‘I love this school’: NFL star Brandon Marshall starry-eyed as Cimarron retires his jersey

By Jesse Granger

Saturday, May 14, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Growing up, Las Vegas native Brandon Marshall wanted to play running back. He wanted the glory, the attention, the touchdowns and, most important, the ball.

Marshall would show up at Cimarron-Memorial High School’s gym after school even as an eighth-grader. He made sure the coaches knew his face and that he would be a Spartan the following year.

But Marshall’s visions of running into the end zone were quickly halted thanks to the team's incumbent running back.

Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year Eddie Wide, who would go on to play at the University of Utah, had a firm grip on the starting spot, and Marshall was shifted to defense.

“I can still remember when they put me at linebacker and told me I would thrive at that position, and I thought I did pretty well,” Marshall said. “Then in college they moved me as a regular stack linebacker and that was my niche. It was a smooth transition from there.”

But while Marshall never got the ball and the touchdowns he craved, he certainly got the glory.

In February he helped lead the Denver Broncos to a victory in Super Bowl 50, and Friday he was honored at Cimarron as they retired his jersey, No. 21.

“This is a huge honor,” Marshall said. “I am at a loss for words, honestly. For my high school to recognize me as one of the greatest athletes to come through here, and possibly one of the best to come out of the city is dope.”

Marshall became the fifth player in school history to have his jersey retired, and only the second football player behind Vernon Fox — who also played for the Denver Broncos and now coaches at Faith Lutheran High.

The newly crowned Super Bowl champion’s smile stretched ear to ear as he entered the packed gymnasium to a deafening roar and embraced old coaches.

“It was a great moment and I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with (my old coaches), but it was cool to say hi,” Marshall said.

Ron Smeltzer, who coached the Spartans for nearly two decades, couldn’t be prouder of his former player.

“This is great and it is well-deserved,” Smeltzer said. “He is a high-character guy. He is a great kid. He has had some rough things coming up through his life and he has really responded very well.”

Smeltzer knew he had something special in Marshall almost immediately, and was astounded that college coaches and scouts didn’t see it.

“I couldn’t understand it because he was only really recruited and offered scholarships by two schools — Colorado State and University of Nevada, Reno,” Smeltzer said. “Coaches were coming through and I’m saying, ‘What is the problem here? Why aren’t you going after this kid?’ I guess he was just so good at everything that maybe they weren’t sure where to play him.”

Marshall would go on to start all four seasons for UNR before being drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

The Jaguars released Marshall multiple times before he finally landed in Denver in 2013.

Since then Marshall has become a leader on one of the league’s strongest defenses.

“He fought through all of that like he has with everything throughout his life,” Smeltzer said. “The Broncos gave him a chance and he proved himself.”

Marshall finished second on the team with 102 tackles in 2015, and had five tackles in the Broncos’ 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50.

“Winning the Super Bowl was amazing,” Marshall said. “It was surreal, kind of like a movie. When the confetti started coming down and the clock hit zero I’m looking around. I look at Peyton (Manning) and it hit me that we really won, we really did it. It was a memory that will last a lifetime.”

As a celebration of the 50th Super Bowl, the NFL sent golden footballs to the high school of every athlete that played in the game. Marshall autographed the football during the jersey-retiring ceremony.

That would be the first autograph of many for Marshall on Friday. As soon as the ceremony ended he was swarmed by the student body.

Even as school officials attempted to drag him away he signed a few more hats and footballs, and after the interviews ended he went right back outside to sign more memorabilia and take pictures with the students.

“It means the world to me,” Marshall said. “They honored me as a player, but I also think because of who I was when I was here. I didn’t get in trouble or anything and they appreciate that about me. I love this school.”