ELON, N.C. – Football was not always the obvious choice for
Marvin Pearson. There were other sports that held a spot in his heart – baseball, basketball, lacrosse and track & field. It took a bit of an extra push for him to put on his pads and start making tackles.
"The football coach came to one of our basketball practices and he tried to get me my freshman year," Pearson said. "My sophomore year, I actually went on to do it. It was just him coming and telling me like, 'Hey, you should try football.'"
After getting recruited by schools such as Kennesaw State and Villanova, Pearson, the Asheville native, made the decision to stay close to home and attend Elon University and join newly promoted head coach Tony Trisciani.
"One thing that really stood out to me was the staff that [Trisciani] built," Pearson said. "On top of that, the education that Elon would give you, the degree and the social networking that comes with it is really top tier. That was very much of a selling point for me. Plus, my family could come to almost every game."
Electric On The End
When he stepped on campus, Pearson knew he wanted to make an impact. He did not want to settle for anything less than perfect.
"The first thing I told myself the first day I got to fall camp was just, 'Go hard,'" Pearson said. "'They're going to have to tell me to slow down.'"
Coaches started taking notice right away. This 'go hard' mentality led to Pearson playing in every game his freshman year. He wanted to make sure his team knew they could put their faith in him.
"I want to make sure that they know [when] you put me on the field, you can trust me," Pearson said. "That's the one thing that I want to take to heart. I just want to go out there to show that."
Pearson had a good support system of mentors around him throughout the beginning of his career in the maroon and gold. Veteran players such as Daniel Everett '20, Jordan Dollerson '20 and Marcus Willoughby '20 helped pave the path for Pearson and set him up for success.
The rookie learned just making the play wasn't the goal. The goal for Pearson was to win each battle and come out victorious.
"I wasn't a big celebrator when it came to getting production,that was just me having that coping mentality," Pearson said. "The job isn't finished until the game is over. It was a nice time, I made a play, but I've got to make another play to help my team win."
Playing With Pride
With his final year of eligibility, Pearson chose to stay with the Phoenix for one last ride. He knew this season was make or break for him, and he was ready to go out with a bang. Due to a successful 2022 season, opposing offenses had to keep a close eye on the 6-foot-2 defensive lineman.
"I became more of a player that was highlighted when it came to our D-line room and that's good because it brings a challenge," Pearson said. "If you can beat one man and it'd be two next, that'd be great because you're taking two players [with you] for the play and hopefully letting somebody else make the play. Having that type of pressure, it was good. It felt good."
As the Phoenix prepared for its 2023 season opener against Wake Forest, Pearson started to hear whispers saying he was considered Elon's top NFL prospect. He put on a dominant performance against the Demon Deacons with a season-high seven tackles, 3.0 for loss and a sack. Slowly but surely, Pearson ended up on the scouting radar.
"When I first started seeing scouts come in and talk with me, it was surreal," Pearson said. "It was like, 'Is this really happening?' Last season I was good, but I wasn't great. I was good but I wasn't prospect level, and just seeing that and having that experience really pushed me forward and made me want to be more dialed in."
Pearson set his sights on his first goal – making a strong impact on the Elon football team. In his final season, he followed the example his mentor Willoughby set for him and attacked the quarterback every play. On his Senior Day, Pearson recorded his 17th career quarterback hurry, breaking Willoughby's record. Now, they get to have their names written together in Elon football history.
"[Willoughby] took a lot of pride when it came to playing the game of football and at that position," Pearson said. "That's something that I knew was going to further my career, to have that mentality that Marcus did. I knew that if I had that mentality, I'd be on the right path."
The Extra Step
Willoughby signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens at the conclusion of his Elon career and Pearson hopes to follow in his footsteps and make it to the NFL. He announced on his personal Instagram that he would be declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft. Pearson is putting in the work to prepare for the draft at the Sports Academy at the Star in Texas.
"We actually have people projected in the first round here where I'm training," Pearson said. "Seeing these people that came from power fives, it's pretty crazy."
Although he may be facing some fierce competition, Pearson said he isn't scared of any obstacles in front of him.
"People like me have to take the extra step and do everything right," Pearson said. "I have to do everything right and take extra steps and be very disciplined to even be in the competition or the same room with these people. And that's something that I love because I love challenges."
Elon's football program may still be growing, but that is not something that deters Pearson – he uses it as motivation.
"??At first, it was intimidating but when we started doing speed work, agility and got in the weight room, I thought, 'I'm up there with them,'" Pearson said. "When it came to that, I was like, 'I feel way better.' I didn't know how much of an athlete I was and it was great knowing that I could compete with these people. Coming from Elon, it's great that I can represent Elon in a good way."
No matter how much Pearson may train in the gym to prepare for the big day, it's his mental toughness that he has developed throughout his career that will set him apart.
"I treat it like this," Pearson said. "There's three people on the journey. There's people at the top, there's people in the middle who are scared to go to the top and then there's people at the bottom who have to take every step of the journey to get to the top. You may be behind right now, but at the end of it all, you're going to be up there with them."
As each day passes, the draft gets closer and closer. Throughout the days of April 25-27, Pearson will wait and see if his name gets called. He makes sure to hold faith in himself, knowing people can make their own judgments about him, but those judgments are not a full reflection of him, nor his character.
"You can't tell somebody what they think of you," Pearson said. "You have to believe in yourself and know what your value is because that can take you a long way."
Preparing for the next step in his football career, Pearson said he is going to keep in mind everything he has experienced, especially his time with the Phoenix, to make himself the best player he can be.
"It's just always taking the lessons you learned and throwing them in the back of your head instead of throwing them in the trash," Pearson said. "Always keep everything with you, because everything's a learning lesson."
'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.
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