He might be best known to Michigan fans for the iconic image of the hit he put on David Boston during the 1997 Michigan-Ohio State game. He might also be known for his gritty, hard-nosed play during that National Championship season of 1997 in which he registered five interceptions and 71 tackles while being named All-Conference. He might also be known for his smack-talk of Ohio State, which he certainly makes no apologies for.
[caption id="attachment_855" align="alignleft" width="230" caption="Marcus Ray flattens David Boston"]
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However, there is another side to Marcus Ray that most rarely have a chance to see. There’s man behind the athlete. Behind the tough exterior lies a man who is a charismatic leader that speaks eloquently and passionately about life, love and creating your future.
Marcus was born August 14, 1976 in Columbus, Ohio where he was raised in a single parent family to his mother Pamela Ray, who gave birth to him at 17.
“She had me at age 17, so it felt like we grew up together,” Marcus said. “My mom was the strongest influence on me because she was my best friend.”
Marcus didn’t meet his father Doug Ferguson until January of 1997. That situation may have shaped his life in more ways than maybe even he understands. While Marcus holds no grudges, he seemed to use his lack of a father figure as a motivational tool.
“He called me before the 1996 Penn State game for the first time in my life. I didn’t know how to take it, but I ended up with 16 tackles that game,” said Ray. “I think I suffered as a man due to the fact I didn’t have a true male influence in my life as a child…it really affected me later when I went to college because I’ve never respected male authority. That put a strain on my relationship with Lloyd Carr and other coaches when I was in college. I didn’t understand how to relate to them as men. It really affected me in my marriage. I wasn’t the best husband or father I could be and it cost me my family. I’ll be better for someone the second time around.”
There are over 13.7 million children living in single parent families in America according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That theme is something all too common amongst today’s youth, especially in larger cities. It has become the human condition. It’s a flawed piece of a flawed system, and a negative product of our society. It shapes lives, it creates lives, it rips them apart and some people are never able to pick up the pieces.
Marcus’ life was no doubt shaped by his upbringing, but he credits family, including his mother and his grandmother Mary, for their unconditional support and influence in a positive direction.
His family’s influence in one particular direction, however, may have backfired. It was inevitably their love of Ohio State that eventually led him to attend Michigan.
“I’ve never liked OSU and I never will,” Ray stated. “When I was about six years old I began watching and understanding football. My whole family rooted for OSU, but I have always been the type to go against the grain. I wondered why everyone hated Michigan. Once I saw Michigan play, I knew why. Michigan was a great program. From that age on, I made a decision I was gonna play for Michigan.”
[caption id="attachment_854" align="alignright" width="241" caption="Marcus describes Charles like his brother"]
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It used to be a trend for Michigan football teams to pluck some of the best kids right of Ohio State’s backyard; to get great athletes like Marcus, Desmond Howard, and Charles Woodson who Marcus says is like a brother to him. That trend seemed to have declined during the Rich Rodriguez tenure, but has undoubtedly returned under Brady Hoke, much to the chagrin of Buckeye fans.
"An OSU coach called a traitor when I wouldn’t come to camp in 1993,” said Ray. They would tell him, “you are not big enough to play fullback and not fast enough to play safety, but we want to keep our Buckeyes in Ohio. We have a scholarship if you want it, but if you don’t want it don’t worry about it.” Marcus responded “No, thanks. We will settle this once a year.”
Marcus eventually signed his Letter of Intent for the Wolverines, and redshirted his freshman year in 1994. A year later, he started six games for the Wolverines donning the number 29, in honor of Eric Turner.
[caption id="attachment_856" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Eric Turner during his UCLA days"]
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Eric Turner was an All-American Defensive Back at UCLA before being drafted with the second overall pick in 1991 by the Browns. He played 9 seasons for the Browns, Ravens, and Raiders before he died in 2000 of intestinal cancer at the age of 31. The incident occurred two weeks after Turner released a media statement saying that he was not, in fact, gravely ill.
“Eric Turner was my mentor and my idol. I wore 29 at Michigan because of ET. He helped me make the team (Raiders) in 1999,” he recalled. “Eric Turner's death devastated me. I was in Europe when got the news and I fainted. He was a mentor and a football God to me. I looked up to him greatly. I have a tattoo on my right arm that says: E-Turnal 29 with Angel wings and a Halo."
