LORMAN &045; There are better methods available Fred Marsalis Jr. could have taken to humble himself and get ready to enter the world following his high school graduation.

Instead, he chose to take some tough licks from the Alcorn State football team.

As a freshman sitting out on red-shirt last year, he found out what it was like to be a tackling dummy &045; kind of like a piece of fresh meat in a kennel at the dog pound &045; while trying to keep his head and consciousness about him.

But he did, and he managed to get a little stronger in the process. Now the former Vidalia standout who walked on is on the depth chart with the Braves as fall camp enters its third week.

&uot;With me coming from a small town like Vidalia and a 2A school, to be able to get to this level &045; it’s humbling,&uot; Marsalis said. &uot;I’m really happy to have my red-shirt year out of the way, and I’m just happy to have the opportunity and happy I got invited back to training camp. The Lord blessed me with the opportunity, and I’m trying to take advantage of it.&uot;

Credit Marsalis for his sheer persistence and determination. He wasn’t even the marquee running back in high school, was undersized at 5-7 and 160 pounds, had decent speed and didn’t have many people in his corner when talk centered on his dream of playing college football.

He was already set on attending Alcorn &045; both his parents are Alcorn alums &045; on an academic scholarship prior to the 2004 season when he started asking around if the Braves couldn’t use an extra running back or someone to help out on special teams.

So what if he was small. He was willing to work hard and do the dirty work &045; the only way a walk-on can get respect.

&uot;He was referred to us by a guy in institutional research,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;He’s an academic scholar, makes good grades and works hard. Last year he came in on scouting unit, worked hard, got beat up a lot and wouldn’t quit. So I think he may make a contribution somewhere on the team.&uot;

Marsalis hasn’t quit anything yet, but he had to dig down deep and stay positive when it came to finding a spot on the roster. There could have been times when he could have walked away and concentrated on his studies after getting hit one too many times helping the defense work on drills.

But he just remembered a point in his high school career when he just didn’t want it to end. Football was too important to him, he thought, to simply walk away.

&uot;When I graduated from high school and we lost to West St. John (in the playoffs), it was hard for me to take my shoulder pads off,&uot; Marsalis said. &uot;I came up here and talked to Coach Thomas in the summer. He said he would give me an opportunity during the summer. I was really grateful for him. He could have told me he had enough people.

&uot;I got a lot of support from my friends. The things we preach here are having faith in yourself, have inner strength and keep positive people in your life. I always felt I had faith in myself to play college football.&uot;

Those friends were former Viking standouts C.J. Williams, Robert Walker and Rodney Washington. Washington, Marsalis said, will walk on at Grambling this year, while Williams is trying to do the same at Southern.

All three were similar to Marsalis &045; players who might have been classified as only good high school players but not college prospects.

At Alcorn, one of them is out to prove everyone wrong.

&uot;He went through that all of his life,&uot; said his father, Morgantown Elementary Fred Marsalis Sr. &uot;Everybody discounted him because of his size. His football coach probably was the only one who had a lot of confidence in him. Coach (Dee) Faircloth had a lot of confidence in him. Freddy wants to be in position to be in position to say, ‘Let me show you what I can do.’ He’s a self-driven person.&uot;

It’s been that work ethic in the weight room that may have allowed him to stick around so far. He got with ASU strength coach Antonio Wallace on a regular basis and spent time with a personal trainer in Natchez.

So far he’s seen the benefits. He had three carries in the spring game, is listed as fourth on the depth chart at running back and is expected to see action on punt team and punt returns. His 40 time went from 4.8 in high school to 4.5 now.

&uot;If he was a scholarship guy, he’d still work hard,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;That’s part of his nature. Not only is he a good student, he’s a good person and a hard worker as an athlete. He’s on the small side, but we want him to get bigger, tougher. If he continues to work had and do what he does for the football program, he’ll fit in somewhere.&uot;

Now that his weight program has added 22 pounds to his frame, Marsalis has seen other benefits &045; like his ability now to break tackles instead of getting tossed around by the first team defense.

Wherever he fits in this fall, he’ll take it.

&uot;It’s getting a little easier every day,&uot; Marsalis said. &uot;We’ve got a great coaching staff, and our offense is clicking on all cylinders. We’ve got some great running backs ahead of me. I’m not content where I am, and I’m trying to get better every day. You never know &045; one play could change your whole life. That keeps you on your toes.&uot;