Marques Colston
On why he, who ledNFL rookies in receiving yardage this season, went to Division I-AA Hofstra
Coming out of highschool [in Harrisburg, Pa.], I was 6'3" and 180 pounds--a lot differentfrom the guy you see. [He's now 6'4", 231.] I needed to develop, andHofstra was one of the only schools to offer me a full scholarship. I stillspeak to Hofstra's wide receivers' coach Jaime Elizondo every week. Hecritiques me. He doesn't let me feel like I played well all the time. It's agood thing.
On being thefourth-to-last player picked in the draft
I watched the draftat home in Pennsylvania. I watch it from beginning to end every year anyway.I'm a fanatic about it. I had heard I could go anywhere from the third round toundrafted. By the time the Saints called my house, four other teams had alreadycalled to ask if I would come to camp as a free agent, so I thought it was thesame deal. Then I looked at the TV and saw New Orleans had the currentselection. Coach [Sean] Payton was on the phone and said, 'Are you ready to bea New Orleans Saint?' Of course I wasn't going to say no.
On rookiehazing
The guys haven'tbeen bad to me. During camp I had to carry helmets and shoulder pads. One day Ihad to carry five helmets back, which was tough with only two hands, but Iwasn't about to make two trips. Our practice field was far from the lockerroom.
On his family
My father, James,passed away when I was 14. It was real sudden, and we never had an autopsydone, so we assumed it was from natural causes. It was rough. I have two olderbrothers, Kenny and James, an older sister, Takia, and a younger brother,Stephen. We were always close-knit, but to get through my father's death wedefinitely had to pull together. My mother, Josamarie, is like my best friend.I talk to her two to three times a week. She works the overnights at a nursinghome assisting the patients. She's a giving person. Just selfless.
On Pro Bowlteammates, receiver Joe Horn and QB Drew Brees
They've been soinstrumental in my success. As a young guy, it's all about building confidenceand mine came from those guys showing confidence in me. From Day One, Joe tookme under his wing since he had a similar story coming from a small school[Itawamba (Miss.) Community College]. And Drew just exudes confidence. Anytimeyou've got a guy like that showing you confidence, it definitely helps youalong.
On the Week 3Monday-night game in the Superdome
You could feel thevibe the whole week leading up to it and how much the game meant to the city.Now I'm accustomed to doing things around the community--I went with a few guysto speak at a high school that was hit bad by the hurricane. We spoke aboutdealing with adversity and getting to where you want to be in life.
COLSTON WILL TRY TOHELP THE SAINTS (10--6) WIN A PLAYOFF GAME FOR JUST THE SECOND TIME IN THEIR40-YEAR HISTORY, ON JAN. 13 OR 14.
TWO PHOTOS
Photograph by Danny Turner;
RICH GABRIELSON/WIREIMAGE.COM (COLSTON ACTION)