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Spring Spotlight: Marquez Sanford
4/10/2018 12:03:00 PM | Football
As spring practice continues for the Murray State football team, GoRacers.com recently caught up with senior defensive back for his thoughts on a variety of topics.
GoRacers.com: You are heading into your senior year, what initially led you to choose Murray State?
Marquez Sanford: I chose Murray State because when I came on my visit it was like a family thing here. I had guys like KD [Humphries] and Lamont [Crittendon] showing me what this program was all about and it just felt like home and family and that is one of the biggest reasons I chose it. Plus, coaching wise, Coach Stewart was one of the first guys to offer me and it was his first year coaching. He told me flat out that he wanted me here and that made me feel not only wanted, but needed, and that to me also felt like home.
GR: As a senior, when you are not out on the field, you are constantly talking to the guys that are and helping them out and talking to guys on the sideline. Do you feel like that is your role as a senior, to not only be a player, but almost like a coach as well?
MS: The biggest thing for me is to help everyone on this team get better. I have been in this league for four years now, and I am just trying to get everyone on the level I am on when it comes to seeing things on the field, so that we are all clicking and on the same page. I am like an extra coach out there on the field and I just want to help everyone get better.
GR: The team goal every year is an OVC Championship, but what is one goal this year for you individually?
MS: My goal is to catch my boy D'Montre [Wade] in career interceptions. I need five more to catch him and that would give me 10 for my career, so just trying to catch my boy.
GR: What are some ways Coach [John Michael] Clay and the strength and conditioning program have helped you this off-season?
MS: Coach Clay has helped me with a lot of things like speed and putting on eight pounds. So for me to be 188 right now is great because that means I have a lot of strength behind me. Even with the added weight, I haven't lost any speed, so Coach Clay to me, did a really wonderful job.
GR: You are a guy that has played football your entire life. What does the sport of football mean to you?
MS: It means life. It is really the only thing I have known since I was small and I have been playing for 13 years now. It means everything to me. Even when I am not playing anymore, it is something I will always be around in one form or another. Football is my natural habitat.
GR: You came here with your girlfriend [Racer track and field student-athlete Tamdra Lawrence]. What has meant for you to have her on this journey with you?
MS: She's my rock. When I have my down days and games, she is one of the ones who will help me get back up and carry me. Everyone needs a strong person that that supports them in their personal life away from other things and that's what she does for me. When I am down, she knows how to get me away from football and feel better, to the point where I can come back out here and produce, even after the bad stuff happens.
GoRacers.com: You are heading into your senior year, what initially led you to choose Murray State?
Marquez Sanford: I chose Murray State because when I came on my visit it was like a family thing here. I had guys like KD [Humphries] and Lamont [Crittendon] showing me what this program was all about and it just felt like home and family and that is one of the biggest reasons I chose it. Plus, coaching wise, Coach Stewart was one of the first guys to offer me and it was his first year coaching. He told me flat out that he wanted me here and that made me feel not only wanted, but needed, and that to me also felt like home.
GR: As a senior, when you are not out on the field, you are constantly talking to the guys that are and helping them out and talking to guys on the sideline. Do you feel like that is your role as a senior, to not only be a player, but almost like a coach as well?
MS: The biggest thing for me is to help everyone on this team get better. I have been in this league for four years now, and I am just trying to get everyone on the level I am on when it comes to seeing things on the field, so that we are all clicking and on the same page. I am like an extra coach out there on the field and I just want to help everyone get better.
GR: The team goal every year is an OVC Championship, but what is one goal this year for you individually?
MS: My goal is to catch my boy D'Montre [Wade] in career interceptions. I need five more to catch him and that would give me 10 for my career, so just trying to catch my boy.
GR: What are some ways Coach [John Michael] Clay and the strength and conditioning program have helped you this off-season?
MS: Coach Clay has helped me with a lot of things like speed and putting on eight pounds. So for me to be 188 right now is great because that means I have a lot of strength behind me. Even with the added weight, I haven't lost any speed, so Coach Clay to me, did a really wonderful job.
GR: You are a guy that has played football your entire life. What does the sport of football mean to you?
MS: It means life. It is really the only thing I have known since I was small and I have been playing for 13 years now. It means everything to me. Even when I am not playing anymore, it is something I will always be around in one form or another. Football is my natural habitat.
GR: You came here with your girlfriend [Racer track and field student-athlete Tamdra Lawrence]. What has meant for you to have her on this journey with you?
MS: She's my rock. When I have my down days and games, she is one of the ones who will help me get back up and carry me. Everyone needs a strong person that that supports them in their personal life away from other things and that's what she does for me. When I am down, she knows how to get me away from football and feel better, to the point where I can come back out here and produce, even after the bad stuff happens.
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