Introduction
Marquel Blackwell (born July 29, 1979) is a former American football quarterback and current running backs coach Houston.
Playing career
After playing for Lakewood and Dixie Hollins High Schools in Pinellas County Florida, Blackwell was the quarterback at the University of South Florida for four seasons. From 1999 to 2002, he threw for 9,108 yards and 57 touchdowns, and had 1,235 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns during his career. He set most of the school's individual passing records during his time as quarterback; as of 2009, he is also the Bulls' No. 6 career rusher and No. 3 in rushing touchdowns. Blackwell became a starter three games into his redshirt freshman season and led South Florida to a 30–12 mark during the Bulls' move from Division I-AA to I-A in 2001.
Blackwell entered the 2003 NFL Draft but was not drafted. He signed with the New York Jets as a rookie free agent but only saw playing time in 1 preseason game. Blackwell started the preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Blackwell threw for two touchdowns and 111 yards in the first half. He was the Jets' No. 2 qb in Week 1 of the regular season (The Jets released backup Jamie Martin so the club did not have to pay his entire season salary if he was not on the roster Week 1), only to be cut again after week 1 when Martin returned. Blackwell had brief stints, but did not appear, in the Arena Football League with the Tampa Bay Storm, in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and in the CFL. He did start one game in Arena Football 2, where former Dixie and USF teammate Glenn Davis served as assistant coach.
Coaching career
Blackwell spent two years as the head coach of Freedom High School's football team following his playing career, and in 2009 became a program assistant at the University of South Florida.
On February 15, 2018, Blackwell was named the running backs coach at West Virginia University.
On January 11, 2019, Blackwell joined Dana Holgorsen at the University of Houston as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Following the 2019 season, Blackwell was demoted to running backs coach after Houston was 78th in yards per game on offense in 2019.