The San Francisco 49ers held their first day of training camp on Sunday, July 29.

They went on a spending spree during the off season, their fans are waiting to see just how productive the team's "purchases" will be in 2007.
The 49ers seem to be a trendy pick going into this season. There are good reasons for that.
Alex Smith has improved, Frank Gore has become an elite running back, the Niners had several very promising first round picks and have upgraded the defense.
But, as they say, it ain't over til it's over.

The 49ers have ten wide receivers on the practice field, an eclectic mix of veterans and young 'uns.
One of those young 'uns is the subject of this interview.

Marcus Maxwell is 6-4 and 205 pounds. His physical stature is reminiscent of another 49er wide receiver, Terrell Owens. But, that is where the similarity ends.

Marcus Maxwell attended Pinole Valley High School , the small town in which I reside.

This city of 19,000 has produced a Heisman Trophy winner, Gino Toretta.
But we have yet to produce a super star wide receiver.

Marcus may just change all that for sleepy little Pinole.

I have been following Marcus' career since I saw his name on the 49ers roster.
I watched him during training camp last season and was impressed with his speed.
But as is typical in the Not For Long league, you have to be the best of the best to make it in this league.

This off season when there wasn't much to keep my football appetite whetted I occasionally tuned into NFL Europa games to try and catch a glimpse of Marcus.

Much to my surprise and delight I watched him make some tremendous catches and score touchdowns. He received acclaim and attention for his brief stint in NFL Europa where his team the Hamburg Sea Devils won the World Bowl.
NFL Europa is now just a fond memory for its fans, but it played a major role in the development of this young wide receiver.

Ivette:

Marcus, you were drafted in the seventh round in 2005 by the SF 49ers.

You' spent 2005 primarily on special teams and in 2006 you were released and then signed to the practice squad, then you were allocated to NFL Europa..

The 49ers have loaded up on wide receivers this off season, meanwhile you made a big splash with the Hamburg Sea Devils. You led the league (NFL Europa) in receiving touchdowns and average yards per catch. You caught your first touchdown pass as a professional football player in NFL Europa, but you have yet to catch a TD as a 49er.

Now you are in 49ers training camp with barely any time to rest and have to compete against some very formidable wide outs.

How are you feeling?

Marcus:
I feel good considering I played ten weeks of football in Europe . But my body feels good my mind feels good. I'm just ready to play football again. Once you've gone out there and made plays and helped your team win you want to come back and try to, well, I want to come back and try to help the 49ers do very well.

Ivette:

Are you confident that you can make the roster?

Marcus:
Oh yes, I'm confident, I'm confident I've been confident in my two years with the 49ers, but just haven't got the opportunity. But in NFL Europe I got the opportunity which gives me that much more confidence.

Ivette:

What are you doing to keep your edge yet give your body the rest it needs to avoid injury?

Marcus:
Watch films. Since I've been back I've watched film, I've done pool workouts, low impact stuff that will rest my body but still be able to get work in. And mental, mental rest. That's the most important. Like Jerry Rice, Steve Young, even Darrell Jackson, smart players. The game is about being mentally tough, and that's what I've been trying to do since I been back.

Ivette:

How many light years is the NFL removed from the speed and skill level you faced in High School or even in NFL Europa?

Marcus:
I would say the NFL is a great jump from High School and from NFL Europe. But there are great players, good players in NFL Europe. So I don't think there's that much of a difference. There's obviously more players in the NFL that are veterans, that is a difference between NFL Europe. But I think it's pretty much even and I think it's right there, pretty much compares.

Ivette:

One of the "knocks" against you has been your inability to read defenses, have you worked on that?

Marcus:
Oh yeah. I think with anything, just to be able to play football for those three, three and a half months, was a great opportunity. It helped me work on my route running, helped me work on being mentally tough, helped me work on consistency, commitment, accountability. So it was a real advantage.

Ivette:

Another negative mentioned is your tendency to get stationery when the quarterback is scrambling out of the pocket, has your experience in NFL Europa solved some of these "negatives"?

Marcus:
I feel comfortable. Those are people's opinions of me, but it didn't bother me. It didn't bother me going into NFL Europe. I didn't think about being stationery or not being able to read a defense, for me, I didn't worry about that. I was able to read a defense, I was able to get open, I was able to make plays, so for me it wasn't anything I was worried about.

Ivette:

What do you see as the biggest improvement in your play since coming out of college?

Marcus:
I would say reading defenses. I would say in college it was a difficult task for me to read defenses. I've gotten better with that, I've gotten better with just being consistent. I think you get some consistency, you end up knowing the defense, running routes, catching balls and being accountable.

Ivette:
What part of your game will show the coaches you should be on the roster?

Marcus:
Everything!
I'm big, physical, a deep threat. I can use my body to shut off defenders, I can break tackles as well as just bringing excitement. I think I have good character as well. I feel like I have the type of character the 49ers are looking for. I'm a team player and I work hard.

Ivette:

What did you like best about being in Europe ?

Marcus:
The guys, my teammates. The best times were with my teammates. Traveling different countries was exciting, seeing different cities, Amsterdam , being in Germany . But our teammates, for us to come together as individuals for our own purposes and win a championship and be on a team where everybody was playing for the guy next to them, was the best experience that I had.

Ivette:

You stated that the most important things to you are character, confidence and caring.

Did your parents, Cela and Samuel instill those values or were they values you have developed as an adult?

Marcus:
I think it was 50/50. My parents instilled those in me at the time. When you're young you don't see these things and there were a few trial and errors. You realize things that you've done. I learned part of it when I was in Junior College. I had two coaches, Abru and Tupley. Those two guys came to DVC ( Diablo Valley College ) my sophomore year. I didn't want to go to meetings, I was skipping out on certain practices, because I was the "go to" guy, I was the number one guy. I was selfish. And those guys came to me, I think it was like five weeks in a row that I was doing this. The first couple of weeks they benched me. I said to them, "Do you not want to win?"

