Marcus Marshall - Freshman All American Honorable Mention

[LargeFO]

I agree he's darn good with the ball in his hands, but there's more to the position than running the ball in wide open space, a lot more. All I'm saying is that the job won't be handed to him in spring. He's gonna have to win it from a long cast of characters who all "came highly recommended." He's gonna be forced to work on his short comings which is a very good thing. If you can't see that, then it's you who "can't see the forest."

Again, people have acknowledged that improvement is needed in those areas. So you typing it over and over again just to make you feel important really is pointless.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

Again, people have acknowledged that improvement is needed in those areas. So you typing it over and over again just to make you feel important really is pointless.

No, I'm not important, I readily admit that, and my post has a point. It's to temper expectations that tend to get out of hand around here. The board builds these guys up and when they don't live up to their lofty expectations they tear them down. Coach points this out all the time.

The kid has talent, but he has a lot of work to do in a lot of areas. The board needs to know that and tailor expectations accordingly. You think the Jabari worship would have learned you.

 

[dressedcheeseside]

what i see is a good runner that can be great, and no matter who played BB for us this year the line broke like a jailbreak. There was no one on this team, in blocking, that did anything worth a flip from freshman to senior. And we were so bad, I don't even think MM in blocking was the greatest of all the evils. The OL was a joke; and their primary job is to block. Not run then block. But to block. And its hard pressed to find anyone on our OL who blocked any better than anyone else LOL.

does he block and know his assignments in blocking in the run game? Shoot not yet or that good. Does he go the wrong way some times? Yup. Does he break through the line and get tunnel vision cuz the game is so much faster and he is not totally confident yet; and doesn't make that first guy miss like he could? Yup.

MM is young, will need to learn those things and if he doesn't his pure running ability will make him only a part time player, not a full time guy.

BTW, you know why NFL has 3rd down backs? Called specialization...backs good in blocking pickup and passing game.
You know we could consider a more multiple package to take advantage of our guys certain talents more too...vs this is the system go and conquer....and just maybe some more pass blocking friendly scheme tweaks could be employed....but...8 years...and still...we struggle bigtime. Players different, coaches same.

In the 8 years we've had a range of quality of pass pro, not one size fits all. Also, this is college not pros, the roster cycles.

 

[takethepoints]

Well, I suppose everyone here knows what I think about Marshall: he's playing out of position and it showed. Still, he did pretty well for a frosh, deserves recognition for it, and congratulations from all of us.

For all that, I doubt he'll be our starting BB next year. His big problem was referred to above; he "… has excellent movement in tight quarters." That is exactly what you do not want in a BB. BBs are supposed to hit the mesh going full tilt toward the gap called in the play. Shifting around in the hole simply slows things down. That was one of the things I liked about Dwyer; he seldom even did a head fake in the open field. He selected a crease and ran straight toward the goal line as fast as his feet could carry him.

But all this isn't meant to take anything away from Marshall's efforts this year. We weren't counting on him and he came through. If he improves during the spring in the ways mentioned above - he is a true freshman, after all - then he could turn out to be as special as others here think. That'll be Coach's call.

 

[Dottie1145]

Felt like Brant Mitchell should have made that list.

He didn't have enough snaps this season IMO.

 

[upwgdrb]

Well, I suppose everyone here knows what I think about Marshall: he's playing out of position and it showed. Still, he did pretty well for a frosh, deserves recognition for it, and congratulations from all of us.

For all that, I doubt he'll be our starting BB next year. His big problem was referred to above; he "… has excellent movement in tight quarters." That is exactly what you do not want in a BB. BBs are supposed to hit the mesh going full tilt toward the gap called in the play. Shifting around in the hole simply slows things down. That was one of the things I liked about Dwyer; he seldom even did a head fake in the open field. He selected a crease and ran straight toward the goal line as fast as his feet could carry him.

But all this isn't meant to take anything away from Marshall's efforts this year. We weren't counting on him and he came through. If he improves during the spring in the ways mentioned above - he is a true freshman, after all - then he could turn out to be as special as others here think. That'll be Coach's call.

