USF's reach is in Blackwell's grasp

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© St. Petersburg Times
published August 30, 2002

TAMPA -- Were you watching, Rex?

Were you impressed?

Marvelous Marquel Blackwell ran to his right, and as usual, every bit of attention afforded to the University of South Florida football program went with him. Blackwell moved, and the opponent scrambled to get as wide as possible as fast as possible.

Then Blackwell slowed a bit and, deft as a card trick, flipped a shovel pass to Clenton Crossley for a touchdown. With his left hand.

His left hand, Ken.

Can you do that?

A couple minutes later, and Blackwell was back at it. He slid to his right, and the play looked very much like a running play. Then Blackwell drifted back a stride, two, and tossed a pass, soft as a butterfly's kiss, over the line of scrimmage for a 23-yard gain.

How about it, Chris?

Nice touch, huh?

The nice little quarterback from the nice little program did it again Thursday night in a 51-10 victory over Florida Atlantic. In a state of great passers from great teams, Magical Marquel, unknown soldier, carved up another opponent.

Talk about quarterbacks who represent their team. For most of its 56-game history, USF has strained like a little brother to get whatever notice it could whenever it was possible. USF is obsessed with being more than just another of the state's insta-programs splashing around the kiddie pool.

Boil that attitude down to an individual serving, and you have Blackwell. He's surrounded by heavily decorated, heavily publicized quarterbacks. Miami's Ken Dorsey won a national title last season. Florida's Rex Grossman nearly won a Heisman. FSU's Chris Rix managed to get through a season without being beaten up by teammates, which may have been the biggest honor of all.

Now consider this:

Blackwell may be the best of all.

Granted, this is a heck of a statement. On the other hand, this is a heck of a quarterback.

Blackwell is a pocket full of miracles. Every play is a fireworks show at an oil refinery. You feel sympathy for the defensive coordinator, because playing defense against the guy is sort of like juggling snakes. Eventually, someone is sucking venom.

Take the opener against Florida Atlantic. In three quarters, Blackwell threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns. He ran. He passed. He blocked. Do any of those other guys block?

Did you hear about the lightning storm that interrupted the game for 45 minutes? It was redundant.

How do you measure a quarterback? By how he plays against the clock? Blackwell drove his team 48 yards for a field goal in the last two minutes of the first half. By how he plays on third downs? Blackwell hit a 27-yard pass on third and 25.

By winning? It was the 22nd time Blackwell has led his team to victory, which isn't just good for a new program. It's good for any program. Dorsey, with 26, and Wisconsin's Brooks Bollinger, with 23, are the only current players with more.

The popular counter to this, naturally, is to point to the competition and sneer, as if Blackwell were a guy who is hitting .367 ... at Tidewater. And no, lighting up Florida Atlantic isn't the same as lighting up, say, Tennessee. But Blackwell's supporting cast isn't quite the same, either.

In another time, it would be interesting to see Blackwell lead Florida down the field, or FSU, or Miami. Nothing against the other guys, but I don't think any of the programs would hiccup.

Now the correlating question: Could those guys match Blackwell's contribution at USF?

The scout's report? Blackwell doesn't have the size of the other guys, and he doesn't have the uncanny accuracy of Grossman or, to a lesser extent, Dorsey. But Blackwell has better feet than either, and he has the same knack of making teammates believe the end zone is closer than it appears.

That's the best thing you can say about Blackwell. He has made his program better. For most of their existence, the Bulls have looked forward. This, however, was a game played in the rearview mirror. Once, South Florida was very much like Florida Atlantic, a fledgling team with more ambition than tradition.

Blackwell? He took his team from there to here.

Who knows? Oh, Blackwell has gotten a little more pub lately. Like Grossman, and Dorsey, and Rix, he's on the 32-player list for the Davey O'Brien award.

Still, Blackwell remains a secret. He plays in front of crowds that would embarrass the Rays. His team is a pledge to a lesser conference. To win the Heisman, he'd have to throw for 5,000 yards and 99 TDs and cure cancer.

The other guys? All three will be linked romantically with the Heisman. All three will lead Top 10 teams. They'll play in full stadiums as adoring fans wear their jersey numbers. They'll go to major bowl games. They'll spend more time on TV than The Simpsons.

Blackwell? Who knows? If he keeps it up, maybe he'll get a chance to hit the Hooters mascot at the half like other USF fans.

Ah, but what if Blackwell plays well against Oklahoma? And against Arkansas? What if he blows up for another 343 yards, the way he did against Pitt last season? What if he throws up another 2,800-yard season, even though every opponent will go out to stop him first?

If that happens, maybe someone will notice. Maybe someone will suggest, for all the excellent quarterbacks in this state, Marquel's name should come first on the marquee.

As for USF's ambition of turning the Big Three into a Big Four?

At least one player would have made it.

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