Day 37: The Finnish Phenom

Quarshie in the silver and black


Michael Quarshie '05 is an example of just how far you have to look to find unique and dominating Ivy talent.

Quarshie grew up in Finland of all places and learned about American football from the soldiers at the U.S. military base in Helsinki.

He first came to the U.S. to play football at St. Peters College, but transferred to Columbia in 2002.

After sitting out the transfer year by rule, he made an immediate impact as a junior in 2003 with 57 total tackles and 12 tackles for a loss. That earned him 2nd Team All Ivy Honors.

Quarshie then became a rare bright spot in the disappointing 2004 season, with 59 tackles, including 16 tackles for a loss. For 2004, Quarshie was 1st Team All Ivy.

Game after game, Quarshie bottled up the run up the middle while still terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. That gave him a shot at the NFL and he made the Oakland Raiders in 2005 before an injury in preseason effectively ended his pro career.

Quarshie is still promoting football in his homeland of Finland and I predict he will become a name in the NFL offices one day... just have a feeling.