EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in an 8-part series highlighting the elite football players in the area who encompass leadership, athleticism and game-changing ability for their teams in 2017. The players are taken from the rosters of high school teams in The Star-Herald coverage area and are nominated by their coaches. Sports editor Stan Beall makes the selections. The players will be revealed one at a time over an 8-week period and are in no particular order. Previously selected were Kosciusko’s Kadarius Banks, Ethel’s Ty’Kevin Wade and Kosciusko’s Jaquan Williams.
Some players make a name for themselves off the field with their personalities or antics that may be good or bad, but with McAdams High School senior QB/CB Marquell Tinnie, he is just not comfortable being the center of attention unless he is on the football field. This week’s Elite 8 selection rushed for 868 yards last year in an offense dominated by big power back and recently graduated Mark Stewart. Finding that many yards on the ground was quite the accomplishment, considering Stewart accounted for 80 percent of the Bulldogs offense.
“He’s a great leader and he listens well,” said McAdams head football coach Jim Risen. “He infuses enthusiasm and confidence and he has high morals and good integrity about himself. He just has natural leadership abilities and is able to run the offense.”
Risen is really encouraged with how Tinnie handles himself in pressure situations and speaks of how disciplined he is as a football player and how quickly he grasped the playbook. “He comes up here (fieldhouse) to work out on his own and at times he will sit down and converse with you about the playbook. That’s key right there,” added Risen.
Tinnie was excited to find out he had been selected as an Elite 8 player and is motivated to get even better at what he does before the season starts. “It felt really good to be selected to the Elite 8 team because I have never taken a leadership position on the team until now,” said Tinnie. “My main goal is to win a state championship this year and switching my position from running back to quarterback has really helped me because I have learned all the positions on the field and I look forward to scoring touchdowns and winning a lot of games.”
When Tinnie is not playing football, he likes to be creative with his hands by building things he sees on You Tube. He wants to major in engineering while in college and says that Alabama is his favorite college team. He also loves to hang out with his friends, running and playing games online. Tinnie stated that he loves running and will run track when the football season is over.
“I like being a team player and I like scoring,” said Tinnie. “I like the physical part of the game and I love tackling and I don’t mind getting tackled. Before a game I like to listen to music and talk with my teammates about what we are going to do during the game. I like to pay attention to detail during walk-throughs to make sure that we have all our assignments right.” While talking to Tinnie, there is no doubt he is a stickler for the game plan and that is one of the things coach Risen most admires about him.
“I thinks his speed is going to help us, but I think his ability to read defenses and judge situations on the field is really going to help us,” added Risen. “He has really good morals and he is just a natural leader on the field. He is a different person on the football field. He is the voice on the football field and he is the central figure when he is out there. Marquell is laid-back and very quiet off the field but on the field he is a total leader. His leadership, love of the game and desire is really what sets him apart from other players.”
Risen not only admires Tinnie for his athleticism and prowess on the football field but also admires his character. “I think he’s got character and he’s a first-class person overall as a student, athlete and as an individual,” he added. “That’s going to make him a good husband and a good father one day.”
“Last year we weren’t really working out as hard in the summer as we are right now,” concluded Tinnie. “We are working out much harder this summer and I think that is going to make a big difference in this upcoming season. I can read the field better this year and I am taking it more serious this year and I do more work while I am at the house as well. When I am out there on the field I play for my school, coach and my family.”
