Marcus Dupree on Espn 30 on 30

BAP sent me a text the other night and asked me if I knew who Marcus Dupree was or if I remembered him.
I actually laughed when I read the text and just shook my head. 

I thought BAP was asking because they are both from the freak athletes home land of Mississippi. 
Of course I knew Dupree's entire story and his birthplace.

He told me he was watching a story about him on ESPN.

S, similar to David Overstreet and Earl Campbell before him, we kept reading about him during his Senior year and then we finally saw him.
IT WAS DIFFERENT.  What a waste of a truly different physical specimen.  Herschel was special, Dupree was just smoother.

As a Senior, 6 3" 230lbs. 9.5second 100 yd times.    Reports of 400lbs on Bench Press prior to the modern juices and supplements.     Then verified by coaches in books that were being written.

The funny thing is that I didn't care about everything being so corrupt on the entire Dupree college experience.   Stories were everywhere about the violations.  Maybe I was jaded early growing up around here with the athletes that came out of here like Parish, Woolridge and Malone and the open knowledge of the things that happened on the I-20 corridor.

Back to Dupree, he was a freak.  Greg Pruitt was always my favorite with Sims a close second.   Well, the first time I watched that 230lb RB glide, I thought Pruitt was going to be replaced as my favorite.

Then we watched the down slide, overweight, rumors of cheating, school problems, leaving early and then the injury.  

 My lasting memory is Arizona State players just gasping at him and he would just stiff arm someone and take off.  245 yards in basically one half.   This is after he gained 10lbs prior to the game on a holiday binge.
He played 34 of the 69 plays for Oklahoma because he was out of shape.

Barry Switzer who people sometimes forget maybe the best evaluator of talent we have ever seen on talent.
Said only Campbell and Dupree could have gone straight to NFL.  Switzer said Dupree was the best player the day he walked on the campus.  Switzer and Dupree's relationship was rocky at best, Switzer rode him out of college with his constant bickering and complaining about Dupree practice and work ethics.

On this show the coaches admitted they didn't know how to deal with Marcus and they played less talented players until they could not win anymore.  Switzer was so good that Switzer went to the I formation.  He started 7 games and had about 1400 yards. 

Watch the show if you get a chance.
j