Class By Character
December 22, 2004 08:56 PM | General
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| Marshall |
There have been a lot of great football players at West Virginia. There have also been a lot who displayed high character and class. But it’s that unique combination of greatness, character and class that sets a player out as an outstanding one. That list is a much smaller one, but it’s one to which you can add quarterback Rasheed Marshall.
Now in his third year as a starter, Marshall runs the West Virginia offense with the calm coolness that comes with experience. He has been put to the test many times and has withstood the fire of head coach Rich Rodriguez. Rasheed Marshall is more than a survivor; he is a winner with the heart of a champion.
Sure he has his critics, but heading into the halfway point of his senior season, Marshall has already quarterbacked campaigns that have produced two bowl trips, 23 wins, an 11-game regular season winning streak and a BIG EAST championship. He has led the Mountaineers back into the national rankings and stands in the top 10 in several WVU and BIG EAST career marks. Through it all, he has shown the ability to persevere and bounce back. He takes the good and the bad with the character and class not seen in enough college football players today.
“To be a quarterback, you have to be thick skinned and be able to block things out and move forward,” Marshall says. “My mother once told me that she does not know how I do it and that she would have crawled under a table a long time ago. It made me feel good when she told me ‘You are a special person. I don’t know what you have or where you got it, but you have it.’
“Everyone can have the world on their side, but how you bounce back when things go bad, that determines what kind of player and person you are. I have always tried to handle the adversity same way as the success and bounce back in a positive way.”
It’s that attitude that has earned Marshall the unquestionable respect of his teammates. He is the first to tell you he never dreamed of the success that would come his way at West Virginia when at his first camp, he was awed by bigger, stronger and faster players. Now five years later, he knows that he has been blessed.
He believes that you have to give respect to earn it. He practices hard, he prepares, he follows the rules and never puts himself in front of the team. You would never guess by talking to him that he was one of the most successful quarterbacks in WVU history. Marshall always maintains his position as just one of the guys.
Yet he knows that he must give something back to the program other than just success on the football field. When he was a WVU newcomer, it was standout receiver Khori Ivy who pulled him aside and taught him how to handle the pressures of college football. Now five years later, it’s his turn to help the young players.
“You have to stay positive and look forward. The past is the past and you can’t go back, but the future is something you can mold,” Marshall says. “I try to tell the younger players that you have to work hard to achieve your goals and never let someone say you can’t do something.
“It never hurts to have someone that you can trust by your side. People like my mother, my high school coach (Ron Wabby) and Coach Stewart taught me how to do the right things. They taught me how to be a man and to stand up for yourself and that’s the kind of leadership I try to provide as a senior. One person is not the focus. You achieve success as a team standing together.”
In this day and age of Monday morning, couch-potato quarterbacks who all can play the position better, Marshall doesn’t dwell on past success. He knows that you are only as good as your last game and prefers to move forward and focus on the BIG EAST portion of the schedule as future success for 2004 depends on league play. Still, the Pittsburgh native is touched by the legion of Mountaineer fans that believe he is special.
“When you see all those kids wearing your jersey number, man that is a feeling that you can’t put into words. This university, this state and the people have been good to me,” Marshall says. “I’ve gotten a great education, and been a part of some really big things associated with West Virginia football. I will never forget this place. I have been blessed.”
While he may consider it a blessing that he chose West Virginia, those who really know think the shoe is on the other foot. It has been the Mountaineers that have been blessed with the poise, class and character of Rasheed Marshall.
Michael Fragale is the communications director in the WVU sports communications office.
