Mara decides to play football at Fordham

[flea]

Mara decides to play football at Fordham
By KEVIN DEVANEY JR.
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: January 24, 2007)



IØNA Prep senior quarterback Sean Mara has committed to play football at Fordham University.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefty had interest from several Division I-A schools, including Rutgers, but opted for Fordham after visiting the Bronx campus last weekend.

"The reason I first got interested in Fordham is because it's the alma mater of my grandfather," said Mara, the grandson of the late Wellington Mara who was co-owner of the New York Giants. "When I went there, it just felt right. I'm going to get a great education and to play football."

Mara, who recently participated in the prestigious Army All-American Bowl, a national high school all-star game, threw for 2,941 yards and 23 touchdowns in two seasons as IØNA Prep's quarterback.

[Dane96]

Nice pick up. I know he was considering Albany as well...based on time he spent there with the 'Jints. I know we were looking at him heavily.

[ASU]

Mara decides to play football at Fordham
By KEVIN DEVANEY JR.
THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: January 24, 2007)



IØNA Prep senior quarterback Sean Mara has committed to play football at Fordham University.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound lefty had interest from several Division I-A schools, including Rutgers, but opted for Fordham after visiting the Bronx campus last weekend.

"The reason I first got interested in Fordham is because it's the alma mater of my grandfather," said Mara, the grandson of the late Wellington Mara who was co-owner of the New York Giants. "When I went there, it just felt right. I'm going to get a great education and to play football."

Mara, who recently participated in the prestigious Army All-American Bowl, a national high school all-star game, threw for 2,941 yards and 23 touchdowns in two seasons as IØNA Prep's quarterback.
I think that is great....I know that family is proud of him. They are certainly well thought of here in Charlotte,N.C.
Just read all the information about Fordham....has a great history, and am sure will have a great future.

[Pard4Life]

He played in the Army All-American Bowl? How the heck did he slip through the cracks? Sounds like size... Fordham got a steal here.. forget Suckgers!

[andy7171]

He played in the Army All-American Bowl? How the heck did he slip through the cracks? Sounds like size... Fordham got a steal here.. forget Suckgers!
Yeah, strange. I though the Army All-American game was for the top Blue Chip players? No offense to Fordham, but a blue chipper doesn't opt for Fordham.

BTW, my sis-in-law is graduating from Fordam Law School this May. Looking for ward to seeing the campus, though I think it'll compare to my bro-in-laws LaSalle experience. :smiley_wi

[Jackluv]

hes definitely a good qb but he played in the Army All-American game because of his name. He doesnt quite have the size or strength of a blue chip at all but this is a goood pick up for Fordham...my sister is a freshman there!

[Pard94]

He played in the Army All-American Bowl? How the heck did he slip through the cracks? Sounds like size... Fordham got a steal here.. forget Suckgers!


No offense to you Mr. Mara but never underestimate the power of connections...and the last name of Mara counts as a big ol' connection.

[flea]

Finally, someone who gets it
January 25

If you haven’t heard already, I had two stories in today’s Journal News on college football commits: IØNA Prep quarterback Sean Mara to Fordham and Harrison running back Jimmy Falasca to Army.

I’ll start with my opinion on Falasca. He’s a tremendous athlete and one of the more mature and well-spoken young men I dealt with this season. When he told me he had committed to Army, it surprised me, yet at the same time, he’s definitely the West Point type. He’ll go to the U.S. Military Academy Prep School in N.J. first and will enroll in 2008 as a linebacker. It’s a good fit for him and hey, if you have the opportunity to go to the prestigious West Point, you go.

But I’d like to discuss Mara in more depth. Here’s a kid with the world at his fingertips—his family co-owns the New York Giants, he’s got the mentoring of NFL quarterbacks and could probably go to anywhere he wanted.

Yet, where did he go? Fordham, a struggling I-AA school in the Bronx. Not Boston College or Rutgers or Syracuse or any other major conference school that he could have held out for and received an offer from. He chose the school that “best fit” him both academically and athletically.

In an age where every kid is drunk on the dream of playing Division I, whether it’s football, basketball, baseball or badmitton, finally here’s a kid that gets it. Mara has perspective and he was mature enough to make a decision based on the school, not its NCAA membership.

