Glasgow brothers excel for Cadets

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:32PM

Ohhhh, brother!

That's likely the sentiment expressed by opposing defensive coaches and players alike as they confront the prospect of colliding with the brothers Glasgow on the left side of Marmion's offensive line.

This week, that task falls to Aurora Christian in a Suburban Christian Blue clash as the Cadets take aim at their sixth straight win without a loss.

Can you say scary proposition?

We're talking mobile, agile and large - super size me large. Junior guard Ryan Glasgow is the "little" brother at 6-foot-3, 255 pounds. Senior tackle Graham Glasgow is 6-7, 295. Now put 6-1, 215-pound bruising running back T.J. Lally behind them.

"I wanted to put them together, wanted them to have the opportunity to play together," Marmion associate head coach Kurt Becker said. "It might be the only time they get to do that."

The brothers make the daily 40-minute commute to the school from their home in DeKalb but agree their football time is well spent.

"It's been pretty special. They run to our side a lot and it's awesome to see touchdowns run from our side," said Ryan, who also plays defensive end for the Cadets.

Both brothers also play basketball.

"It's been a real treat," Graham said of playing alongside his brother. He will move on to college next year. He has a scholarship offer from Eastern Michigan but is drawing interest from several Ivy League schools as well as hometown Northern Illinois.

That's where his parents, Drs. Steven and Michele Glasgow, have served as team physicians since 2000. The boys' father played defensive tackle at Penn.

Becker, the former East Aurora standout who went on to be an All-American guard for Michigan and played for the Bears, took Graham under his wing when he joined head coach Dan Thorpe's staff in February of 2008. It was the elder Glasgow brother's freshman year and he was still a bit lukewarm towards the sport after a disappointing junior high experience back in DeKalb.

"(Becker) basically told me to get in the weight room, ‘I'm gonna make you my starting left tackle,'" Graham remembers. "He helped build my confidence."

Despite his size, Becker says Graham Glasgow is still flying under the radar.

"He has the ability to be a heckuva football player because he's got such great athletic skills for a kid his size," the coach said. "You can't make 6-7, 295. Basketball has helped his feet and body balance, but the key has been his commitment to the game. You have to do all the weight work and speed training."

And Thorpe and Becker agree, if Marmion were a bigger program, Graham Glasgow might be playing tight end.

"He's got great hands," said Thorpe, who witnessed it in August when he gave the team a break and had them play water polo to cool off during two-a-days. The elder Glasgow was a monster at goalie.

But his demeanor is such that he's more of a finesse offensive lineman, Becker said. And in that department, the brothers are not cut from the same cloth.

"I like to think I'm nicer than Ryan," Graham said. "He loves to hit people and has gotten some unnecessary roughness calls."

The younger Glasgow sports a more aggressive personality, notes Thorpe.

"Graham is truly a soft-hearted kid," Becker said. "Ryan? His DNA is different."

Ryan wouldn't argue.

"If I had to choose, I'd take defense over offense," said Ryan, who at times will drop back and cover defensive backs or receivers in the flat, depending on the Cadets' coverage.

"Against Marian Central, their receivers were like 5-8, 150-something and they were running all over the field. I was huffing and puffing after ‘em, thinking, ‘Slow down, I have to cover you.'

"On defense, you get your name called (for making tackles) and that's pretty big for a lineman. You get to make some big plays. It's more fun to smash a running back and get the glory than block for a running back who gets the glory, I guess."

Becker smiles.

"Being a D-end, he's got skills he doesn't even know about," the coach said of Ryan Glasgow. "When you can be that big and run with a receiver or back and rush the passer. He's gonna have a nice career somewhere along the line, too, if he continues to develop.

"Two great kids. Both are well-mannered, do well in school and are hard workers. It makes coaching enjoyable."

Then Becker's eyes light up.

"And they have one (younger) brother, an eighth-grader at Holy Angels, Jordan," he said. "He's a combination of both of 'em. ... I tell the Glasgows to keep having kids."

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