Barrolle excels as top D-III running back for Texas Lutheran despite short stature
Just 5 feet, 4 inches tall and 150 pounds, Marquis Barrolle uses his size to his advantage as the second-leading rusher in Division III football. Courtesy of Bailee Bauman
On the first play of his first fall practice at Texas Lutheran University, Marquis Barrolle ran by a defender with a change of direction, then beat another by hurdling over him.
The entire Bulldogs coaching staff turned and stared at each other in astonishment.
“At first, I was like ‘Oh snap, this is kind of easy,’” Barrolle said.
After averaging 5.7 yards per carry through his first six games last year, Barrolle’s freshman season ended due to a thumb injury.
And so far in 2014, Barrolle has outperformed the standard he set last year. Through eight games, he is second in Division III in rushing yards with 1,327 and tied for ninth in touchdowns with 13. But what makes Barrolle stand out most is his size — 5 feet, 4 inches and 150 pounds.
“He’s like a bar of soap with legs, that’s what we call him,” left tackle Matt Hochstrasser said.
What Hochstrasser called a “slippery” style of running earned Barrolle the nickname.
He hides behind his offensive lineman, making it difficult for defenders to spot him. He finds ways to turn broken plays into positive yardage and often times, sticks his hand on the ground to keep his body from falling.
“He has an uncanny ability to have his feet knocked out from under him and end up on his feet and still running,” TLU head coach Danny Padron said. “It’s just remarkable.”
To practice his balance, Barrolle strategically walks along curbs and tries not to fall off. He’s been doing this since he was 6 years old and it simulates tiptoeing the sideline.
In team drills, Barrolle doesn’t stop running until he’s 50 yards down the field, Padron said. Nearly everyday in practice, Barrolle makes plays that impress his coaches, Padron added.
Growing up, Barrolle wanted to be like his father, who is 6 feet tall. But Barrolle is closer in height to his mother, who is 4 feet, 11 inches, and has come to grips with it.
“No, not at all,” Barrolle said, when asked if his height frustrates him.
Graig Hesseltine, Barrolle’s varsity head coach at Ingleside (Texas) High School, saw him play for the first time when he was in seventh grade.
Barrolle took a toss to the left side, avoided four would-be tacklers, bumped into another defender, put his hand on the ground for balance, spun around and kept running.
“I knew something was pretty special about the kid,” Hesseltine said.
As a freshman, Barrolle would have made varsity, but an injury kept him off the team. In each of the next three years, he led the team in rushing.
Hesseltine has coached players that went to Division I schools and said Barrolle was just as talented as any of them. Despite his success in high school, Barrolle wasn’t offered a D-I scholarship.
“I told everybody that came through here, I said, ‘Y’all are missing out on a great opportunity to get somebody that can really help your program,’” Hesseltine said.
In high school, Barrolle would run up walls, do front flips, back flips and handsprings, Hesseltine said. Years later, he is still impressing people with his agility and athleticism.
With two more seasons to continue to grow and get stronger in college, Padron said he thinks Barrolle might have a shot at making it to the NFL.
Regardless of his future plans, Padron said Barrolle has already made a statement as a successful college football player.
Said Padron: “I don’t think he has to prove anything to anybody anymore.”
