The CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders are looking to write a new chapter in their history in 2018.
Fortunately for them, they have a published author in house.
Tailback/returner Marcus Thigpen wrote “Average Skill Phenomenal Will: The Marcus Thigpen Story” during his NFL career. The book was published in 2016, but Thigpen is in the process of tinkering with it. A new version — which he plans to rebrand “Resist and Persist” — is in the works.
“I really just want to inspire people; that’s my thing,” Thigpen, a 32-year-old product of Detroit, said after Friday’s closed practice. “I want to motivate, share my story with the world and let people know they can make it through whatever circumstances they’re going through — because I’ve been through a lot.”
The genesis for the book was a traumatic event that occurred when Thigpen was 14, an incident that he said “changed my life for the better.”
Thigpen declined to go into greater detail about the event, noting that he delves into it more deeply in the book. But writing about it was cathartic for Thigpen, who underwent counselling in his younger days.
“Just to be able to write it and relive those moments helped me put things in perspective,” he said. “I value and cherish time and life way more now than I did before. (Writing) is definitely relaxing as well. It helped me get through some things.”
After playing college football at Indiana University, Thigpen embarked on a lengthy journey across North America in pursuit of a job in pro football.
He had stops in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos in 2009 before signing with the Roughriders in October of that year. But Saskatchewan cut Thigpen in training camp in 2010 and he signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, for whom he became a special-teams star.
He turned that into an NFL contract with the Miami Dolphins in 2012 and spent the next four seasons in that league. He had stints with the New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders and Indianapolis Colts before his NFL career ended in 2015.
The whole time, he was thinking about writing.
“A lot of people asked me for advice on how to make it to the NFL or what my workout regimen was or what drives me or motivates me,” Thigpen said. “That made me think, ‘Maybe I should tell my story to more people.’
“Then I would go around talking at schools back home and they were really inspired. So I thought, ‘I should write a book and that will help jumpstart my speaking career.’ ”
He spent two years writing the book, finding time whenever he could to put his thoughts on paper. While he was playing author, he also was still playing in the NFL.
Thigpen’s partner in the project was motivational speaker Eric Thomas, but Thigpen did all of the writing. In fact, he calls writing “one of my passions” and he did what he could to fulfil it.
“Whenever I had some free time and I wasn’t tired or wasn’t playing with my children, I would sit down and write as much as I could,” Thigpen said. “At the beginning, it wasn’t really chapter by chapter. I was just getting it all out there and then I would go back and break it up into chapters.”
Thigpen said the book did “really well,” with people posting pictures on Instagram 
or texting the author and telling him they enjoyed it. Unfortunately for Thigpen, he never got firm financial numbers from the publisher, so he severed ties with that company.
That also set the stage for the rebranded version.
“I’ll probably add a little bit more to it,” Thigpen said. “As I went through it a couple of weeks ago, there were a few things I felt that I would like to add to it, things that I missed that could make it more detailed.”
Thigpen’s football career has taken a turn since his book first was published.
He was sitting at home in 2017, convinced that his career was over, when he saw a post on social media by then-Roughriders quarterback (and fellow Detroit resident) Kevin Glenn. Thigpen contacted his old friend, who in turn put Thigpen in touch with Roughriders head coach-GM Chris Jones.
One thing led to another and Jones signed Thigpen. He appeared in two regular-season games and two playoff games for the Roughriders, helping them reach the Eastern Final.
His 2018 season started two games late due to a league-imposed suspension for PED use, but he since has been a solid contributor on offence and special teams.
His highlights include a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and four TD runs, including two (covering 80 and 82 yards) that made him the first player in franchise history with a pair of 80-plus-yard runs in a season.
All of that material is bound for a second book.
“I want to do a sequel,” said Thigpen, whose team is to face the Edmonton Eskimos on Monday at Mosaic Stadium (2 p.m., CKRM, TSN). “That’ll include my divorce and what has happened up here to this point.
“Being here has honestly helped me out a lot. This has been my counselling. The fan base, the team, the camaraderie, and the support and love that I have got here have really helped me through this whole process.”
