Fresno State Athletics
Coming Home: Marcus McMaryion
9/5/2018 10:00:00 AM | Football
Fresno State quarterback Marcus McMaryion has returned home to the Valley and looks to make his senior season one to remember.
For Fresno State senior quarterback Marcus McMaryion, being a Bulldog just feels right. Growing up in nearby Dinuba, California, along with his mother, Liz, father, Marcus and two sisters, McKayla and Jada, McMaryion's path to being the Bulldogs' signal-caller got its start only 30 miles southeast of the Fresno State campus.
McMaryion began his football career at 7-years old and quickly took after his father moving to quarterback, a position his dad also played, after a year playing receiver.
"I wanted to be just like my dad," McMaryion said. With his dad mentoring him and showing him the ropes of being a quarterback, the younger Marcus also found a strong interest in baseball as a youth playing both shortstop and pitching while getting the opportunity to travel internationally with a USA All-Star Team to play in Japan.
With the potential to play collegiately in both sports, McMaryion decided to take the football route in large part because of the great opportunities being a quarterback represents.
"I think being a quarterback helped make the decision easier to choose football over baseball because being the quarterback and leader, you are in charge and if anyone has a question or anything is shaky or hesitant, they know to look to you and I embrace being in that role," McMaryion said.
At Dinuba High School, McMaryion passed for 6,136 yards and 71 touchdowns in his final two seasons as a prep while ranking as the nation's 16th-best dual-threat quarterback by Rivals.com in the class of 2014.
Continuing to rack up the stats and accolades, colleges began to take notice, including Pac-12's Oregon State. After spending his first season in 2014 redshirting while learning under starter and future NFL quarterback Sean Mannion, McMaryion played in 15 games over the next two seasons while making seven starts.
"Being with an NFL guy like Sean for a year, I am still really close with him and was able to be in his wedding and being able to learn from a guy like that and pick his brain was a huge help," McMaryion remembers.
With a new head coach coming into the fold in 2015 in Gary Anderson from Wisconsin, a new voice took over the team as McMaryion continued to compete for playing time. He made a start at Oregon to end 2015 and a season later won the final two games of 2016 against Arizona and Oregon, but his time as a Beaver was anything but a smooth ride.
"I wouldn't change it for the world," said McMaryion of his time in Corvallis. "It was certainly a roller coaster ride sometimes, but I was going through things up there that led me here today. I am definitely appreciative of that experience because it taught me so much."
Despite seeing inconsistent playing time at OSU, McMaryion never let that hinder him from working hard in the classroom and earning his bachelor's degree in public health in three years. In a starting quarterback battle in training camp heading in 2017, McMaryion saw that he may not be the starter, but his hard work in the classroom allowed him to seek a graduate transfer before his fourth season as a collegiate student-athlete.
"It all happened within a few days after getting my release from Oregon State," said McMaryion on how he became a Bulldog. "I think I was most surprised by the amount of schools who reached out to me, but Fresno State was a top priority with Coach Tedford being the head coach and knowing his experience with quarterbacks and being back near my hometown."
With fall camps everywhere around the country already underway, McMaryion knew he had to make a decision quick and was sold on Tedford's vision for the program and the opportunity to return home.
Coming into a potentially tough situation midway through camp, McMaryion put his head down and went to work trying to get up to speed on the new offense as quickly as possible.
"Since the first day Marcus came in, we knew he was a graduate transfer and he had experience playing at the Division I level so we knew he was going to come in and compete right away," said senior wide receiver KeeSean Johnson who has been able to build a strong rapport with McMaryion.
"He came out every day from the start and showed his competitiveness whether we were going live, team periods or 1 on 1," Johnson said. "He was making great passes and just learned the offense as well as he could in a short amount of time and we could have trust in him and he performed on game day."
On his way to going 9-2 as a starter and earning All-Mountain West honorable mention honors last season, McMaryion credits much of that success to Coach Tedford.
"Looking back on it now, I think our success came down to the way Coach Tedford manages the team as a whole and he really preaches family and putting each other first and getting to know guys on and off the field. I think I got that vibe as soon as I got here, the guys embraced me and took me in and made the transition a lot easier and smoother," McMaryion said.
Able to win over his teammates and coaches with his work ethic, knowledge and leadership, offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer has seen the leader of his offense continue to grow throughout the spring and summer.
"He has become more comfortable with the team and that comes with the time he has been here and the success he has had," DeBoer said. "It is great to see him grow and seeing his personality be out there and seeing him evolve over the last 12 months, and now with the platform he is on, it has allowed him to flourish."
A great player and leader on the field, it is the work and unselfishness shown by McMaryion off the field that really stands out to Tedford.
"Marcus McMaryion is a phenomenal young man," Tedford said. "He earned his teammates' admiration by the kind of person he is. He is a true leader on our football team and a 4.0 student-athlete, great community leader and an outstanding young man to be in our program."
