Colston story

[Randall]

Marques Colston, Saints Wide Receiver

 

Posted: Tuesday January 2, 2007 12:55PM; Updated: Tuesday January 2, 2007 12:55PM

 

 

 

As told to Lisa Altobelli

On why he, who led NFL rookies in receiving yardage this season, went to Division I-AA Hofstra

 

Coming out of high school [in Harrisburg, Pa.], I was 6'3" and 180 pounds -- a lot different from the guy you see. [He's now 6'4", 231.] I needed to develop, and Hofstra was one of the only schools to offer me a full scholarship. I still speak to Hofstra's wide receivers' coach Jaime Elizondo every week. He critiques me. He doesn't let me feel like I played well all the time. It's a good thing.

 

On being the fourth-to-last player picked in the draft

 

I watched the draft at home in Pennsylvania. I watch it from beginning to end every year anyway. I'm a fanatic about it. I had heard I could go anywhere from the third round to undrafted. By the time the Saints called my house, four other teams had already called to ask if I would come to camp as a free agent, so I thought it was the same deal. Then I looked at the TV and saw New Orleans had the current selection. Coach [sean] Payton was on the phone and said, 'Are you ready to be a New Orleans Saint?' Of course I wasn't going to say no.

 

On rookie hazing

 

The guys haven't been bad to me. During camp I had to carry helmets and shoulder pads. One day I had to carry five helmets back, which was tough with only two hands, but I wasn't about to make two trips. Our practice field was far from the locker room.

 

On his family

 

My father, James, passed away when I was 14. It was real sudden, and we never had an autopsy done, so we assumed it was from natural causes. It was rough. I have two older brothers, Kenny and James, an older sister, Takia, and a younger brother, Stephen. We were always close-knit, but to get through my father's death we definitely had to pull together. My mother, Josamarie, is like my best friend. I talk to her two to three times a week. She works the overnights at a nursing home assisting the patients. She's a giving person. Just selfless.

 

On Pro Bowl teammates, receiver Joe Horn and QB Drew Brees

 

They've been so instrumental in my success. As a young guy, it's all about building confidence and mine came from those guys showing confidence in me. From Day One, Joe took me under his wing since he had a similar story coming from a small school [itawamba (Miss.) Community College]. And Drew just exudes confidence. Anytime you've got a guy like that showing you confidence, it definitely helps you along.

 

On the Week 3 Monday-night game in the Superdome

 

You could feel the vibe the whole week leading up to it and how much the game meant to the city. Now I'm accustomed to doing things around the community -- I went with a few guys to speak at a high school that was hit bad by the hurricane. We spoke about dealing with adversity and getting to where you want to be in life.

 

COLSTON WILL TRY TO HELP THE SAINTS (10-6) WIN A PLAYOFF GAME FOR JUST THE SECOND TIME IN THEIR 40-YEAR HISTORY, ON JAN. 13 OR 14.

 

Issue date: January 8, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Find this article at:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/play...irst.person0108

[CarryTheRock]

Good read!

[BOO]

Thanks - good read.

[Rovers]

The kids that come out of Hofstra, like Colston and Chrebet seem to have something in common. High character, great work ethic kids. Same thing with their basketball program. It's a small school, but they seem to recruit good kids. It's only 15 minutes away from where I live (also the site of the Jets' training camp) and players from any of Hofstra's programs are never in the news, unless it's for something positive. The lacrosse program is exceptionally good as well.

 

Academically, it's also a very good school. if you have a kid ready for college, they could do much worse than choosing Hofstra.

 

Interesting how both Chrebet and Colston were such long shots for the NFL.... makes me wonder if some other Hofstra players may have gone overlooked.