Mike Carter is the athletic director

and head football coach at Johnstown-

Monroe High, and he has coached

Marcus throughout his entire high

school experience. Because Marcus’s

older brother, Dustin, had played for

the Johnnies, Carter knew that with

Marcus he was getting a young man

from a great family; he would have

a work ethic second to none. “We

strongly believe here that hard work will

pay off in big dividends, as long as you

believe and give it all you’ve got. We

tell kids to be tough, try as hard as they

can, and have fun.”

Carter says that thanks to his

introduction to conditioning with the

Readiness program, Marcus had good

technique and was ready to get strong

– which he did sooner than expected.

“Marcus’s quickness improved tremendously

during his freshman year, so by

his sophomore year he became a starter

at defensive back.” Carter says that by

his junior year his strength levels had

improved tremendously, so he was

moved to starting tailback, rushing for

more than 1,000 yards, while also playing

outside linebacker.

In 2006, Carter says, Marcus’s

dedication to being the best he could

be – “He was always the first one in the

weightroom and the last one to leave” –

had a positive effect on his teammates.

“Marcus was not the most vocal of our

players, but his work ethic made him

stand out as a fantastic leader. When

you have a young man who works hard

and has high goals and aspirations, the

other kids start to look at that and join

in.” And that’s exactly what happened:

Along the way Marcus became cocaptain

of the basketball, baseball and

football teams.

When describing Marcus’s character,

Carter says, “It’s unbelievable

how humble this young man is. He has

never been in trouble, from kindergarten

to 12th grade – he is the perfect,

role-model student, very likeable, very

quiet, and friends to everyone.” Carter

adds that in his spare time, Marcus

is involved in the local 4-H club and

participates in fairs where he shows and

sells farm animals.

A snapshot of Marcus’s character

occurred in one of his breakout games

in his junior year. Says Carter, “All

the reporters wanted to interview him,

and Marcus came up to me and said,

‘Coach, I only want to do this interview

if I can bring the linemen with me,

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