By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Marshall Musil admits to being overwhelmed when he first stepped foot on the Oklahoma campus and into the Barry Switzer Center in December 2008.
For the first time, he stood in the presence of seven national championships and four Heisman trophies, and all of the tradition and dominance that has been Sooner football impressed the small town Kansas prep football star.
Now he’s hoping that a sea of crimson and cream in attendance at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on home football Saturdays will have the same reaction to his athletic ability when he hits the field running next fall.
Musil took the final step toward living his dream of playing Division I football Wednesday when he signed a national letter of intent to play for the Sooners in front of his high school football coach Ryan Cornelsen and a crowd of family and friends at LaCrosse High School.
“My mom and my sister were pretty pumped about it too,” he said in reference to their reaction to touring the Norman campus. “Then it hit my mom that I’d be about six hours away from home. But coach (Kevin) Wilson comforted her and here we are.”
Since committing to the Sooners in June of last year, Musil has known where he is going to play football at the next level. Other coaches have tried to sway the four-time first team All-Central Prairie Conference fullback to no avail.
Even Kansas State’s Bill Snyder was turned away.
“I didn’t see the sense in wasting their time, or mine,” Musil said of his other courters. “I’m going to Oklahoma to play football.”
If Musil is to avoid a redshirt season in 2009, he will have to compete against the talent, knowledge and experience of returning fullback Matt Clapp and his backup, LaCygne-Prairie View graduate Brody Eldridge.
Clapp returns for his senior season after earning first team All-Big 12 honors last season. Eldridge, meanwhile, split time as the backup at both fullback and tight end during his junior season.
Buck Buchanan, a 2009 redshirt sophomore will also be competing for playing time at fullback.
“They’ll determine whether or not I redshirt next season by how much I can help the team next fall,” Musil said of the Sooner coaching staff. “Once I’m there and they get to see me in action I guess they’ll make that decision.”
Musil brings an array of skills and talent to the football field. He’s big, he’s fast and he plays the game at a level above his age. Plus he has the ability to make opposing players miss.
When Cornelsen first saw Musil in action as a 5-foot-10, 180-pound freshman, LaCrosse’s coach knew he was dealing with a special player.
“He’s 6-3, 230 pounds and very skilled,” Cornelsen said. “When you combine that size with his athletic ability, that’s something that’s not real common around here and we tried to utilize him the best we could.
“Marshall closes the gap fast. He’s a big kid that can cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time.”
Since Musil’s arrival for his freshman season, the Leopards have been on a tear. LaCrosse has not lost a regular season game since falling 34-6 to St. John on Oct. 14, 2005.
Musil, a four-year starter for Cornelsen, has led the Leopards to four straight postseason berths, and a 6-4 playoff record during that same time span. LaCrosse is 39-7 overall over the the last four seasons.
The Leopards earned the No. 2 ranking in Class 2-1A following the 2008 season, after giving nationally known and record breaking Smith Center the closest run for its money in a 32-14 loss during the third round of the playoffs.
“That’s the reason I play football,” Musil said of competing against the Redmen in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons. “They are a good football team. That’s what we want. We want to see LaCrosse’s name up there with the Smith Centers and the Oakleys. We want to be considered one of the elite teams in 2A.”
Musil’s senior season was his most productive. Despite carrying the ball a limited number of times in some games, Musil rushed for 1,271 yards and 21 touchdowns on just 110 carries.
When you throw in his 27 receptions for 465 yards, Musil accounted for 27 total touchdowns during his final season.
For his career, the three-sport star rushed 367 times for 3,436 yards and 57 touchdowns, caught 83 passes for 1,486 yards and another 13 touchdowns and was in on 226 tackles, including 17 sacks.
Musil was credited with a career-high 92 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and four fumble recoveries during his senior campaign.
While Musil enjoys knocking heads with any opposing player that dares to get in his way, he is willing to take any path to get to where he needs to be, whether he’s making a tackle or simply trying to get into the end zone.
He lives by the motto of his idol Emmitt Smith.
“He has this saying, ‘I can go around, go over, go under or go through a player,’” Musil said. “I’ve kind of adopted that (slogan).
“The way I look at it, I get the first step and he has to follow it. You have to think quick on the move. I look to see how he’s leaning. I then have a check list that I go through real quickly, and then I react off of that.”
Besides starring on the football field, Musil made an impact on the basketball court and on the track as well.
He averages a team-leading 12.7 points per game for the 9-4 Leopard basketball team and is the team’s No. 2 rebounder with 6.3 boards per outing.
Musil also helped the Leopards score 22 points at the 2008 state track and field meet on their way to an eighth place finish last spring.
He finished fourth in the 110 high hurdles (15.56 seconds) and ran the second leg of both the 400-meter and 1600 meter relays, which finished fifth and seventh, respectively.