Closer to the stars

IOWA CITY -- Marcus Coker has carried it with him since he was 7 years old.

It's taken him places he could only hope to go. It's shown him things the mind can't conceive. It's something he hopes will shape his future.

And, no, it's not a football.

"I got my telescope when I was 7 years old," Coker said. "I've been staring at the stars ever since."

Coker couldn't bring his telescope to the University of Iowa. It just didn't fit into a packed car for the 15-hour ride from Beltsville, Md., to Iowa City. But that's OK, he certainly carries it in other ways.

He can point out most of the constellations -- "For the most part" -- naming "Taurus" his favorite, his Zodiac sign. His coursework takes him into his double major this semester, astronomy and physics. This includes calculus II, general astronomy I and physics I. He hopes to work in a NASA observatory.

"Just as a kid, I was always interested in the stars," Coker said. "So, I thought why not do what I love?"

He does love football, too.

Coker goes into the 2011 season as Iowa's bona fide No. 1 running back. The 6-foot, 230-pounder announced himself with oomph in last December's Insight Bowl, rushing 33 times for 219 yards and two TDs, including a 62-yarder. The carries and yards were Iowa bowl records.

Coker finished the season with 622 yards on 114 carries, fourth highest total for a freshman in Iowa history. He also averaged 5.46 yards a carry, second highest for an Iowa back in the last five years, behind only Shonn Greene's 6.03 in 2008.

Coker, whose development was slowed by a broken collarbone suffered early in August camp, was sort of the "last man standing" going into the Insight Bowl. You know the tune on Iowa running back '10, which would've fit somewhat nicely in the "Final Destination" series of films. Maybe for the Hawkeyes, it was a fortunate case of "best for last."

"The thing that really impressed me more than anything last year was he got hurt in camp," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "He didn't get back on the field until mid-season, but he was a much smarter player than when he got there. It showed me that he was paying attention."

The collarbone was sort of the first sign of a flaw in Coker the running back. He's 6-foot and tends to stay 6-foot when running through traffic. In camp in showed up as a broken collarbone. It showed up in sore ribs after his first start at Indiana, where he had 129 yards on 22 carries. It might've been a factor in a key fumble at Minnesota.

"I know Marcus Coker is going to be a star," former Iowa O-lineman Julian Vandervelde said after the Insight Bowl, "but he has to learn to get low. He's going to end up with a broken rib."

This is hardly a deal breaker, but it is something that Coker has concentrated on during the offseason.

"In high school a lot of times, you're just bigger than everyone else, so so you can stand straight up and do what you want," said Coker, who rushed for 43 TDs at DeMatha Catholic High School. "Then, you get to college and it doesn't work that way. You have to get your pads down. It takes time getting used to."

Coker also sees beyond the football field. His mother, Tammy Money,  has hosted mentally challenged individuals in their home since Marcus was born. Currently, three individuals live with Money.

“Tammy is a really great lady. She's old school,” said former DeMatha coach Bill McGregor said. “She calls it exactly the way it is and she's right on target. If he's lazy, she says he's too lazy. She's a super person and her commitment to the mentally challenged is fantastic.

Coker, who carried a 3.4 GPA at DeMatha, has pitched in with every household chore, from cooking to cleaning to laundry and "taking the ladies out."

"I honestly couldn't tell you how it's shaped me because I was around it ever since I was a baby," he said, clearly not looking for a pat on the back. "Changes in the way I was brought up compared to everyone else, I really didn't see it."

The whole house was in Iowa City last week to visit Coker, who was named Maryland's gentleman of the year in 2009 and 2010 with more than 1,000 hours of community service. "It's been great," he said.

So much to see here.

Coker

-- You've got to compete against the best to be the best. If he's better than me, he's better than me. I'm going to work everyday just as hard or harder to be better than he is. -- ARob helped -- Definitely. He was definitely a great teammate. He always pushed me in practice. He always went 150 percent, so that made me try to go the same way.

How far behind with collarbone -- Not too long, I don't think. As the games went on, I got more comfortable in my role on the team. -- DC-to-Iowa -- It's growing and I'm liking it. Can't get enough DC people out here. -- The sell -- Same thing they sold me on. Hard-working, the people around here are like family. The people in the town, they love their Hawkeyes. Just a great place to be.

Since Insight -- Nothing's been too crazy. -- set bar too high -- Never, you have to set it high to keep pushing. You can never settle. -- The guy -- No, because I don't look at myself as the guy. I look at myself at the bottom of the depth chart trying to work my way up every day. -- Expectations -- Same expectations as last year, just come in and help the team win games. -- offense -- I feel a lot more comfortable with the calls and reading the defenses and stuff. It's getting a lot quicker for me. -- What Vandy said -- Yeah, (laughs) I've been working on that. Working a little bit on that in spring ball. -- Easy fix? -- I think it is. When I broke my collarbone, I started running straight up a little bit more, so I wouldn't hit it as much. I'm getting back down a little bit. -- Focused on -- I think the biggest thing for me is speed and quickness and getting my pads down a little more.

Astro physics -- I actually declared a couple weeks ago, astronomy and physics. -- Hopefully, work for NASA, an observatory. -- Just as a kid I was always interested in the stars. So, I thought why not do what I love? -- Telescope, 7 years old -- Not with him, back home. -- Football has been keeping me pretty busy so far. Hopefully, I'll have more free time as the years go on.

Play you liked best coming out of the Missouri game -- Probably the one where I ran him over, but only because I finally got my pads down. That felt kind of good. -- Erb -- Definitly, every play. Keep those pads down. -- In high school a lot of times, you're just bigger than everyone else, so so you can stand straight up and do what you want. Then you get to college, it doesn't work that way. You have to get your pads down. It takes time getting used to, just seeing over the line when you're bent over in your stance. -- Bruised ribs against Indy -- Little hard to breathe, but it was fine.

Collarbone -- Freak thing, first day of uppers, wasn't even in full gear. It was a little disappointing. I felt like I was getting better, getting adjusted and then, boom, that happened. -- In plans -- I guess, again, I looked at it like I wasn't and I wanted to make myself [part of the plan].

Exciting go into summer with so much in front of you -- It's exciting but at the same time nervewracking. Butterflies are always good. If you have a lot to live up to, you're going to push yourself harder. I feel like I have a lot on me this year, so trying to live up to that.

Spinal Tap thing -- I really haven't thought about that, either, but it'd be nice to put a stop to that. -- My attitude was to be better than them. They were pushing me hard. I was pushing them hard.

Telescope -- I don't have it here, but I'll probably get another one pretty soon.

I got my telescope when I was 7 years old. I've been looking at the stars ever since.

Point out all the constellations -- For the most part. -- Taurus, that's my zodiac sign. -- Solar storm -- Anything abnormal with the stars, I'm pretty much on top of it.

Calculus II, General Astronomy I and Physics I. -- I'm kind of looking forward to all of them because they're all toward my major.