Mario Agyen: ‘BS High’ RB achieves dream at Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BVM) – If somebody met Mario Agyen in the spring of 2017, people likely wouldn’t imagine he would be a Power 5 running back, suiting up for the Louisville Cardinals.
That’s because that was when Agyen was kicked off of his high school football team at John F. Kennedy High School in Bronx, New York. After spending his senior year at Northern Highlands Regional High School in New Jersey, Agyen received no offers, but was contacted by a sports academy he felt could help him reach the next level – BS High.
Agyen was one of the numerous football players impacted by the Bishop Sycamore scandal which was highlighted in the recent HBO documentary “BS High.”
“Coming from a broken household, getting evicted back-to-back, football was a way to help my mind get away from everything going on at home,” Agyen said in the documentary.
While some of those players have struggled to get back on the gridiron, Agyen will be strapping up the pads for his second season with the Cardinals.
High school career
Agyen was a productive running back during his prep career. Over his first three seasons at John F. Kennedy, Agyen rushed for 2,498 yards and 24 touchdowns before leaving the program prior to his senior season.
He ended up at Northern Highlands in New Jersey and again showed what he could do at the running back position. As a senior, Agyen rushed 152 times for 1,028 yards and 12 touchdowns, but offers did not come in. While looking for postgraduate programs, Agyen was contacted on Instagram by Christians of Faith, a start-up high school football program that accepted postgraduates and the early iteration of what would become Bishop Sycamore. He quickly joined the team in hopes of getting on recruiters’ radars.
“Damn I got this opportunity and I don’t have nothing else,” Agyen said. “I’m just home so this is the opportunity for me to potentially get a scholarship somewhere because where we come from, our parents don’t have money to pay for school [for] no big-time university.”
Football after high school
Though statistics for his time at COF are unavailable, it is clear from his film that Agyen had some success with the team. While the program was falling apart around him, Agyen was able to get out before the infamous ESPN game against IMG Academy and actually ended up making it to the JUCO level at Lackawanna College.
Unfortunately, this wouldn’t result in much success for the running back as he received no carries over the team’s two games of the 2020 spring season. With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the rest of the campaign, Agyen was again facing an uphill battle.
BS HIGH OUT NOW
!! Through it all I give GOD thanks I ain’t stop chasing my dreams 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/wbE1yNivtG— Mario Agyen (@mario_agyen) August 24, 2023
University of Louisville
After reaching out to numerous college coaches and recruiting coordinators, Agyen heard back from Louisville with information for the team’s walk-on tryouts. He enrolled at the university in 2021 and tried out, but failed to make the team. However, the next year, Agyen tried out again and made the team, achieving his dream of playing D-I football.
Though Agyen didn’t get to participate in a game last season, he impressed so much that he was recognized by the team as the offensive difference maker in practice.
Difference Makers: @Dbeezy25 Jeremy Hamilton @marioagyen #GoCards pic.twitter.com/VX3Adb51HP
— Louisville Football (@LouisvilleFB) December 11, 2022
Though he’s buried on the depth chart this fall, Agyen has kept a positive attitude. In fact, he has impressed again this fall camp as he received some hype from Louisville Report writer Matthew McGavic.
Given his harrowing journey from being kicked off his high school team to the fraudulent COF team to now part of a Power 5 running back room, Agyen has shown the grit and determination sought after in walk-on players across the country. With all that he’s been through, don’t be surprised if Agyen once again proves his doubters wrong and sees the field during his Cardinals career.
Ring Us 💍😮💨 pic.twitter.com/Ijvt6JGEKM
— Mario Agyen (@mario_agyen) December 18, 2022
