USF Athletics

Football (1999-2002)

Marquel Blackwell was a four-year standout quarterback for USF who still holds several school passing records, including 9,108 career yards from 1999-2002.

Blackwell’s other program passing records include: career completions (795), season completions (258, 2001), game completions (37, twice in 2001), career attempts (1,417), season attempts (456) and game attempts (65, 2001), season 200-yard games (10, 2001) and career 200-yard games (23).

Blackwell’s passing yards per game average (262.0, 2001) is still atop the all-time USF season chart and he ranks second behind only Quinton Flowers with 67 career passing touchdowns.  Blackwell is USF’s career leader in plays (1,819) and shares the record with Matt Grothe for plays in a game with 76 (2001).

While leading the Bulls, Blackwell compiled a 30-12 record and led USF to its first nine-win season in 2002 while serving as one of the team's four captains. He finished his collegiate career with 10,343 total yards, which rank fourth in USF history, and his 87 touchdowns responsible for are the second-most on the Bulls’ career chart.

After college, Blackwell signed with the New York Jets, appearing and starting in the last preseason game before the 2003 regular season. Following stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Storm, Blackwell began his coaching career as the offensive coordinator at Tampa's Freedom High School in 2006 before serving as head coach at Freedom from 2007-08.

Blackwell returned to USF for two different football coaching stints, first as the Bulls’ quality control coach from 2009-11. Blackwell was USF football’s director of player development in 2013.

A St. Petersburg, Fla., native, Blackwell graduated from USF in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He and his wife, Sharvettye, have two daughters, LeQuay and Shaye.

Blackwell was inducted into the USF Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. Most recently, Blackwell was named co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Houston on Jan. 11, 2019 after serving one season as the running backs coach at West Virginia.