Sports: Football
Maragos finally finds home on defense
Transfer from Western Michigan, switch to ‘D’ allows senior to excel
JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo
Senior Chris Maragos finally earned a starting spot this year as safety after transferring from Western Michigan and switching to defense.
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Change has typically been par for the course in Chris Maragos’ football career, which has featured two high schools, two colleges in two conferences and two positions on two sides of the ball.
After off-the-field issues as a high school freshman at Washington Park High School, the Racine, Wis., native transferred to William Horlick High School where he was an All-State selection and Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior.
Following graduation, the 6-foot wide receiver enrolled at Western Michigan University. Although he started at the bottom of the depth chart, Maragos eventually earned a spot on the scout team and redshirted in 2005.
Despite starting eight of 13 games in 2006 as a redshirt freshman, Maragos was not offered a scholarship in 2007, leading to a tough decision for Maragos and his family.
He decided to transfer to the University of Wisconsin, where he would once again walk-on and sit out yet another season as required by NCAA rules. Even after sitting out a year at Wisconsin, still another change was in store for Maragos: a move from offense to defense.
Head coach Bret Bielema saw the potential for a safety in him from the start of practice for the Capitol One Bowl following the 2007 season. It came full-circle last year as Maragos earned his first start at free safety on Oct. 11, 2008, against Penn State.
Finally, Maragos seems to have found a home as he entered this spring season with a set position at free safety and No. 1 on the depth chart for the Badgers.
“It feels great coming in here and not really worrying about flipping back and forth on the depth chart,” Maragos said. “I feel like a little bit more of the pressure’s off, and I can just kind of relax a little bit more and just play ball. It feels so good just to be settled in and relaxed. Just being somewhere where you’re established and not focusing on bouncing around or switching positions or schools or whatever it might be … just to come in and focus on football and play, especially for this program here, I couldn’t be any happier.”
Maragos began last season as the No. 2 free safety behind fellow senior Shane Carter, but as Carter struggled — especially on run defense — Maragos continued to work hard and eventually won the starting role.
As he did in earning the starting wide receiver role at Western Michigan, Maragos used his strong-willed nature and impressive work ethic to move his way from walk-on receiver to starting free safety for the Badgers.
“Something that I really want to make appeal to the coaches is my work ethic,” Maragos said. “That’s really something that I want them to see; especially being in the deep safety position, just flying around making plays, being the overlap on the defense, cleaning up where other people make mistakes — those are the things that I try to do.”
Although Maragos’ gain was Carter’s loss, the two remain close and share a friendly competition in practices for the No. 1 spot at free safety. Additionally, Carter is among those who admire Maragos for his style of play and work ethic.
“Chris is just an athletic player who brings a lot of intensity to the field, and at the same time, he has great leadership skills,” Carter said. “We kind of like push off each other and we compete every day. It’s a healthy competition; both of us just want to go out and make plays and bring each other to the highest level possible.”
With all the changes Maragos has experienced, one thing is certain: He has learned a lot of different things about the game of football, which has helped him become a better player.
Between playing on both sides of the ball and playing in two different conferences for two different types of football teams, Maragos is ready for just about anything thrown at him.
“Last year, just picking up offenses and their keys was easier for me having played wide receiver in the past,” Maragos said. “Even more so … this spring, the more and more I’m starting to understand the defense, the less and less tension I feel on me. I can kind of relate even more to what the offenses are doing because I know what I’m doing on defense better than before. I can pick up tendencies and kind of think a little bit more about when I was a receiver what was I thinking on third-and-whatever and just put myself in more plays to help our defense out.”
With so much knowledge and experience under his belt, Maragos is in a position to step up this season as a leader on the defensive side of the ball as one of few seniors on defense. In a leadership role, Maragos’ work ethic often comes out again as he tries to lead by example in bringing intensity for the Badgers.
Yet, that intensity comes out in a more relaxed and focused way than that of fellow safety Jay Valai, who describes himself as having trouble with “ADD on the football field.”
“Chris is just a smooth little white rapper, that’s what he is,” Valai said. “He can push in the post, and Chris is just real smooth … and he will cut-tackle you. He had some of the best cut-tackles I’ve seen last year, and he’s a good ball hawk, too.”
While Maragos has secured the No. 1 spot at free safety and appears to be the favorite to retain the position when the season begins, he knows he cannot sit back and be satisfied with his accomplishments just yet.
With another two weeks of spring practices and five months until the opening kickoff, the redshirt senior remains focused on continuing to improve his game to the best it can be for his senior season at Wisconsin.
“There’s a lot of competition out here, and my spot’s not secure,” Maragos said. “You’re never satisfied and you never want to sit there, but at the same time, it feels good to be sitting there and kind of just flowing with it.”
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