M
arlowe Wax loves ice cream. So much so that in April 2022, he signed a name, image and likeness deal with The Ice Cream Stand in downtown Syracuse.
In this partnership, Amanda Hughes, the shop’s owner, said Wax invented his own flavor — vanilla ice cream with caramel and cookie dough. They called it “Marlowe’s Mix.”
Wax brought teammates and local fans to visit that October. When doing events with Wax — he once appeared as a celebrity scooper — Hughes saw how approachable he was. When she watched Wax play for Syracuse, Hughes noticed the same presence.
“You can see him game day on the sidelines, he is that mentor, that other coach for his teammates and certainly the defense,” Hughes said. “You can see him being vocal.”
Like at The Ice Cream Stand, Wax has become the center of attention on SU’s defense. A star high school running back turned All-ACC linebacker, Wax is equally proficient at rushing the quarterback as he is at stopping running backs. He’s the self-proclaimed head of the “mob,” a nickname used to describe Syracuse’s defense. It’s also the title of the podcast he co-hosted with Caleb Okechukwu and Ja’Had Carter last season, a shock to his high school coaches that remember him as a quiet kid.
When Richard Holzer, Wax’s head coach at Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, first met him, he wasn’t playing on defense. Or running back. Wax was an offensive lineman because of his height — he’s SU’s second shortest linebacker, at 6-foot-1, right now.
Dara Ryan, Wax’s mother, remembered Bring Your Child to Work Day. Wax was much larger than her coworkers’ children. Because of his size and how he acted as an energetic child, Wax’s parents signed him up for football, baseball, wrestling, soccer and basketball.
“The first thought was, let’s do something with this energy,” Ryan said. “He didn’t want to sit still. He was never the TV type of kid or video game type of kid. He always wanted to play outside.”
Wax didn’t become a power back until his sophomore year at Mount Saint Joseph. On Sept. 8, 2017, the Gaels played local powerhouse Our Lady of Good Counsel, but lost their starter to injury. Wax had received carries in previous games and got local high school coaches talking to recruiters.
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One of those watching was then-Syracuse assistant Reno Ferri. Tasked with finding recruits in the Baltimore area, he’d been told by a rival coach about Wax. But Ferri arrived after Mount Saint Joseph and Our Lady of Good Counsel. He missed Wax rushing for 236 yards.
Ferri said he envisioned Wax and other local recruit Sean Tucker as a “thunder and lighting duo” at Syracuse. Tucker was the smaller, quicker rusher while Wax was bigger and more powerful. The two backs played each other five times in high school. Wax’s Gaels went 4-1 against Tucker’s Calvert Hall College High School. In their senior seasons, Wax ran for a school-record 1,330 yards and 18 touchdowns while Tucker recorded 1,204 yards.
“He was really big for a high school running back. I think his senior year at 220 pounds,” Holzer said. “He had an uncanny ability to make something out of nothing.”
By the time Wax arrived at SU though, Wax had moved his focus to being a linebacker. Still, Ferri recalled a practice where many of the Orange’s running backs were injured, and Wax was used in a goal-line set. He made a quick cut and lowered his pads for a touchdown. Ferri joked that the assistant coaches didn’t want head coach Dino Babers to see because he would have immediately made Wax switch positions.
With Wax’s knowledge as a prolific running back, Holzer and his defensive coordinator, Rob McCloud, knew Wax could read certain offensive protection and burst through a gap.
In Wax’s junior season against McDonogh, he ran clean through the A-gap at the goal line to prevent an Eagles’ running back from scoring. Not only did the running back fail to score, but Wax snatched possession and ran 99 yards for a touchdown.
McCloud said the Gaels used a 3-4 formation, putting a lot of responsibility on Wax to play various defensive roles like being a pass rusher and knowing why He learned to blitz, play off the ball, which is exactly what he’s doing now, and how a running back would make a certain cut or move.
“That’s one thing I love about the defense, it gave me an opportunity to do that,” Wax said. “…But I definitely grew my game in that form — pass rushing and also dropping in coverage.”
With the Orange, Wax used his pass rushing to also contribute to the scoring as well. Against UConn last season, the linebacker forced a fumble from quarterback Zion Turner before picking up the ball and running for a touchdown. On Oct. 22 against Clemson, he engulfed then-Tigers quarterback DJ Uiagalelei at the goal line leading to a scoop-and-score for former teammate Ja’Had Carter.
“He did it all. He was in coverage, pass rushing, blitzing… He covered up everything,” McCloud said. “He’s just that kind of guy.”
Wax used his versatility to become Syracuse’s leading tackler in 2022 while recording the second-most sacks on the team. Ex-Syracuse linebacker Mikel Jones said that these attributes of being a pass rusher and ability to know where a running back will go made Wax a playmaker.
But, Jones realized Wax was very quiet. It was one aspect he had to change. Jones told Wax how he was one of the best playmakers on the team. So, any time the team would need to get a boost from someone, Jones always encouraged Wax to speak out.
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“I give a lot of things to Mikel,” Wax said about being more vocal. “He was born a leader…So me just being around him and to see how he did things. He definitely helped me and pulled it out of me.”
In a 19-9 loss to Pittsburgh, Jones saw Wax’s game elevate. As the offense struggled, Wax had a career-high 14 tackles and three quarterback hits. But Jones was impressed by Wax who voiced his dissatisfaction during halftime, talking to the whole team.
“It was the final moment where I realized, ‘Yeah, he’s at that point where he’ll be just fine when I leave,’” Jones said of Wax.
Wax’s teammates at Syracuse know about his quickness. They know about his ability to rush the passer. They know about how he can track down a running back and anticipate where he will go. But this training camp, linebacker Derek McDonald saw Wax showcase his catching ability for the first time.
On Aug. 23, with the hot practice field empty aside from a few receivers, Wax took his shoulder pads off and put his helmet back on to go to the jugs machine. McDonald didn’t think anything of it because he knew that’s how Wax, the Orange’s first defensive captain, operated.
“He’s really honest and practices the way he plays games,” Babers said. Maybe this season, along with his blitzing, run stopping and tackling, that late August work will lead to an interception too.
Photo Courtesy of SU Athletics
Published on August 30, 2023 at 9:42 pm
Contact Henry: henrywobrien1123@gmail.com