A preseason watch list nominee for three national awards, one award in particular stands out to McMaryion, the Wuerffel Trophy, as it combines athletic achievement along with academic and community service excellence.
McMaryion, who is active in the community volunteering his time with FCA, Dinuba Youth Football, Read Across America and Valley Children's Hospital, knows being a football player is about more than just throwing touchdowns.
"Playing football gives you a great platform to impact others and I hope I can do that," McMaryion says.
"The biggest thing as a college student-athlete is we are not in the NFL right now so it hard financially to donate to the charity of our choice so I think the biggest thing as college athletes is to give our time and attention as much as we can."
It is this selflessness that McMaryion sees in one of his role models Derek Carr that makes him want to emulate the former Bulldog quarterback.
"Derek is obviously a great quarterback, but he is an even better person off the field and I have always looked up to him as a role model. It is easy to be that way in front of the cameras, but he is like that all the time and that is something I respect about him."
With the Bulldogs selected as the West Division champions in the Mountain West preseason poll and much expected from McMaryion and company this season, DeBoer knows the lofty expectations won't be too much for McMaryion and the 'Dogs to handle.
"He is a driven person in all areas of his life, academically and socially and he will be very successful beyond his years at Fresno State," DeBoer said.
"When he got the opportunity a year ago, he stepped in and did a great job. Now this year the focus is a little more on him and he has accepted the challenge. There is no doubt he has put everything into this opportunity and making it the best it can be for him and his teammates. You really hope for the best for a guy like Marcus and hope this season is what you hope it can be."
​​​​​​​McMaryion's goals for 2018 remain simple, "I just want to be the best quarterback I can be for this team and to play within myself and do what I can to help this team win every single game. If we do that, I think we will be successful."
"Working hard and being a good teammate doesn't guarantee you success, but it gives you a much better chance," DeBoer adds. "Our success is not guaranteed, you have to go out on Saturday and get it done. The hard work and building chemistry is going to give us a chance, but when those tough moments come around our guys have confidence in Marcus and are prepared to come through in those moments."
With the opportunity to return closer to home, and to play in front of his parents and sisters, McMaryion knows this opportunity will have lasting effects long past his playing days.
"I think one of the biggest reasons in coming home and back to Fresno State was when I was at Oregon State I began networking and getting to know people who could help me after football, but I realized I didn't want to stay in Oregon, so coming back to Fresno, I am meeting influential people out here that know my name and building relationships with those people in the Valley so whether I stay in Fresno, Clovis or Dinuba, knowing those people and growing those relationships will really help me in the future."
For this Bulldog, coming home just feels right.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Â
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateFB
Instagram:Â Fresno_State_Football
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
McMaryion began his football career at 7-years old and quickly took after his father moving to quarterback, a position his dad also played, after a year playing receiver.
"I wanted to be just like my dad," McMaryion said. With his dad mentoring him and showing him the ropes of being a quarterback, the younger Marcus also found a strong interest in baseball as a youth playing both shortstop and pitching while getting the opportunity to travel internationally with a USA All-Star Team to play in Japan.
With the potential to play collegiately in both sports, McMaryion decided to take the football route in large part because of the great opportunities being a quarterback represents.
"I think being a quarterback helped make the decision easier to choose football over baseball because being the quarterback and leader, you are in charge and if anyone has a question or anything is shaky or hesitant, they know to look to you and I embrace being in that role," McMaryion said.
At Dinuba High School, McMaryion passed for 6,136 yards and 71 touchdowns in his final two seasons as a prep while ranking as the nation's 16th-best dual-threat quarterback by Rivals.com in the class of 2014.
Continuing to rack up the stats and accolades, colleges began to take notice, including Pac-12's Oregon State. After spending his first season in 2014 redshirting while learning under starter and future NFL quarterback Sean Mannion, McMaryion played in 15 games over the next two seasons while making seven starts.
"Being with an NFL guy like Sean for a year, I am still really close with him and was able to be in his wedding and being able to learn from a guy like that and pick his brain was a huge help," McMaryion remembers.
With a new head coach coming into the fold in 2015 in Gary Anderson from Wisconsin, a new voice took over the team as McMaryion continued to compete for playing time. He made a start at Oregon to end 2015 and a season later won the final two games of 2016 against Arizona and Oregon, but his time as a Beaver was anything but a smooth ride.
"I wouldn't change it for the world," said McMaryion of his time in Corvallis. "It was certainly a roller coaster ride sometimes, but I was going through things up there that led me here today. I am definitely appreciative of that experience because it taught me so much."
Despite seeing inconsistent playing time at OSU, McMaryion never let that hinder him from working hard in the classroom and earning his bachelor's degree in public health in three years. In a starting quarterback battle in training camp heading in 2017, McMaryion saw that he may not be the starter, but his hard work in the classroom allowed him to seek a graduate transfer before his fourth season as a collegiate student-athlete.
