SANTA ROSA — An old saying in football says that defense always travels. So does family. And if you lump those two things together, you have Tj Marcks of Lakeport, star at Clear Lake High School in Lakeport for the Cardinals, star at Santa Rosa Junior College for the Bearcubs, and soon-to-be defensive lineman and quite possibly a star for the Utah Tech Trailblazers.
In a classic case of small-town boy makes good, the 21-year-old Marcks signed on the dotted line Wednesday morning to attend the NCAA Division I school and member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) on a full-ride scholarship.
Family and friends packed into the SRJC football office to witness the letter-in-intent signing ceremony. A humble Marcks was gracious in thanking all those who made his journey to this point possible, including a ton of family members, friends and coaches as well as other contributors to his development as an athlete. Marcks said those people “believed in him” even if the odds were stacked against that small boy many years ago from one day achieving his dream of playing Division I football, which is something only a select few Lake County athletes have ever done.
To be fair, there’s really nothing small about Tj Marcks these days. He’s an imposing 6-foot-4, 340-pound defensive lineman who started at nose guard for the Bearcubs during the 2019 and 2021 seasons (2020 was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic). COVID wasn’t the only distraction for the rebuilding Bearcubs during the last three years. During a 17-month stretch three SRJC players died — one in a motorcycle crash, another in a vehicle accident and a third in a drive-by shooting (in Sacramento).
“I don’t know any team that has gone through as much adversity as we have this past season,” SRJC head coach Lenny Wagner said. “They were really, really good guys and it was devastating for us.”
With an exceptionally young team returning for the 2021 season, Marcks was among a small contingent of sophomores who Wagner credits with keeping the team together and focused despite all the distractions.
“What Tj did this year for the team was pretty amazing,” said Wagner, a former Mendocino College head coach and longtime SRJC assistant before taking over head coaching duties in 2013. “Between having guys quarantined, and going to funerals when we weren’t going to practices, Tj really showed his leadership qualities. We had 80 sophomores on last year’s team and only 12 sophomores. Tj really helped us get through all of that.”
Of course, the Tj Marcks who wore No. 99 for the Bearcubs and helped clog up running lanes as the lynch pin of the SRJC defensive unit in 2021, also had great success on the football field, earning All-Conference honors. He played in eight of the Bearcubs’ 10 games and averaged 3.3 tackles a game with two sacks.
There isn’t much glamour in being a nose guard in football, according to Wagner, who said Marcks was usually double- and sometimes triple-teamed.
“Our defense really came on late in the season and a big part of what we did on defense was Tj up front,” Wagner said.
Wagner said he remembers the first time he watched Tj play during his high school days at Clear Lake. He said he knew then that Tj would be a boon for the Bearcubs … provided Wagner could convince him to go there.
“I recruited Tj’s dad (Talamoni Talamoni) at Mendo College but he ended up going to Yuba, which is where he met Tj’s mom, Kim,” Wagner said.
But Wagner didn’t let Tj get away.
“I wanted Tj. You can’t teach size and he had that, something we were looking for and something we needed,” Wagner said. “He really developed between his freshman and sophomore seasons.”
Marcks, the only junior college transfer in Utah Tech’s recruiting class, now takes the next step in his playing career.
“I see him progressing just like he did here,” Wagner said. “He played a 1 technique for us but he could play a 3 technique for them (Trailblazers), it just depends on what they need.”
With his size, Marcks will attract NFL attention at some point, according to Wagner, but there are a myriad of factors at work before he reaches the ultimate level in the sport, and Wagner said one of them is “luck.”
“He’s got size and ability but you also have to be lucky and avoid (major) injuries,” Wagner said. “If he’s good enough they (NFL scouts) are going to know about him.”
Wagner said the level of hard work is only going to increase as Marcks embarks on his next adventure.
“You might say the ball’s in his hands,” Wagner said. “It’s up to him.”
Letter-of-intent signing days are always special, according to the SRJC coaching veteran, who said he never tires of them.
“It’s the best part of this job,” he said. “All these guys are proof of what this (SRJC) program can do for you,” Wagner added while pointing to the office walls filled with photos of Bearcubs players who have taken the next stop. “I’ve been here 22 years and the only guys who don’t sign scholarships don’t want to.
“It’s been pretty awesome having Tj on this team the last few years,” Wagner said.
Tj officially graduated from SRJC in December of 2021 with an AA degree in social and behavioral science. Mom Kimberly Cobarrubia and stepfather Leo Cobarrubia were among 25 family members in attendance while others included grandma Georgeanne Marcks of Lakeport, great aunts Leora Treppa-Diego of Nice and Ginger Treppa of Lucerne, great-great aunt Vera Smith of Santa Rosa, and numerous cousins. Also attending were three of Tj’s former coaches (Mike Brown, Scott De Leon and Augie Perez), as well as good family friend Moke Simon, Lake County’s District 1 Supervisor and a standout player during his high school and collegiate days.
Tj’s signing ceremony might not be the last one for the Marcks family as 18-year-old son Treppa, a 2021 Clear Lake graduate, plays running back for the Bearcubs and is about to enter his sophomore season.