Please go back and watch some film of Dwyer and Days and see if they did not use moves before they hit the hole. The bback position is not a battering ram. If we have the right one, he should be in the heisman trophy running. The only one we have had even close to the potential of the position is Dwyer. This has been hashed over before with emphasis on runs over ten and twenty yards. You will see Days made a big difference in these categories last year when he finally got playing time due to an injury. Your remember he was one of those guys that fumbled too much. As far as fumbles go we lost the ball more due to fumbles in our first Orange Bowl year than last year. That year CPJ kept his game breakers on the field. IMHO he has lost some of the risk taking mentality that he had when he first arrived at the flats and it makes a difference.
Marshall is going to be a great one for us as a bback. Let's cherish him while we have him.

 

[orientalnc]

They named 18 freshmen runningbacks in that article. I wonder how many frosh backs even played enough snaps for consideration.

He needs to get a lot better during the spring or he's gonna find himself playing end instead, as in sitting on the end of the bench.

MM's Christmas wish list:

1. blocking ability
2. ball security
3. blocking ability
4. quickness to the mesh
5. blocking ability
6. tackle breaking/keeping feet after contact
7. blocking ability

Yeah, and he also needs to improve his blocking.

 

[GlennW]

Guys, some of you seem to forget that Marcus was a TRUE FRESHMAN playing in 2015, meaning he had to learn our playbook, mesh handoffs, blocking schemes, etc, when he came on campus, and I might add, he wasn't even expected to play coming on campus but due to injuries at the B-Back spot, was forced into playing with the Varsity.

Even when Paul Johnson was first hired at Tech, at least guys like Dwyer had the Spring to start to learn the system before coming to summer two-a-days and he had already played Varsity ball so he was familiar with the speed of the game, and he was already more physically "mature" that Marcus.

We've seen that it has taken time for our running backs to learn how to block effectively in our offensive system, so expecting a true freshman to pick it up right away isn't reasonable. The fact that he fumbled a few times may have been disturbing, but remember, even Synjyn Days was fumbling when he was transitioned to running back after he had been playing Varsity ball, but when he was a Senior, he was a lot more reliable after he got the snaps.

My point is that with experience, he should learn how to block better and hang onto the ball. What you CAN'T teach is that God-Given speed and balance.

 

[takethepoints]

My point is that with experience, he should learn how to block better and hang onto the ball. What you CAN'T teach is that God-Given speed and balance.

I'll give you the speed, but balance? Sorry, I saw him go down for a loss too many times this year on the first lick. And, just to reiterate, that was sometimes because he was slow to the mesh because he was actually trying to fake someone out on the way to the hole.

He is a true freshman and he does have a lot to learn. He deserves the recognition he got; we called and he did a good job, especially after both Skov and Allen got beat up. As I said above, maybe he'll be as good as everyone here says. I remain to be convinced and, given his comments after the Ugag game, so does Coach. It wasn't for nothing that he mentioned that we have 3 BBs coming back and "… maybe we'll get a little competition at that position." If Marshall wins that competition in the spring, you won't hear much more from me about this. But I think he will, at best, end up sharing the position with either Leggett or Quaid or Mills or MLD; you never know. This will be one of the most competitive positions on the team.

 

[Milwaukee]

He can't block worth a toot. He's a big part of the reason JT was running for his life every time he dropped back.

Dude. Just stop.

 

[Boomergump]

Marcus has some stuff to work on. It is pretty obvious he was a tailback a year ago in HS. As a tailback, when you are receiving the handoff you are looking for holes to develop etc etc. We still need some of those tailback skills at BB, but we don't need a lack of vertical speed at the MESH. It is a different thing. Marcus projects really well as an inside runner. I guess I have a different opinion of his physical readiness compared to most people. IMHO he is very ready in a strictly physical sense. He is thicker and stronger than most of us want to acknowledge. On the bright side he has given us back a new dimension we haven't seen in a while, the ability to run speed option, or receive a toss for the sweep. His ability out in space is really pretty good. He makes people miss with ease returning kicks and he has shown the ability to take runs to the house with his speed. Tailbacks rarely block in HS and this is evident when you watch Marcus play. He doesn't have a knack for it, nor the technique, as of yet.

