Many people will tell you that South Bend, Indiana, is the heart of college football. If that's so, then it's appropriate that Owen Marecic (2007-2010) chose that stage to announce himself to the world. With Stanford holding a fairly comfortable 19-6 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Cardinal began an eleven-play drive that would culminate in a Marecic touchdown from one yard out. Following the two-point conversion and kickoff, the Irish looked to climb back into the game. On their first play from scrimmage, however, quarterback Dayne Crist dropped back to pass and threw an interception to Marecic, who sprinted twenty yards into the end zone for his second touchdown in thirteen seconds. Suddenly it was 34-6, and the Cardinal had arrived as well.
Initially there was an idea that Marecic's two-way play was simply a gimmick or even a publicity stunt, but it quickly became clear that he was the real deal. As an inside linebacker in Vic Fangio's 3-4 defense, Marecic was largely responsible for making adjustments at the line of scrimmage and he was one of the most physical players on that side of the ball. As the fullback on offense he was the linchpin of one of the most devastating running attack in school history, helping to clear the way for Stepfan Taylor, Anthony Wilkerson, and all the rest.
There have been two-way players in the past, but most of them were gimmicks. A coach would have a supremely talented player and realize he needed to find more ways to get him the ball. Michigan's Charles Woodson, for example, was a shutdown cornerback who also happened to be the fastest guy on the field, so Coach Lloyd Carr would insert him into the offense ten or fifteen times a game to run a crossing route or a fly pattern. He wasn't really a two-way player.
Marecic, though, played two of the most physical positions on the field, and he was out there for a combined ninety to a hundred plays a game. In addition to the pounding he took, he also had to use his head. He wasn't simply locking down one receiver on defense and running simple routes on offense. He was learning two giant play books, calling defensive plays at the line of scrimmage as a linebacker, and blocking linebackers as a fullback. Basically, he did what almost no one in the modern history of college football has ever done, and he did it well.
Following the season, his efforts received recognition in the form of first-team All-Pac-10 and All-America selections. He also finished tenth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, receiving three first place votes. There will be other great players to wear the Cardinal and White, but it's quite possible that there will never be another Owen Marecic.
Previously ranked:
#10 Tommy Vardell
#11 Tank Williams
#12 Steve Stenstrom
#13 Riall Johnson
#14 Kailee Wong
#15 Eric Heitmann
#15 Chris Marinelli
#16 John Lynch
#17 Kwame Harris
#18 Chase Beeler
#19 Willie Howard
#20 Shayne Skov
#21 DeRonnie Pitts
#22 Anthony Bookman
#23 Sione Fua
#24 Richard Sherman
#25 John Hopkins
*My first thought was to try to come up with a list of the best Stanford football players of all-time, but I quickly realized that I'm not qualified. I've only been watching Stanford football since the fall of 1987, so I can't really comment intelligently on players who suited up before then. Sure, I know that Jim Plunkett belongs, but I know nothing about Randy Vataha. Sports Illustrated once named Ernie Nevers the greatest college football player of all-time, and that's certainly good enough for me, but how can I possibly rank him against players of a more modern era? So I decided to create a list of the best Stanford players that I've actually seen in my time as a fan, and since that's roughly twenty-five years, I'm calling it the Silver Squad. (Catchy, isn't it?) Anyway, I'd love to hear your own memories of these players, and I won't be offended if you argue about who should or should not have been included on this list. Enjoy.
