Marve on a quest...

With just two seasons remaining in his college football career, Robert Marve has downsized his ambitions.

Where he once coveted a national championship, the junior quarterback at Purdue University would now settle for a Big Ten crown. And while Marve may still dream of winning the Heisman before he's done, he's focused on securing a bigger prize this season. As he embarks on a mission to make the Boilermakers a contender again, Marve is seeking personal redemption.

He believes the two goals go hand-in-hand as he continues to emerge from the dark clouds that hovered overhead with nearly every step he took in the two years he spent at the University of Miami. "More than anything, I've just grown up," said Marve, who will start his first game for Purdue on Saturday at Notre Dame. "My mom always said you are only as good as the people you put around you."

Marve was forced into a redshirt season as a freshman at Miami after he broke an arm in a car accident. Then in 2008, he was suspended for the season opener because of a disorderly conduct arrest. He ended up starting 11 games but sharing snaps with Jacory Harris. Then came the Emerald Bowl and another suspension — for academics — that essentially ended his chances of winning the duel with Harris.

Marve was granted his release in May 2009 with the stipulation that he couldn't transfer to a team in the ACC, SEC or any other Florida school. He swears that's not the only reason he invested in winter gear and headed to Purdue at Danny Hope's invitation.

"Personality-wise, Coach Hope is perfect for me," said Marve. "He's a motivator and he has guys around him like Coach (Gary) Nord (offensive coordinator) who are straight shooters."

It also helped that the Purdue's spread offense is similar to the one Marve had in high school in Tampa.

Hope claims Marve is the best quarterback he's coached. "If he's successful, we'll be successful," said Hope.

But Marve is coming back from a torn left ACL, suffered playing flag football with friends in Tampa after he left Miami. It re-enforced a lesson in personal responsibility. Marve said he was out of shape and heavier than he needed to be when he was injured.

Because of NCAA rules, he had to sit out last fall anyway. But the injury just added to his anxiety as he sat in on meetings and observed Joey Elliott, the former Harrison High standout who started last season. The stint on the sidelines gave Marve more time to deal with the angst he still shouldered from his two years in Miami.

There were good lessons he learned with the Hurricanes, too — starting in a road game at Florida with more than 80,000 fans making life difficult. The Canes lost, but Marve will rely on that experience at Notre Dame. "I know how it is when you can't hear yourself talk, when you can only give hand signals to the guy in front of you," he said. "It's not going to be something new to me."

But it will be a fresh start, one that will bring nearly 30 family members and friends north in support. What he hopes they see — along with everyone else — is a Purdue offense that can score points in a hurry. He said he's never worked with a better group of receivers in Keith Smith, Cortez Smith, Justin Siller and O.J. Ross. "These guys are all going to have the ball in their hands and they all can make something happen," he said.

Something good, if not great.

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