I am anxious to see Marcus with an entire spring and fall practice under his belt before next season. I think we will all be impressed with the results. There is a lot of talent there waiting to break out. Making sweeping, long term projections based on a kid's rookie year is a bit short sighted.

 

[Milwaukee]

I'll give you the speed, but balance? Sorry, I saw him go down for a loss too many times this year on the first lick. And, just to reiterate, that was sometimes because he was slow to the mesh because he was actually trying to fake someone out on the way to the hole.

He is a true freshman and he does have a lot to learn. He deserves the recognition he got; we called and he did a good job, especially after both Skov and Allen got beat up. As I said above, maybe he'll be as good as everyone here says. I remain to be convinced and, given his comments after the Ugag game, so does Coach. It wasn't for nothing that he mentioned that we have 3 BBs coming back and "… maybe we'll get a little competition at that position." If Marshall wins that competition in the spring, you won't hear much more from me about this. But I think he will, at best, end up sharing the position with either Leggett or Quaid or Mills or MLD; you never know. This will be one of the most competitive positions on the team.

And again, you and your one other nimwit have absolutely no evidence of him "going down for a loss too many times on the first lick". There's not a crowd of people spewing the crap, as much as you'd like to convince yourself. It's pretty much you and one more, both of which have absolutely no football IQ. But you guys, by all means, continue trying to bash our freshman AA and see how much support you get. Just do it somewhere else if you don't mind.

Some of you need to step back from your keyboards.

Gotta love the offseason.

 

[alagold]

I know it's harsh but I expect Marcus to want all that stuff for himself and more importantly, I expect him to succeed in it.

It's harsh also because the stuff I listed is stuff we have to have from the position. We have to have it.

btw, it's really only a 4 item list.

Cheese,
It is not his fault PJ wasted Laskey as a Fr so he wasn't available in '15.(btw--I said at time that Laskey returning kicks was ludicrous for a running team that should have a BUNCH of Abacks with with those skills).
MM did his best and I'll bet he'll be SUPER once he learns the position.-assuming he gets some blocking. hmmmm

 

[takethepoints]

And again, you and your one other nimwit have absolutely no evidence of him "going down for a loss too many times on the first lick". There's not a crowd of people spewing the crap, as much as you'd like to convince yourself. It's pretty much you and one more, both of which have absolutely no football IQ. But you guys, by all means, continue trying to bash our freshman AA and see how much support you get. Just do it somewhere else if you don't mind.

Some of you need to step back from your keyboards.

Gotta love the offseason.

My, my! What a temper we are in.

Look, I'll put my football knowledge up against anybody on this board - I actually played the sport in college, you know - and not break a sweat. I have said what I think about Marshall and, until he proves me wrong, I'm not changing it as a result of an ill-tempered post. Frankly, I expect more from people at this site then this.

And, like I said, if he wins out in the spring, you won't hear word one more from me on this.

 

[Lee]

You know we could consider a more multiple package to take advantage of our guys certain talents more too...vs this is the system go and conquer....and just maybe some more pass blocking friendly scheme tweaks could be employed

Blasphamy!!!

 

[jwsavhGT]

Getting back to the original purpose of this thread, congratulations to MM. No matter the outcome of our season it's nice to see our TRUE FRESHMEN getting some recognition.

 

[Milwaukee]

Lol. Yea, your self proclaimed football knowledge is what got you into a conversation where you're way over your head. Kinda like George and the Penske file.

But carry on, by all means.

My, my! What a temper we are in.

Look, I'll put my football knowledge up against anybody on this board - I actually played the sport in college, you know - and not break a sweat. I have said what I think about Marshall and, until he proves me wrong, I'm not changing it as a result of an ill-tempered post. Frankly, I expect more from people at this site then this.

And, like I said, if he wins out in the spring, you won't hear word one more from me on this.

Just don't put your fball knowledge up against mine and you'll be ok. You'll be up way past your bedtime.

I get what you're trying to say, but you're coming across as bashing a GD freshman All American, you do realize that right?

Just because PJ said in his presser that MM will benefit from competition doesn't mean he was a liability this year, it just means Leggett and Quade could be creatures, which is good for all. Don't misread everything.

