{"id":22575,"date":"2012-02-26T21:16:18","date_gmt":"2012-02-27T04:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=22575"},"modified":"2012-02-26T21:16:18","modified_gmt":"2012-02-27T04:16:18","slug":"apu-another-stop-in-marquardt%e2%80%99s-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/?p=22575","title":{"rendered":"APU Another Stop in Marquardt\u2019s Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

APU Left Tackle Luke Marquardt<\/p><\/div>\n

By Joe Torosian<\/p>\n

(Azusa)- To track the history of Azusa Pacific University left tackle Luke Marquardt one doesn\u2019t a need a birth certificate and physical description as much they need Map Quest and a GPS tracking system.<\/p>\n

Fully tracing his athletic career in print might require twists akin to Homer\u2019s \u201cOdyssey\u201d and a word count running as long as Tolstoy\u2019s \u201cWar and Peace\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Physical Education major has used changes in location (Colorado to Texas to Washington to California) as well as movement from sport to sport (football to basketball to football) and from position to position (quarterback, basketball center, tight end, offensive tackle) to reach a place where he is now considered a prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuke handles transition really well,\u201d said APU Offensive Coordinator Rudy Carlton. \u201cHe\u2019s a real selfless guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt for sure has strengthened me,\u201d says Marquardt about his perpetual motion in and out of athletics. \u201cWhat has developed me is that my parents have taken me on mission trips since I was young to the Dominican (Republic) almost every year. And in that context, overseas, you have to be open minded to the culture. To go with the flow. I trust God and where he is taking me. I know there are bigger and better plans so I keep working hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marquardt played one year of quarterback in Texas as a freshman and didn\u2019t step on a football field again until he arrived at APU. In high school, basketball was his first love but a knee injury derailed his prep career. He looked at college as an opportunity to get back on track.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to go to a christian university out of high school, and I wanted to play basketball,\u201d said Marquardt who set up a meeting with the school\u2019s basketball staff but a miscommunication ended that plan. \u201cI was only here for a day so my Mom said I should probably talk to the football coach. I wasn\u2019t sure, I hadn\u2019t played football since the ninth grade but she said try it, it doesn\u2019t hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

He met with head football coach Victor Santa Cruz who said he moved well for a big man and would make a great tight end.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously when you see his frame you are completely impressed,\u201d said Carlton. \u201cI envisioned him becoming a great tight end.\u201d<\/p>\n

After redshirting his freshman year, he broke his foot in the second game of the 2009 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were so thin on the offensive line I told the coaches if you want me to play offensive line I\u2019ll play it for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said \u2018I\u2019ll do anything I can to help the team,\u2019\u201d said Carlton.<\/p>\n

What at first seemed like a temporary gig, has become another transition that Marquardt has embraced. Arriving on campus in 2008 he was 6\u201910\u201d 230 pounds, he is now 6\u201910\u201d, 320 pounds and a candidate for the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen someone as big as him get such a low pad level,\u201d said Carlton. \u201cIt\u2019s why he\u2019s such a great run blocker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has unbelievable aggression,\u201d says Hall of Famer Jackie Slater, who played 20 years in the NFL for the Los Angeles\/St. Louis Rams and is the Cougars current offensive line coach. \u201cHe is technically sound and growing better all the time. He\u2019s going to play a lot of football. One of the reasons is because of the way he uses his ability. It\u2019s like a mandate, he\u2019s a very detail oriented person using everything the Lord has given him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, Marquardt\u2019s history when faced with change and adversity serves him well in the trenches.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has the perfect demeanor of an offensive lineman,\u201d says Slater. \u201cEmotionally he doesn\u2019t get too high or get too low. He has a mental dexterity that\u2019s been the benchmark for his success in overcoming adversity. He loves to hit and he loves to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about the chances of a D-2 player getting a serious look by the NFL Slater broke it down further.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuke has a natural athleticism. Offensive linemen with his height often struggle against explosive defensive ends who play with great leverage. He\u2019s worked on this with his arm range and strength to negate pass rushers. The NFL is drafting bigger offensive linemen now to wall out guys. We have a counter run game and pull our backside tackle, he pulls and makes adjustments and is consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBasketball definitely helped with my foot work,\u201d says Marquardt. \u201cI never worked so hard in my life. Big learning curve where you are in on every play, studying film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slater pointed out that the initial focus will be on Marquardt\u2019s competition, who he is playing against. At the D-1 level people will assume a guy is a very good player, but at this level he says scouts have to look at the tape.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you are looking for his consistent dominance, he doesn\u2019t get beat, he doesn\u2019t get pushed around,\u201d says Slater.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Slater totally flipped my views of the offensive line around, he\u2019s taught me everything,\u201d says Marquardt. \u201cThe techniques we\u2019ve gone over have made me a hundred percent better. Just learning that insight with him has been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Marquardt aspires for an NFL career he remains grounded in the consistent force of his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuke knows the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior,\u201d says Slater. \u201cHe\u2019s not afraid to pray in the presence of his teammates and tries to live that in the way he plays the game of football.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are a hard man, Odysseus. Your force is greater, your limbs never wear out. You must be made all of iron…” — The Odyssey<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe only reason I\u2019m here and the only reason I can play at this high level is because of God,\u201d says Marquardt. \u201cIt\u2019s everything I live with everyday and I do it for the glory of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Joe Torosian (Azusa)- To track the history of Azusa Pacific University left tackle Luke Marquardt one doesn\u2019t a need a birth certificate and physical description as much they need Map Quest and a GPS tracking system. Fully tracing his athletic career in print might require twists akin to Homer\u2019s \u201cOdyssey\u201d and a word count […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[871],"tags":[6828,1896,6637,6833,6827],"class_list":["post-22575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college","tag-azusa-pacific-cougars-football","tag-azusa-pacific-university","tag-jackie-slater","tag-luke-marquardt","tag-rudy-carlton"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22577,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22575\/revisions\/22577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/midvalleysports.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}