Maye taking a different path

Marcus Maye lights up most fields he steps onto, most Friday nights – even the barely-lit ones.

On Friday, Maye, a Florida oral commit, and Melbourne Holy Trinity (2-0) dominated St. Petersburg Catholic (0-3), 35-6, on a run-down Northside Christian field more suitable as a dog park than a football field.

Fans were welcomed with a buzz of cicadas louder than a lone cheerleading squad and greeted with “You want a mosquito wipe, honey?” from a football mom in a homemade, glittered shirt glorifying a 17-year-old long snapper. Both sidelines lacked bands.

Ten rows of wooden bleachers constituted seating. There were 24 kids on the sideline and 17 in the stands with some clappers. Only three lights initially illuminated the field. The goalposts stood rusted, evidently erected far before these players were even born. The complex’s periphery seemed to be bordered by swampland beyond the trees and chain-link fences.

Maye, rated the No. 5 safety in the nation by Rivals.com, is used to this kind of low-key playing environment.

“It’s definitely like, ‘Wow,’ but I still gotta play to the best of my ability and do everything I have to do to get the job done,” he said, of playing in obscure backyard pitches of grass across Florida’s tiny Class 3A landscape.

Marcus Maye is an oral safety commit for UF.

After going up against some of the nation’s best talent during summer’s combine season, Maye has received plenty hate mail regarding his choice to play at Holy Trinity rather than a larger Melbourne public school in a competitive class.

“I decided to go to the Holy Trinity School because it was a college preparatory school, and then football was just, you know, there,” he said. “I felt like I needed to get away from certain things and be around the right people to keep focused and maintain that right path. I definitely get (criticism) from all my friends who go to public school…They say, ‘Oh, you play small ball,’ but I just take it and run with it. I feel like I dedicate myself hard enough to where I can be fulfilled and prove everybody wrong.”

Come fall 2012, though, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Maye will have to transition from playing near local swamplands to The Swamp – a few steps up from 17 parents in the stands.

Maye came to Gainesville for Florida’s Southeastern Conference opener against Tennessee, his second gameday experience. He thinks he’s ready to line up among those orange-and-blue jerseys in a few months.

“I mean, it’s not gonna be easy,” he said. “I’ve made a very big jump from (3)A football to SEC football, but I feel like I work hard and that’s why I can make that transition anywhere.”

By the end of the first quarter of Friday’s matchup, Maye’s Holy Trinity jersey was scuffed with dirt and grass stains – a contrast to his teammates’ still-pristine, white jerseys – providing evidence of his heavy uses as safety, tailback, punt and kick returner. He finished with 142 yards and three of the Tigers’ five touchdowns, although three additional touchdowns of his were called back. On the other side of the ball, he tallied eight tackles.

After an explosive 40-yard interception return, Maye raised his hand and extended his arms, preparing to do the Gator Chomp in the end zone.

In this brief moment of celebration, one of Florida high school football’s most unassuming egos was called back to the 2-yard line for dropping the ball before crossing the goal line. A St. Pete Catholic defender recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchback. So Maye lined up again, this time on defense, just to watch the opposing team take it 80 yards for its lone touch down of the night. He expressed no reaction.

Humility is perhaps something public school wouldn’t have taught him.

Note: Oral commitments are non-binding until a national letter of intent is signed on or after National Signing Day on Feb. 1

A version of this article originally appeared in the Independent Florida Alligator on Sept. 20.