They said, "I'd rather have 11 guys on the field that I can count on, that come to practice, than 10 guys I can count on and one that I can't".

That changed my left right there. That really helped me become a better person, a better man.

Ivette:

Let's return to the good old days at Pinole Valley High School .

In your senior year as a Spartan you made 42 catches for 886 yards and 13 touchdowns.

I'm told by Coach Don Wilson at Pinole Valley High School that he used to take you to Niners games.

Marcus:

That is true. When I got into High School we went about 2-3 times. At that point in time I wasn't a 49er fan.

Ivette:

So were you a 49er fan growing up, or heaven forbid, a Raiders fan?

Marcus:
Yes, I was! I was a Steelers and Raiders fan. More Steelers, I was 50/50 Steelers, Raiders.
But coach, I call him "Pops", took me to my first 49ers game. The reason I call him "Pops" is because we were at the game and we (and my friends) wanted to leave early because we were getting bored. Mr. Wilson "Pops" was walking behind us and I just started a scene. Like, "Dad you don't love us, you're embarrassed of us, and Pops don't you wanna walk with us?"

That's how we got the whole "Pops" thing. And also it goes further than that, I continue to call him "Pops" because he's the one who tried to help me and watched out for me, was always positive towards me. He's just a great person.

Ivette

I asked Mr. Don Wilson, coach at Pinole Valley High School to tell me if Marcus showed potential as a High School athlete and why Marcus calls him "Pops".

Coach Wilson

I took Marcus and two other players to a Niners game when they were 11th graders.  He also used my tickets one other time.  I'll never forget, we pulled into the dirt parking lot and these two swifty guys in a red, Mustang convertible, 5.0 pulled up next to us.  They had their sweatshirts draped over their shoulders, and the cool designer sunglasses, the gelled hair, etc., etc.  When these three black kids jumped out of my Jeep they just froze.  I was standing there trying to keep a straight face, when Marcus walked over to me, put his arm around me and said to the two guys, "Believe it or not, this is our dad."  The two guys laughed nervously, then hastily headed for the stadium.  The four of us just stood their laughing. 

It was pretty clear from Day 1 that Marcus was something special.  Jim Erickson has said many times that he is, at least as talented as Amani Toomer ( DeLaSalle , NY Giants).  Still, no high school coach can guarantee that a player will make it as far as the NFL.  We can only compare him to other players we've coached, and have coached against that have made it that far.  Marcus was obviously in THAT rare category of athlete.  Remember, he was also All-League in baseball, and would have been All-League in basketball, had he played his Senior year. 

He would do things in practice, and in games, that would make even us veteran coaches look at each other and ask, "Did he really do that?"  He was a starter on the varsity as a Sophomore, and that was when we were playing in the Bay Valley Athletic League (4A), and he made all-league honorable mention then.  The fact that a soph could do what he did in that league was telling.  His Junior year started late, because he was nursing an injury, but his senior year was "lights out."  His most impressive performance came against Pittsburg in the play-offs when he virtually, single-handedly won the game for us. 

The reason that he seems to have come out of nowhere, was because of bad timing.  He did well at DVC, but had to stay an extra semester and earn his AA degree because he graduated from high school with a GPA lower that 2.0.  He is not an academic, but he was still well-liked by all of his teachers.  That meant that he had to miss Oregon's spring practice in 2003 and report in the Fall.  This usually means that the player will redshirt, which would have been ideal for Marcus.  Unfortunately, for him and for the Ducks, the injury situation had left their receiving corps depleted and Marcus was forced into action right away.  The results were predictable: confusion, leading to poor performance, leading to frustration, leading to injury.  So, the 2003 year was a virtual bust, plus he had burned 1 year of eligibility.  He got spring practice under his belt in '04, and made it into the starting lineup; through most of that season (playing opposite Demetrius Willliams).  By the last four games of his Senior year, he was just starting to look like the player that we knew, but then his college career was over.  What got the NFL's attention, was his performance at the combines.  They could see what kind of athlete he was.  All he needed was playing time.  That's why I'm glad that he played in the World League this year; he needs to get on the field.   

I'm sure that you will find Marcus to be friendly and sincere.  He's a great person, and he always keeps in touch with the staff at PV.  Give him my best.

Regards,

Don

Ivette:

Have you been back in Pinole to watch any Spartan games?

Marcus:
I haven't. I watch them on TV when I've gone back to Hercules (where mom and dad live), but I haven't actually been to a game. I'm looking forward to going to a game.

Ivette:

Now for some fun stuff:

This is our rapid fire question and answer session.

Pick one:

Question

Red Onion or Nations Hamburgers?

Marcus:
Red Onion

Question

A night at the Claremont or a night at the Fairmount?

Marcus
The Fairmount

Question

A day in Napa or Marine World?

Marcus
A day in Napa .

Question

Pizza or Sushi?

Marcus
Oh, uh, uh..Pizza

Question

What is your idea of the perfect date?

Marcus
Going to Napa , going on the Wine Train with my girlfriend. Just seeing Napa , I've never really been to Napa and doing wine tasting. Just to get away for the weekend. I think that's the perfect date.

I am wishing Marcus the best. He is competing for a spot on a roster against some veteran talent, Asley Lelie, Darrell Jackson, Arnaz Battle to name a few, but if commitment and character could be quantified, then Marcus career in the NFL is very bright indeed.

Thank you Marcus for taking the time to speak with us, on behalf of www.Femmefan.com , and Pinole we appreciate it.