Bishop QB Marinaro following father’s footsteps at Cornell

Sure, Eddie Marinaro will miss his football, basketball and lacrosse teammates when he graduates from Bishop England High School in May.

 

But the three-sport star, a team leader on the field and a standout in the classroom, is definitely ready to take the next step in his young life. It’s a step the senior has been ready to take since he was 10-year-old grade schooler.

 

That’s when he went on an unofficial visit to a school that offered a great athletic – and academic – future. He visited Cornell University that day and the person showing him around the Ithaca, New York, school might have been the biggest man on campus in the school’s illustrious history. He was with his father Ed Marinaro.

 

“I know, some big shoes to fill,” Marinaro said. “I’m proud to have him as a dad. Obviously, he’s a great role model. He’s someone I can always turn to. He was a good football player and student. That’s all I want to be.”

 

Ed Marinaro, his father, set 16 NCAA records as a running back for Cornell University. He was the first running back to rush for 4,000 yards in a career and finished second in the 1971 Heisman Trophy balloting.

 

If you don’t follow football, you might remember the elder Marinaro as a cast member from “Laverne & Shirley,” “Sisters” and, of course, “Hill Street Blues,” playing officer Joe Coffey. 

 

“But I have my own life,” said Eddie Marinaro, who knows the comparisons to his father are inevitable once he arrives at the Ivy League school. “I can be my own person because Cornell is a school that offers a great education and athletic opportunity. That’s all I want.”

 

Marinaro has a 3.7 GPA on the Bishop England scale, and is leaning toward a major in industrial and labor relations at Cornell. He’s proved himself in the classroom and on the athletic field.

 

Two of his coaches, John Cantey in football, and Bryan Grevey in basketball, both recently praised his athletic ability and work effort.

 

It’s not unusual to find Marinaro as the first athlete in for a workout, practice or game and be the last player to leave. He also was a leader at quarterback and helps out on the hoops court as a guard.

 

Marinaro was a big cog in the Bishops’ recently completed football season. The Bishops posted a 4-3 record and Marinaro was a force on offense, accounting for 18 of the Bishops’ 26 TDs on the season.

 

He rushed 79 times for 482 yards, averaging 6.1 yards per carry. He rushed for 12 touchdowns.

 

He completed 48 of 97 passing for 614 yards and six scores.

 

He’s a contributor on the basketball team for Grevey’s squad, which began this week ranked No. 4 in the state with a 4-1 record.

 

He was on the basketball team last winter that began the season with 20 consecutive victories, finishing with a 26-3 record and a region championship.