'll have to determine how much weight it carries.

Path To The NFL



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TigYhuttNVc

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

I've been following this player closely. Marpet, by many accounts, could be argued as one of the highest upside players in the draft. A rare, top-flight Division III prospect who pretty well dominated his entire college career and then looked anything but out of place at the Senior Bowl, stepping in like he belonged with the elite prospects. At the Senior Bowl where he was used at both guard and tackle, reports surfaced that in two separate instances he was able to stonewall potential first round picks DT Danny Shelton, and DE/OLB Nate Orchard.

At the combine so far, he's already put on an athletic show, throwing up the bar more times than any other OG prospect except one and clocking the fastest 40 time. Now, obviously you don't look at those measurables by themselves, but when you pair them with what he's done on the field, you see a guy that is the sum of his parts.

I'm curious if Baalke would have this small-schooler on his radar, because I have to admit, I'd be pretty excited to have this player on our team.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/small-school-standout-ali-marpet-putting-tiny-hobart-college-on-nfl-radars-004839486.html

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/ali-marpet?id=2552332

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000463559/article/which-undertheradar-player-created-most-buzz-at-senior-bowl

I think Baalke will be gun shy after Slowey crashed and burned.

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

I've been following this player closely. Marpet, by many accounts, could be argued as one of the highest upside players in the draft. A rare, top-flight Division III prospect who pretty well dominated his entire college career and then looked anything but out of place at the Senior Bowl, stepping in like he belonged with the elite prospects. At the Senior Bowl where he was used at both guard and tackle, reports surfaced that in two separate instances he was able to stonewall potential first round picks DT Danny Shelton, and DE/OLB Nate Orchard.

At the combine so far, he's already put on an athletic show, throwing up the bar more times than any other OG prospect except one and clocking the fastest 40 time. Now, obviously you don't look at those measurables by themselves, but when you pair them with what he's done on the field, you see a guy that is the sum of his parts.

I'm curious if Baalke would have this small-schooler on his radar, because I have to admit, I'd be pretty excited to have this player on our team.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/small-school-standout-ali-marpet-putting-tiny-hobart-college-on-nfl-radars-004839486.html

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2015/profiles/ali-marpet?id=2552332

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000463559/article/which-undertheradar-player-created-most-buzz-at-senior-bowl

I think Baalke will be gun shy after Slowey crashed and burned.

Slowey was a clear late round flier pick. I was surprised he even got drafted. But he was picked with the 30th pick in the 6th round so it was pretty much just a hope that we could develop him, but like most late round guys he wasn't good enough. Marpet is a whole other animal. Vastly superior prospect. The two aren't even comparable really. "Small school" is really the only similarity. Baalke seems pretty comfortable looking at smaller schools: Reaser (Florida Atlantic), Kilgore (Appalachian State), Mike Person (Montana State - still in the league playing for St. Louis).

Marpet somehow managed to win a DIII Offensive POY award as an OL -- not "offensive lineman" of the year, offensive PLAYER of the year, which was an unprecedented accomplishment. Kid is special. Played well when facing top prospects from top conferences in the Senior Bowl. Certainly will have a learning curve in the NFL, but his reportedly "second to none" work ethic makes me believe he might be a nice success story in a couple years.

Not the "runaway beer truck" type, but quickness and athleticism may get him drafted in the 2nd round.
And he's a naturally high-effort guy, so teams will love him.
My only thing is i dont see a lot of functional length and ranginess, so guys like richard seymore will be hard for him to deal with. I see him as a pro-bowl type center, because his quick feet always place his hips in the right spot and he shimmies from block to block within a play with ease.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Slowey was a clear late round flier pick. I was surprised he even got drafted. But he was picked with the 30th pick in the 6th round so it was pretty much just a hope that we could develop him, but like most late round guys he wasn't good enough. Marpet is a whole other animal. Vastly superior prospect. The two aren't even comparable really. "Small school" is really the only similarity. Baalke seems pretty comfortable looking at smaller schools: Reaser (Florida Atlantic), Kilgore (Appalachian State), Mike Person (Montana State - still in the league playing for St. Louis).

Marpet somehow managed to win a DIII Offensive POY award as an OL -- not "offensive lineman" of the year, offensive PLAYER of the year, which was an unprecedented accomplishment. Kid is special. Played well when facing top prospects from top conferences in the Senior Bowl. Certainly will have a learning curve in the NFL, but his reportedly "second to none" work ethic makes me believe he might be a nice success story in a couple years.

I played DIII. The talent level is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY lower than DI, and significantly lower than DII. It's really hard to figure out how a guy will play a whole season against bigger, stronger, faster, harder-hitting, more instinctive players. FWIW, I think all of your examples were from D1AA, ie: MUCH higher talent level than DIII. When I was playing, a bottom of the depth chart RB left UW and played for our cross-town rival (also DIII). He DOMINATED all year long. He had crazy stat lines every week, he was talked up nationally in DIII circles, and each one of his runs looked like he might score. He looked like Matt Dillon playing football in "There's Something About Mary."

Turns out, he wasn't that amazing; the talent level was just beneath him. He never played a down in the NFL.

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Slowey was a clear late round flier pick. I was surprised he even got drafted. But he was picked with the 30th pick in the 6th round so it was pretty much just a hope that we could develop him, but like most late round guys he wasn't good enough. Marpet is a whole other animal. Vastly superior prospect. The two aren't even comparable really. "Small school" is really the only similarity. Baalke seems pretty comfortable looking at smaller schools: Reaser (Florida Atlantic), Kilgore (Appalachian State), Mike Person (Montana State - still in the league playing for St. Louis).

Marpet somehow managed to win a DIII Offensive POY award as an OL -- not "offensive lineman" of the year, offensive PLAYER of the year, which was an unprecedented accomplishment. Kid is special. Played well when facing top prospects from top conferences in the Senior Bowl. Certainly will have a learning curve in the NFL, but his reportedly "second to none" work ethic makes me believe he might be a nice success story in a couple years.

I played DIII. The talent level is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY lower than DI, and significantly lower than DII. It's really hard to figure out how a guy will play a whole season against bigger, stronger, faster, harder-hitting, more instinctive players. FWIW, I think all of your examples were from D1AA, ie: MUCH higher talent level than DIII. When I was playing, a bottom of the depth chart RB left UW and played for our cross-town rival (also DIII). He DOMINATED all year long. He had crazy stat lines every week, he was talked up nationally in DIII circles, and each one of his runs looked like he might score. He looked like Matt Dillon playing football in "There's Something About Mary."

Turns out, he wasn't that amazing; the talent level was just beneath him. He never played a down in the NFL.

Just to clarify, my examples were just in response to Baalke's willingness to draft small-schoolers, not to point out DIII players, because of course I do know none of those guys came DIII. If I were to use DIII success stories, I'd point out a guy like Pierre Garcon, Danny Woodhead or Joique Bell -- the second and third guys are both prospects who I brought this board's attention to actually . Bell may be the starter in Detroit next season. We all know about Woodhead and Garcon. In the cases of these players, their success was so far above the level of domination that it was hard to come up with a word for it.

For DIII, when I evaluate them, aside from watching their game footage, their production needs to be 150%. By that I mean, 100% domination, plus 50% more. If the footage checks out, I need to see the 3000+ yard seasons like Bell and Woodhead had. Even then there was a learning curve and an adjustment in year one. But you saw both players start to "get it" by year two or three because they were simply good football players at a level so so far beneath them it was silly.