If you never caught the five-year run of NBC’s “Friday Night Lights,” it’s worth a look on Amazon or ESPN Classic. It’s the best sports-themed TV drama since Aaron Sorkin’s “Sports Night” or Gwyneth Paltrow’s dad produced “The White Shadow” in the late ’70s.
Starring Kyle Chandler and the utterly luscious Connie Britton, “Lights” followed a coach and his players in a small Texas town. The series explored issues and made real the pressures to win and rise to the moment. The characters had depth, the writing sparkled, and the football segments perfectly captured the feel of a high school football game in Texas, where football is a religion and a way of life.
Also among the stars of the show was Gaius Charles, playing a running back named Brian “Smash” Williams, a talented cutback runner with both acceleration and the ability to get the hard yards. The fictional Smash was cocky and arrogant, his loud, brash manner driving many of the story lines. Marshall is far more modest and team-oriented, but with his tough running style, more deserving of the nickname.
High and tight: Byron “Smash” Marshall turns the corner in the Spring Game (Getty images photo). Marshall led all rushers on the day with six carries for 60 yards and a touchdown, busting a 26-yard run on the 4th play of the game.
Thomas Tyner’s high school teammates called him “Dash.” Which gives the Ducks Smash and Dash. Seems perfect, given their likely roles in the offense.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jwk4Ka2nCGE
Ironically, the video depicts a tryout in full pads, which would be a violation of NCAA rules. Which isn’t to say it’s never happened. The passion of a coach for his players and the pressure to make it is depicted perfectly. In 2011 Chandler won an Best Acting in a Drama Emmy for his work in the show, and has since gone on to film roles like “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Argo.”
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