By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune
Marshall Faulk is in Dallas this week to do his job.
The Times-Picayune archive Running back Marshall Faulk scored 100 rushing touchdowns and 36 receiving touchdowns and made first-team all pro three times and second-team three times.
An analyst for the NFL Network, Faulk, a New Orleans native turned NFL star running back, will help break down Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers .
But on Saturday, Faulk will sit back and let others analyze his playing career. He and 14 others will have their NFL resumes vetted by a collection of Pro Football Hall of Fame voters .
“I’m excited about it on every level,” Faulk said. “I’m anxious about it. I’m excited to be in the process. It’s an honor. This is awesome on every level, regardless of where you come from. Any time you get an opportunity to experience this honor, you embellish and you enjoy it.”
Faulk starred at Carver in the early 1990s, and made a name for himself as a multi-purpose player.
Back then, it was hard for him to fathom he could become the first New Orleans native inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
But after a stellar 12-year NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams that left him 10th all-time in the NFL in rushing with 12,279 yards, a winner of the 2000 Super Bowl and the 2000 NFL MVP with the St. Louis Rams, Faulk stands to make history Saturday.
“It’ll definitely be special because I’ve been around for a long time and I have seen some great athletes, and for this guy (potentially) to be the first inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame that just blows your mind,” said Wayne Reese, Faulk’s coach at Carver. “But he deserves it. And everything that goes along with it, he should have it.”
Former Saints offensive tackle Willie Roaf, running backs Curtis Martin, Jerome Bettis and cornerback Deion Sanders are among 15 finalists for the class of 2011. The other finalists are receivers Tim Brown, Andre Reed and Cris Carter; center Dermontti Dawson; defensive ends Richard Dent, Charles Haley and Chris Doleman; defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy; and tight end Shannon Sharpe, along with NFL filmmaker Ed Sabol. Senior nominees Chris Hanburger and Les Richter also will be considered.
“This should be one of the easiest days ever for the Hall of Fame selection committee,” NFL Network analyst Charles Davis said. “No need for speeches, recitation of statistics and career achievements. When the names Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders are presented, it’s simple. Welcome to the Hall of Fame, gentlemen. Your spots were reserved from the moment you retired.”
Without coming across as conceited, Faulk admitted that he liked his chances of being one of the five selections. On the ballot for the first time after retiring in 2006, Faulk knows getting in so early is never an easy task.
But he’s also aware of all that he accomplished.
Faulk played in seven Pro Bowls, scored 100 rushing touchdowns and 36 receiving touchdowns. He also caught 767 passes for 6,875 yards, and made first-team All Pro three times and second-team on three occasions.
His accomplishments don’t stop there.
Faulk is the only player to have 12,000 yards rushing and 6,000 yards receiving and the only player in NFL history to rush for more than 70 touchdowns and catch more than 30 touchdowns.
His No. 28 jersey was retired by the Rams in 2007.
“I do (like my chances),” Faulk admitted. “I understand the process. I understand the type of players that they want in. I just hope that it is viewed in the same way. I believe we all look at our own work regardless of what it is, and we are a little narcissistic about it because it is our own work. But I hope that the writers see it how I saw it, and like a lot of people said they saw it.”
Rich Eisen, a co-worker at the NFL Network, said Faulk is a no-brainer first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Eisen said he even discussed Faulk’s chances with St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Bernie Miklasz, who will speak for Faulk on Saturday when the selection committee meets to decide which players get inducted.
“I told Bernie you should just stand up and say the words ‘Marshall Faulk’ and sit down,” Eisen said. “There’s nothing else you have to say.
“If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Fame, there shouldn’t be a first ballot. I’m not just saying that because I’m biased, having known him pretty much since he stepped off the field, and having worked with him. From the research that I’ve done, he has for a running back an incredible record. I believe only 17 receivers in the Hall of Fame have more receptions than Marshall, so that just goes to show you what a dual threat he was.”
Long before Faulk ran into the NFL record books, Reese, Faulk’s prep coach, knew there was something special about the fast and shifty kid from the Desire housing development.
Reese said Faulk always carried himself well. And he had a drive like no other player Reese had coached.
“Marshall was a guy who fit right in as a ninth-grader,” Reese said. “As Marshall continued to grow, he became one of those guys on the football field who could do any and everything. He could play quarterback, defensive back, running back. He could do it all.
“You could see the guy was special. And with all the talent that he had, he was a humble kid. You never would see him frown or get angry. The only time he would get angry was when he couldn’t stay in the football game. He thought he was supposed to stay in the game for 48 minutes of football.”
He also announced early on that he was going to make it, whether that was to the NFL or simply out of the projects.
At 15, Faulk, who was just then finding his niche in the backfield at Carver, surprised his mother Cecile Faulk when she returned home from work and he deadpanned: ‘Mama, one day you’re not going to have to work anymore. I’m going to take care of you.’”
It was obvious then that Faulk’s plans were different from many of his friends.
“He’s a guy that looks ahead,” Reese said. “He is a great business guy. He put everything in perspective, all the things that he wanted to do and accomplish.”
He went on to become a star player in high school. He then took the nation by storm as a freshman at San Diego State, rushing for a then-NCAA record 386 yards and seven touchdowns in his second game.
Faulk parlayed a brilliant college career into becoming the second overall pick in the 1994 draft by the Indianapolis Colts.
Shortly after, he made good on his promise to his mother, buying her a house and a new Lexus.
Faulk said he was simply making the most of the opportunities he had.
“Just as a kid that’s all we ever talked about,” he said. “And it was playful because when you living in the projects you dream about making it in life. And making it in life for us was getting a decent job and doing something with yourself, not becoming an NFL pro player and making it into the NFL Hall of Fame. It just doesn’t correlate.
“But that opportunity presented itself to me, and I took advantage of it. It was just a sweet, sweet opportunity for me to live out.”
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