Marques Hagans Added to Penn State Football Coaching Staff

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State head football coach James Franklin announced the hiring of Marques Hagans (pronounced Marcus) as offensive recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Nittany Lions. Hagans comes to Happy Valley after spending 11 seasons at his alma mater, Virginia, in a variety of roles.

“We are excited to add Marques to our family,” said Franklin. “He is a veteran coach, whose experiences playing both quarterback and wide receiver at the highest levels will bring tremendous value to our program. Marques has a proven track record of developing receivers throughout his career and has worked alongside many coaches I respect. Marques is a relationship-based leader, whose family values align with the culture of Penn State. We are thrilled to welcome Marques, his wife, Lauren, and sons, Christopher and Jackson to Happy Valley.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be led by James Franklin and work with his tremendous coaching staff,” said Hagans. “I am excited to be part of the tradition of Penn State Football, to uphold the standard of excellence and to work relentlessly to compete for championships. My wife, Lauren, and our boys cannot wait to get to Happy Valley.”

After a five-year NFL career, Hagans returned to Virginia, his alma mater, in 2011 and joined the coaching staff as a graduate assistant. He remained with the Cavaliers for 11 seasons, most recently serving as associate head coach and wide receivers coach.

During his time in Charlottesville, Hagans coached 10 of the top 15 players in career receptions at Virginia, led by Olamide Zaccheaus and his program-record 250 receptions and 2,753 career receiving yards, which is second in school history. Zaccheaus is currently with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

In 2022, Hagans guided Keytaon Thompson to third-team All-ACC honors after ranking 12th in the country in receptions per game (6.6) and 53rd in receiving yards per game (72.4) in a season shortened by injury.

In 2021, Virginia was the only school in the country with five different receivers topping 500 receiving yards. The Cavaliers averaged 392.6 passing yards and had four receivers with more than 600 receiving yards. Thompson and Dontayvion Wicks earned All-ACC accolades that year with Thompson pacing the squad with 78 catches to go with 990 yards, while Wicks set a school record with 1,203 receiving yards on 57 catches, averaging 21.1 yards per catch.

Hagans also guided Lavel Davis Jr., who ranked second in the nation and led the ACC with 25.75 yards per reception in 2020. Davis sat seventh among FBS freshmen with 515 receiving yards and tied fifth among freshmen with five receiving touchdowns.

In 2019, Hagans helped Virginia win the ACC Coastal Division and make its first appearance in the ACC Championship game. UVA played in the Orange Bowl and ranked 24th in the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. That season, the Cavaliers had three receivers with 70+ catches, including Joe Reed (77), Hasise Dubois (75) and Terrell Jana (74). All three finished in the top 5 in the ACC in receptions. Reed earned first-team All-ACC honors as an all-purpose player. According to Pro Football Focus, Dubois made 75 grabs with zero drops.

Zaccheaus concluded his senior campaign in record-breaking fashion with a program-record 93 receptions, which was first in the ACC and fifth in FBS in 2018. He became UVA’s third player with 1,000+ receiving yards in a season, finishing with 1,058 yards. In 2017, the Cavaliers made program history with its first trio of 600-yard receivers in a season as Zaccheaus (895), Andre Levrone (689) and Doni Dowling (647) each reached the milestone.

Hagans spent the 2011 and 2012 seasons at UVA as a graduate assistant, working with the offense.

A four-time letterman at Virginia from 2002-05, Hagans currently sits No. 10 all-time in passing yards with 4,877 and seventh in total offense with 5,779 yards. He was selected as a wide receiver in the fifth round (144th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft by the St. Louis Rams. He spent three seasons with the Rams before being picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts in 2008. Hagans spent the 2009 and 2010 campaigns with Washington.

A native of Hampton, Virginia, Hagans graduated from Hampton High School where he led the Crabbers to the Group AAA State Championship as a junior in 1998.

Hagans graduated from Virginia with his bachelor’s degree in anthropology in 2005.

Hagans and his wife, Lauren Swierczek, have two sons, Christopher Dex and Jackson Watford. Lauren was a women’s basketball player at Virginia.