How’s this for leaving a winning legacy?
Senior Gavin Muir finished his Greenwich football career with a record of 25-1 as the squad’s starting quarterback, including a signature win in the Cardinals’ Class LL championship game against New Canaan.
Muir rewrote the record books during his Cardinals’ career, shattering nine passing records during his two seasons as the team’s starting signal-caller.
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Soon Muir will be throwing passes for a team that’s had him on their radar for quite some time.
Muir announced Sunday that he has committed to play Ivy League football at Dartmouth College. Coached by Buddy Teevens, Dartmouth registered a record of 9-1 in 2018 and finished second in the Ivy League standings.
Great decision on both sides! @DartFootball has a live one coming in for the next 4 years. @GreenwichFB https://t.co/q9P5ZNzEAA
— Jay Fiedler (@JayFiedler) January 27, 2019
“Dartmouth was the first school that really started looking at me for football,” Muir said. “They offered me after my senior football season and I recently took my official visit. I like the coaches and players and I even met a couple of the guys. It was a good time for me to commit.”
CLASS OF 2019 CT RECRUITING LIST
Greenwich’s record-setting quarterback also received offers from Wagner, Bucknell, Western Illinois and Fordham University. Stanford University and Syracuse each made preferred walk-on offers to Muir.
“I am super happy with my decision and I’m glad that I announced my commitment, it was a long process,” Muir said. “Playing in the Ivy League is going to be an amazing opportunity and Dartmouth is obviously, also a great academic school.”
Recruiting Muir was Dartmouth running backs coach Danny O’Dea.
“He made visits to Greenwich High School and I also talked to the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach,” Muir said. “The coaching staff liked my ability to throw the ball, my arm strength and how I was able to run the ball. What they were most impressed with was me being 25-1 as a starter. For them, that really meant a lot.”
Greenwich coach John Marinelli, who guided the Cardinals to a 13-0 mark in 2018, couldn’t be prouder of Muir.
“It’s fantastic, I’m very happy for him,” Marinelli said of Muir’s commitment to Dartmouth. “He gets to go to one of the better academic schools in the country and they are getting a winner, a competitor. He is 25-1 as a starter and is a kid who can compete and compete. It’s (an) incredible day for him, his family and for our program.”
Besides his excellence on the field, Marinelli appreciated the example Muir set for his teammates and younger athletes in Greenwich.
“He’s worked with so many young kids, not only in the football program, but youth kids. He’s involved in the community and fantastic in the classroom and on the football field. Gavin’s a high-character person in every phase of his life.”
Selected as the 2018 Walter Camp Player of the Year, Muir passed for 2,474 yards and 31 touchdowns his senior season for GHS, which posted a 34-0 win over New Canaan in the Class LL final.
He holds team passing records for most career yards (5,767 yards), most passing yards in one game (387), most pass attempts in a career (683), pass attempts in one season (325) and career completions (401).
Muir also has the most career touchdown passes of any GHS quarterback (71) and has records for touchdown passes in a season (33) and scoring strikes in one game (7). His 203 completions during the Cards’ 2017 campaign was also a record.
While reflecting on Muir’s career, one of the games that stands out to Marinelli was Greenwich’s Class LL quarterfinal-round loss to Darien in 2016. Starting quarterback Connor Langan suffered an injury during the game and Muir came off the bench.
“He stepped into the quarterfinal-round game, got hit and kept getting hit,” Marinelli said. “Darien had a great defense that year and he kept getting up and not panic at all. “In that game, he won over all the coaches and players and that game propelled him into his junior season.”
Muir, an All-State, All-FCIAC Team selection, remembers the many practices with his teammates and of course, the state championship win against rival New Canaan.
“All those practices, where everyone is having fun, I’ll miss,” he said. “If the practices are harder, the games will be easier, so going to miss that a lot. And that last game against New Canaan is something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. When I’m 60 years old, I’ll still be talking about that game with some former teammates. It was a great way to cap off an amazing season.”
The effort Marinelli gave in helping out in the recruiting process was surely noticed by Muir.
“It’s hard to describe how helpful he was,” Muir said of Marinelli. “He reached out to coaches, got me on coaches’ radar and gave me advice, which is what he does for all the players on the team that want to play college football. I’m really thankful for that.”
