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Nearly five years ago, Bryce Agnew ’23 wasn’t sure if he had a place on 51����’s football roster. He felt disrespected.

After just a few practices, Bryce looked at the running back depth chart, and he was on the bottom.

“I knew I was better than that. I was in the fifth group. I think they had 10 other guys ahead of me,” he says. “I remember coming home after practice and I called my dad, and I told him they have it all wrong.”

Fortunately, his dad, Rich Agnew, had some wise advice.

“He told me to ‘do what you do, and they’ll have to play you,’ ” Bryce says. “Once we got into pads, I started moving up quickly.”

He was elevated to the third group, and by the first game of the 2019 season, Bryce was getting reps with the first team. “I actually started the final game of the season,” he says.

He’s been listed as No. 1 on the depth chart since.

Marietta football coach Andy Waddle calls Bryce a first-class football player and an even better leader. 

“He’s maybe the single best leader that we’ve had in my time at 51����,” Waddle says. “He connects with everyone on the team. Bryce Agnew is a big reason why we’ve been able to elevate the brand of football we play.”

His leadership style was never more evident than following a 37-14 Homecoming victory over Heidelberg. The Student Princes’ defensive scheme centered around stopping Bryce, who was held to 35 rushing yards on 17 carries. As the Pioneers sang the school fight song, Bryce was out front leading his teammates.

“I don’t care if I don’t score or rush for a lot of yards as long as we win,” Bryce says. “I hope after I graduate, they talk about how I helped build a culture of winning. I want people to say, ‘Playing Marietta is not an easy win.’ I hope I can look back in 10 years and see that same mentality at Marietta.”

Bryce was able to return for an extra season because of NCAA rules related to the COVID-19 season. During those 40+ games, the 5-foot-9, 215-pound running back has devastated many opponents with his punishing style. He will finish his career among the top five in rushing yards, carries, points, and touchdowns.

“He has a tremendous amount of respect across the conference from our coaches,” Waddle says. “He’s been a unanimous pick on the first team all-conference, and that doesn’t happen often.”

During the five-game COVID season in the spring of 2021, Bryce surprised many by earning first team All-OAC honors after rushing for 528 yards and seven touchdowns. He followed that up with 1,141 rushing yards and nine touchdowns in the fall of 2021 and 1,376 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns last season — each season earning first team all-conference honors. Last year, he was fourth team All-America on D3football.com.

There are too many positive memories to narrow it down to just one special moment, but Bryce is happy to share a few. 

• Scoring his first touchdown on a 3-yard run in his first-ever collegiate game against Hiram.
• Rushing for 191 yards and three touchdowns against rival Muskingum during the COVID season.
• Combining for 257 total yards (148 on the ground and 109 receiving) against Ohio Northern in 2021.
• Amassing a career-best 252 rushing yards in a 34-0 win over Wilmington.

More recently, Bryce couldn’t help but talk about knocking off Baldwin Wallace 42-21 during the Yellow Jackets’ homecoming.

“I’m from the Cleveland area, and I played my high school games at George Finnie Stadium,” he says. “We hated to ruin their homecoming, but I was looking at it as my homecoming.”

Bryce didn’t disappoint, as he rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns. “A few of my teammates said before the game, ‘I don’t know why they would schedule their homecoming on your homecoming, so when you score, we’re going to crown you.’ ”

This year, it seems like every memory has been special. As his final season was winding down, Bryce made it a point to soak in everything.

“I find myself counting down how many practices I have left. On Thursdays, which is our walk-through day, I’ve been using that time to talk to all the coaches,” says Bryce, who hopes to coach one day.

Then there are the hundreds of teammates he has shared so many memories with over the past five seasons.

“I’m going to miss that the most,” he says. “The bonds we’ve made are what has made being a part of this program the best.”

Tom Perry

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