Marenco Ready to Prove K-State Coaches Right
May 06, 2024 | Football, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Never did Alec Marenco think he'd play football in the state of Kansas. The desert was his home. El Paso, Texas, to be exact. But the New Mexico transfer middle linebacker, who graduates Saturday, is eager to arrive in Manhattan to help the Kansas State defense in 2024.
"I wore purple in high school, and now I'm wearing K-State purple," says Marenco, who will have one year of eligibility remaining. "I wouldn't have thought I'd be playing there three or four years ago. I'm a mama's boy, but you have to grow as a person and sometimes have to take that leap of faith.
"They've been competitive and won the 2022 Big 12 Championship. Hopefully we'll get the Big 12 Championship next year."
The 6-foot-3, 229-pound Marenco led New Mexico with 66 tackles to go along with 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, a forced fumble, three pass breakups and two hurries last season en route to All-Mountain West Honorable Mention honors. He started 10 of 12 games played despite missing some playing time during games due to injury.
As a sophomore in 2022, he had nine tackles in his first career start against LSU. He finished with 26 tackles before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the sixth game of the season.
"When I tore my ACL my sophomore year, I was balling out," Marenco says. "In my opinion, that made me a better player to work through injuries. You can overcome the setbacks in life. As bad as it is to tear your ACL and miss a season, it's about pushing through the tough times to find yourself and who you should be. That's the character that I've built from that turning into the man I am right now."
Marenco received interest from K-State, Arizona and Auburn when he entered the transfer portal. But K-State was the first school to offer him a spot on the team. He visited K-State in late April, meeting with K-State head coach Chris Klieman, defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and linebackers coach Steve Stanard.
"Their 3-3-5 defense is basically the same that we ran at New Mexico, but with this 3-3-5 under Coach Klanderman, there are a lot more gap-based schemes," Marenco says. "To have those three big linemen to disrupt up front, it's easier for those linebackers because you don't have to blitz every single time. You can read your gap and you're able to play more technical."
Marenco strives to emulate NFL linebackers Fred Warner, Bobby Wagner and Dre Greenlaw.
"I'm a downhill linebacker, and it's violent, it's a violent sport," Marenco says. "To be able to be violent and to punish someone between the lines, to bring the physicality and the knowledge of three years of film study and taking what I've learned and take it to another program in my fourth year of football, it's valuable having veteran wisdom."
The learning curve began early for Marenco, who was a standout linebacker while also playing wide receiver, kicker, punter, and, at times, quarterback at Burges High School in El Paso. He had 113 tackles, including 6.0 tackles for a loss, and had 17 catches for 253 yards. He points to Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones, a Burges High alum, as one of his mentors.
"Burges is in our blood," he says. "We had the great Aaron Jones there. He was a big mentor of mine, a humble guy who worked for it. He was an underdog all high school. He only had one offer to UTEP and then he made the league, so with him, it's constant talks, understanding it, and being able to get wisdom from him.
"Burges isn't just a school but it's a lifestyle, and you have to be that underdog that could (succeed)."
Marenco believes that talented players often go overlooked in El Paso, which stokes the coals of competitiveness. He received scholarship offers from Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, UTEP and New Mexico.
"I went to New Mexico because I was a 17-year-old going to college and needed to find my identity," he says. "As a kid, that was a big thing for me."
Although he's earning his bachelor's degree in business at age 20, he's mature beyond his years.
"I want to prove that I can play, and that a little kid from El Paso, a 3-star recruit, can compete against the 5-stars, and that I can make plays, and that K-State made the right decision," he says.
He traces back to how it all began and what he's learned along the way.
"It's a dream, you know, to play in the Power 5," he says. "Everybody always talks about playing at a big school. I took a different route. To work for it and grind to prove myself and to play at a higher level, it just means something more. The coaching staff, they made me feel like Kansas State was home right off the bat. I'm excited to get working."
Never did Alec Marenco think he'd play football in the state of Kansas. The desert was his home. El Paso, Texas, to be exact. But the New Mexico transfer middle linebacker, who graduates Saturday, is eager to arrive in Manhattan to help the Kansas State defense in 2024.
"I wore purple in high school, and now I'm wearing K-State purple," says Marenco, who will have one year of eligibility remaining. "I wouldn't have thought I'd be playing there three or four years ago. I'm a mama's boy, but you have to grow as a person and sometimes have to take that leap of faith.
"They've been competitive and won the 2022 Big 12 Championship. Hopefully we'll get the Big 12 Championship next year."
The 6-foot-3, 229-pound Marenco led New Mexico with 66 tackles to go along with 3.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, a forced fumble, three pass breakups and two hurries last season en route to All-Mountain West Honorable Mention honors. He started 10 of 12 games played despite missing some playing time during games due to injury.
As a sophomore in 2022, he had nine tackles in his first career start against LSU. He finished with 26 tackles before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in the sixth game of the season.
"When I tore my ACL my sophomore year, I was balling out," Marenco says. "In my opinion, that made me a better player to work through injuries. You can overcome the setbacks in life. As bad as it is to tear your ACL and miss a season, it's about pushing through the tough times to find yourself and who you should be. That's the character that I've built from that turning into the man I am right now."
Marenco received interest from K-State, Arizona and Auburn when he entered the transfer portal. But K-State was the first school to offer him a spot on the team. He visited K-State in late April, meeting with K-State head coach Chris Klieman, defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and linebackers coach Steve Stanard.
"Their 3-3-5 defense is basically the same that we ran at New Mexico, but with this 3-3-5 under Coach Klanderman, there are a lot more gap-based schemes," Marenco says. "To have those three big linemen to disrupt up front, it's easier for those linebackers because you don't have to blitz every single time. You can read your gap and you're able to play more technical."
Marenco strives to emulate NFL linebackers Fred Warner, Bobby Wagner and Dre Greenlaw.
"I'm a downhill linebacker, and it's violent, it's a violent sport," Marenco says. "To be able to be violent and to punish someone between the lines, to bring the physicality and the knowledge of three years of film study and taking what I've learned and take it to another program in my fourth year of football, it's valuable having veteran wisdom."
The learning curve began early for Marenco, who was a standout linebacker while also playing wide receiver, kicker, punter, and, at times, quarterback at Burges High School in El Paso. He had 113 tackles, including 6.0 tackles for a loss, and had 17 catches for 253 yards. He points to Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones, a Burges High alum, as one of his mentors.
"Burges is in our blood," he says. "We had the great Aaron Jones there. He was a big mentor of mine, a humble guy who worked for it. He was an underdog all high school. He only had one offer to UTEP and then he made the league, so with him, it's constant talks, understanding it, and being able to get wisdom from him.
"Burges isn't just a school but it's a lifestyle, and you have to be that underdog that could (succeed)."
Marenco believes that talented players often go overlooked in El Paso, which stokes the coals of competitiveness. He received scholarship offers from Abilene Christian, Houston Baptist, UTEP and New Mexico.
"I went to New Mexico because I was a 17-year-old going to college and needed to find my identity," he says. "As a kid, that was a big thing for me."
Although he's earning his bachelor's degree in business at age 20, he's mature beyond his years.
"I want to prove that I can play, and that a little kid from El Paso, a 3-star recruit, can compete against the 5-stars, and that I can make plays, and that K-State made the right decision," he says.
He traces back to how it all began and what he's learned along the way.
"It's a dream, you know, to play in the Power 5," he says. "Everybody always talks about playing at a big school. I took a different route. To work for it and grind to prove myself and to play at a higher level, it just means something more. The coaching staff, they made me feel like Kansas State was home right off the bat. I'm excited to get working."
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