I agree. Very nice indeed. The guy really dealt with so many issues and criticisms he could have easily given up, transferred or quit. What a great characater and a great Tiger. I look for him to have a big game this Saturday. Geaux Marcus and Geaux Tigers.
The new coach would score some nice, positive brownie points with the LSU community if he made Marcus a grad assistant. I mean, why not? No downside to that, IMO.
Man, I'm getting pumped up about this game ... Great Article on Randall http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/123004/spo_randall001.shtml Quarterback sees good, bad times during LSU career By CARL DUBOIS [email protected] Advocate sportswriter LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher (left) says he has a lot of respect for Tigers quarterback Marcus Randall (12) because of the way he has handled a roller-coaster career. ORLANDO, Fla. -- The story of Marcus Randall's football career at LSU is one of highs and lows, of the brilliant glow of the spotlight and the cold quiet of the shadows. He has danced with glory and watched her leave the ball with someone else. He has been to the mountaintop, only to see others in his camp plant the flag. He has been on call for five seasons, trotting out to the field when needed and standing on the sideline when not, ready and waiting just in case. Randall will play his last game for LSU against Iowa in the Capital One Bowl at noon Saturday. Naturally, his farewell performance has been upstaged before it even happens. His coach, Nick Saban, will be the center of attention at this New Year's Day bowl. Two days later Saban will be introduced in Miami as the next coach of the Dolphins. LSU defensive end Marcus Spears, who will play somewhere in the NFL next year, is next on the marquee here, and all of the above are footnotes to the main topic for all LSU fans: the search for Saban's successor. So, where does Randall find motivation for his last college football game? Head-butting the finality of it all. "It's kind of hard to believe I'm going to be finishing up, playing my last game," Randall said, "and I want to go out a winner." Spears understands. As he ponders the last time he and Randall will wear the purple and gold of LSU's Tigers, Spears wears a smile that could easily be mistaken for the peaceful countenance of enlightenment, of a mystic carrying the most simple but eloquent secret. "This is your last one in college," Spears said. "You'll never get this one again." Randall knows there are things that will never pass this way again. It is a billion-to-one shot he will never again experience anything as exciting and famous as the Bluegrass Miracle, the last-ditch pass he completed to defeat Kentucky in 2002. True to the Randall script, he watched on television in Baton Rouge while teammate Devery Henderson, who caught the deflected pass, received the ESPY Award for Play of the Year at a star-studded gala in Hollywood. Randall was filling in for injured quarterback Matt Mauck in 2002, and in 2003 he was back as the understudy while Mauck led LSU to its first national championship in 45 years. By the first snap of the first spring practice after that, Randall was already the presumed afterthought behind highly touted newcomer JaMarcus Russell. As if that weren't bad enough, Randall's first name is part of Russell's first name. You can't spell JaMarcus without Marcus, and the wildly serpentine quarterback controversy this season at LSU tested the resolve and patience of both young men. Through all of it, LSU offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher said, through the ups and downs and lefts and rights, Randall remained a team player. "He's a very resilient and remarkable young man," Fisher said. "I have a lot, a lot, a lot of respect for him as a person. Because of all the ups and downs he went through, he could be a bitter guy." Instead of focusing on the negatives, on the times he was criticized and trivialized and written off, Randall persevered and remained committed to LSU, Fisher said. "He's a guy who never wavered and never caused a problem on the team when things didn't go his way," Fisher said. "He kept this team together and was part of it." Fisher said managing LSU's quarterbacks was hard this season, one of the toughest things he's ever dealt with as a coach. The staff would try to pick the quarterback best suited for the upcoming opponent, but that quarterback wasn't always the one playing best at that time. The season was a rollercoaster ride, and the season opener was the first clue. Randall struggled in the first half. Russell rallied the Tigers from a 9-0 deficit to tie the game and send it into overtime. Randall came off the bench late in the game when Russell cramped up, but Russell soon went back onto the field. In overtime, after Russell cramped again, Randall scored the winning touchdown. Perhaps the biggest mistake of the season came in a 10-9 loss at Auburn. Randall played well on the opening touchdown drive, but Saban and Fisher stuck with a script and put Russell in, and after a field-goal drive, the offense went into a funk. LSU seemed to have a different rotation each week, but gradually Randall took control. He bailed out Russell after the freshman threw two interceptions at Florida, giving the Gators an early 14-0 lead. Randall led a dramatic comeback victory. He led another rally to defeat Troy, showing his flair for the spread offense in hurry-up mode. He ran when he couldn't throw, and he ran when there was no one to throw to. The regular-season finale was his. He started at Arkansas and didn't come out until the Tigers were firmly in control. Russell handed the ball off on a late touchdown drive in the 43-14 victory, but the game was Randall's most complete performance from start to end. Spears said he expects Randall to be large and in charge for the Capital One Bowl. "I think he brings a lot of different looks," Spears said. "He passes well and runs. I think he makes great decisions. This whole team feeds off his enthusiasm. That's the key element to any football game." Randall, who graduated from LSU earlier this month, said he plans to become a coach if the NFL isn't interested in him as a quarterback or receiver or defensive back. He said he'd have no problem giving another position a shot. "I really don't mind playing another position," Randall said. "I think of myself as an athlete that can just play football." NFL scout Chris Landry said Randall's attitude and selflessness are big positives. "He is a great young man that I will gladly recommend as a free-agent camp invitee because he is a high-character individual that has had some production at the highest level in college football," Landry said. "He is a great team player, has nice feet and overall athletic ability." Landry said Randall worked hard on technique, and it paid off. "He has really improved his setup and delivery under Jimbo, and his release point has become much more consistent," Landry said. "Like most quarterbacks, he gets in trouble when he doesn't set his feet and square his shoulders, and that happens frequently with him. "His vision decreases when facing pressure, which is why he has had some success with bootlegs and rolls with half-field reads. He would be a long shot to stick as an NFL backup." At a Day for Kids event Tuesday near the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, Randall and Iowa offensive lineman Blake Larsen walked alongside a young boy wearing a No. 26 jersey, a Clinton Portis jersey. Whether that's as close as Randall will get to an NFL uniform, Fisher said he is destined for a rich, rewarding life after college. "He's such a high-character guy, it's unbelievable," Fisher said. "Good things will happen to him in the future, because he's too good a person not for something good to happen to him." Randall wasn't LSU's starting quarterback as often as he would have liked, but for this season, for the Nick Saban era, he's the finishing quarterback. If anyone deserves a happy ending, it's him.
Yeah, I hope he has a great game Saturday too. And I hope he has a bright future and has some opportunities. It would be cool for him to get a shot as a free agent. Who knows? Look at Randall Gay. Marcus is a gifted athlete, so maybe he could be a great special teams player or something. If not, I hope he gets to coach if that's what he wants to do. Sounds like he could be a great role model.
