Posted at 2:50 p.m., Thursday, January 31, 2008
CFB: Miami QB Marve says he's ready for spring ball
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
Good news, though: He feels much better than he looks.
Six months after being seriously injured in an automobile crash, Marve has finally resumed taking real snaps and said Thursday that he'll be fully ready to play when the Hurricanes open spring practice in late February.
"I'm all set," said Marve, a right-handed thrower and prohibitive favorite to start for Miami in 2008. "I'm all ready to go. The doctor says it looks good, and the last time she said that, I still had some pain in my left hand. But I feel great now. I'm taking full-out snaps now."
Marve and two other teammates were injured shortly after midnight on July 16. Wide receiver Jermaine McKenzie was driving a 2007 Dodge Charger owned by Marve's parents when he fell asleep about 110 miles from Miami's campus and the car rolled several times.
McKenzie broke neck vertabrae and linebacker Colin McCarthy suffered minor injuries. But Marve's hand was deeply cut, his left wrist was broken, and doctors later said he was in danger of losing at least a finger.
But after surgeries, rehabilitation and time, Marve is back up to 205 pounds and stronger than ever.
"Everything feels really good," said Marve, who wears a protective glove to keep the wounds on his left hand from re-opening.
Miami — the school long known as "Quarterback U" — has a bit of a dilemma at the position this year.
Marve didn't appear in any games last season because of the injuries, and the two quarterbacks Miami did use — Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman — are gone. Wright graduated and exhausted his eligibility; Freeman, who also has a degree from Miami, chose not to come back for his final season and has since enrolled at Baylor, where he expects to play this fall.
Miami, which finished 5-7 last year and didn't make a bowl game for the first time since 1997, will choose between Marve, highly touted freshman Jacory Harris of Miami Northwestern High, Cannon Smith or Taylor Cook when deciding on a starter for 2008.
Marve, who led Tampa Plant High to a state championship and 15-0 record in 2006 after throwing for 48 touchdowns and 4,380 yards, says the hand and wrist won't hold him back when the competition officially begins.
"When I first went into the meeting room and Kirby and Kyle weren't there, it was really weird for me," Marve said. "And everyone talks about the hype of 'Quarterback U,' but I'm just playing my football now. I'm working really hard and it's going to be good enough."
