MIAMI – Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member Mark Duper, a two-time track All-American at Northwestern State whose football career began with the Demons, was announced Tuesday as one of the top 50 players in Miami Dolphins' history.
 
Duper was one of the first five members announced by the team, which is commemorating its 50^th season in pro football. Four groups selected the team: fans, former Dolphins players and coaches, South Florida media and a blue ribbon panel.
 
Duper was joined by the other half of the team's fabled "Marks Brothers" receiver tandem, Mark Clayton, along with defensive back stalwarts Dick Anderson and Jake Scott, and receiver and returner O.J. McDuffie, in Tuesday's announcement.
 
A Moreauville native, the 5-foot-9 Duper was an All-State basketball player who turned down a chance to play that sport at Grambling and instead decided to run track at NSU for coach Jerry Dyes. One of his Demon track teammates was football star Joe Delaney, who helped persuade Duper to try playing football in his junior year at NSU.
 
After a season at running back, Duper moved to receiver before his senior year of football in 1981. He benefitted from coaching by an offensive innovator, head coach A.L. Williams, and his position coach, Herbie Smith, along with drilling all summer with Buffalo Bills quarterback Joe Ferguson, who then lived in Natchitoches. Duper has credited Ferguson, also a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member, for being the pivotal figure in developing his NFL-level skills from scratch.
 
After becoming a second-round 1982 NFL Draft pick, Duper played 11 seasons (1982-92) with the Dolphins at wide receiver. He finished with 511 catches for 8,869 yards and 59 touchdowns and ranks first in career reception yardage, second in receptions and third in touchdowns in Dolphins history. His average of 17.4 yards per catch is the second highest in team history (minimum 100 receptions). Duper was inducted into the Dolphins Honor Roll in 2003.
 
"It's a great feeling to be named as one of the top 50 players in Dolphins history. But while it's a great honor to be among so many great players, I have so much gratitude to a lot of people who won't make the team – many of the coaches and players who helped me get my job done," he said. "I want to give them the recognition they deserve because in my eyes my success is due to the all players and coaches I worked with during my Dolphins career."
 
In May 1981, a month after Delaney was a second-round NFL Draft pick as a running back by Kansas City, Duper and Delaney teamed with Victor Oatis and Mario Johnson to win the NCAA 4x100 meter relay championship. NSU remains the only FCS-level athletic program to win an NCAA Division I relay title. Duper ran the anchor leg and won the first of two All-America awards he claimed in the sport, along with a 1982 100 meter honor.
 
Duper was enshrined in NSU's N Club Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. He recently visited NSU for the Aug. 4 screening of the ESPN 30 For 30 short film "Delaney" available on Grantland.com, and slated to be shown on ESPN3 Saturday night at halftime of the Demons' football game against Central Arkansas in Turpin Stadium.
 
 The Dolphins' entire 50^th team will be honored Dec. 14 at Miami's home game against the New York Giants as part of a tribute to the 50 seasons of Dolphins football.