Lions land 15th recruit

By JOHN GIBLIN
Collegian Staff Writer

While most high school juniors spent thier spring break relaxing and taking time off from school, Nick Marmo of New Castle went on a whirlwind tour of colleges.

Recruiting trips to Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Pittsburgh were the highlight of Marmo's hiatus from the classroom, but now the 6-foot-6, 318-pound offensive linemen can take a break and concentrate solely on his upcoming senior football season -- not on where he will be playing football in a year.

In a surprise decision yesterday morning, Marmo shunned numerous other Div. I schools and verbally committed to Penn State — making him the Nittany Lions' 15th verbal commitment for the fall of 2000.

"It just felt right," Marmo said. "I can't really say anything bad about the school."

Marmo, regarded as the No. 1 college prospect in Western Pennsylvania for next season by several recruiting publications, was a member of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "Fab 22" recruits last season. He was also a selected as a member of the all-state second-team.

Marmo attended the football camp June 13th at Pittsburgh, and also camped at Penn State's Nike Training Camp.

"I think he's going to blossom even more as a player and an individual when he gets to college and faces great competition every day," said New Castle football coach Gary Schooley.

"Physically, I don't think he's done growing yet. I don't think he's going to get any taller, but I think he is going to be reshaped and his strength will increase."

A varsity starter since his freshman season, Marmo played center for the Red Hurricane as a freshman and sophomore, but moved to guard last season as a junior. He also played on the defensive line for the defending WPIAL Class AAAA champions. Marmo said he would like to play either tackle or guard at Penn State.

"Because of the offense we run, we always have pulling and trapping guards, so we moved him to guard," Schooley said.

"There is no doubt in my mind that he could play left tackle, too."

Marmo is rated among the top 10 offensive linemen in the country by numerous recruiting experts, including Mike Bakas of the Eastern Football Journal and Geoff Ketchum of the National Recruiting Advisor.

Inside the weight room, Marmo bench presses 330 pounds and squats 495 pounds. He has a 2.8 grade point average, and scored a 970 on the SAT. In addition to his size and strength, Marmo is also agile for an offensive lineman, running the 40-yard dash in 5.2 seconds.

"He's not just a big kid, he's a big athlete," Schooley said.

It is this combination of size, strength and speed that first drew college attention to Marmo. This same skill has also transferred over to the basketball court for Marmo.

Besides starring on the gridiron, Marmo has been a member of New Castle's basketball team during the past two seasons. Although he saw little playing time at the varsity level, he played plenty for the junior varsity.

"He's dominated at this level like few have," Bakas said.

"He uses outstanding strength and power along with quick feet to mow his opponents over."

Marmo had originally planned to make a few more official visits before finally announcing his final decision. He planned to make a verbal commitment to Penn State in early May when Penn State defensive backs coach Tom Bradley visited New Castle High School, but decided he should wait a little longer. Marmo had met with Bradley and the rest of the Penn State coaching staff on a visit to Penn State earlier in the year.

Marmo selected the Lions in favor of Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan. All three schools Marmo was considering offered scholarships, as well as a host of others.

"I just think the atmosphere (at Penn State) and everything about it is great," Marmo said.

"The people there are really nice. I've always liked them."

Marmo's commitment means Penn State has landed two of Western Pennsylvania's top prospects for next season. Franklin Regional High School linebacker/fullback B.J. Evangelista also made an oral commitment. Bradley was the main contact in both of their commitments.

"I'm just tired of all the mail and phone calls I've been getting," Marmo said of the reason for his early decision. "Plus, I just really like it up there at Penn State."