The experience McDuffie gained playing sports at Durant prepared him to be an important contributor to FIU’s defensive backline.
“He did a nice job as free safety. He also made a big catch in a playoff game against Chamberlain [High School.] It was a great diving catch, toward the end of the game. Because of it, we ended up beating them,” said Durant football coach Mike Gottman. Gottman coached McDuffie for his senior year on the team during the 2003-2004 season.
Unfortunately, McDuffie’s past is not all fun and games. In 2006, during a game against the University of Miami, McDuffie was involved in a fight that resulted in his dismissal from the team.
According to Gottman, McDuffie was “a good kid, a good student, and never got in trouble.”
“I was very surprised he got involved [in the fight],” said Gottman. “I couldn’t believe it; that was so out of character for him.”
In a recent article by The Tampa Tribune, McDuffie’s mother, Vanessa McDuffie, spoke about the incident.
“In less than a minute, his actions caused him to lose his dream of playing football,” she said. “What happened, dismissal from the team, could’ve beaten anyone down and caused them to quit. He didn’t. He knew he did wrong. He grew into a better person.”
Though this upset McDuffie, he looked at it as a turning point and a learning opportunity. He didn’t spend his one year off the team complaining; instead, he devoted himself to his faith and his community. He went on mission trips to third-world countries, like Haiti, and spoke to young adults about not allowing your emotions to cloud your brain, which is a major factor to why he made the mistake.
“And I tell them to learn from mistakes,” McDuffie said in a St. Petersburg Times article. “Don’t stay down. Get up.”
Despite all the disappointment and shock, McDuffie triumphed through the whole ordeal, which included thousands of people having constant access to a replay of the infamous brawl on the Internet through sites such as YouTube.
After his year-long absence, FIU’s new coach Mario Cristobal allowed McDuffie back on the team. He got his scholarship back and was able to earn his degree in sports administration.
“What happened to Marshall would’ve wrecked a weaker person,” Cristobal said in an article published by The Tampa Tribune. “Look, it wouldn’t have been easy for an NFL player, especially with all the exposure out there, all the scrutiny, all the people asking questions.”
“We’re in the business of helping kids, not tossing them aside. Marshall earned his way back, even after the worst of circumstances. It warms my heart. It shows that no matter how bleak it might look in life, there’s always hope,” Cristobal said.
McDuffie has now come back full circle. At age 23, he made it to the Bucs training camp. Even though he played safety in school, the Bucs defensive coordinator Jim Bates saw potential for him to play cornerback as number 39 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McDuffie is a Cougar who succeeded in pursuing his dream.
[caption id="attachment_76" align="alignleft" width="243" caption="The Buccaneers rookie cornerback #39 Marshall McDuffie, Jr. comes from an infamous past at FIU to fulfill his dreams of playing professional football."]
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