Marcus Orr earns chance to lead Upper Iowa football offense

FAYETTE — Marcus Orr received some sage advice from his dad.

The words of wisdom paid dividends as he competed for Upper Iowa’s starting quarterback spot. The advantages of being a coach’s son.

“The attitude you have to have is go in every day, acting like you’re the guy, even if you’re not,” said Orr, whose dad, Duane, coached high school at Mount Vernon and Council Bluffs Lewis Central before taking an assistant job at Cornell College. “Be ready to take advantage of the opportunities as you get.”

Orr stepped in under center late in Week 2 and has started the last two games for the Peacocks. He is coming off a 218-yard, two-touchdown performance a week ago against Minnesota State-Moorhead. Orr expected to lead the offense for Saturday’s Homecoming game against Southwest Minnesota State at Harms-Eischeid Stadium, beginning at 3 p.m.

“He’s been fantastic,” Upper Iowa Coach Jason Hoskins said of the freshman. “It’s hard as a young guy.”

The former Linn-Mar all-stater has thrown for 508 yards and four TDs, posting better stats in each appearance. He completed 47 percent of his passes, which jumped to 60 and 71 percent the last two weeks. Orr’s passing yards jumped from 83 in limited snaps during his first action to surpassing the 200-yard plateau each of the last two games.

“It’s been an awesome opportunity for me,” Orr said. “I realized there aren’t a whole lot of freshmen who step into a role like this.”

Orr’s biggest influence has been his father. Duane, an Associate Principal and Athletics Director at Excelsior Middle School, has a long coaching resume. Marcus recalled following his dad to practice, serving as water boy and ball boy for his dad’s team.

“It’s huge,” the younger Orr said. “He’s a guy I’ve always looked up to. He’s got a lot of respect from a lot of other coaches around the state. It’s been huge for me to be able to grow up with him. I‘ve always been around the game.”

Football has been a regular conversation topic in the Orr household. Actually, Duane has been heavily involved in his children’s sports. According to Marcus, his dad can coach them all.

Marcus laughed when he noted that there is no such thing as just sitting down to watch a football game on TV. Each one comes with pauses and defensive breakdowns. He appreciates those moments, as well as being able to reach out and pick his dad’s brain.

“Now that I’m in college, it’s nice to be able to bounce ideas off of him,” Marcus said. “He’s able to talk to me about this and that as a coach. He’s been a great role model for me. I couldn’t ask for a better dad.

“He’s a coach through and through. He just wants to see us do the best we can and be as successful as we can.”

Hoskins is a generational coach. He understands what it’s like to be the son of a coach and how it can provide a better grasp of the game.

“They have a different perspective,” Hoskins said. “He certainly has a good one (coach) at home.”

Upper Iowa has struggled to a 0-4 start. The Peacocks have had chances to win each of the last two weeks, owning second-half leads. Orr was determined to play his best and earn his teammates’ confidence.

“Before being known as a good quarterback, I want to be remembered as being a good leader,” Orr said. “That’s something, even at Linn-Mar, I really focused on. I truly think that if you have a good leader on the team, no matter the talent, you can be successful.

“Everyone leads in a different way. For me, especially as a quarterback, I think it’s huge to earn the respect of your teammates. I would say leadership is one of my stronger suits of being a quarterback. It’s always something I’ve prided myself on.”

Hoskins has seen players follow Orr’s lead, demonstrating how to battle through the rough start and continuing to work hard for improvement. Hoskins said the Peacocks had their best practices Tuesday and Orr was part of the reason.

“We’re starting to figure out which of the guys are going to bite down, fight through some adversity and it’s just another day at the office,” Hoskins said. “Let’s go figure out a way to get better and go play the next one.

“Marcus has done that as good as anyone and because of that he’s been able to bring some other guys (along with him).”

The transition to the college level has come with challenges. The game is faster and players are bigger, stronger and more athletic. Orr has had to spend a lot of time on the intricacies of the game, adding to his knowledge of X’s and O’s.

“There is so much more to the game once that you get to the college level that you don’t have in high school,” Orr said. “Ultimately, it makes you a better quarterback. If you can get out there and see what the defense is doing. Try to anticipate where guys are going to be before the snap even happens.

“Obviously, I need to continue to get better at it. I’m never going to be satisfied where I am at. So far, I feel like that has been the biggest change for me.”