MARC MAGRO
LB, 6-3, 220 lbs., 4.8
University High School – Morgantown, W.Va.
Talented hometown product who led University High to a 9-3
record and the second round of the state playoffs … first-team
Class AAA all-state and all-NCAC linebacker for Coach John
Kelley … recorded 154 tackles, 28 tackles for losses and five
sacks for the Hawks … Hawks were 10-2 his junior season, when
he earned second-team all-state honors as a defensive end
Started as a defensive end as a sophomore as well, teaming with
a pair of current Mountaineers, Scott Gyorko and Josh Stewart,
to lead UHS to an 11-1 mark and a playoff run which carried the
Hawks to the Class AAA semifinals.
“There are a lot of good
high school players, but it takes a certain talent and physical
ability to play at the next level,” said Kelley. “Marc has the
physical tools. Look at him, he’s 6-3 and 220 pounds already.
He’s going to get even bigger. The other part of it is, I’ve never
coached anyone with a better work ethic than Marc. He gets up
at five in the morning to get a work out in, and then turns around
in the afternoon and works out again. He’s working with a
personal trainer now to help him make even more improvements
in his strength and speed. On top of that, he’s an intelligent player
who is very coachable. To me, he’s a bigger version of Scottie
Gyorko, and Scottie’s done very well for himself at WVU. I think
Marc is the best overall player we’ve ever had, and that’s not
taking anything away from some of the others. I just think that
much of Marc.”
Though he predates Kelley’s tenure at UHS,
Magro is also from the same high school that produced former
Mountaineer All-American offensive lineman Rich Braham, who
now plays for the Cincinnati Bengals … Marc also was a baseball
letterman and was a very good hockey player at a younger age
but has given up both those sports to concentrate on football …
also got recruiting interest from Pitt and Marshall before
committing to WVU midway through the fall … only in-state
product signed by the Mountaineers in the past two years …
Played tight end for University as well, catching 10 passes for
143 yards this past season.
“Marc isn’t the fastest player West
Virginia will have, but he’s fast enough to be a very successful
linebacker,” noted Kelley. “There’s a difference between quick
and fast. To play in the 12-yard squad you need to play in at
linebacker, you need to be more quick than fast, and Marc has
plenty of quickness. I don’t know what Rich has planned for him,
but with Marc’s physical size, athletic ability and intelligence, I
think they’ll have trouble keeping him off the field early. I don’t
think a redshirt would hurt him, but I could see him contributing,
especially on special teams, as a true freshman, just like Gyorko.”
… Marc also is a member of National Honor Society … active in Teens Against Tobacco Use … will major in exercise physiology
and has thoughts of a future in med school … bench presses 315
pounds, squats 325 and power clean 275 … son of Phil and
Suzanne Magro.
What Rich Rodriguez says: “We looked at Marc a good bit
in camp. We waited until part way through his senior year to offer
him, because he had been a defensive end through his junior
season, but moved to linebacker as a senior. We thought his size
fit best at linebacker, and we wanted to see how he played at the
position. We liked what we saw after a few games and offered
him. He’s got good size and a tremendous motor. He’s a tough
guy and tremendously intelligent. He’s perfect for what we’re
looking for in our linebackers, from a size standpoint.”
What Herb Hand says: “Marc is a tremendous in-state
player. We want to recruit the state of West Virginia. We offered
some other state kids who chose to go elsewhere, and that’s the
way that goes. But Marc is excited to be a Mountaineer, and we
couldn’t be happier. Again, we wanted to increase our size at
linebacker, and Marc is a taller, rangier type kid. I don’t want to
put unobtainable goals on a kid, but I think he’s going to be a very
good player.”