This past weekend, Hawaii wideout Marcus Kemp was trending.
"I’ve gotten a lot of notifications on Twitter and a lot of notifications on Facebook," said Kemp, whose 20-yard scoring catch as time expired led the Warriors to a 37-35 victory over UNLV. "My phone was blowing up. I had to set it down for a little bit to cool off. I really appreciate all the love and support I got from everybody."
He added: "It’s a great feeling to have people recognize what I do. It’s a great feeling to have people know my name. I’m very grateful for the opportunity I was given, and what happened during the game, and the events that played out to give me all this love and support."
For all the attention from Halawa to his hometown — Layton, Utah — Kemp’s final catch was his second favorite of the night. Earlier, in the most spectacular reception for a receiver not named Odell Beckham, Kemp made a twisting one-handed grab along the sideline.
"I don’t know how I did it," Kemp said. "I saw the ball flying away from me. I decided I needed to throw myself at it, and I made the play. I put my (right) arm back, looked the ball into my (right) hand."
Kemp works on his pass-catching with the JUGS machine every day. He never practices spectacular catches.
"That’s something that happens during the game — natural ability, I guess," Kemp said. "You don’t really practice one-handers. You see the (pass) up there, and you do whatever you can to make the play. I did everything I could. I could only get one hand up there, and I pulled it in."
Later, he essentially played one-armed after suffering an injury on a slant route.
"I got pulled down and landed on my (left) shoulder," Kemp said. "That’s how I hurt it. I was in a little bit of pain. (The shoulder) started to stiffen up throughout the game. The last play of the game it was really stiff."
With adrenaline serving as a pain reliever, Kemp was able to raise both arms to make the leaping catch a couple of steps inside the end zone for the winning touchdown.
"I didn’t really want to go to the back of the end zone," Kemp said. "I didn’t want to step out. I wanted to get in the middle. I saw the ball, so I kind of scooted up to get in front of the defender. Luckily, I was just past the plane (of the end zone)."
Despite the newfound celebrity, Kemp remains humble.
"Everybody loves you when something good happens," Kemp said. "At least I proved to some people I can do it. That’s the best thing. Even if I do make a mistake, they know I do have the ability to do it."
Kemp has had an uneven season. In the first two games, he played despite a stye infection that slightly impaired vision in his right eye. He has 49 catches, but a team-high 13 drops. He said family members, friends, teammates and coaches have been supportive.
"They always tell me not to get down on myself, and to believe in myself," Kemp said. "(Receivers) coach (Luke) Matthews preaches that — believe in your ability. Even when I was getting booed or something, it was the people surrounding me who told me I was good enough to play at this level and that I can do it."