Marcus Spears discussed his feelings and reminisced about his relationship with Mr. Hill at the Cowboys site:
Heavy Heart
Spears Mourns Tragic Death Of Former LSU Roommate
IRVING, Texas - Cowboys defensive end Marcus Spears attended the team's voluntary OTA (organized team activity) practice Tuesday morning at Valley Ranch.
Physically, he was at Valley Ranch, running through the drills and plays with his teammates.
But mentally, Spears admits his mind was somewhere else. Somewhere closer to his college teammates at LSU who are all coping with the tragic loss of Marquise Hill, who was found dead Monday afternoon after he reportedly fell off a personal watercraft and drowned in Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans. On Tuesday, authorities officially ruled the incident an "accidental drowning."
Spears and Hill entered LSU together back in 2002 and lived in the same house for three years. The Cowboys defensive end called Hill one of his best friends.
"It's tough, man," Spears said on Tuesday, still awaiting official word on the funeral plans. "It's just really tough. I'm still in shock, I guess. We all know death is something we've got to go through. But you're just never prepared for it, especially for a guy who's 24 years old and has a two-year old son. It's just tough."
Hill, a former LSU standout who spent the last three seasons with the New England Patriots, was pronounced dead Monday afternoon, some 17 hours after he was first reported missing.
Hill and a female friend reportedly ventured out on the lake where they fell off the watercraft Sunday night. Hill's friend was able to grab onto a piling until she was rescued.
But Hill, who friends say was a good swimmer, reportedly might have suffered a concussion and drifted away until his body was found on Monday afternoon. Investigators reportedly said neither was wearing a life vest.
"I got a call that night from Skyler (Green)," Spears said, referring to the former Cowboys draft pick in 2006 who played at LSU and is now a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. "He called me when (Hill) was first missing. So all night long I was just hoping he would turn up, washed up on the shore or something, just out of breath maybe. But that next day, when we didn't hear anything, I was just sort of waiting for the inevitable."
Although Hill and Spears began their collegiate careers together, Hill left LSU a year before Spears to declare for the 2004 NFL Draft. After getting selected in the second round (63rd overall), Hill had played only one game as a rookie and just 13 games in three seasons.
Spears said he last spoke to Hill about two weeks ago, but said he talked to him more during the season.
"Well, he was inactive for a few games, and I would always call him and talk to him about that - trying to keep his spirits up," Spears said. "But we were like brothers. We talked about everything. But he was in a good spot up there in New England. He was playing with some former LSU guys, some teammates. So I think he liked being up there."
Spears said Hill had become close with current Patriots and former LSU standouts Randall Gay, Kevin Faulk and Jarvis Green.
But in college, he said there was no separating the four who lived in the same house for three years.
"It was me and Marquise, and then Michael Clayton and Ben Wilkerson," Spears said. "We all lived three for about three years. And we always had the same dreams. We all said we were going to win a national championship and we were going to all make it to the pros. And we fulfilled that."
Those four players were all members of LSU's national championship in 2003 when they defeated Oklahoma in the BCS national championship game in New Orleans.
Hill jumped to the NFL that season, and Clayton also was drafted in the first round by Tampa Bay in 2004. Wilkerson, LSU's starting center, signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent following the 2005 draft, but has been with Cincinnati for the last two years.
"We were all pretty close," Spears said. "We kept in touch. Not as much was we probably should've, but that's usually how it goes. But anytime you lose someone like that, it's just real tough. That's about all I can really say."
Spears said he anticipated the funeral would be held in New Orleans, possibly as early as this week. He said he will remain in Dallas and even participate in the OTA practices until he leaves for the services.
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