The Daily O’Collegian

Most college athletes dream of hearing a coach’s praise. The ultimate honor for an athlete is to have his or her coaches say they want their child to become just like that athlete some day. Senior defensive end Marque Fountain has all the qualities a coach looks for to build a team, or even a program, around. Defensive coordinator Tim Beckman said Fountain is a great teammate and football player. “If Tyler Beckman (Beckman’s high school son) could be like someone, it would be like Marque,” Beckman said. “He does it all. He does it by effort, he does it by example, and he leads by what needs to get done. “He is fun to coach, and he is a heck of a football player, and he is doing a great job of leading those guys.” Beckman also said Fountain always works hard and does everything he is asked without complaint. Fountain stayed after practice, which lasts two and a half hours, for an extra hour a few times this past week. He said he stayed to work with his mentor, former Cowboy and longtime friend, assistant strength coach Greg Richmond. “When I came [to OSU] I played behind Greg as a freshman,” Fountain said. “I looked up to him like a big brother. I think it was a blessing for him to come back and be on the coaching staff. “A lot of things that I learned, I learned from him when I was a freshman. I know he can help me with my game … and I want to do anything to help this team.” Fountain said he also learned some of his leadership qualities while fighting through adversity. He contributed to the defense as a reserve lineman his freshman year in 2003. He became a starter his sophomore year and finished with 35 tackles and one sack. About eight games into that season, he tore his labrum, but was able to stick it out and finish the season. Fountain had surgery to repair the injury in the spring of 2005 and was back to playing form by the next season. In the second game of his junior season, Fountain suffered a torn pectoral muscle. The team doctors told Fountain they had never seen a tear of the pectoral muscle that severe. Fountain said he didn’t know what to do, so he prayed, talked to his family and the coaching staff. Fountain decided to take a medical redshirt and sit out the rest of his junior season. “I think it was a blessing,” Fountain said. “I hated being hurt, but it was a blessing for me and I got an extra year here.” Fountain bounced back in 2006 from two injury-plagued seasons to finished with 35 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 13 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Beckman said one of the things he most admires about Fountain is he never uses his past injuries as an excuse for anything. “He has never missed a thing that we have asked him to do,” Beckman said. “Our players respond to him, because he is not just vocal but he is an effort guy.”