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Marcus Dupree - the greatest that never was

SuperBills12

By SuperBills12
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SuperBills12

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I love these ESPN 30 for 30 shows. Last night I watched the story of Marcus Dupree, apparently the most highly recruited player of all time. The guy was a beast and looked way ahead of his time. For anyone that watched the show, who does he remind you of today? He reminded me a lot of A. Peterson, but 10 times better...

r00tabaga Veteran

r00tabaga

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It seems to be the "talk of the town" today! I was fortunate to be flipping thru the channels last nite and saw the whole thing. Better than the RIcky Williams story & the U. He was definately B E A S T M O D E !!!! Very, very sad though. :(

Kelly the Dog Hall of Famer

Kelly the Dog

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The greatest that never was, was likely Ken Hall, the Sugarland Express. This story is so amazing, it's funny. Like there was one game he was never tackled. he used to run in extra points because it was easier than kicking them. Refs used to call time-outs for themselves because they were too tired chasing him. One game he rushed for 520 yards on 11 carries, an average of 47.3 yards a carry, scored seven touchdowns, seven extra points, returned a kickoff 64 yards, ran back a pass interception 21 yards, returned a punt for 82, and he only played the first half of the game. And, for example, "In Hall's last high school game, the Gators beat Magnolia 13-6 for the 7B regional championship. Hall scored both touchdowns, kicked an extra point, rushed for 143 yards and returned an interception for 46 yards. Statistically, it was, by far, his worst high school performance."

 

This story is my all-time favorite from SI. It's from 1982 so some records I'm sure are dated.

http://sportsillustr...960/1/index.htm

Edited by Kelly the Fair and Balanced Dog
JohnC All Pro

JohnC

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Posted

I love these ESPN 30 for 30 shows. Last night I watched the story of Marcus Dupree, apparently the most highly recruited player of all time. The guy was a beast and looked way ahead of his time. For anyone that watched the show, who does he remind you of today? He reminded me a lot of A. Peterson, but 10 times better...

 

There was no doubt that he was a physical phenomena. His problem was that he was not emotionally equipped to handle the jungle of big time recruiting and big time college football.

 

It belatedly became obvious to him and his family that he was not getting the same amount of "goodies" that some other players were getting. So with his family's encouraging he demanded a greater share of the payoffs. What was so apparent in the ESPN show was that big time football and the whole process associated with it has little to do with college. Academics were not even a consideration to get in school or stay in school. I'm sure Marcus didn't even bother with the charade of going to class and doing some homework. The business of big time football was blatantly twadry. The money and gifts flowed right in the open.

 

What I found amusing was Barry Switzer. He was a cornball huckster and he was proud of it. He would have made a great moonshiner or barn storming evagelist who could hustle the old destitue lady out of her last dollar and still leave her with a smile on her face.

GOBILLS78 Veteran

GOBILLS78

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Some of the game footage was truly incredible. And he really did make everything look so effortless. Ultimately, though, he couldn't stand to be away from his mother and little brother, and his attitude led him down a path that it took years to return from. Incredible that he was playing professional football and was barely out of his teen years.

Wooderson Veteran

Wooderson

Posted
Posted

I love these ESPN 30 for 30 shows. Last night I watched the story of Marcus Dupree, apparently the most highly recruited player of all time. The guy was a beast and looked way ahead of his time. For anyone that watched the show, who does he remind you of today? He reminded me a lot of A. Peterson, but 10 times better...

 

I was flipping through the channels and caught it about 8 minutes in and ended up watching the whole thing. I thought it was great, probably the best 30 for 30 I've seen so far. He was definitely not ready for big time college football and it showed and his "friend", Ken Fairley, really screwed things up for him. If he had a smarter mentor, someone he could talk to and learn from, I think he would have had a much more successful career. He was thrown into the spotlight at an early age and it seemed like he had NO idea how to handle it which is understandable.

 

I agree that he seemed similar to an Adrian Peterson of today. I don't know if 10x better is accurate but his body type, running style, and strength is comparable. At 6'2" 230, he was a monster of a tailback.