In 1996, Marcus started 12 games at strong safety and recorded 100 tackles and three interceptions en route to being named All-Conference. Then in 1997 Marcus, along with fellow defensive backs Charles Woodson and Tommy Hendricks (all started 12 games), led the Wolverines to a share of the National Championship while setting the NCAA Division 1-A record for fewest yards allowed per completion. That season was also marked by one of the most iconic hits for Michigan football; the hit he put on David Boston during the Wolverines 20-14 victory over Ohio State.
This was, however, not the first time the two had become acquainted with each other. Marcus was very familiar with David, and neither minced words about their distaste for each other.
“[It] originally started in December 1995/January 1996. Boston was on his recruiting visit and he called me and Charles out! He told us to our face that we were scrubs and he was gonna attend OSU,” said Ray. “The rest is history.”
During the 4th Quarter, Joe Germaine rolled right on 3rd and 15, releasing a clearly overthrown pass. Boston leaped into the air to try to catch the pass, and Marcus circled under him. He hit him in mid-air, sending Boston falling to the ground flat on his back, in obvious pain.
“He just scored on Woodson in the 3rd quarter and I wanted a piece of David and his big mouth,” quipped Ray. “He crossed the middle and entered the Ray Zone. I didn’t get the shot I wanted on him, but it was good enough. The Boston Massacre.”
As Marcus says, the rest is history, and the Wolverines grabbed a share of the National Championship following the Rose Bowl against Washington. It was a high point for Marcus and his teammates, with only one place left to go. In 1998, Marcus’ career began to spiral for the worse.
“My career began to end when I got suspended my senior year at Michigan. It took me almost twelve years to recover from that. I was 22 with the world in my hands. One day, America’s sweetheart, and a defending National Champion, then I was the villain by the end of the night of September 17, 1998,” Ray lamented.
He was suspended for six games of the 1998 season by then Head Coach Lloyd Carr, due to allegations of improper contact with a sports agent. It turns out that one of the allegations against Marcus was allowing a sports agent to pay for a hotel room for him. Ray has always claimed the contrary; he still says that was not the case and things were misconstrued.
“My suspension was a crazy situation,” he said. “I took out a loan for my disability insurance after I saw my preseason draft status. Mel Kiper had me the 3rd best safety on the board behind Anthony Poindexter and a guy from UCLA. I had a 1.5 million dollar policy, which cost me about $15,000 or so. The bank was giving away free tickets as a guest to their suite at the Cincinnati Jazz Festival. I got two tickets from the bank, but I picked them up from an agent’s office. He didn’t hand the (tickets) to me, they were in an envelope at the front desk. Some of my friends and family were there. By the time I was checking out of my hotel, my mom’s friend didn’t want to pay for her room. All my money was spent and my credit cards were maxed out. While I was at the front desk, the agent called my phone to check on my weekend. He was in [New York]. I told him what was going on. He spoke to my mom’s friend, [and] the lady at the front desk, next thing I know the room was paid for. A room I never slept in. My mom’s friend had been secretly trying to ‘hook up’ with the agent who was recruiting me out of Cincinnati. He refused and she became upset. My mother and this same lady had a fight a week after the Jazz Fest and that lady hooked up with some OSU connections and sent an anonymous letter to the NCAA. She got paid about $50,000, received a car, a house and a year off work. About a month and a half later, Lloyd called me into his office and then we met with the AD, and the next day they called a press conference to announce my suspension.”
This isn’t exactly the shock and awe that it used to be, but at the time it was a big deal in college sports because it was still somewhat of a rarity. Now, it’s everywhere you look. It’s on ESPN and the cover of Sports Illustrated. It’s Ohio State, Auburn, Oregon, USC, South Carolina and many more in between. It’s been a constant theme in the off-season for College Football this year. It’s such a theme that at this point most people are quite frankly, sick of hearing about it. They don’t necessarily wonder if it’s going to happen again, but when and to whom.
It’s the NCAA’s fault for having such a loose system based on monetary gain, and a lack of enforcement from a building that is seemingly empty. It’s the coaches fault to a lesser extent (in most instances) and policing 100+ players is a tough assignment. Telling them the rules however is not a tough assignment, and enforcing those rules should not be a debate. Quite simply, if you aren’t going to enforce the rules, why even have them?
After he left Michigan, Marcus entered the NFL draft where he went from a potential first round pick in 1998 to an undrafted free agent in 1999.
“I was distracted my senior year. I couldn’t handle it all. That’s when I needed my father the most I think. Peyton [Manning] had Archie in his corner from day one. I never had my dad, and I needed him when things got real in college. When Charles left for the NFL, I was lost. I didn’t know what to do.” said Ray.
