Marcus Dupree and 3k
by 3k on Nov 9, 2010 4:59 PM CST
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PrintTonight, a new movie debuts in ESPN's 30 for 30 series, 30 sports documentaries that have by and large been really, really, really good (if you haven't seen The U yet, you're missing an awesome movie). It's the story of Marcus Dupree.
If you're not from the South (capital letter, please), and you don't follow college football, you can be excused for not recognizing the name. But he's one of the players that motivated me to start looking at college players more closely as an NFL fan, because his name came up over and over again as the best player that never made it.
When I was young, I would often talk to older football fans in north Texas or Louisiana about the best players they've ever seen coming out of high school. There tended to be plenty of argument about who was the best. But every adult I talked to as a kid had the same answer as the best they saw that never made it past college: Marcus Dupree.
He was the absolutely perfect running back: size, speed, acceleration, agility, jukes, power, strength, grace... I could add a hundred other adjectives here and they all fit. He was perfect, and everyone knew it. But his body couldn't handle the talent.
Marcus Dupree has nothing to do with the Rams. He has nothing to do with the NFL. And he has nothing to do with Turf Show Times. Except that I know TST, and TST knows me.
If you don't know the story of a man who achieves greatness only to see it all fade away, you have a chance. Check it out. The Best There Never Was premieres tonight; check that link for the schedule of re-airings. It takes a decent amount of luck to get to the NFL, and Marcus Dupree lived an unlucky life.
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Actually
Dupree does have a little bit to do with the Rams. He attempted a comeback in the early 90s when John Robinson was the coach and appeared in a handful of games, even scoring a touchdown along the way. Hardly a blip on the radar, but worth mentioning I thought.
before my time
but my oh my that mans got some speed coming off the also extremely agile. i’ll have to check that special out tonight
Marcus Dupree
I remember him very well.He also played in the USFL for the Boston Breakers.That may have stunted his growth.
i can't watch the show unfortunately :(
This dude looks like an absolute beast, he had great blocking, but the way he hit those holes, ran guys over and then disappeared into the endzone was phenomenal.
but would anyone be able to tell me how he never became a star in the NFL?
by mentioning luck I get the impression that it wasn’t anything he could control that cost him a future in the NFL?
but SURELY the Greatest that Never Was was Ernie Davis? drafted #1 overall, then his life is cut unnecessarily short by Leukemia :(
he never played in the NFL but still got his number retired.
Bradford to Onobun!
oh and btw
clicked on the link for The U and was pleasantly surprised to hear Runnin’ by the Pharcyde… that is without a doubt one of the greatest hip hop songs ever and if you like Hip Hop and DON’T know about the Pharcyde… I implore you get to know! Labcabincalifornia is nigh on perfection in my eyes/ears.
Bradford to Onobun!
This is amazing
“Marcus played 34 plays of the ball game” said Barry Switzer. Of those plays he accumulated 19 carries and 245 yards. Even, as Switzer says, with Dupree being 10 pounds overweight. Amazing, simply awesome.
Julio Jones for Rams 2011
dam it sorry guys
I’ll hold off, don’t want to spoil anything. Great story though, I highly recommend a viewing.
Julio Jones for Rams 2011
i read on wikipedia that in that game he left the field 3 times for a hammy, a rib injury and an arm injury (or something)
and still fucked shit up to such an extent!
Bradford to Onobun!
that is insane yards
still a record to this day for a bowl game? I still think that reverend jipped him or did something with his account you could tell he was a phony. But great great special I really enjoyed it.
by keeperskillz24 on Nov 10, 2010 1:31 AM CST up reply actions
I still love the clip at 1:49
against Mizzou in ’82. Runs over an OLB and then outruns the CB to the point the corner just falls on his face. SOooooooooooooo much talent…
You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.
I know what you're talking about
It was incredible watching him separate from the defenders… as he ran someone over, then simply would accelerate past the entire world.
They were saying that the DB that he ran away from was a 4.4 guy. That is incredible to think about. He reminds me of a slightly overweight Adrian Peterson (to associate to a modern name).
But the best was the hair and and Glasses combo.
Sad story though.
Rams connection
He did have a Rams poster in his weight room.
Remember the great 2004 and 2005 Rams teams...
by Marmie is the best on Nov 9, 2010 8:42 PM CST reply actions
Great recommend
I watched it and was amazed and that guys pure natural talent. What a sad story though. He is very admirable with how he battled through adversity but jesus…. talk about getting the short end of the stick every single time.
I
inadvertantly watched this while I was out for dinner tonight. Interesting story. Seemed as though he (like many) was naturally gifted, but didn’t have the discipline necessary to maintain it.
The hit that took him out of that game was brutal.
THIS year's the year. I hope....
What?
are you trying to say exactly? He lacked the discipline? WTF? This guy got flucked by that Reverand.
"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect."
Vince Lombardi
if you think the 49ers SUCK!!!
Then vote for them to be the least liked NFC West team here. http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2010/11/9/1805003/week-10-matchup-against-hated-49ers
Does anyone know when they will show this again?
I hate those spam bots :/
by Tevin T. Broner on Nov 10, 2010 1:53 AM CST reply actions
yup
You can check the schedule right here.
You don't seem to want to accept the fact you're dealing with an expert in guerrilla warfare, with a man who's the best, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands. A man who's been trained to ignore pain, ignore weather, to live off the land, to eat things that would make a billy goat puke. In *St. Louis* his job was to dispose of enemy personnel. To kill! Period! Win by attrition. Well, *Steven Jackson* was the best.
by 3k on Nov 10, 2010 5:06 AM CST up reply actions
So fast...
"I kind of stepped my swagger up. You look at the Madden game and the swagger's so low, maybe they'll bump me up. Before it was a meatball flex, so you've got to liven it up a little bit." - Animal Jr.
Like most OU fans, I've seen a lot of great backs in person on the field in Norman...
including Billy Sims, Barry Sanders, and Peterson just to name a few. None had quite the electricity that Dupree showed his short time at OU. The only thing he lacked was the ability to motivate himself to stay in shape, and to handle dealing with injuries.
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