It was a slow day in June, time for an NFL player to steal hours with his family during the offseason. Brandon Marshall, a Broncos starting inside linebacker, was headed to the airport but had a more important trip first. Asphalt disappearing under his car tires, Marshall turned down a street in West Las Vegas.
Through the most difficult times — the concern for his mother’s safety, the anxiety about his own future — Marshall found solace at his granddad’s home. Little Roy Williams, a World War II Navy veteran and master carpenter, had a way of putting people at ease. A man of faith and principle, Little created peace amid turbulence for young Brandon, let him know it was OK to dream.
“I always considered him the rock of our family,” Marshall said. “He was the major father figure in my life. His home was everybody’s safe house. You could get a good meal, good conversation, watch sports. Talking to him, it would just take my mind off a lot of things.”
Marshall always thought about his granddad. But this June day was different, the gravitational pull strong. He knew he had to visit, recognizing Little’s advice could help him deal with the lingering pain and doubt caused by the Lisfranc surgery on his right foot. Little had been in and out of a hospital the last few months. He wasn’t feeling well, though it never occurred to Marshall he wouldn’t improve.
“I was there at his house with my cousin Anthony. He said, ‘Anthony, you are a successful engineer. Brandon, you are in the NFL. I am proud of you,’ ” recalled Marshall, hesitating. “Then he actually cried. I was shocked. It was the first time in my life I had seen him cry. It was then that I understood the impact we had on each other. And when I knew something was really wrong.”
Little Roy Williams died a few weeks later at age 88, passing away July 7 after contracting pneumonia following surgery. The family gathered at his bedside: Brandon, along with mother Barbara and his brother, Marcus. When you mention Little two months later, the memories tumble out. Little — he had an uncle named Big — sitting in his maroon chair in his Las Vegas living room, dressed in his Los Angeles Lakers cap and sweat shirt, talking to her boys. The breakfasts at Denny’s in Reno following Brandon’s games at the University of Nevada.
A picture from one of those days is her favorite. One taken in a hospital remains the most poignant. Brandon is holding his granddad’s hand in his final moments. “It means a lot to Brandon and I. It’s very powerful,” Barbara said.
“Tribute … was beautiful”
Little’s absence hurts Brandon. It can be heard in his voice. He has dedicated this season to his granddad, and honored him with a tattoo on his chest reading “Williams 7-1826— 7-7-15” while depicting a hand holding a hammer about to pound a nail.
“I didn’t know about it. He wanted to surprise me. When he sent me the picture, it brought me to tears,” Barbara said. “For him to give him that tribute. … It was beautiful.”
It’s hard for Brandon to explain how much Little meant to him as he embarks on the most important season in his NFL career. Little was the one who explained things to him. He encouraged him to play sports. He rented a van for the family and drove Brandon off to college, where he started four seasons. He reminded him to keep his priorities straight. He taught him to be a man after Brandon and Marcus watched their father abuse Barbara, who courageously escaped to a shelter with her sons when they were 10 and 12, forging steps of hope that have led her to help victims of domestic violence.
“I was so fortunate my children had such a great man like that in their lives,” said Barbara, whose son Marcus is a talented singer and songwriter. “He really taught them about respect and responsibility.”
This season set up as a challenge before Little died. Marshall injured his right foot Dec. 14 at San Diego. He missed the final two games last season, then played sparingly in the playoff loss to the Colts. When the injury didn’t heal, Marshall had surgery March 11. He will play this season with two screws in his foot, his recovery a month ahead of schedule as he starts Sunday’s opener against the Ravens.
“I don’t have control of what happens to me, but I have control over how I respond,” said Marshall, echoing his granddad’s advice. “It’s going to nag at me. I have to work hard and rehab. I am still fighting these battles. It’s painful. It’s aggravating.
“But you know what? I have to push through this for my team, myself and my family. I am on a mission to prove I can overcome a Lisfranc injury and have a great season.”
No denying super dream
It never dawned on Broncos tight end Virgil Green that Marshall would not play again. They first met at Nevada when Marshall lived across the street. Green recognized Marshall, then an outside linebacker, had uncommon focus.
“He was really mature, well beyond his years,” Green said. “We trained a lot at the facility this offseason, and I just knew that somehow, someway Brandon would find a way to get back on the field.”
Barbara likes to joke the three of them — she, Brandon and Little — could be triplets. They have inner strength, quiet confidence, their values mirroring each other.
Humility defines Marshall. He deflects praise, and talks about his team like it’s his family.
He led the Broncos in tackles last season with 110, a rocket ride to prominence after the Jaguars cut him, forcing him to climb up from Denver’s practice squad. The ascension began in 2013, a season he will forever remember because of Little.
It was after the third preseason game, and his granddad rang.
“He says, ‘Hey, Brandon I had a dream that you were playing in the Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl!’ At first I got excited. I thought it was cool. But then I thought about where I was at,” Marshall said with a smile. “I said, ‘Granddad, I am in Jacksonville, it might be a while.’ He said, ‘No, Brandon, I had the dream.’ “
Marshall ended up in Denver. He was not an active player, at least not until Dec. 24, but his imagination ran wild.
“As the season went on, I realized we had a great team. Then next thing I know we are in the Super Bowl,” Marshall said. “One of my favorite memories is talking to him about that, and telling him he was right.”
Sunday will be a transition for Marshall. As part of his game-day ritual, he called his granddad on his way to the stadium. It began in college. They were snapshots back to Marshall’s youth when he hung out in Little’s home and talked sports.
“It was just great hearing his voice, you know?” Marshall said.
He will call his mom Sunday. They will pray and give thanks.
“I had to be here for this game. It’s going to be emotional,” Barbara said. “I am so used to talking to my dad during the games. We couldn’t hear each other, but he wanted to know all the details. It’s going to be tough. But it’s good too. My dad’s spirit lives on through Brandon.”
Troy E. Renck: trenck@denverpost.com or
