Watch a Cal men's soccer game, and you'll notice a huge presence in the middle of the field among all the quick and slender players.

Headers? He'll win them.

Corners? He's the big man in the box.

That presence is senior Pat Marion, a constant component of the team's movement and dynamics.

"He has got such a great physique to him that he can be intimidating to opponents," says coach Kevin Grimes. "He is just a guy that all of our players can rely on, and he is rock solid throughout his play, offensively and defensively."

Marion stands out on the field, but watch a game for a while, and you'll see that he doesn't stay in one place. It isn't that the senior wanders, it's that the center midfielder actually fits in anywhere.

"Definitely in club, but not here," Marion says about specializing in his central position. "Here I have been everywhere. In practice I have been in the back, in the spring I was centerback for a few games, outside mid, center mid, forward. Every year I play forward, just randomly, at different times."

It's rare to find a player that can cover the field, but according to Grimes the senior is an option that he can't resist using to his team's advantage.

"He has got so many different facets to his game that he can play about three or four spots quite well," says Grimes. "You have to utilize that strength of his, he's got that versatility ... There aren't many guys on the team who can do that other than Pat."

One of the tallest players on the squad at 6-foot-2, Marion used his height in high school to play basketball, and not soccer.

Rather than damage his soccer prospects, however, Marion's time on the hardwood gave him new skills to bring to the field.

"I think it helps out because it shows what a great athlete he is, he can play multiple sports," says Grimes. "The fact that he has leaping ability, timing in the air, and courage-in basketball you are going for rebounds and you have to have a lot of courage to go up for those-I think all those facets have helped him in soccer."

Marion is the first to admit he wanted to go to Cal, and in fact already had connections with the school and the team, having known Grimes previously as well as an older brother who played in the program.

"Coach Grimes coached me under-10 and under-11 in club, so I had a connection with him at a young age," says Marion. "(Cal) was always my number one school. When you started talking to me, it was where I was most comfortable, their style of play, it's a great university. It had the all-around qualities I was looking for."

The early interactions not only kept Marion on Grimes's radar, but also came in handy during recruiting.

"I recruited him because I think he was one of the best players in California when he came out as a senior, and it just so happened that I had coached him when he was a kid, too," says Grimes. "We felt like we had a good advantage going into recruiting with the fact that we knew him and his parents already, and that he had already been coached by us."

Those early impressions seem to have foreshadowed the kind of player that Marion has developed into today. The senior has continuously improved, going from contributing off the bench as a true freshman to establishing himself as a starter for every game. Currently, he's tied for second on the team in goals, with three.

"He was quiet," Grimes says of the younger Marion. "But he had the same kind of presence on the field. Once the game started he was one of the guys that you noticed all the time, even at a young age.

"He really could take a game over at any point in time and lead his team to great performances and great wins. He still has that ability now even as a college senior, I think a lot of similarities at age nine and 10 you still see at 21 and 22."

Heading into what could be his last home game this Saturday against Stanford, Marion also has a special streak that he hopes to continue.

"I don't know if I should say anything, but I have scored in every game at home against Stanford," Marion says with a grin. "And for a guy that doesn't score much that's kind of cool."

Tags: CAL MEN'S SOCCER, PAT MARION