"It all happened within a few days after getting my release from Oregon State," said McMaryion on how he became a Bulldog. "I think I was most surprised by the amount of schools who reached out to me, but Fresno State was a top priority with Coach Tedford being the head coach and knowing his experience with quarterbacks and being back near my hometown."
With fall camps everywhere around the country already underway, McMaryion knew he had to make a decision quick and was sold on Tedford's vision for the program and the opportunity to return home.
Coming into a potentially tough situation midway through camp, McMaryion put his head down and went to work trying to get up to speed on the new offense as quickly as possible.
"Since the first day Marcus came in, we knew he was a graduate transfer and he had experience playing at the Division I level so we knew he was going to come in and compete right away," said senior wide receiver KeeSean Johnson who has been able to build a strong rapport with McMaryion.
"He came out every day from the start and showed his competitiveness whether we were going live, team periods or 1 on 1," Johnson said. "He was making great passes and just learned the offense as well as he could in a short amount of time and we could have trust in him and he performed on game day."
On his way to going 9-2 as a starter and earning All-Mountain West honorable mention honors last season, McMaryion credits much of that success to Coach Tedford.
"Looking back on it now, I think our success came down to the way Coach Tedford manages the team as a whole and he really preaches family and putting each other first and getting to know guys on and off the field. I think I got that vibe as soon as I got here, the guys embraced me and took me in and made the transition a lot easier and smoother," McMaryion said.
Able to win over his teammates and coaches with his work ethic, knowledge and leadership, offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer has seen the leader of his offense continue to grow throughout the spring and summer.
"He has become more comfortable with the team and that comes with the time he has been here and the success he has had," DeBoer said. "It is great to see him grow and seeing his personality be out there and seeing him evolve over the last 12 months, and now with the platform he is on, it has allowed him to flourish."
A great player and leader on the field, it is the work and unselfishness shown by McMaryion off the field that really stands out to Tedford.
"Marcus McMaryion is a phenomenal young man," Tedford said. "He earned his teammates' admiration by the kind of person he is. He is a true leader on our football team and a 4.0 student-athlete, great community leader and an outstanding young man to be in our program."
A preseason watch list nominee for three national awards, one award in particular stands out to McMaryion, the Wuerffel Trophy, as it combines athletic achievement along with academic and community service excellence.
McMaryion, who is active in the community volunteering his time with FCA, Dinuba Youth Football, Read Across America and Valley Children's Hospital, knows being a football player is about more than just throwing touchdowns.
"Playing football gives you a great platform to impact others and I hope I can do that," McMaryion says.
"The biggest thing as a college student-athlete is we are not in the NFL right now so it hard financially to donate to the charity of our choice so I think the biggest thing as college athletes is to give our time and attention as much as we can."
It is this selflessness that McMaryion sees in one of his role models Derek Carr that makes him want to emulate the former Bulldog quarterback.
"Derek is obviously a great quarterback, but he is an even better person off the field and I have always looked up to him as a role model. It is easy to be that way in front of the cameras, but he is like that all the time and that is something I respect about him."
With the Bulldogs selected as the West Division champions in the Mountain West preseason poll and much expected from McMaryion and company this season, DeBoer knows the lofty expectations won't be too much for McMaryion and the 'Dogs to handle.
"He is a driven person in all areas of his life, academically and socially and he will be very successful beyond his years at Fresno State," DeBoer said.
"When he got the opportunity a year ago, he stepped in and did a great job. Now this year the focus is a little more on him and he has accepted the challenge. There is no doubt he has put everything into this opportunity and making it the best it can be for him and his teammates. You really hope for the best for a guy like Marcus and hope this season is what you hope it can be."
​​​​​​​McMaryion's goals for 2018 remain simple, "I just want to be the best quarterback I can be for this team and to play within myself and do what I can to help this team win every single game. If we do that, I think we will be successful."
"Working hard and being a good teammate doesn't guarantee you success, but it gives you a much better chance," DeBoer adds. "Our success is not guaranteed, you have to go out on Saturday and get it done. The hard work and building chemistry is going to give us a chance, but when those tough moments come around our guys have confidence in Marcus and are prepared to come through in those moments."
With the opportunity to return closer to home, and to play in front of his parents and sisters, McMaryion knows this opportunity will have lasting effects long past his playing days.
"I think one of the biggest reasons in coming home and back to Fresno State was when I was at Oregon State I began networking and getting to know people who could help me after football, but I realized I didn't want to stay in Oregon, so coming back to Fresno, I am meeting influential people out here that know my name and building relationships with those people in the Valley so whether I stay in Fresno, Clovis or Dinuba, knowing those people and growing those relationships will really help me in the future."
For this Bulldog, coming home just feels right.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes is the official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Â
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateFB
Instagram:Â Fresno_State_Football
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
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