[caption id="attachment_859" align="alignleft" width="223" caption="Marcus' 1997 National Championship Ring"]
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Woodson of course left for the NFL after the 1997 National Championship and entered the 1998 draft, foregoing his senior season. Woodson, the former Heisman trophy winner, was selected fourth overall by the Raiders in 1998, and has since developed into arguably one of the best cornerbacks to ever play the game.
Instead of entering early with Charles, Marcus decided to stay at Michigan for his senior year. The Raiders selected him as an undrafted, free agent in 1999, reuniting him with Woodson and his idol Eric Turner, but his suspension, bad press, and broken foot severely altered his NFL career.
“I had lost my passion. My foot was still broken when training camp started too, but after the season, Oakland sent me to NFL Europe, to the Scottish Claymores. My body couldn’t take two seasons of football in 12 months,” he lamented.
After pulling his groin in the last game of the season in NFL Europe, Marcus limped into camp with the Raiders as the 10th safety on the depth chart the next season.
“I didn’t understand how injured reserve really worked, so I played on my hurt groin and got cut once (Oakland) figured out I was hurt and about to sit out. I even signed a waiver stating I was 100% healthy just so I could leave (Oakland) believing I was going to get picked up by another team,” he said. “I was in Columbus nursing my groin. I was supposed to play in the XFL but no one had my contact info.”
In fact, the Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL had drafted him, but he was completely unaware.
Then, in 2001, he was drafted again by the Scottish Claymores and on the first padded practice of the season Marcus hurt his shoulder diving for an interception. On the very next play, he hit the tight end on a crossing route and completely blew out his shoulder for good.
His playing days were over.
For the next decade Marcus turned his attention to coaching and starting a family. He began coaching at the high school level, and then moved on to become a Defensive Backs coach at Ohio Dominican University. From there he was a Graduate Assistant at Michigan and Central Michigan before returning to Ohio Dominican to be an Assistant Coach and finally a Defensive Coordinator at Columbus Mifflin High School. During the same time, Marcus got married and had three sons, Marcus (9), Malik (6) and Marquis (2), with his now ex-wife Lynda.
“They are the loves of my life and my focus,” he said. “I don’t get a chance to see them as often as I like, but that will change with time.”
[caption id="attachment_858" align="alignleft" width="102" caption="Rays of Light, Volume 1 "Let There Be Light""]
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These days, Marcus is focused on his new company TEAM RAYROC, whom he just published his first book through. The book is called Rays of Light, Volume 1 “Let There Be Light," and is an inspirational quote book with ten different categories filled with puns, idioms, and homophones just to name a few. Rays of Light is presented as a realistic perspective on life and motivation from a former athlete.
“The book shows the reader how to make sense of a life experience in the physical and apply it figuratively,” he described it. “The best way to predict your future is to create it, and everything in life begins with a thought. It doesn’t cost you anything to think, but it can cost you a lot if you don’t.”
There is no doubt that his scenario could have played out much differently, and there is always a “what if,” question in life. What if Ray had entered the draft when Woodson did? What if he had not pulled his groin? The answers will unfortunately never be known, but Marcus is continually moving forward. The proof is in his life philosophy, his book, and his inspirational public speaking.
“The big picture is to become the premiere inspirational speaker in America. I want to become a household name for my knowledge, books and influence in the cities of America. I aim to travel to various cities and speak for the rest of my life,” he stated. “I am passionate about speaking. I want to be a positive influence on America’s youth.”
Marcus has truly become an inspiration for a wide variety of people. His book is now being spread throughout schools, churches and correctional facilities with the hope of touching and changing lives for the better through whoever picks it up. However, the coaching door for Marcus isn’t completely shut because of his new ventures.
“I would love to coach in college again. I will if Brady Hoke gives me an opportunity,” he said. “I would have those Defensive Backs playing off their rocker!!”
Whether or not that happens, only time will tell, and if not that’s ‘OK’ too. For now the focus is on speaking and writing; two things he has always loved to do. He is planning to release a second volume of Rays of Light and another book entitled 1997: The Making of a Champion in the coming year.
The future certainly looks bright for Marcus, and as Marcus would say, “I’ll be okay.”
Life is not about the setbacks; it’s about how you deal with them.
“If you cut off my left side, I will be ALL RIGHT. If you cut off my right side, there will still be some LEFT.”-Marcus Ray
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