The BYU Cougars kick off the 2025 season in 32 days against Portland State. As we continue counting down the days until kickoff, today we will profile the player who wears No. 32 - redshirt sophomore cornerback Marcus McKenzie - by providing three interesting, fun facts:
Fun fact No. 1 - He's fast. I mean, really, really fast.
BYU doesn't have a rich history of landing uber-athletic cornerbacks, but they did just that with Marcus. As a prep star at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah he not only excelled on the football field, but on the track as well. Back in 2021 he reportedly broke the Utah state records in both the 60 meter and the 200 meter dash.
Fun fact No. 2 - He's a BYU legacy guy who almost ended up at Virginia
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound cornerback was heavily recruited coming out of high school in 2021. His 247 Sports profile lists him as a three-star prospect (85 overall) with offers from the likes of Pitt, Arizona, Cal, and Virginia. Both Marcus and his twin brother, Dominique, originally committed to Bronco Mendenhall and Virginia before flipping their commitments to BYU shortly after Mendenhall's surprising retirement.
Coming to BYU was in Marcus's blood. His father, Brian, was a standout running back for the Cougars. In 1996 Brian rushed for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns only to follow that up in 1997 with 1,004 yards and 12 touchdowns. His mother, Salote, competed as a heptathlete at BYU, per McKenzie's player profile at the team's website.
Fun fact No. 3 - He's both "young and old"
Marcus served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Following his mission he enrolled at BYU in 2023 and appeared in six games with seven tackles and a fumble recovery. Last year he played five games with one tackle and one pass defended. He's listed as a redshirt sophomore on BYU's roster, so he already has 11 games and two full seasons in Jay Hill's defense under his belt.
With McKenzie being both "old and young" at this point in his college career, he should push to make the two-deep roster at cornerback in 2025.