Marc Mariani
Montana: Marc begins his senior season ranked sixth at Montana in career all-purpose yards (3,316), 11th in career receiving touchdowns (16), and 19th in career receiving yards (1,539). He has been ranked among the top Football Championship Subdivision returners the past two seasons, and last year he added one of the FCS’s premier receivers to that list.
2008: He set a school record with 2,265 all-purpose yards, which is the fifth most in Big Sky Conference history. His 1,308 receiving yards for 15 touchdowns are the second most in a season at UM.
Mariani led the Big Sky in punt returns, averaging 16.22 an attempt, which ranked him fourth in the nation. He was ranked 29th in the country in receiving yards per game (81.75). His 94-yard punt return against Idaho State tied the league record set by the Grizzlies’ Tuff Harris at Eastern Washington (2006).
He was a first team all-league pick at both wide receiver and as a returner. He was named second team All-American by the Sports Network and an honorable mention pick on the College Sporting News “Fab 50.”
He led the Big Sky with four multiple touchdown receiving games, while his five 100-yard receiving games were the third most by a Big Sky player in 2008.
He tied a school mark with four touchdown catches against Southern Utah, and his 208 receiving yards in that game are the sixth most (tie) ever by a Griz player in a game. He started all 16 games.
2007: He led the Big Sky and was 11th in the FCS in punt returns (13.32-yard average). He was an honorable mention All-Big Sky selection as a returner.
2006: He played in all 14 games, mostly on special teams, and had eight tackles in that role. He did not have a reception.
2005: He was a redshirt at Montana.
High School: He earned 10 letters at Havre High School: three each in football and basketball and four in tennis. He was named all-state at wide receiver and at safety as a senior and at safety as a junior. He was named to the Great Falls Tribune’s “Super State” team at safety as a junior and at wide receiver as a senior. His senior season he had 48 receptions for 1,237 yards and 16 touchdowns.
He served as a team captain as a senior in football. His 2004 football team was 12-0 and the state “A” champion. His head football coach was Troy Purcell. He participated in Montana’s annual East-West Shrine Game. He was a three-time team MVP in tennis. His varsity tennis teams won four straight state and conference titles. Mariani was also a team captain his junior and senior seasons in both basketball and tennis.
Personal: He is a business major. His parents are Steve and Julie Mariani of Havre. Birth date: May 2, 1987.
Career Highs: He had 8 receptions for 208 yards for four touchdowns and 289 all-purpose yards against Southern Utah last season. He returned four punts for 127 yards and had a 94-yarder for a score against Idaho State last year. He had 5 kickoff returns for 105 yards at Weber State in 2008, and his long kickoff return was a 62-yarder against the Wildcats in 2007.
Says Coach Hauck: “Marc is one of the most explosive players on our football team. He had an extremely productive season last year, both in the return game and at wide receiver. He’s a good blocker in the run game. Marc is really a complete player, and we like the way that he finishes plays in the end zone.”