Ali Marpet

Early life

Marpet grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. The village is in Westchester County, 20 miles (32 km) northeast of New York City.

His father, Bill Marpet, is an Emmy Award-winning videographer and director who since 1993 has headed B Productions, and produces fashion videos in New York.

Ali Marpet's mother is Joy Rose. She founded the Mamapalooza music and arts festival and the popup museum Museum of Motherhood. His parents are divorced. Ali has three siblings: two older brothers, Blaze and Brody, and a younger sister, Zena.

Marpet, who is Jewish, is an alumnus of Birthright Israel. Marpet said that it would be a "huge honor" to represent Jews as an athlete. Marpet joins current Jewish National Football League (NFL) offensive linemen Geoff Schwartz, Mitchell Schwartz, and Gabe Carimi.

High school

At Hastings High School, Marpet played offensive tackle and defensive end for the Yellowjackets, was a three-time varsity letterman, named second team All-State, earned all-section honors, and was a two-time all-league selection. He played the offensive line as a 160 pounds (73 kg) ninth-grader. Marpet quit playing football after his freshman year to focus on basketball where he earned all-league selection twice. Marpet rejoined the football team in his junior year, by which time he weighed 210 pounds (95 kg). Marpet helped lead the Hastings squad to the section finals in 2010. Hastings lost to Bronxville, the eventual state Champions.

Hobart College

Marpet attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges, subsequent to being sought after to play football by Holy Cross, Fordham University, and Marist College. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics and a minor in philosophy and public policy in spring 2015.

Hobart is a small private liberal arts college of 2,400 students (as of 2014) in Geneva, in Upstate New York. The school competes in NCAA Division III, which does not award athletic scholarships. Only one other Hobart football player was drafted by the NFL before Marpet—in 1937, when halfback Fred King was drafted and ultimately played one game for the NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers.

Marpet was not highly recruited out of high school by larger collegiate programs. He weighed 250 pounds (110 kg) as a freshman, increased his weight to 280 pounds (130 kg) by sophomore year, and 290 pounds (130 kg) by his junior year by eating a high-calorie diet. He originally wanted to play both basketball and football in college.

A four-year member of the Hobart football team, he was a three-year starter at left tackle. He started 37 of the 43 games he played, helping the Statesmen win four consecutive Liberty League Championships. Marpet and the Statesmen made four consecutive NCAA Division III Football Championship appearances, advancing to the quarterfinal rounds in 2012 and 2014. During his career, Hobart posted a record of 41–5, losing just one regular-season game.

In 2012, he started all 13 games and was All-Liberty League first team, and D3football.com All-East second team. In 2013, he was captain of the football team and Lindy's preseason All-American first team. He started all 11 games during the season and was All-Liberty League first team, Liberty League All-Academic, Jewish Sports Review All-American, D3football.com All-East second team, Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) North All-Star second team, and won the Tryon Football Award.

In 2014, he was again captain of the team and Lindy's preseason All-American first team, a Beyond Sports Network (BSN) preseason All-American, and was D3football.com preseason All-American second team. He started all 13 games at left tackle, did not allow a quarterback sack, and was Liberty League Co-Offensive Player of the Year—the first offensive lineman in league history to be so honored. He was an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-American, a unanimous All-Liberty League first team, D3football.com All-America first team, D3football.com All-East first team, ECAC North first team All-Star, Jewish Sports Review All-American, and AP Little All-America (top players from Division II, III, and NAIA) second team. He won the William C. Stiles '43 Memorial Award and the Bill Middleton Memorial Award.

2015 Senior Bowl

Marpet attended the 2015 Senior Bowl college football all-star game. He was the second Division III player picked to play in the Senior Bowl, following in the footsteps of Ferrum College alumnus Chris Warren who played in the all-star contest in 1990. During practice and during the game, he played tackle, guard, and center. He was one of the only linemen who was able to block University of Washington defensive tackle and first round pick Danny Shelton. Sports Illustrated named Marpet the "biggest riser" at the Senior Bowl, and included him on its All-Offense team.

Combine

At the NFL Scouting Combine in February 2015, Marpet's performances identified him as one of the 2015 NFL Draft's most athletic offensive linemen. Among offensive linemen, he ran the fastest 40-yard dash, with 4.98, and the fastest 10-yard (9.1 m) split, at 1.71 seconds. He also had the second-best time in both the three-cone drill (7.33) and 20-yard shuttle (4.47). He performed 30 repetitions at 225 pounds (102 kg) in the bench press, tied for fifth-best among offensive linemen.

Marpet also scored the highest "Speed, Power, Agility, Reaction and Quickness" (SPARQ) score among all offensive line prospects eligible for the draft. After his excellent performance at the Draft Combine, nearly all the NFL teams were interested.

Draft

WalterFootball.com’s mock draft predicted Marpet going 63rd overall to the Seattle Seahawks. Sports Illustrated’s second-round mock draft predicted Marpet going 64th overall to the New England Patriots. Sports Illustrated initially rated Marpet as the 89th-rated player among those draft eligible, and 14th among offensive linemen.

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com praised him for his speed and good use of his hands. CBS Sports wrote that Marpet was a "quick thinker with a high football IQ, with NFL toughness and play speed". Fox News reported that he has "solid foot quickness and a strong explosion out of his stance."

He was drafted in the 2nd round, 61st overall, of the 2015 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on May 1, 2015. The Buccaneers traded with the Indianapolis Colts back up four spots to the 61st pick in order to select Marpet, with the Colts also sending the 128th pick of the draft to the Buccaneers, in exchange for Tampa's 65th and 109th picks.

Marpet was the highest-drafted pick in the history of NCAA Division III football. He was the 20th Division III player to be drafted since 1990. Marpet was the first Division III player to be selected in the top 100 players in an NFL draft since 1990, when the Seattle Seahawks chose Ferrum College's running back Chris Warren with the # 84 pick.

He and the team agreed to a four-year contract on June 10, 2015.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Marpet started his rookie season as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers starting right guard, and Pro Football Focus graded him as the twelfth-best run-blocking guard that season and, in Week 8, graded him as the best in the league, although he missed three games (from Week 10 to Week 12) with an ankle injury.

During the 2017 offseason, Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter confirmed that the team moved Marpet to center from his original guard position, replacing previous starting center Joe Hawley.