Marquee Moment
Marques Murrell, a connoisseur of fashionable footwear, was quick to spot a young man wearing the latest version of Michael Vick shoes a few years ago, back when Vick himself was fashionable.
A pair of black high tops with red and white trim produced by Nike.
He liked the shoes, and appreciated Vick’s fleet running ability, and related that to the young fan.
Little did Murrell, quick-footed in his own right, know that he’d one day get a chance to knock Vick off his feet.
Murrell, former Appalachian State sack specialist now with the New York Jets, provided a Mountaineer highlight last Thursday when he sacked and stripped the ball from Vick in a 38-27 preseason victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
It was another step in the right direction for Murrell, who began his NFL career two years ago relegated and hanging on with the Eagles’ practice squad. He was traded to the Jets, emerged as a valuable special-teams player and, by preseason standards, has gained some notice as an end-turned-linebacker on a potentially-strong Jets defensive unit.
His brother, Adrian Murrell, was a 1,000-yard rusher for the Jets a few years ago.
Murrell wound up this preseason with 10 tackles, including nine solos and one notable sack.
Murrell’s spot in ASU history is solidified as part of a great defensive-end tandem with Jason “Sticks” Hunter. They teamed to provide one of the most pivotal plays in Mountaineer annals, with Murrell forcing a fumble and Hunter returning it for a fourth-quarter, go-ahead touchdown against Northern Iowa in 2005 to seal the Mountaineers’ first national championship.
Speaking of Hunter (“Sticks” no more at 275 pounds), a trade from the Green Bay Packers to the lowly Detroit Lions might not be as bad as it sounds. He wound up in the starting lineup at defensive end in the preseason.
Safety Corey Lynch, another former ASU star, didn’t make this season’s 53-man roster for the Cincinnati Bengals, but was added to the Bengals’ practice squad today.
Two other former ASU players who were in the NFL last season are currently not on rosters. Receiver Dexter Jackson, a second-round pick in 2008 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who returned kicks the first seven games of last season, was recently released. And tight end Daniel Wilcox was released by the Baltimore Ravens. Wilcox got a tryout with the New Orleans Saints last week but remains a free agent.