We're in great shape and I may eat my words but I don't think MM loses his spot at BB. Kids just way too explosive. He will definitely be spelled by Leggett and Quade which is great. Kid is so special, I wish Tech fans would realize how much of a talent we have with him. FRESHMAN ALL AMERICAN. Breakaway speed. I dont want a Skov banger, I wanna Dwyer type who can house it past 4* & 5* DB's. Go watch Dwyer vs FSU in Tallahassee. And watch him in Charlottesville absolutely steamroll a defender in the open field. That's what we have with MM. God love Laskey and Days, but those guys were crafty seniors who were hard nosed as hell. I'll always love that 1-2 punch. But MM will be LIGHT YEARS ahead of those cats in a year or two (if healthy) based on athletic ability alone. He just needs the experience to put together his entire game.

But cheers mate, it's always fun discussing GT football.

 

[Sideways]

Well, I suppose everyone here knows what I think about Marshall: he's playing out of position and it showed. Still, he did pretty well for a frosh, deserves recognition for it, and congratulations from all of us.

For all that, I doubt he'll be our starting BB next year. His big problem was referred to above; he "… has excellent movement in tight quarters." That is exactly what you do not want in a BB. BBs are supposed to hit the mesh going full tilt toward the gap called in the play. Shifting around in the hole simply slows things down. That was one of the things I liked about Dwyer; he seldom even did a head fake in the open field. He selected a crease and ran straight toward the goal line as fast as his feet could carry him.

But all this isn't meant to take anything away from Marshall's efforts this year. We weren't counting on him and he came through. If he improves during the spring in the ways mentioned above - he is a true freshman, after all - then he could turn out to be as special as others here think. That'll be Coach's call.

UGA is waiting breathlessly for that which may never come. The next Hershel. We too, have our fantasies. Another Dwyer is just around the corner. No doubt, he will forever, be the template of what a Bback should look like but getting one just like him is damn near impossible. I actually think this is a position where it is wise to play two. The position is physically demanding and we have seen what happens when you have two guys willing to share the load who present slightly different styles. I am confident that Marcus will improve in all areas and be the back we are hoping for but let's not forget we have others who can and probably should shoulder the load. Personally, Marcus and the rest of the Bback crew are the least of my worries as far as improving this football team. They will be fine.

 

[takethepoints]

Well, since this has gone on beyond what I wished, I suppose I should reprise a post I did some months ago (you can check) about the entire situation.

Remember the "Snoddy is our next great BB" experiment? When we - or, to be more exact, the coaches - wasted almost 2 years trying to make Snoddy into a BB? It was for the same reasons folks have been bringing up here: big enough for the position, no real juke to him, fast as lightening, "we'll run the speed option again!", ect., ect, ect.

I don't have anything at all against Marshall. He is just like Snoddy: he's big enough to shed a block, he has great straight-ahead speed, and he's tough. And, I think, just like Snoddy, if he was out at AB, he could be another Orwin Smith. MLD will go back to BB this spring and we are loaded there. But with Snoody gone we no longer have that AB who is big enough (over 200) to take on an OLB and strong enough to shake off a downfield hit, and fast enough to take advantage of it. That is why I want Marshall out there. With him at AB our first 4 on the field will all be 190 or bigger and cut 4.5 forties or below. You know, sorta like 2014 (Perkins and Hill). The problems that would cause opposing Ds are unsolvable. With him and either Lynch or Green (probably) out there starting, I think both starting ABs could average 9 ypc or better.

Out at AB - where we could use him at once - he would probably start with Green. At BB - where we are absolutely loaded with candidates - he might or might not see the field. I want him out there where he can do us - and himself - the most good. That's why I keep saying he should move. We've got plenty of good BBs; I think after this spring Coach will decide not to waste another season or two trying to keep him there. And that has absolutely nothing to say about his frosh AA honors; I believe I've said enough about that already.

But, again, I will not say another word about this if he turns out to co-start at BB. That's Coach's decision. (I know, I know: I keep promising and can't shut up. This time for sure. Provided, that is, that I don't see any more really strong bait.)

 

[takethepoints]

Lol. Just don't put your fball knowledge up against mine and you'll be ok.

Really? Based on what?

That isn't snark; I'm really curious.