New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legendary receiver Marques Colston was inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl's Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Saturday, July 31, 2022.
New Orleans Saints legend Marques Colston and five other local sports greats were inducted into the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday, July 30 at the Caesars Superdome. It was Colston's first year of eligibility for the honor.
Drafted in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft, Colston said he had to overcome a lot to make the Saints in Sean Payton's first season as coach.
"I'd be lying if I didn't say I had doubts, but the only way you can get rid of doubts is outwork it," Colston said. "You mentioned that first training camp in Jackson and I think there were a lot of doubts."
The 23-year-old out of Hofstra University faced an uphill battle the moment he stepped into the league. Not only did he need to prove himself on the field, but had to do so with relatively little support. "When you come in the league as a seventh-round pick there's not a lot of people on the bandwagon anyways," Colston said. "My family has so much to do with my success; that was my bandwagon.
"I had this internal standard that I set for myself. That internal standard that I set became the bar. It didn't matter what was going on around me, that bar was for me."
By the end of his career, Colston set that bar to a mark that has not been matched. Following his 10-year career with the Saints, he became the all-time leader in receiving yards (9,579), receiving touchdowns (72) and total receptions (711).
Colston built his career through overcoming adversity. From being overlooked as a prospect to joining a team that was struggling from the impact of Hurricane Katrina, Colston played with a passion that was contagious.
"You can feel from day one that it was much bigger than football in this city and this region," Colston said. "There was a lot of responsibility that came with that as well as a lot of pride that came with that and you embraced that."
Taking on responsibility continued to echo throughout his speech Saturday night. Holding each other accountable was vital in order to push the limits on what could be achieved, he said.
"Just being able to be a part of that, feel some of that responsibility and really wanting to step into that responsibility is what made that team what it was," Colston said.
Colston said he was able to connect with New Orleanians because he was comfortable being uncomfortable. "We got here in '06, you saw what was going on around you," he said. "You saw that the people were trying to figure it out and trying to get back on their feet."
His perseverance and work ethic was a focal point over the course his career. "They saw the way he worked and the way that he prepared himself and that grew throughout that room," Saints offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said in a video played during the induction. "Nobody wanted to let him down because they knew he wasn't going to let anybody down on the team."
Although Colston's journey started with a few people in his corner, he quickly garnered the respect not only from his teammates but from the city that gave him a chance. "There are a lot of people around the Saints organization as well as people that I picked up along the way," Colston said. "So many people came into my life at the right time and I'm just truly humbled to have them. I'm up here on the backs of a lot of great people."
This induction adds to his list of post-career honors being: 2022 Greater New Orleans Hall of Fame, 2021 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and 2019 Saints Hall of Fame.
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints.
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
We look back at Saints Hall of Fame wide receiver Marques Colston's years with the New Orleans Saints
