Chuck
Landon
Daily Mail sportswriter
Marcus Fitzgerald weighs 195 pounds.
But
he ain't heavy.
He's
Larry Fitzgerald's brother.
That's
why the former University of Pittsburgh
All-American wide receiver traveled from the "Steel
City" to South Charleston Saturday to watch his
younger brother, Marcus, participate in Marshall
University's annual spring practice at Oakes Field.
"I
drove down from Pittsburgh because I have to
come out here and support him," said the elder
Fitzgerald, who is expected to be one of the first players
selected in the 2004 NFL Draft on April 24. "I'm
really proud of him. Really proud of him."
It's
not just brotherly pride, either. It's also football
player pride.
Fitzgerald
admires the fact that his younger brother enrolled at
Marshall at mid-year, is coping with his first collegiate
spring practice as the truest of true freshmen and,
besides all that, is making the unexpected transition from
running back to wideout.
"He's
doing something that I never had to do in my career,"
said Fitzgerald. "He's dealing with adversity right
now, coming to college in January and being moved to a
position that he's never played before.
"He's
dealing with it so good. I don't know if I could have
handled it as well as he has. He is so hungry and eager to
learn a position that he wasn't expecting to come in and
play.
"That's
why I'm so proud of him."
Larry
is proud because the Fitzgerald brothers are extremely
close. That's the real reason he was in South
Charleston Saturday. Fitzgerald is committed to helping
his younger brother in any and every way possible.
So,
when Marcus asked him to attend the practice, Larry didn't
hesitate.
"He
has asked me everything you could possibly ask about
playing wide receiver," said the elder Fitzgerald,
with a big brotherly grin. "He asked me to come down
here and watch him practice. That's what I'm here doing.
"I'm
going to go back today and we're going to break this
practice videotape down. I'm going to tell him what he's
doing right. I know his coaches are doing that already, as
well. But I think he might be able to relate better to me,
being his brother. So, I'm going to do that.
"And
I brought a tape from Pittsburgh -- some
practice tape and some game tape. I'm going to let him
watch that, too. So, he can watch some of the things that
I do. That will help him get to where I'm at now."
That's
how it is between the Fitzgerald brothers. No one is
prouder of Larry's success than Marcus. And no one is more
certain of Marcus' future stardom than Larry.
"He's
definitely a playmaker," said Larry. "Fans are
going to see that throughout his career. He's definitely
going to make some outstanding plays for this university.
"He
already has adapted to wide receiver really well. He's a
natural athlete. He has great speed and he has real soft
hands. A football player is a football player. He's a
football player.
"He's
smart. He's an intelligent kid. It's only going to be so
long until he picks it up.
"So,
I just told him, 'It's going to make you a better football
player, if you learn to play receiver. Later on down the
road if they move you back to running back, you'll know it
all then.' "
Besides
supplying outstanding brotherly advice, Fitzgerald was as
affable as he was articulate. He signed autograph after
autograph for fans, drawing the line only once.
When
one man asked Fitzgerald to autograph the bill of his WVU
ball cap, the former Pitt star grinned and said, "I
can't do that."
Fitzgerald
also pulled a humorous prank on politician Joe Manchin.
When the West Virginia gubernatorial
candidate told Fitzgerald he was a WVU graduate and, then,
asked the Pitt standout to pose for a photograph,
Fitzgerald readily complied.
But
just before the camera shutter clicked, Fitzgerald
suddenly pulled out a gray T-shirt with "PITTSBURGH"
lettered across the front and held it up in front of the
surprised Manchin.
"Can
you believe he did that to me?" said Manchin with a
grin.
Fitzgerald
obviously knows how to take advantage of a situation. He
and Marcus both learned that at an early age, grabbing the
chance to serve as ball boys for the Minnesota Vikings and
turning it into the opportunity of a lifetime.
"My
brother and I, we had a great advantage over every other
player out here," said the elder Fitzgerald. "We
were able to work with the professional athletes. That
gives us such a huge advantage, because we see what it
takes to be at the highest level.
"We're
not going to be satisfied until we make it back there
again.
"That
is the frame of mind my brother has and it's the same way
I think."
That
is the attitude that made Fitzgerald an All-American wide
receiver. And the trek from Pittsburgh to
South Charleston? That is the attitude that makes
Fitzgerald an All-American big brother.
Even
though Marcus ain't heavy, it's a duty Larry Fitzgerald
doesn't take lightly.
