The article below is from 2011 but it recaps recent Redblacks signee Marlon Smith's background and playing style quite nicely, so I wanted to save it. Click on the Kens5 link below to read the full version. In case the link goes dead soon, the picture is credited to Jeff Huehn.
by David Flores / Kens5.com
Posted on September 17, 2011 at 9:54 AM
Before starting in UTSA’s 31-3 rout of Northeastern State in its historic first game Sept. 3, Roadrunners defensive end Marlon Smith hadn't played in a football game since his senior season at Wagner High School in 2007.
Considering how Smith has played in UTSA’s first two games, maybe football is a lot like riding a bike. Once you learn the game, you never forget how to play it.
A 2008 Wagner graduate, Smith played basketball at St. Mary’s for one season before transferring to UTSA in 2009 and joining the school’s fledgling program as a walk-on.
Two years and many grueling workouts later, Smith is well on his way to becoming the Roadrunners’ first outstanding defensive lineman. He earned a scholarship after UTSA’s fall camp last year and has developed into one of the team’s leaders.
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Smith played in 28 games during his one basketball season at St. Mary’s, averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds as a power forward. He also blocked 38 shots, the fourth most in Rattlers’ history.
But as well as Smith played, he felt unfulfilled as an athlete. He had his heart set on playing football at TCU coming out of high school, but the Horned Frogs never came across with a scholarship offer after recruiting him.
“I pretty much had put all my eggs in one basket with TCU,” Smith said. “It was pretty disappointing when they told me they didn't have a scholarship for me at the end. They were going to place me at a junior college, but that’s when I decided to go play basketball at St. Mary’s.”
While Smith started a new chapter in his life with the Rattlers, football was never far from his thoughts.
“I missed football a lot,” he said. “We had one of those big-screen TVs in our locker room at St. Mary’s. A lot of times we had games on Saturdays, so I’d sit there and watch college football. I’d watch and see someone miss a tackle and think, ‘Man, you should have hit that guy really hard,’ or something like that.”
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(UTSA coach Larry) Coker said Smith’s skills as a basketball player have helped him on the football field.
“He’s rangy,” Coker said. “He has good skills and works hard. He’s relentless as a pursuer. He’s not a big, physical guy, obviously. He’s pretty lean, but he gives great effort.”
Smith didn't know what to expect when he started working out with the Roadrunners.
“When I came here, I thought they were going to play me at wide receiver,” said Smith, who played safety at Wagner. “I had never played D-end before, but the coaches saw something in me that I didn't see in myself.
“I’m not going to lie. That first semester here was real tough because I didn't know whether I was cut out to be a defensive end. There were other people who came here and had played defensive end their whole lives. I didn't know if I was prepared.”
Guided by defensive line coach Eric Roark, Smith persevered through the tough times and learned his new position through hard knocks and dedication.
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A heady player, Smith has impressed UTSA coaches with his attitude and work ethic. Combine that with his raw athletic skills and you have player with a tremendous upside.
“First of all, he can cover a lot of ground,” defensive coordinator Neal Neathery said. “And he’s long and he runs hard. The other part that makes him good is that he’s real pensive. He’s always thinking. He takes what he’s doing very seriously. He’s very serious about his business. He goes to work when he comes out here.
“It’s taken him until late August to be a good player. He wasn't a good football player last spring. He was still too slow with everything. Now he’s playing fast and it’s coming to him real well.”
The following August, Smith left the UTSA program following a "violation of team rules". I say "left" because it sounds, from the few articles I've been able to locate about the incident, as though it was his choice and not an expulsion.
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