Kemp learned to give as well as receive

At the end of every month, University of Hawaii football player Marcus Kemp will scrape together extra money and go on a shopping spree.

Kemp and his girlfriend, Natasha Black, then will go to Chinatown to distribute the items to homeless people.

Kemp is the receiver who gives.

“I’ve been really blessed,” Kemp said. “I go to school for free. I get to play a sport I love. I have a loving family and support. I’m lucky to have these things. If someone is unfortunate to be down in life, it’s our duty to help.”

Kemp, who was raised in Utah, was a year-round standout in football, basketball and track. His favorite season was Christmastime.

When he was 10, Kemp and his siblings and cousins went on a family trip to Guatemala, where his maternal grandparents were raised.

“Guatemala is pretty poor,” Kemp said. “We went out and bought a whole bunch of groceries and a whole bunch of things and gave them out to people on the street. That was a fun experience. We were excited to give something back and see the excitement from people on the street.”

Kemp remembered the time when his mother gathered her sons for a family chat.

“She said: ‘Listen, we’re going to take one present away from each of you and give it to somebody else,’” Kemp recalled. “Not literally. She didn’t take away one of our presents. She wanted to instill in us the sacrifice of taking something less so we could give to others.”

It was his mother who also encouraged Kemp to compete in football as a way to connect to his father. Ronald Jermaine Kemp, who was a wideout and safety at Dixie State, suffered an aortic dissection in 1999. He experienced post-surgery complications and died three days later. He was 25. Kemp was just 3. For 15 years on the anniversary of their father’s death, Kemp and his brother scribbled messages on a card attached to helium-filled balloons that were released to the sky.

That tradition ended when Kemp moved to Hawaii to join the Rainbow Warriors as a freshman in July 2013. But Kemp maintained his father’s work ethic. After each practice, Kemp catches passes rocketing from the JUGS machine.

Last season, Kemp suffered a torn MCL and hyperextension in his left knee in the Warriors’ fourth game. He did not start in the following week’s game, but entered in the second half. For the remainder of the season, Kemp, playing through the discomfort, was an off-the-sideline closer. Kemp still led the Warriors with 35 receptions, an average of 15.6 yards per catch.

Kemp is back as a No. 1 receiver this year. And continuing his better-to-give spirit, he offers tips to the younger receivers.

RECEIVERS