All Madden: Donovan Catholic Star Goes from WR with No Offers to FBS Defensive End

Jason Madden arrived at Donovan Catholic thinking he was going to be a skill position player who  would also see time in the secondary as a 6-foot-3, 185-pound junior. 

“He told me he was a wide receiver and a safety, and I said, ‘I think we’re going to look at defensive end for you,’” Griffins head coach Dan Curcione said. “He was very receptive to it, but I thought in the back of his head he was kind of like, ‘Really?’” 

Madden had transferred from Brick Memorial ahead of last season when suddenly he was being asked to move to a position he had never played before. He was going from surveying the field at the back of the defense and running routes on offense to playing with his hand on the ground on the defensive line. 

“I was a little shocked by that,” Madden said. “I didn’t know what to think. It’s definitely one of those things where you have to just trust the process.”

“He was very skeptical at first,” Donovan Catholic senior running back Alex Staten said. “But he found his home at D-end.”  

Regardless of his doubt, he decided to roll with it.  

“We just thought with his frame, he could put a lot of good weight on, and right away he didn’t miss a workout,” Curcione said. 

One year after his position change, he will be one of the biggest factors on the Griffins’ home field in Friday’s nondivisional showdown between No. 1 Donovan Catholic and No. 2 Red Bank Catholic in the Shore Conference game of the year. 

Making the Switch

To prepare for his junior season and his new position, Madden started doing drills with Donovan Catholic defensive coordinator Ron Mammano Jr. He received an early wakeup call while going up against 6-foot-5, 290-pound Griffins star offensive lineman Kai Pritchard, who is now seeing time as a true freshman at the University of Illinois. 

“The one drill I remember was the beginning of the offseason last year when I had to do a spill drill. I had to go against Kai, and I was like, ‘I have to put on some weight,’” Madden said before laughing. 

While he was undersized, his athleticism and ability to bend around the edge made him a problem for opposing offenses. He usually was giving up significant size against linemen in Class A South. 

“I would say the hardest part is I was a little on the lighter side,” he said. “Having to put on weight was definitely something I had to take care of so I wasn’t getting bullied around by 300-pound linemen.” 

Madden had a combined 15 tackles in his first two games, but the moment he felt like things were starting to turn the corner was a 14-0 win over rival Toms River North in the third game of the season. He finished with two sacks and two tackles for a loss. 

“That’s when I really started to feel like, ‘This is my thing,’” Madden said. 

Curcione saw it five games later in a 23-22 thriller in which Madden had a huge fumble recovery against Manalapan with Donovan’s defense backed against its goal line. 

“He just looked really comfortable,” Curcione said. “Personally I thought he would be really good from day one, but I knew there might be hiccups.” 

Madden finished his junior year with 82 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for a loss in his first season of playing a new position to earn Shore Sports Insider All-Shore second team honors. 

His decision to embrace his new position was rewarded in the offseason when he received his first scholarship offer from the University of Connecticut, which opened the floodgates to 25 offers between FBS and FCS schools. He announced his verbal commitment to UConn on June 10 after taking his only official visit up there. 

“I was playing wide receiver my whole life and getting no looks,” Madden said. “Then I switch my position and I’m having all these schools coming in and out.” 

Taking It To a New Level 

Curcione was asked about the biggest difference between Madden as a junior and now as a senior. 

“About 20 pounds of muscle,” he said.

Madden’s determination to add size now has him up to 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds. Instead of trying to bend around tackles the whole time, now he can bull them right back into the quarterback’s lap if he wants. 

“He’s got a little bit more explosion, a little bit more power,” Curcione said. 

Madden has also worked more on his long arm pass rush, which employs his blend of speed and power. He can use his outside arm to create separation from offensive linemen to knock them off balance and then use a variety of techniques to shed the block and get after the quarterback. 

“All my trainers and my dad wanted me to work the long arm in the offseason,” Madden said. “I didn’t work on it too much last year, but I’m trying to perfect my craft, so that’s a move I’ve been using.”

Madden has 54 tackles, 9.5 for a loss, and six sacks in seven games for the undefeated Griffins this season. He has played his best when the team has needed him most, including a 14-7 nailbiter against his former school, Brick Memorial. Madden finished with 11 tackles, 2 for a loss, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception in the win. 

Teams have used running backs to double team him or had the guard slide over, but he has been able to consistently defeat those tactics. He will be crucial in helping to set the edge on defense against Kemp, who leads the Shore Conference with 1,176 yards rushing on an RBC offense that averages 38.6 points and 273.6 yards rushing per game. 

“It’s going to be paramount to make sure we don’t give up the big plays,” Curcione said about Madden. 

“You can just feel the energy, the tension in the air,” Madden said about the game. “Everyone is anticipating it. It’s been the talk of the school.” 

A player who was learning on the job last season is now a cornerstone of the defense. 

“He really took off last year, and look at him now,” Curcione said. “He looks like the quintessential edge rusher.” 

Scott Stump is the football editor and a reporter for Shore Sports Insider. He first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999. 

Email: scottstump25@gmail.com