When Marquez Gollman was attending Grand Rapids Community College, he stayed in a house that was “falling apart piece-by-piece.”

Looking out of the window in his room, he could see a Grand Valley State building, with the name of the school cast against the sky in brilliant Laker blue.

He wasn’t playing football. He was focusing on grades, trying to get them up to GVSU’s standards so he could play for the Lakers. He’d wear GVSU gear to class at GRCC.

The Lakers wanted him, too. So far, the relationship is working out for both parties.

The junior nickelback has racked up 22 tackles and two interceptions – including a pick six against Lake Erie – in a key defensive position for the Lakers. As a nickel, Gollman plays the role of both a run-stopper and a coverage man.

“He’s a great run supporter, he’s also a great blitzer,” said GVSU head coach Matt Mitchell. “It’s a strong suit. When you walk in the door you wouldn’t think he’s a very physical player, but he’s a great tackler.

“He’s versatile enough to play every down. We can blitz him, he can play zone. There’s a lot on his plate from a mental standpoint. It’s a lot harder to play that position mentally than it is a corner.”

For Gollman, a hard task doesn’t mean a whole lot. His journey to GVSU was anything but a cakewalk.

At Ypsilanti High School, Gollman was a four-year varsity starter. As a junior, he only played in five games due to eligibility issues, but still managed to be named all-conference in the MHSAA Southeastern Conference.

The football side of life came easily to him, and schools from the next level noticed. Gollman received looks from Michigan State, Iowa, Indiana and a host of other Division I schools.

Math, history and biology, however, didn’t come as naturally to Gollman as hits and picks. His grades weren’t strong enough to grant him Division I entry. He lost scholarships, but GVSU continued to pursue him.

“When I took over as head coach (at Ypsilanti), I saw a young kid who had a lot of talent but was under the radar,” said then-Ypsilanti head coach Jason Malloy. “He wasn’t performing academically. Initially when I saw him practice, I thought, ‘Wow this kid has it.’ I found out he was ineligible. It wasn’t that he wasn’t a good kid, or not smart enough, to me he just didn’t have the motivation.”

At the Michigan High School All-Star football game in 2011, Gollman got a call from Laker coaches telling him he wasn’t accepted to GVSU.

“I was going to school but I wasn’t doing the work because I had a big head dealing with colleges sending me letters and stuff, so I didn’t believe school was a priority,” Gollman said. “I believed I could go anywhere just off my talent. Obviously, reality hit me and that wasn’t the case.”

Throughout his high school career, Gollman was mentored by Malloy, and his uncle, Marcus Hatch, a former Ferris State football player.

Malloy and Hatch pushed Gollman on and off the field. After failing to get into GVSU, Gollman enrolled at GRCC in an attempt to become eligible to play at GVSU. He didn’t play football at GRCC, and, after one year, was accepted to GVSU.

“Malloy came my junior year in high school. He saw how good I was and he was on me very hard, like I was his own son,” Gollman said. “Basically he pointed me in the right direction because he’s from the same area I’m from. It’s not very good – not too many people can make it out of there.”

Yet again, however, the one-time high school standout was forced to sit out a season, as the Lakers dressed Gollman with a redshirt. He played sparingly on a special teams player during his first season of eligibility in 2013, but sprung onto the team as a mainstay in the secondary in 2014.

With two interceptions in four games this season, Gollman is beginning to establish himself as a reliable defensive back.

Interceptions and coverage are key to excelling as a nickelback, but, for Gollman, imitating Seattle Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor and the “Legion of Boom” is more his style.

“I just like hitting people. Some people close their eyes when they hit people. Why do you close your eyes? I like to see the pain in people’s eyes when I get up from them,” Gollman said. “I like blitzing off the edge, hitting the quarterback.”

Gollman wears number 2, a tribute to Charles Woodson, one of his childhood idols. He considers it, “a primetime number,” something another one of his idols, Deion Sanders, knows a little something about.

Gollman, however, wears number 1 every game in a different form. He plays with the name of his 1-year-old daughter, Shaelyn, under his uniform on the back of his shoulder pads.

On Oct. 3, Gollman will take the field against Hillsdale as a member of the Grand Valley State football team. Thousands of eyes will be on the Laker defense – on Gollman, manning the No Fly Zone and wearing blue-and-black GV gear.

This time, he isn’t just wearing Laker colors to class. He isn’t staring out the window, longing for a chance to hit the field at Lubbers Stadium.

This time, he’s there. Out of Ypsilanti and out of the downtrodden house.

He’s on the gridiron, playing college football.

This time, he’s home.