Marquel Tinsley, a 6’3” senior wide receiver for Daviess County High School, has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his football career at Middle Tennessee State University.
His signing with the school in Murfreesboro, Tenn., came on the first day of the NCAA early signing period for all Division 1 football schools. MTSU competes in Conference USA.
Tinsley is receiving a full scholarship, and he will enroll and join the football team in the fall.
Tinsley, originally of Morganfield, Ky., moved to Owensboro midway through his freshman year, and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.
He said he will look back on his time as a Panther fondly.
“It was a new beginning for me since I’m not from here,” he said. “I really enjoyed the hard work that everybody put in around me. We were rebuilding a culture, and I was happy to be a part of it and leave a legacy behind.”
Over his three-year career at DCHS, Tinsley worked his way near the top of the Kentucky receiver rankings. He’s only the seventh player in the state to surpass 4,000 receiving yards.
Tinsley finished with 4,069 receiving yards (seventh all time), 60 receiving touchdowns (third all time) and 219 catches (tied for eighth all time).
Tinsley’s individual season stats were consistent:
2016 Season (Sophomore) — 11 games played, 73 catches, 1,368 yards, 21 TD
2017 Season (Junior) — 12 games played, 76 catches, 1,447 yards, 23 TD
2018 Season (Senior) — 9 games played, 70 catches, 1,301 yards, 18 TD
“That’s what I’ve been working for my whole life,” Tinsley said of his accomplishments. “I’m happy to achieve all of those goals, but I still want to reach new heights.”
Daviess County head coach Matt Brannon said Tinsley benefitted the program both on and off the field.
“Marquel is not only an unbelievable football player, but he is an even better person,” Brannon said. “He is kind, humble, hardworking and intelligent. Mix those characteristics with his God-given talent, and he is undoubtedly the most talented player I have had the pleasure to coach.”
Tinsley’s talent caught the eye of MTSU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tony Franklin, and the Blue Raiders reached out. Tinsley said he didn’t know much about MTSU until he was invited to a camp there, and it was an easy decision to pick them.
“I went down there and that’s where I picked up steam in the (recruiting) process,” he said. “I got like five offers my first day, and Middle Tennessee was my first one. Ever since then, they’ve been keeping in contact and coming to my games in the regular season. I just felt like they were part of my family and I had a good relationship with all the coaches.”
After showing he can produce in each of his three seasons at Daviess County, the Blue Raiders will look to use him right away.
“My receivers coach is looking for me to come in right away and make an impact,” Tinsley said. “I feel like I can do so as long as I learn the plays and get in the system.”
While his focus if football, Tinsley said his education will be the top priority.
“My number one goal is to get a degree in case football doesn’t work out, so I can have something to fall back on,” he said. “My main goal since I was a little kid was to make it to make it to the NFL and make sure I can take care of all my family and everybody that’s helped me through my life.”
