Before the 2009 season, Marcus Bartels wasn’t that well known by Florida Atlantic football fans because of his lack of playing time. Now entering the fall and the upcoming season, Bartels is one of the team’s top players after leading the team in overall tackles and finishing third overall in the Sun Belt conference last season. The brother of former FAU safety Kris Bartels, the younger Bartels plays a lot like his brother and hopes to rebuild a defense that struggled last season.

After walking-on and redshirting his first year on campus, Bartels played in all 12 games for the Owls last season. Winning the starting safety job after the third game of the season, Bartels had one of his best games against Wyoming in which he recorded 11 tackles. Bartels finished that performance up with a 14 tackle game against Arkansas State and end the season with an average of 10.5 tackles a game.

Earning Second-Team All-Broward County honors while at Flanagan High School in Hollywood, Florida, Bartels graduated with a 3.875 GPA. Bartels claims that even though he is a football player that doesn’t mean he’s not smart.

Bartels recently sat down with us for “Up Close”.

Quick Hits

What is your favorite food?

“Pizza.”

What is your pet peeve?

“People being late.”

Who is your current off the field role model?

“My brother, Kris Bartels. It’s pretty straight forward, he played here, same position, same number and he accomplished a lot of things, so I’m trying to be better.”

What are you most proud of?

“This FAU team winning back to back bowl games and getting ready to win some more.”

What is your major?

“Criminal Justice”

What is your Faith?

“Undecided, I’m not real religious.”

Line of scrimmage

What aspect of your game do you feel is your strength?

“My tackling.”

What aspect of your game do you feel is your weakness?

“My footwork and my hip mobility.”

Down the field

Besides football, what brought you to FAU?

“Just seeing that it was an up and coming university, and I want to be part of something that’s big in the future.”

What are your goals for the upcoming season?

“Win the Sun Belt and go to a bowl game.”

What game are you looking forward to the most next season?

“Troy, and UAB the first game of the season, we got some revenge. I don’t really like Troy and never really did.”

What do you want FAU fans to know about you personally?

“I love video games like Call of Duty on the PS3, look me up.”

Touchdown

Coming up, our next player won his high school team’s Ironman of the Year.