Marques Clark thought his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came last summer. After six years away from football and getting laid off from a couple of jobs, the former Henderson State receiver landed a job as the receivers coach at Westview High School in his hometown of San Diego.
Westview just happened to be the place where some NFL players such as New Orleans Saints quarterbacks Drew Brees, Chase Daniel and Sean Canfield spent their summers doing passing drills.
And sure enough, Brees saw Clark coaching players and asked if he wanted to run some routes.
Unbelievable, right?
Wait 'til you hear the rest of the story.
After Clark spent the past two summers joining the NFL and college players two or three times a week in those practice sessions, Brees was so impressed that he suggested the Saints give the 28-year-old Clark a tryout. The Saints, of course, took Brees' recommendation seriously -- especially since it's not something he does often-- and brought Clark in for a look earlier this week. And they liked what they saw enough to sign him to the 90-man roster for training camp.
Clark is still the longest of long shots to make the team. But that doesn't seem to bother him.
"Every day I wake up like, 'Where am I right now? Am I really here?'" said Clark, who didn't run a 40 or have an NFL tryout after his college career ended in 2006. "Every time I walk in the locker room, I'm smiling, and I don't even know why."
The tryout itself was enough to make Clark feel that way. He said he was taking pictures "of everything" that day, not expecting that he'd be around much longer.
"I even took pictures of the field because this grass is amazing," said Clark, who practiced on that grass for the first time Saturday. "And I'm still here, thankfully."
When the Saints told Clark after the workout that they planned to sign him, Clark described it as an "out-of-body experience."
Brees and Daniel both smiled when they were asked about Clark -- and both raved about how the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder had such great hands and body control during all those practice sessions. Brees said he thinks Clark dropped just one pass in the two years combined.
Brees and Daniel both said he just "looked the part" and looked like he belonged out there on the practice field, along with such NFL receivers as Terrell Owens, Greg Camarillo, Legedu Naanee, Malcolm Floyd and Kassim Osgood under the direction of trainer Todd Durkin.
"He would come out and run routes. And we were just like, 'Man, what's this guy's story?' " Brees said. "He is just plucking it, and all of us are like, 'This guy should be on an NFL roster.' So, I'm like, 'Marques, man, what's the story?'"
Clark's story is that he didn't dra enough interest to get invited for a workout after college, even though he had a solid two-year career there with 91 catches for 1,456 yards and 11 touchdowns.
"Coming out of college, I didn't know the process," said Clark, who said he tried out twice for the United Football League, but he described them more as "promotional" tryouts where no one got signed.
Instead of pursuing a football career, Clark stayed in school at Henderson State in Arkansas until he graduated in 2009. Then he went back to San Diego and took a job as a cashier at a casino and did some administrative work for a company that went under before landing the high school coaching job that would change his life in a way he never thought possible.
All the while, though, Clark did say that he tried to stay in shape and work on his craft, "just in case."
And he definitely worked out even more feverishly after that first summer with Brees and Co.
"Last year, after Drew gave me some words of encouragement, I just went like super hard the whole rest of the summer, that whole year and came back again," said Clark, who couldn't wait for the guys to show up again this summer.
"Oh yeah," he said. "I was lookin' for 'em."
Clark, to say the least, couldn't believe his ears when Brees pulled him aside earlier this month and asked if he'd be interested in trying out with the Saints.
"I said, 'Does that sound like something you'd be interested in?' And he's like, 'Man that'd be a dream come true,'" said Brees, who passed on his scouting report to quarterbacks coach Joe Lombardi and pro scouting director Ryan Pace. "I said, 'I can't make any promises. But I'll call the guys and tell 'em what we've seen.'"
Clark, of course, didn't leave his phone for days after that and even had to work off nervous energy at the gym before the call finally came in.
Durkin compared Clark's story to "Rudy," the walk-on defensive end who got to play in one game at Notre Dame. But Clark joked that he hopes he's a better player and gets a little more playing time.
And not surprising, several people already have told Clark how his story reminds them of "Beerman" Michael Lewis, who went from driving a beer delivery truck to starring as a kick returner for the Saints a decade ago.
Durkin, who is a personal trainer and motivator, loves Clark's story more than most because he said it is a perfect example of what he tries to preach to his guys. And now he has a living, breathing example.
"One of my mantras is, 'Live your life worth telling a story about.' And I end it with, 'What's your story?' I even have that on T-shirts," Durkin said. "And a lot of people give up on their story. Well, Marques Clark right now is in the midst of defining what his story is about. He could've given up five years ago or three years ago."
Brees, Daniel and Durkin all raved about how humble and modest Clark is, how hard he works and how eager he is to do whatever's asked of him.
Clark admitted that it hasn't been easy, by any stretch. He's absorbing new routes and a new playbook while trying to get out of some old habits.
"There's a lot to pick up, and I have to get it quick, too," Clark said. "But the highs are just waking up here every day. That's all I can ask for."
Morstead just got a 6-year extension. 
keep kicking bombs bruh.
Jabari Greer is having sports hernia surgery. They're saying he SHOULD be back in time for the regular season.
