The Football Brainiacs

Image via the McKinney family

When you’re a 6’5” 270-pound 15 year old, some might go so far as to say you have the world in the palm of your hands. Especially if that world involves you being an up-and-coming offensive lineman. And that’s exactly what Marshall McKinney (Wagoner, OK) was aspiring to be, an offensive lineman at a division one football program. From all accounts he had the build, athletic ability, and work ethic to make it happen.

Unfortunately for the young OK Preps prospect, that plan of playing at the next level took an unexpected change of course following an innocent offseason training session.

McKinney had been working out in Collinsville with Sean Draper, and if the name sounds familiar it’s because his son, Levi, is one of the top prospects in the state of Oklahoma. However, after one particular session McKinney felt much more tired and lethargic than usual. So much so that McKinney’s father, Bobby, thought Mr. Draper might have been pushing his son a little too hard. So he (Bobby) approached Draper to ask how the session went.

“He (Marshall) just looked a little tired, like he needed to rest up a bit,” Draper told Mr. McKinney. So he took his son home and instructed him to do exactly that, rest. However after a couple of days, Marshall still wasn’t feeling very well. Sadly, a short time after, things took a turn for the worse.

Marshall McKinney woke up one morning like any other, expect on this particular morning he could not feel his legs. The family quickly rushed Marshall to the hospital where several tests were performed only to reveal the devastating news that the loss of feeling in his legs was due to a cancerous tumor pressing on his spine.

Understandably, the diagnosis wasn’t one any parent would ever want to hear. “Seeing your son’s identity just taken from him is something that is just so hard to watch,” Bobby McKinney said.

Marshall has since had spinal surgery to remove the tumor, been through a ton of physical therapy, and had been told there was a chance he may never walk under his own power again. But even through all of that, his work ethic and perpetually upbeat attitude have helped him continue to defy the odds.

He has gone from a wheelchair, to walking with a walker, to now wearing just a back brace he is able to walk without assistance. “I have fallen some, so I still wear a brace. But my dad being a chiropractor and teaching me some physical therapy tricks has helped me a lot.”

As you might imagine, even if with the remarkable progress Marshall has already made there remains the ever-lingering possibility of further complications. To that point, several weeks ago he was admitted to the hospital with a fever and white blood cell count of zero. And not that there is ever a good time for such a thing to happen, but it really couldn’t have been worse timing for McKinney as he had actually planned to make his first ever visit to OU for a football game that weekend the Sooners were squaring off against West Virginia. Evidently Bob Stoops and the OU staff had invited McKinney and his family to campus after hearing about all they have been through.

However with McKinney’s health of course being of the utmost importance, that visit never happened and he has since spent several weeks in and out of the hospital.

The good news, though, is things are currently going quite well for Marshall McKinney. He recently received clearance from his oncologist to leave his home for the first time in quite a while, which is kind of a big deal.

And now that things have taken a positive turn regarding his health, Stoops and his staff have again extended an invite to host McKinney and his family for this weekend’s Iowa State game.

The family couldn’t be more excited to take OU up on the invite and have been taking every possible measure within their control to ensure they can make it happen for their son. When I spoke with Marshall, you could hear the excitement in his voice regarding the visit. “I’ve never been to an OU game before. I watch them on TV all the time, but I’ve never been to a game.” Which then led to a discussion as to who his favorite player on the team is, “Sterling Shepard. He was awesome against Tennesse.”

Marshall went on to say he is, of course, excited to have a chance to meet Shepard and Bob Stoops, but there is one particular former OU player now on the assistant coaching staff he is really looking forward to speaking with. “I have to meet Coach (Austin) Woods. He played while having cancer. I have to meet him and ask how he did it.”

McKinney is certainly aware of the reality of his situation, and that there is a chance he may never play football again. But this is obviously about so much more than just football, and all credit to Bob Stoops and his staff for reaching out to this young man and his family to try and help bring at least a little joy in whatever way they can.

The family has already been through much, kudos to OU for doing their part to try and take their mind off things even if just for several hours on one Saturday.

Marshall has grown up a fan of the Sooners because his father and grandfather are OU fans, both of whom will also be attending the game with him on Saturday in what one can only assume will be a pretty special experience.