‘You played for him:’ How Western Michigan is honoring Marshawn Kneeland’s legacy

Kalamazoo — Lance Taylor looked down at the lectern and collected his thoughts. 

In the last six days, the Western Michigan head coach and his program prepped for a major weeknight game with conference title implications, on senior night, and all against the backdrop of tragedy that struck late last week, as former WMU defensive star Marshawn Kneeland was dead after an apparent suicide. He was 24. 

The Broncos honored Kneeland with a moment of silence before kickoff against Ohio on Tuesday night, wore helmet decals with his initials and No. 99, as well as putting that number on the turf at Waldo Stadium. The captains carried his game-worn jersey to midfield for the coin toss, and the teams shared a moment at midfield postgame. 

But along with their honors attached to the game, the Broncos wanted to remember Kneeland another way: How they played. 

“Heartbreaking news this week,” Taylor said, breaking the silence. “We honored his life and legacy tonight and this week, tonight at the game, the moment of silence. But also, our challenge as a team was to honor his life by how we played today. And really proud of our team, our coaches, our staff, our university, all those who showed up tonight and honored him by how our players played.”

With a 17-13 win over Ohio on Tuesday night, Western Michigan (6-4, 5-1 MAC) made good on their desire to honor Kneeland and his legacy in Kalamazoo through their play. And as the Broncos continue with the final two games of the regular season and a bowl — and perhaps a trip to the MAC title game — they won’t stop trying to play in a way that they feel honors Kneeland and his legacy around Western Michigan football.

“Just, he was a loving, caring person and kind person,” safety Tate Hallock, who played with Kneeland in 2023, said. “And he was just a dog. I mean, just heart to his — like my heart out to his family and just praying for his family continuously. Just, yeah — again, it was tough. It was a very tough week for a lot of our players. I was fortunate to play with him for one year. But you know, some other guys were really close to him, so you just play for those guys and you played for him. You just wanna make him, you know, happy up there. He's with the lord. He's in a better place now.”

Kneeland played at Western Michigan from 2019-23. A native of the Grand Rapids area, Kneeland was remembered by Taylor and teammate Tate Hallock for his infectious, caring personality that paired with a relentless, driven demeanor on the field. 

Both Taylor and Hallock only got to coach and play with Kneeland for the 2023 season, but the impression he left on both could be felt as they spoke about him with reporters after Tuesday’s win. 

Taylor, in recounting the various honors and tributes to Kneeland, shared that Kneeland’s high school coach and some family reached out to thank him. 

“I just thanked them for Marshawn,” Taylor said. “He meant a lot to me personally. He meant a lot to this university, to this program. And, I hope he's smiling from above.”

The news of Kneeland’s death started to spread on the morning of Thursday, Nov. 6, and the Broncos were in the facility for a team meeting when the news reached Kalamazoo and Taylor.

“I told our team, check on those that you love,” Taylor said. “Because you gotta tell 'em that you love them. And most people are going through things that they don't want to tell you. And, um, you have to check on your family, your loved ones, make sure that they're okay. And then the other thing that I told 'em was I said, you know, I love you guys and it's okay to not be okay. I think when you talk about mental health, we're all going through tough things and the ability to open up to others and express those things that are on your heart are really hard to do.”

As the Broncos prepped their various tributes and remembrances for Kneeland, they started to coalesce around the idea that how they played — with a relentless, fearless streak — could be the best way to honor him. 

And for the players and coaches still in the program that knew Kneeland personally, it was never going to be a challenge to channel the sort of energy and vibes he brought with him every day.

The resulting performance: Holding Ohio to under 300 yards and its second lowest points total of the season to seize firm control of a path to the MAC title game. 

“I was really proud of how they handled some really gut wrenching news,” Taylor said of his team.

Tuesday’s result was the ultimate payoff in celebrating Kneeland’s life and legacy, as the Broncos rose to the task in what was already an important game that, with tragedy, carried even a bigger meaning. 

And as far as Western Michigan goes in the final weeks of this season, they will be carrying Kneeland’s legacy with them. 

“Nothing's guaranteed,” Hallock said. “So you just gotta keep attacking week by week and I just hope we're making him proud up there.”