In this edition of the Farrell Files Penn State, I take a look at new WR coach Marques Hagans who I covered as a recruit way back in the day.
Hagans has always been a leader from the days when he was an undersized dual threat QB out of high school. He’s always been in the spotlight having replaced the infamous QB Ronald Curry, a Hampton Roads legend, in high school back in the day and has always handled himself with class.
Hagans played QB and WR for Virginia and moved to WR in the NFL which allows him to bring a different perspective to the position than others. He knows route running, blocking and the like but he also knows the nuances of the QB position and what they want in their WRs. That has helped him at Virginia and will help him at Penn State as well.
Case in point – Keytaon Thompson. Thompson came to Virginia from Mississippi State as a QB but quickly learned how to play WR under Hagans and became a second and third team All-ACC performer the past two seasons. To me, that’s great coaching at the position. Hagans has been loyal to Virginia and well respected and 9 of their top 20 all time most productive WRs have been under his tutelage.
But let’s be clear, this is a recruiting move as well. Hagans is an excellent recruiter in the state of Virginia an area Penn State has done well in but wants to improve. He can recruit the Tidewater area where he grew up but can also be effective in Richmond as well. Two wide receivers in the portal committed to Penn State recently and I’ve been told Hagans was a selling point as this was in the works for a bit. This is a massive upgrade for the staff in my opinion.
