Impressive Wideout: Brandon Marshall

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ENGLEWOOD — Brandon Marshall has been the toast of the passing camp.

All the Denver Broncos were raving about the rookie receiver out of Central Florida this week:

“I want to know what other teams were thinking passing up on him.” Cornerback Champ Bailey.
“I’ve been picking up a lot of things from Brandon.” — Receiver Javon Walker.

“He’s got all the tools right off.” — Quarterback Jake Plummer.

With so much praise being lavished on Marshall, fellow rookie wideout Domenik Hixon could be jealous. After all, the former Akron star can’t show off his talent right now. Hixon broke his foot a few months ago and has had to watch from the sidelines during passing camp.

“I’ve never sat out before,” said Hixon, who was picked in the fourth round (130th overall), just 11 spots behind Marshall. “So seeing other people work out there ...”
Hixon is happy for Marshall. In fact, they’re good friends.

But he can’t help but wonder how much ground he’s losing. So he’s making it up in other ways: He’s getting an NFL education on the sideline.

Since Walker is rehabbing his torn ACL, the two get to spend time together. Hixon always asks the vet questions.

“He said, ‘This is the first couple of steps in a marathon, so you don’t want to go out there too early, hurt yourself and not be able to finish,’” Hixon said. “He said, ‘Take your time, and whenever you come back, you’ll be ready.’”

Meanwhile, Marshall is catching everything thrown in the same ZIP code as him. When camp started, Marshall caught everyone’s eye. Bailey and company were raving about him.

“The day I saw the write-up on me as far as what Champ said, I was so shocked and surprised and happy,” Marshall said. “I called my academic advisor back at school, my father, my brothers, everybody. I was just like, ‘Wow.’”

But success won’t go to his head. Not after what happened the next day at practice.

“I went out there and dropped two balls,” Marshall said. “It put me back in my place.”

Lofty comparisons are nothing new for Marshall. After the Hula Bowl last season, he was being dubbed “Baby T.O.” by friends and media members.

“It’s an honor,” Marshall said of the reference to Terrell Owens. “He’s a good guy ... on the field. It’s just a blessing to be compared to arguably one of the best receivers in the league.”

Marshall (6-foot-4, 230) and Hixon (6-2, 192) have a lot of common — namely, both had to play defense during their careers to bail out their teams. Marshall played receiver and safety his junior season and led the team in tackles with 51. He also had eight catches for 84 yards.

In his freshman and sophomore seasons, Hixon played defensive back. He led the team in tackles with 111 his sophomore season. He also had one interception.

“We talked about playing defense,” Hixon said. “He led his team in tackles? I told him that I’ve got to grab the game film so we can see it.”

The time on defense is already paying off.

“When we were reading the coverages (during the Broncos’ passing camp), me and him were talking and he said, ‘That’s a huge advantage, just to know what coverage teams are in,’” Hixon said. “That helps a lot.”

So would being out on the field. Hixon wishes he could be taking part in the action instead of being a bystander.

He hurt his foot while working out before the draft. He noticed the foot was aching before Akron’s Pro Day but decided to participate anyway.

“I ended up running on it,” Hixon said.

Afterward, he got the foot checked out.

“(The doctors) said, ‘You were running on a broken foot,’” Hixon said. “That’s crazy.”
Teams shied away from him. They figured he was an injury risk. However, that was the only time he’s been injured in his career. He started 44 games for the Zips without so much as a pulled hamstring. Hixon is second on Akron’s all-time receptions list (141) and third in career yardage (2,092).

And yet the broken foot hounded him. That’s why he sank to the fourth round.
“I went to Cincinnati, and their trainer said, ‘That’s a risk. I don’t know if they’re willing to take you,’” Hixon said. “I just wanted an opportunity. The Broncos gave that to me, so I’m putting me whole heart into it. I just thank them for the opportunity.”

Hixon just wishes he could be out there competing with Marshall, who’s receiving all the praise and accolades.

“I like that Marshall kid,” cornerback Darrent Williams said. “He’s got that competitive edge. He’s going to be a good player for us.”

So will Hixon. He can’t wait to show how good.