Meet Bradley Marquez: The St. Louis Rams’ Special Teams Ace

Aug 30, 2014; Lubbock, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders wide receiver Bradley Marquez (4) rushes for a touchdown against Central Arkansas corner back Prince Ene (26) in the second half at Jones AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Bradley Marquez Before the NFL

On December 14, 1992, Bradley Jerrill Marquez was born to Veronica Marquez and Brad Givens in the highly-populated small city of Odessa, Texas. The athletic ability of Marquez became apparent at a very young age, and he took advantage of it when he attended Odessa High School. There, he was a three-sport stud in football, track, and baseball. He excelled in football and baseball in particular, where he was the star running back and shortstop respectively.

Marquez’s father, Brad Givens, had already been a standout at Odessa as a running back, rushing for over 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in 1990 and 1991. Marquez proved to be even better than his father, rushing for 2,210 yards and 29 touchdowns in his senior season alone. He became a four-star athlete coming out of high school, eventually committing to Texas Tech to play football.

However, Marquez was highly touted for his baseball talents at the time as well, being selected by the New York Mets as an outfielder in the 16th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

He played baseball for the minor league Kingsport Mets in the spring, but decided to arrange a deal which allowed him to play football for Texas Tech while playing baseball part-time. The decision cost him $250,000 of his baseball contract, but the remaining $75,000 helped him in college expenses.

In the end, Marquez suffered a quadriceps injury after nine games with the Mets, where he batted a decent a .267 average.

Next: Marquez and Texas Tech