What Next for Marquel Blackwell?
(July 1, 2004)

Marquel Blackwell was a star quarterback in high school and college. There is no doubt he can play at the professional level. He was with the New York Jets last preseason, attended the Buccaneers mini-camp this spring and is listed on the Tampa Bay Storm roster. He has excelled everywhere he has played. When and where will he make his mark on pro football? Time will tell, but odds are it is going to happen.

Marquel Blackwell was born on July 29, 1979 in St. Petersburg and is the oldest of six children. As a junior at Dixie Hollins High School in St. Petersburg, Blackwell lead the school to the state championship game. As a two year starter at quarterback, he threw 45 touchdowns passes with only nine interceptions. Blackwell also played basketball in high school and averaged 13.6 points per game as a junior.

In 1998, Marquel Blackwell red-shirted his first year at the University of South Florida. In 1999, he began his assault on the record book. Blackwell lead the Bulls in passing four consecutive years (1999-2002) and holds the school records for career passing yards (9,108) and touchdown passes (67). In 2001, his junior season, Blackwell set USF records for passing yards (2,882) and TD passes (20). He did not throw an interception in his last six games at USF (235 pass attempts), which is the second highest number of attempts without a pick in NCAA history. He also rushed for 1,235 yards and 20 touchdowns.

After the 2002 season, and a 30-12 record as the starting QB at South Florida, Marquel Blackwell was not drafted. He did sign a free agent contract with the New York Jets and participated in the 2003 training camp. He saw action in three preseason games and compiled impressive statistics. Blackwell completed 11 of 18 passes for 194 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a quarterback rating of 135.0. He started the preseason finale and lead the Jets to a 17-9 victory at Philadelphia. Blackwell was the number three quarterback for the regular season opener, but ended up being cut the next week.

Marquel Blackwell was on the Tampa Bay Storm roster, he was never activated to play indoor football, and was with the Buccaneers during a Spring mini-camp. The Bucs had a shortage of quarterbacks during that camp, so Blackwell saw most of the action and head coach Jon Gruden was quite impressed.

What next for Marquel Blackwell? It will probably be difficult for him to make it with the Bucs and he is not listed on the current roster. The best thing would be to get some playing time somewhere to showcase his talents. Could he be another player to go from the Arena Football League to the NFL? Will he make his mark north of the border in the CFL? Wherever it is, he needs to start playing pro games. If history is any indication, he will impress.