Mara chose Fordham just days after the most persuasive and inspiring public speaker/football coach in the world sat in his living room and nearly sold him on a national championship dream. Greg Schiano of Rutgers, the national coach of the year, had Mara in the palm of his hand last week and scheduled for a visit this weekend. Mara learned he could redshirt this season, or attend prep school, come in to Rutgers in 2008 and spend the next three years learning the ropes and MAYBE have a shot to start as a senior. And tha’s what every kid dreams of, isn’t it? —having the opportunity to play major D-1.

Yet Mara, zeroing in on what’s best for himself and his future, made the most decision of any athlete I’ve ever covered.

I can’t even begin to count the number of kids in the last 10 years who’ve gone Division I in a sport and it was an awful fit. Either they got cut from a team, transferred, never got playing time or were a career role player when they could have been a star at a lower level—and, by the way, gotten as good, if not better, education.

“Fordham just felt right to me,” Mara said Wednesday night. “How could you turn down the opportunity like this to get a great education and play football?”

Man, imagine a kid choosing a college for the education?

Say what you want about him as a player—that I overhyped him and IØNA Prep on this blog, that the team didn’t have as good a season as it hoped, or whatever about his skills. Personally, there isn’t a better QB out there mechanically, fundamentally or with nearly his quick decision-making ability. I actually think he’ll be a better college player than high school because everyone else will be on his level. Too many times Mara, being a perfectionist, would make a mistake because somebody else didn’t do what they’re supposed to—missed a block, ran a bad route, turned the wrong way, whatever. To all the naysayers out there, you might not agree with what I’m saying about him. But hopefully this decision has earned Mara a little bit of your respect.

Mara will have opportunity to go into Fordham and compete for a job from Day 1. There are some young guys ahead of him. But they were the QBs on a team that went 3-8 and struggled to score points all season. My guess is that he’ll be the starter by his sophomore season.

Mara has the physical gifts and, as he proved with this decision, he’s got the brains, too.



http://kickoff.lohudblogs.com/2007/01/25/finally-someone-who-gets-it/

[Lehigh Football Nation]

A great pickup for the Rams. My question is the following: He will be playing in his own backyard, with his legendary last name, in the same stadium that made his grandfather famous. That will put a huge amount of pressure on a lot of people: on the coaching staff to play him (over QB John Skelton, a pretty good QB prospect in his own right), and on his shoulders to live up to the expectations. How will the pressure affect everyone?

[JoltinJoe]

Yeah, strange. I though the Army All-American game was for the top Blue Chip players? No offense to Fordham, but a blue chipper doesn't opt for Fordham.

BTW, my sis-in-law is graduating from Fordam Law School this May. Looking for ward to seeing the campus, though I think it'll compare to my bro-in-laws LaSalle experience. :smiley_wi

Fordham Law is located at the Manhattan/Lincoln Center campus.

The traditional Fordham campus is located at Rose Hill in the Bronx.

[DetroitFlyer]

The "best fit" comment closely describes PFL recruiting as well. A fair number of PFL recruits have options like being a walk-on at a big name school, partial scholarships to FCS schools or partial or full scholarships to lower level schools. Many choose their PFL school for the education and for what they think will be a better football playing experience! In the vast majority of cases, they are right! Keep in mind that Dayton graduates 96% of it's football players, while Davidson graduates 100%! Dayton will be playing Fordham the next few years, so maybe I'll get a chance to see Sean in person. I hope he does great in every game except those against my Flyers of course!

[JMG1MON]

I do not think Mara had an offer from a BCS (all of 1-a) school. Rutgers may have offered him really late (see Ron Girault) but he didn't have an offer from them yet. Rutgers wasn't planning on taking a qb in this class and with a roster with 6 returning qb's, Mara likely was not playing any time soon (Teel has 2 years left, Natale has 3, Lovelace has 3, Lang has 4, Paul-Etienne has 4, and Depaola has 4). I'm not familiar with the quarterback situation at BC (although Ryan is done after next season) or Syracuse, but I do not think he had an offer from either of them either. I wish him well at Fordham. He will get a fabulous education as will have the ability to play football as well.

[ngineer]

Yeah, strange. I though the Army All-American game was for the top Blue Chip players? No offense to Fordham, but a blue chipper doesn't opt for Fordham.
BTW, my sis-in-law is graduating from Fordam Law School this May. Looking for ward to seeing the campus, though I think it'll compare to my bro-in-laws LaSalle experience. :smiley_wi

Something tells me the "Wellington connection" may have had something to do with that...Politics occurs in everything these days. Not to say he's not a good kid, but there are so many good players out there in a country like ours, that connections certainly come into play. Same way with the other 'all star' games that are put together...