New Bucs, old friends

WR Marquise Walker was recruited to Michigan by Tampa Bay's new QB coach.

[Times photo: James Borchuck] Bucs quarterbacks coach Stan Parrish and Marquise Walker, right, get together at practice. Parrish praises the wide receiver's qualities.

By ROGER MILLS, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 27, 2002

TAMPA -- Thinking back, the couch wasn't so tough after all. It had its lumps, its dents, its uncomfortable spots. But it was better than the floor.

In the months before his freshman year, Bucs third-round pick Marquise Walker was so adamant about fitting in at the University of Michigan he and two fellow freshmen bunked out at an upperclassman's apartment.

"The rule was simple, every night," Walker said. "First come, first to get the couch. Everyone else, on the floor."

That was the beginning of a record-setting collegiate career and Walker approached it with a blend of youthful exuberance and mature determination, which at the time came as no surprise to Stan Parrish.

Then the Wolverines quarterback coach, Parrish felt a kinship with Walker since he was responsible for recruiting him. He was the first Wolverine to meet Walker in the principal's office at Henninger High School in Syracuse in the fall of 1998. He convinced the first-team high school All-American to go to Ann Arbor.

Parrish said then he saw in Walker not only athletic ability but a level of maturity uncanny for a young man.

"He's got strong values," Parrish said. "He's the guy who will always take care of himself and he's always been a hard-working guy."

Friday, the old friends met on the practice field at One Buc Place: Walker, the Bucs' future hope at wide receiver; Parrish, the man new coach Jon Gruden has asked to coach the quarterbacks.

"I don't think there's any question that we can benefit from having each other here," Parrish said. "Some of his frustrations and some of his insecurities, so to speak, whether he can learn one thing or another, well, the coaches go through the same thing the players do. So together, we can say to each other to hang in there, to work through it. What I can do is be there for him as a reassuring hand, give him someone to talk to, someone to push him. It's kind of funny how things go full circle."

Walker, 23, said having Parrish around will help him settle in considering he knows no one in Tampa.

"He's down here before me and got a sense of what to expect," Walker said. "I'm the one getting thrown into the heat, figuratively and literally. I have to learn all these new plays. So, it's going to be easier to adjust to the system knowing that he's around."

Parrish's presence in Tampa began paying dividends for Walker the day after he was drafted. Parrish called Walker and warned him about the weather.

"He told me that I better start running. He said it's hot down here and the guys down here are already practicing and are used to the heat. So I immediately began some extra conditioning."

Walker is flying back to Syracuse Monday morning to make final arrangements, and plans to be back by the end of the week.

"I have to get back here and get started," he said. "I have to find a place, get settled in. Even if I can't find a place, I'll stay in a hotel, but I plan on being here."

Parrish said while Walker has a 6-foot-2, 219-pound frame and makes remarkable catches, it is his attitude that will make him a good fit for the Bucs.

"What impressed me was that he was patient," Parrish said. "We had David Terrell (at Michigan) and David was the man, he got all the ink and Marquise never minded second billing, although he was playing well. Not all the players are about that. He went about his work and did his thing.

"He never complained about anything, never whined. And when David left early, he had one of those magical, breakthrough years that you expect out of a senior."

Walker won't be expected to start immediately and said he understands that mastering Gruden's system will take time.

"I think it can be overwhelming," he said. "You come down here and it's like your freshman year all over again. You know what you can do out there but you really can't showboat your skills and help the team if you don't know the plays and learn the system."

A fleeting glance at Walker might help explain why he acts beyond his years. He looks beyond his years.

"I call him the Old Man," Gruden said. "I told him, 'You're a rookie? You look like a 10-year free agent!' He looks like he's played football for a long time. He has a presence."

Walker said the jokes about his "veteran look" have been around since high school. And he said he has never been carded at a bar.

"One time when I was at Michigan, we had some recruits come in and a few of them thought I was the coach," Walker said. "And I've heard it (at One Buc Place) already. I'm used to it."

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