DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Brandon Marshall to Help Ricardo Lewis This Summer

Brandon Marshall offers to help Browns' Ricardo Louis this summer after finally seeing direct message | cleveland.com
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BEREA, Ohio - It took Giants receiver Brandon Marshall 18 months to answer Browns receiver Ricardo Louis back on Instagram, but it was worth the wait.

The crafty ol' veteran and six-time Pro Bowler agreed to take the Browns' second-year wideout under his wing and train with him this summer in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

"It's a funny story,'' Louis said before minicamp practice Tuesday. "About a year and a half ago, sent him a message on Instagram. I was looking for advice because moving to receiver (from high school quarterback) was kind of tough. So I had to find somebody who could help me figure it out. So I hit him up, and actually last week he hit me back after a year and a half.

"He was like, 'Sorry, I just saw it.' And that just goes to show me what kind of guy he is. You can tell that he's very genuine. He's a very good guy, to me, just based on what he did with that, hitting me back after a year and to say, 'I would love to get together with you.' He's going to have his assistant call me and set up everything. I think that by him doing that he really wants me to succeed."

Louis, the Browns' fourth-round pick in 2016 out of Auburn, reached out to Marshall because the veteran is of similar size and athletic ability. Louis is 6-2, 215 and Marshall is 6-4, 230.

"He's been in the league a while,'' said Louis. "He's been a couple different places. He's one of those guys that I looked up to growing up, moving to receiver. He's a big, physical receiver. He knows how to run routes. He goes up and grabs the ball. So him and guys like Andre Johnson, Antonio Brown, they're down from around my area (in Miami), so I get in touch with them. I learn everything I can from him."

Louis hasn't trained formally with Johnson, the former Texans, Titans and Colts receiver, or Brown, the current Pittsburgh star, but he hopes to get tips from this offseason too.

"They train at a local spot in the neighborhood, so whenever we get a chance to meet up this offseason, I'll probably go over there and see what those guys are up to,'' he said.

Louis already absorbed as much as he could last year from former Browns receiver Terrelle Pryor, who signed with the Redskins as a free agent in the offseason. Pryor told cleveland.com after he left that Louis was an emerging player to watch for in 2017.

"It definitely makes me feel good coming from him, because he's one those guys that I look to as a veteran and I watched him and how he prepared for games, and how he practiced and everything he did leading up to the season,'' he said. "I took a lot of things from him and I learned a lot.''

Like Pryor, Louis has had to make the quantum leap from quarterback to receiver. The difference is, Louis did in college instead of after years in the pros.

"(Quarterback is) all I wanted to be,'' said Louis. "But when I did move to receiver, I was very raw. There were a lot of things I didn't know about playing receiver. It wasn't just about running off the ball and catching the ball. Of course, that's a big part of it, but there's a lot of technique and detailed things that you have to learn with playing receiver and that's what I didn't know. But I learned it along the way, and I'm still learning now, which is allowing me to take the next step."

During OTAs and minicamp, Louis has also been picking the brain of longtime veteran Kenny Britt, who replaced Pryor.

"He definitely has a lot of knowledge of the game,'' he said. "He's been a lot of places. ...He knows what to expect. He's a very cool guy. He's quiet but he can be loud sometimes. He's funny though and he's a leader. He leads in a different way, but you can tell he wants the best out of everybody.''

Louis, one of four receivers draft last year along with Corey Coleman, Rashard Higgins and Jordan Payton, was sad to see Coleman go down in OTAs with a sore hamstring and another undisclosed injury.

With Coleman idle and Britt limited, Louis has been getting more reps and standing out in spring practices.

Last season, in a reserve role, he caught only 18 passes for 205 yards and no TDs. But he's worked hard to improve and his coaches are noticing.

"I'm coming off the ball a lot faster,'' he said. "I'm able to use my speed and scare the DBs. My route running is just a lot more advanced than it was last year as far as changing directions, coming out of breaks and creating separation.''

He's looked so much better that he's talking about challenging for one of the starting jobs.

"Definitely, I have a chance,'' he said. "Nobody's No. 1, nobody's No. 2. Right now we're just all competing to see who can do things the best. It's just a whole competitive environment right now.''

With a little help from friends such as Brandon Marshall, he just might get there.

Hope he picks up Brandon's good habits.

Pulling for him! Hope he can prove the naysayers wrong.

Naysayers ... the kid can't catch ... *LOL* ..

Is Marshall going to get him a new pair of hands ... ...

He shows he is eager to learn.

yes it does. I hope he picks his brain as much as he can. We need one of last years rookies to make a jump this year.

I like it! Take advantage of that situation there Lewis, soak it all in.

J/C Smart Kid, glad to see the off season for this kid is about getting better. Year 2 is a big deal for young receivers, he has the size and speed. We could use a nice suprise at that position group. Sashi an co. seemed to like some of these guys a little more than others last draft. I hope it pays dividends, we are friggin due.

nice, he didn't lose focus on the ball that play.

I remember that game. I was up in Cleveland for a Browns game. I was in the lobby of the Marriott in Westlake, waiting for a cab. I didn't want to drive that night. I was pulling for Auburn, but figured the Dawgs were going to win, so called the cab and went to the lobby. Switched the TV and a few minutes later saw that.

Has to be one of the greatest endings to a football game in college football history. Stunning.

Honestly that's more luck than anything.

He doesn't know where the ball is.

He just happens to look in the right direction.

let's hope that lady luck looks our way next year lol we gonna need it.

I want to see 5-6 wins this year.

No doubt Lady Luck played a role. He still had to catch it.


I am not posting to pimp him as much as I am posting to pimp one of the greatest endings to a football game I have ever seen.

On the Pro level, the Music City Miracle is another.

As a Georgia guy, I too remember that game.. smh..

Well the bar of preseason expectation for bright young thing receivers around these parts is set at Brandon Rideau and Frisman Jackson so any kind of regular season production is an improvement. As always, we'll see.

You're right. We'll see. In the end it probably won't be as good as some think and not as bad as others think. How much more it nudges one way or the other will dictate the results.

I gotta admit, he has made a couple catches during these sessions that no way he makes last year. That over the shoulder catch he made yesterday was a true thing of beauty. Al Sanders getting anything out of him was a miracle. I don't see it happening but the meter has gone from 0% to maybe 25% that he becomes even a halfway decent nfl receiver.

So...trending up Let's hope so.