Ali Marpet can make Bucs head coach Lovie Smith and GM Jason Licht look like geniuses By ALAN DELLMay 9, 2015 
This is a Feb. 20, 2015, file photo showing Hobart offensive lineman Ali Marpet running a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. Marpet is one of the most unlikely prospects in this year's NFL draft. The Division III offensive lineman from Hobart College wowed scouts at the Senior Bowl against some of college football's best and then measured up to other top prospects at the combine.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File) TAMPAAli Marpet is proof you can be anonymous and famous at the same time.It's one of the things that endeared him to the Tampa Bay Bucs.The rookie offensive lineman can bring Bucs head coach Lovie Smith and general manager Jason Licht credibility as talent evaluators after last year's free agent debacle.He could even make each look like a genius.Will he?It's the Hobart question of the month.If you don't know where Hobart College is, don't fret. Not many people do. And if we told you, it wouldn't matter. Have you been to Geneva, N.Y.?If you don't know what players from Hobart were drafted by the NFL until Marpet don't worry; none have. If you don't know what Division III players were invited to the NFL combine this year don't worry: only Marpet.Offensive linemen usually toil in anonymity -- until they allow a defender to crush their quarterback. They live by the creed no one is watching until they make a mistake.Marpet must have been anonymous in high school because only Fordham and Holy Cross offered him a scholarship. Colleges wanted him to play defense. They didn't share his vision. He saw himself as an offensive lineman with unlimited potential.Marpet lost much of his anonymity the day the Bucs took him in the second round (61st overall) in this year's NFL Draft, making him the highest Division III player ever selected.He was the Bucs' third pick. They chose Donovan Smith, the offensive lineman from Penn State, with their second.Anonymity is not in the cards for these two guys, especially the 6-4, 307-pound Marpet.Their task is to keep rookie quarterback Jameis Winston whole as part of a Bucs offensive line from last year that was -- to be kind -- horrendous.The Bucs have invested about $25 million in Winston, the top pick in this year's draft. So if Marpet and Smith feel like they have been assigned to guard Fort Knox, well they have.Besides going from Division III to the NFL Marpet is switching from tackle to guard, a position he never played.Smith will be at left tackle where he played at Penn State though many scouting reports say he is better suited for right. He says it doesn't matter."You have to have an attitude to play on the offensive line in general, but I think there is a little extra on us (left tackles) because you are protecting the blind side of the quarterback," Smith says.For Marpet, the change means he will be facing Gerald McCoy in practices and defensive tackles in games."He will make me better," Marpet says. "It's the quickness (facing defensive tackles). It's the first step, but I think I will be able to adjust."Marpet ran the fastest 40-yard dash time for offensive linemen at this year's NFL combine (4.98 seconds) and was the only OL to run it in under five seconds. He is his own PR department, declaring at the Senior Bowl "I realized I could block those guys from the big schools."No one can remember the last time an offensive lineman ran 40 yards in a game, so the question about Marpet is whether he can block and whether his lateral movement, his feet and agility are up to speed."He went to the Senior Bowl, and there were a lot of guys from a lot of major schools. After the first day, he went back to his room and said 'Hey, I can block these guys and I can play up to this level,'" Smith said.Marpet apparently has scouted himself better than any of the colleges that passed on him. He says they couldn't see how many pounds he could easily add to his frame.The kitchen crew at One Buc Place has been alerted that he can eat 7,000 calories a day and still be hungry."It (moving to NFL from Div. III) is definitely a big difference, especially the size and speed. I had a little taste of that in the Senior Bowl. It's definitely going to be a challenge, but I think I can adjust to it," Marpet said. "Guard is a new position for me, but I am excited to play it. I think that's my best opportunity to make the team better."Coach Smith wants a fast football team and says Marpet and Smith have speed.Most of all, he needs people to keep Fort Knox safe. And if these guys remain for the most part anonymous, they will have done that.Alan Dell, Herald sports writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports. link
