Marcus Houston (born May 27, 1981) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player.

Early life and high school

Houston grew up in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and attended Thomas Jefferson High School. As a senior, he rushed for 1723 yards and 28 touchdowns. Houston was one of the most sought after recruits in the nation and committed to play at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

over offers from Texas, Florida State, Southern California, UCLA, Ohio State and Miami. He was widely considered to be the most highly-touted prospect in Colorado Buffaloes history at the time.

College career

Houston was named the Buffaloes' starting running back going into his freshman season. He rushed for 332 yards and one touchdown on 66 carries over three games before suffering an injury that ended his season. As a sophomore, Houston was part of a running back rotation with

Brian Calhoun Brian Calhoun (born May 8, 1984) is a former gridiron football running back. He also was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wisconsin. He is coaching high school track and fiel ...

and

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

and saw curtailed playing time. He frequently clashed with his running backs coach

Eric Bieniemy Eric M. Bieniemy Jr. (born August 15, 1969) is an American football coach and former running back who is the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and was recognized as a consens ...

, who often criticized Houston for what he believed to be a lack of toughness and unwillingness to play hurt. He suffered a torn groin muscle and rushed for 132 yards and one touchdown in seven games. In his junior year (2002), Houston played in only four of Colorado's games due to a partially torn ligament in his knee and rushed for 49 yards. Houston ultimately transferred to Colorado State and was granted immediate eligibility to play. In his first year with the team he rushed 158 times for 636 yards, which was second on the team behind quarterback

Bradlee Van Pelt Bradlee Van Pelt (born July 3, 1980) is a former American football quarterback and safety. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft, and was also a member of the Houston Texans, Bergamo Lions in Italy and Le ...

, and nine touchdowns. Houston gained 206 yards on 57 carries in his final collegiate season.

References

External links

Colorado Buffaloes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Marcus 1981 births Living people Players of American football from Denver American football running backs Colorado Buffaloes football players Colorado State Rams football players