Peter All Pro

Peter

Posted
Posted

I also caught the show by accident. It was great. I remember watching Marcus. He was an amazing RB. It is tough not to like the guy after watching it. He got some horrible advice from his "mentor." Marcus seems like a good guy though.

 

I also recommend the program to anyone if they show it again.

Punch Veteran

Punch

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I'd never before heard of Ken Hall, although his story is so amazing it initially reminded me of Sidd Finch, the young incredibly hard throwing pitching prospect that worked out for the NY Mets in the early '80s before ultimately giving up a baseball career ;) . George Plimpton's terrific SI article on Finch: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119283/index.htm

 

I had forgotten all about Marcus Dupree--- what a damn shame. Dupree reminds me, but of course for completely different reasons, of former Cincinnati Bengals QB Greg Cook: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-top-ten/09000d5d807434bc/Top-Ten-One-Shot-Wonders-Greg-Cook

Mr. WEO Hall of Famer

Mr. WEO

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Great show. He was 19 when he signed with NO. At least Switzer admits now that he treated the kid poorly.

 

It's amazing he could get himself back in shape foe the Rams years later buy working out in that sweat shack.

plenzmd1 Hall of Famer

plenzmd1

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He played in the USFL did he not?

 

PTR

 

Yes he did, he signed a 5 year $6M contract, blows his knee out first season, he etimates he never saw more than $300k of the contract. Can't blame guys for wanting the guarantee coming out..gotta cash in while your stock is hot

KD in CA Hall of Famer

KD in CA

Posted
Posted

There was no doubt that he was a physical phenomena. His problem was that he was not emotionally equipped to handle the jungle of big time recruiting and big time college football.

I'm not sure anybody was ready 30 years ago. That's part of what makes the story so interesting; no one had been recruited like that previously. Toss in the fact that he and his family are from a poor, rural area and can't tell who is looking out for their best interests (which turned out to be no one), and the guy never had a chance. He just cracked under the pressure at OU.

 

 

I agree that he seemed similar to an Adrian Peterson of today. I don't know if 10x better is accurate but his body type, running style, and strength is comparable. At 6'2" 230, he was a monster of a tailback.

Dupree's size and speed for that era was amazing; he reminded me of a bigger OJ.

truth on hold All Pro

truth on hold

Posted
Posted (edited)

Didn't watch the show, and don't know what the nitwit Switzer did to him, but Im not so sure he was such a sure thing to be the best ever. His style had a lot of Herschel Walker in it. Which means he was big and fast and looked great in college. But at the pro level a lack of lateral mobility and upright running style, resulted in diminished productivity. Walker was still a good NFL back to be sure, but just no where near the force he was in college.

Edited by Joe_the_6_pack
Punch Veteran

Punch

Posted
Posted

Didn't watch the show, and don't know what the nitwit Switzer did to him, but Im not so sure he was such a sure thing to be the best ever. His style had a lot of Herschel Walker in it. Which means he was big and fast and looked great in college. But at the pro level a lack of lateral mobility and upright running style, resulted in diminished productivity. Walker was still a good NFL back to be sure, but just no where near the force he was in college.

That's exactly who comes to mind when I see Dupree... whether or not his head was messed up, he could never stay healthy, anyhow. Nearly nonstop injuries from 1983-93... although, it may have been due in large part to the training & conditioning issues Switzer called him on.

truth on hold All Pro

truth on hold

Posted
Posted (edited)

That's exactly who comes to mind when I see Dupree... whether or not his head was messed up, he could never stay healthy, anyhow. Nearly nonstop injuries from 1983-93... although, it may have been due in large part to the training & conditioning issues Switzer called him on.

Some times head case/ coaching issues are blamed when the reality is the guy's skill set was better suited for college than the pros. Take for example Lawrence Phillips. Great power back at Nebraska BUT too small and not powerful enough to be a power back in the NFL. He was a head case and had boatloads of off field issues for sure, but that made people gloss over the fact that he was never going to the the same back in the NFL that he was in college.

Edited by Joe_the_6_pack
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