[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]It's not unusual for a 19-year-old college student to be itching for a new car, especially when he doesn't have one to begin with. For junior wide receiver and return man Marcus Randle El, however, that itch is more like a burning desire.

While most Madison students would like a fresh set of wheels to avoid taking Bus 80 anymore, or just to make getting groceries easier, Randle El needs a car to be able to see his best friend more often.

That friend is Marcus Randle El Jr., the 3-year-old son of the Badger receiver.

"I don't see him as much as I want to," said Randle El, who still makes the trip to Chicago in whatever mode of transportation is available — whether plane, train or borrowed automobile — to visit his son at every opportunity. "Hopefully, when I get a car, I'll be driving back and forth pretty often."

"He wishes his son could be down here with him all the time," said Randle El's roommate, Allen Langford. "Whenever he gets the chance, he is racing down to Chicago to see his son."

Randle El added that he hopes his brother, Antwaan Randle El, who recently signed a long-term contract with the Washington Redskins, will be able to help him get the wheels he needs to see Marcus Randle El Jr.

"I think a lot of people don't realize that when you're not with your child, it … affects the child not only as a young individual, but as it gets older, too," Marcus said. "Me being a father at a young age, I just want to be the best father to my son as I could possibly be."

While having a 3-year-old at 19 at the same time as being a junior in college sounds daunting to most, Randle El takes a great deal of pride in the fact that he has a son, posting pictures of him in his locker and using his son as motivation to help better himself as a person.

"He's my biggest thing for motivation," Randle El said. "That's one of the things when I'm down. Once I see him, or once I talk to him on the phone, I light up. … It's like talking to my best friend. Once I talk to him, I feel good. That's the thing."

"He's a very mature person, and he handles his business well," said close friend and UW linebacker Joshua Neal. "Some people couldn't do it, so for him to be able to do academics and athletics on top of it. … I look up to him. I don't know how I would take it, but he's doing a good job."

As a father, Randle El relishes any time he can get with the child he affectionately calls "little Marcus," who right now stays with Randle El's mother in the Chicago area, while he and his girlfriend attend college. "Big Marcus" has a special place in his heart for all the little moments that come with being a parent and watching his child grow up, as he says there is no better way he can spend his time than around his son.

"On his first day [of preschool], he was up before me, and when I finally rolled over, I got to see him there in his little school backpack and uniform on," Randle El said. "Even though it's just pre-K … I think that is a big step. Being there for that — for his first words, his first steps, his first haircut. That stuff is important, maybe not so much for them, but definitely for you as a father."

Randle El has had his fair share of transgressions, including two suspensions from the UW football team stemming from battery charges, one involving a former UW teammate in December 2005 and one involving his girlfriend a few months earlier in March of the same year.

He says he regrets both incidents but does not run from them, citing ownership for his actions.

"I can take full responsibility for what I do because it is my fault if I go out and get in trouble," Randle El said. "That has happened to me twice, and I hope it never happens again, but I didn't think. I'll take ownership for what I've done."

"Marcus is a feature guy right now," said UW head coach Bret Bielema. "Marcus is obviously a grown man. He's obviously had a lot of things off the field that he has had to deal with, and I think he has done a good job of that."

Even at such a young age, "little Marcus" is already looking an awful lot like his father, displaying a wide variety of athletic interests and seemingly limitless energy.

"He's not your average 3-year-old," Randle El said. "He's just always moving. Wants to play football, throws the football down, goes to grab the baseball, leaves the baseball and then goes to grab the basketball."

With his son in Madison Saturday, Randle El mapped out a plan to make it to Chuck E. Cheese's right after practice and watch "Finding Nemo" with his son.

"I played with him and his son before, and [Randle El Jr.]'s funny. He's very funny," Neal said. "I see that in his eyes and in his son's eyes. They have a good time together, and they love each other."

With a chance to start at wide receiver and on special teams, Randle El knows he has a lot to look forward to this year but explains that none of it will be as exciting as any time he sees "little Marcus."

"His personality is great. He walks in that room, and I don't think I've ever seen a kid smile like that. He can brighten up a room with that smile. When I see him, that makes my day," Randle El said. "This is a great time for me."