Marshall Faulk’s Going To Canton

I want to congratulate former San Diego State Aztecs running back Marshall Faulk for his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame yesterday. But did you know there was one single event in his life that started him on his path from the Ninth Ward in New Orleans to the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio?

I wish I had kept a copy of The Daily Aztec, the school newspaper, to back this up but I remember sitting in my pickup truck in the bowels of the parking garage reading an interview Faulk did with the paper. In it he disclosed the reason why he chose to attend SDSU. We were the only college program in the nation that was willing to give him a shot at running back. Every other major college program that tried to recruit Faulk wanted to convert him into a defensive back.

I’m sure Faulk would have turned into a fine football player regardless, but can you imagine how different his life would have been if he never ran for a then-NCAA record 386 yards and scored seven touchdowns against the University of Pacific in his second collegiate game?

Like I said earlier, it’s the truth but I can’t prove it.