Best of Both Worlds

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The reception is nearly always the same.

Every time Marshall Few walks into the locker room or a team meeting, he’s greeted with salutes from virtually every teammate he encounters. Some take it a step further and address him as “Major,” “Captain,” or “General,” leaving the receiver good-naturedly shaking his head.

“I get something new from everybody every single day,” Few laughed. “It’s funny.”

The unique greetings aren’t the only notable exchanges Few partakes in on a daily basis with his Hurricanes teammates. Throughout his Miami career, he’s answered countless questions about his participation in Miami’s U.S. Air Force ROTC program and what awaits him after graduation.

Few is always happy to oblige. The receiver knows the career path he has chosen for his post-football life is a unique one that teammates and friends may not understand.

But for him, the decision to eventually join the military wasn’t a hard one to make.

“It’s definitely love for the country. I love this place, always have. And I was raised to respect it,” Few said. “I love everything about it. I love being free and I want to protect those values we all share as Americans. I love the brotherhood aspect of it, too. I mean, I grew up playing football and there’s a brotherhood there, too. All kinds of sports really carry over into the military world, actually.”

Few, who hails from Ponte Vedra, has a deep understanding of what his future will entail. His father, Marshall Sr., served in the U.S. Army for 30 years and spent a good chunk of Marshall’s childhood traveling to keep up with his assignments.

At times, it was a challenge for their family, but the structure, discipline, camaraderie of the military – along with the opportunity to both defend and represent his country – appealed to Few, who as a senior at Ponte Vedra High School considered enrolling at one of the service academies.

That didn’t quite happen the way Few imagined, but another surprising opportunity presented itself and in its own way, proved too intriguing to bypass.

Though he wasn’t a heavily recruited prospect, Few – a two-sport athlete who also played lacrosse in high school – helped lead his team to the Class 5A state championship game.

On that December day in 2016, Ponte Vedra lined up against American Heritage-Plantation, which had several high-profile recruits on its roster. Hurricanes coaches were in attendance at the state championship game and while they may have been there to watch those big-name recruits, Few had one of the best games of his high school career.

He scored on a 76-yard touchdown play that day. He had a 15-yard touchdown grab, too. And Few helped his team extend a drive when he caught a pass on a 4^th-and-10 fake punt.

Despite all that, Ponte Vedra came up short in a heartbreaking loss. But Few’s mother believes his performance caught the attention of Miami’s coaches.

“The game itself was heart-wrenching, but then came the excitement,” Anne Few recalled. “They wanted him to come on an official visit and they offered him the opportunity to play as a preferred walk-on. It hit me in the stomach and I wondered how we would ever do it, but the opportunity was phenomenal and you know, we were going to do whatever we could to make it happen. …

“The visit was amazing and at one dinner, we ended up sitting with coach Manny Diaz and his wife and sons and we had no idea that a year and a half later, he was going to call Marshall and offer him a scholarship. Marshall was ecstatic.”

As much as Few has relished the opportunity to be a Miami Hurricane, his journey as a student-athlete and ROTC cadet has featured its own set of challenges.

Though Few says both his coaches and his commander have been understanding about the time requirements football and ROTC require, there are stretches when his schedule is beyond hectic. And while his football workouts certainly help keep Few in shape, they do differ from his physical requirements for ROTC.

Still, Few says there’s little he would change about an experience that began when his father swore him in for ROTC and will end next May when he graduates as an Air Force officer.

“It’s been awesome. I’ve loved it. There’s give and take to everything and it’s definitely a huge, huge workload, but I think my coaches and commander are very understanding and I appreciate them,” Few said. “I’m thankful I can do both and I think football and ROTC complement each other and have helped me grow and helped me become the very best version of myself that I can be.”

Before graduation, though, there are still things Few would like to accomplish.

With the 12^th-ranked Hurricanes holding a 5-1 record, he is confident Miami can compete for a championship. And Few – who hopes to one day be a special tactics officer – wants to earn a special operations beret before walking across the stage.

But even before reaching that point, those who know him best say they’re beyond proud of what Few has already been able to accomplish.

“He’s always had the work ethic and love for the sport, without a doubt,” Anne Few said. “To be able to play at this level, at The U, what an honor. And ROTC has helped him just define who he wants to be in that next step. He knows the intensity of the training that awaits him and that’s what he wants to do. He has the drive to go do that. It’s very impressive. It just comes from within him. He’s always trying to make everybody and he wants to help people. I’m just extremely proud of him.”