Maragos has created something special with the Eagles

WITH ENDLESS appearance opportunities and the compensation it provides, the mascot role of Bucky Badger is a highly coveted one at the University of Wisconsin. "There's, like, 100 people trying out every year," Eagles special-teamer Chris Maragos said the other day of his alma mater. "In Wisconsin, it's a pretty cool thing."

So when big brother Troy won the job in the year before Chris took his own longshot stab at landing a job with the football program, little brother couldn't have been more proud. And when big brother asked him to don the furry suit and fill in for him during the Fourth of July parade in their hometown of Racine that summer, well, that wasn't going to be a problem, either.

He thought.

"But it was so hot that day," he said. "And it's the longest parade route in Wisconsin. When I got done I felt like I was going to die. I was so dehydrated, so exhausted.

"I will never get in that suit again."

This from a man who every Sunday runs down the field with dangerous abandon, smashing into players much larger than he, as if he were the Tasmanian Devil and they were collector's plates.

This is from a man who, after making Wisconsin as a walk-on, started at safety his final two seasons while also playing on all four special-teams units, once involved in 125 plays during an overtime loss to Michigan State.

This from a player who, after running a blocked punt in for a touchdown against the Rams 2 weeks ago and enduring the mauling from teammates that always follows such a play, ran down the field on the ensuing kickoff, made a big hit, ended in a human pileup along the sideline, then jumped to his feet, pumping his fists rapid-fire as he sped off the field.

"What's really cool about what we're doing here in Philadelphia . . . " Maragos said. "We have so many unselfish guys. Everybody's willing to sacrifice for each other. Everybody's willing to go the extra distance, study film. Those little things make such a big difference."

The Eagles' special teams have scored four touchdowns this season and shortened the field repeatedly for an offense that has often struggled to get out of its own way . . . Darren Sproles, whose 82-yard punt return accounted for one of those touchdowns, already has more punt return yards than the Eagles accumulated all of last season. Chris Polk had a 102-yard kickoff return - another Eagles novelty of recent years - and there have been two blocked punts - one recovered by Brad Smith in the end zone, one run in from 10 yards out by Maragos.

Maragos also got a couple of fingers on a punt in Sunday's 27-0 victory over the Giants, creating a 38-yard punt that resulted in the Eagles offense starting from New York's 47-yard line. They scored their second touchdown of the game three plays later.

"When you have 11 guys who are willing to be accountable to each other and do anything to help the team win," Maragos said. "That's when great things happen."

In so many ways, the 5-10 Maragos embodies that mantra. Determined to play for Wisconsin despite garnering zero interest as a receiver out of high school, he played two seasons at Western Michigan, then transferred and joined the Badgers as a walk-on. Before that, though, his used his brother's role as the furry mascot to make Facebook friends wide receiver Luke Swann, who got some film to the coaches.

This time, they were interested, but only if Maragos was willing to switch to defense. He did, became a safety and special-teams standout, and, when he was again passed by in the 2010 NFL draft, was signed by San Francisco, where he spent most of the season on the practice squad. Cut at the cusp of the 2011 season by first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, Maragos landed in Seattle a few weeks later, becoming a coveted asset for one of the NFL's better special-teams units over the next 3 years.

Signed to 3-year, $4 million deal fresh off a Super Bowl triumph, Maragos was a subtle piece in the Eagles' offseason overhaul of their special teams. He chose Philadelphia, he said, after extensive comparative shopping, which include scrutinizing the coaching staff and the personnel.

"Coach Kelly really emphasizes the culture or mindset of the guys he brings in," Maragos said. "So when you have a culture of guys who believe in what they do and are willing to be about the team and not about themselves, then you have a cohesion that allows things to come together really really well."

It also included scrutiny of, well, us. Maragos is a blue-collar player from perhaps Wisconsin's most blue-collar town, who has earned every inch of his success.

And, as his brief stint as Bucky Badger underscores, he will help his team out anyway he can, regardless of the toll it takes on him.

"The style that I play with, it being such a blue-collar-style city," he said. "Philly was really just a great fit."

On Twitter: @samdonnellon

Columns: ph.ly/Donnellon