Former UConn star Defensive Back and teammate Laban Marsh is our guest for Husky Talk. An episode that turned into a learning experience for me, Laban truly stole the show. From Pennsylvania, he was a dynamic athlete from an early age. Running track and also competing as a pole vaulter, he achieved many accolades. A mentor in his life met with Laban and his parents to explain while he was great at track, his best opportunity to receive a college scholarship was in football. Laban said there is no secret to success, it's all about hard work, believing in yourself, and having unshakeable confidence. He started to live in the weight room in 8th grade and pushed himself to the limit. Laban developed into a special athlete having a combination on impressive strength for his size, with lightning speed, he had a tremendous high school career. Unfortunately, he suffered multiple concussions, 5 that were diagnosed, and it easily could have been more. Skip Holtz won Laban over and he committed to UConn. He was a true competitor and loved the comradery in the locker room with his teammates. Avid podcast fan Nicky "the Fish" Cannon was Labans roommate and lifeline as he became responsible to be a human alarm clock. Laban is humble, grateful for the relationships him made on those memorable teams. Laban had a promising career at UConn. He was a playmaker on defense and instrumental to that crew which led to the 1998 team, considered one of the best in the history of the program. A 10-win season for the first time ever, defeating the eventual national champions twice in the regular season, along with winning the first and only playoff game against Hampton in school history. Unfortunately, Skip Holtz took a job at South Carolina and the wheels fell off. Laban suffered a career ending concussion against Kentucky in 1999, his 8th. When meeting with new coach Randy Edsall, a defining moment occurred which Laban discusses in detail about his work ethic. This is when he stood up for himself and left the program. He suffered feeling he let the team down and he fought back from what could have led into a bad situation. Laban went on to star in track, winning induvial Big East championships at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. Now he runs a family Real Estate business in Erie, PA which has been a huge success. I have not talked to Laban in 25 years, but I could feel his energy all the way in NY. Laban always has a positive attitude, a smile on his face, and desire, passion in anything he does. Married with 4 kids, Laban coaches track and stresses the importance of philanthropy, giving back. You will never be successful without giving back and too many people want to wait to have that success before contributing. I was moved by Labans journey. He knows that he doesn't know it all, despite being one of the smartest people I've ever met. He has a business coach, always striving to learn, always looking for ways to improve. It was an experience having him on, and we will definitely hear from Laban again.
