Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1492675
1 6 M A R C H 2 0 2 3 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M When Penn State decided in January to bring in a new wide receivers coach, it didn't take James Franklin long to zero in on Virginia's Marques Hagans as a top contender for the job. Hagans had been in charge of Virginia's wideouts since the 2013 season, having moved into coaching after a stellar career as a Cavaliers quar- terback followed by five seasons in the NFL. Hagans had a connection to PSU in Anthony Poindexter, the Nittany Lions' safeties coach. Poindexter had coached him at UVA, and the two were on the Cav- aliers' staff together during Hagans' time as a grad assistant and in his first season as a full-time coach. During his 10 years in Charlottesville as a full-time staffer, Hagans was part of Bronco Mendenhall's rebuild, which in- cluded an ACC Coastal Division title and Orange Bowl appearance in 2019. He was also at UVA during an unimag- inably dark moment. This past November, a gunman opened fire on a bus full of stu- dents who were returning to campus from a class trip, killing three Cavaliers football players — Devin Chandler, D'Sean Perry and Lavel Davis Jr. The Charlottesville community was left to mourn, with Hagans and his fellow coaches helping players persevere amid a tragedy that led to the cancelation of the team's last two games. In February, during his first media ap- pearance since accepting the Penn State job, Hagans talked about his difficult decision to leave Charlottesville and join James Franklin's staff at PSU. QUESTION: What was it that made this move the right one for you and your family? HAGANS: "Charlottesville is a place that's become home, and a lot of it is be- cause of the people. Being able to sustain that opportunity to stay there for such a long period of time has been a blessing. "A lot things played into that. There was a period of time when my wife was sick. She's a breast cancer survivor, so the opportunity to leave wasn't available because we felt the best care for her was there in Charlottesville. There were a lot of factors behind the scenes. "Now, having the chance to work for Coach Franklin and join Penn State was a great opportunity that I couldn't turn down. It wasn't an easy decision, but I couldn't turn it down." QUESTION: How do you feel like the transition has gone after having been at Virginia for so long? HAGANS: "It's going to be different. My family won't join me until the sum- mer, so going into spring ball without having your family here for the first time, that's definitely a part of the transition. "But I think change is good. It's a part of growth. It's a new opportunity to be at a place where there are great people. Foot- ball is premium. And just the opportunity to be in front of an amazing crowd — I'm looking forward to that. The atmosphere here is second to none, it's the best in the country. There are a lot of things that I'm looking forward to." QUESTION: You went through a lot in November with the tragedy. How were you able to move on from that, and are you looking at this as a fresh start? HAGANS: "I think it would be insen- sitive to call it a fresh start, because there are three families that won't ever have that opportunity to have a fresh start. There's a part of them that won't ever come back. "I don't know if you ever necessarily move on. Those three guys will always be a part of my life. I have a tattoo on my arm so that I'll never forget them. And then their families will always be a part of my family. There are three families that I love very deeply, and I don't know if 'move on' is the right word, because I'll never move on without them." QUESTION: How important are re- lationships to you? Is that a part of your makeup, to establish close relationships with the guys you coach? HAGANS: "I believe so. Because if not, you're just a supervisor. If there are no relationships, you're just overseeing a bunch of guys and telling them what to do. I think the relationship piece is what makes it different. That's very important to me. If not, then why are we doing it? "To know each and every player that I have the opportunity to coach [is impor- tant]. Who are they as a person? What does their family mean to them? What are their goals? What do they aspire to be? "Relationships are very big to me. I would say as a coach, I'm very relation- ship-driven, and I'm very demanding. The only way I can be demanding is if I know exactly who I'm coaching and what they aspire to be. I can help them become that, but it's got to be a two-way street, not a one-way street." ■ Sitting Down With Penn State Wide Receivers Coach Marques Hagans Hagans played and coached at Virginia before leaving in January to take charge of Penn State's wideouts. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER