UT's Marrow around action

9/23/2008

Desmond Marrow had quite an eventful second half on Saturday night against Fresno State.

Marrow, a starting cornerback for the University of Toledo, came back from a collision with a cannon early in the third quarter to recover an onside kick late in the fourth quarter.

He also was involved on the bad end of a play against Fresno State that was shown on ESPN's SportsCenter as one of the top plays of the day.

With Fresno State threatening on its opening drive of the second half at the Glass Bowl, quarterback Tom Brandstater attempted a pass to Chastin West in the south end zone that fell incomplete. Marrow was covering West and slid across the turf, landing headfirst into the gun of the cannon that traditionally sits in the southeast corner of the Glass Bowl end zone. Play had to be stopped while he was attended to and helped off the field.

"I don't know why I slid so far," Marrow said. "It wasn't really slick. I was just trying to make sure he wouldn't score obviously. I dove and hit [the cannon] headfirst. For a quick second I went out, and then the trainers were in my face.

"Then the fans were yelling, 'You took out the cannon, we're never going to have the cannon because of you.' Once I finally sat up, they were clowning around being funny."

When UT kicked a field goal midway through the third quarter to take a 24-20 lead, for the first time in 55 years a cannon was not shot off in the Glass Bowl. The base of the cannon was broken and it was moved out of the way for the rest of the game.

UT coach Tom Amstutz said he likes the cannon tradition but, "I would like to move it to a new location." He suggested the north end zone.

Trainers determined Marrow didn't have a concussion, so the 6-foot-3, 202-pound sophomore from Youngstown wanted to go back in.

That was delayed a bit when Marrow became sick to his stomach, but he returned to action in the fourth quarter.

Soon after, despite another good coverage job, Marrow got burned. He and rover Lester Richmond had Fresno's Isaac Kinter double-covered on his deep rout, but Brandstater's throw bounced off Marrow's shoulder pad and into the arms of Marlon Moore, who scored on the 38-yard pass play with 10:20 to play in regulation.

"We were just watching the film, and it hit me and the receiver, then Lester tipped it," Marrow said.

"Somehow they caught it. I got hit and didn't know where the ball was, and I saw them celebrating."

When the Rockets scored with 3:07 left in the fourth in UT's eventual 55-54 double-overtime loss, the UT coaches called for an onside kick. Marrow recovered the kick that gave UT possession at their 43-yard line.

"I'm actually not usually starting on kickoff," Marrow said. "Coach said go in and get the ball. I just tried to hide behind Beau Brudzinksi. [Brett] Brodbeck kicked it and my eyes got really big, and I just covered it up."

Marrow also forced a fumble in the second quarter that led to a UT touchdown drive.

INJURY UPDATES: Amstutz said he expects junior tailback DaJuane Collins to play this weekend against Florida International after Collins injured his ankle on Saturday and missed most of the second half and overtime.

Amstutz said he didn't know junior center Buster Garrett's status after Garrett injured his leg Saturday.

"Don't know for sure, we haven't heard any final updates on his condition," Amstutz said of Garrett, who was carted off the field midway through the second quarter.

Garrett was not listed on the depth chart released yesterday, with Nate Cole No. 1 at center.

STEIGERWALD HONORED: Alex Steigerwald's record-setting night earned him a Mid-American Conference special teams player of the week award. It's the second time in three weeks Steigerwald has won the award.

Steigerwald made two field goals on Saturday, from 33 and 37 yards, to break the MAC record for most consecutive field goals. He has made 20 in a row, one better than the former record by Jason Robbins, who kicked at UT from 2002-05.

Contact Maureen Fulton at:

mfulton@theblade.com

or 419-724-6160.