Needing to spark his offense, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson turned to one of the players with so much speed he seems to leave scorch marks on the earth: Marcus Marshall.
He didn’t disappoint in Saturday’s loss to Pittsburgh.
In his first start, Marshall rushed for a game-high 159 yards on only 10 carries, including two runs of 58 yards.
“I thought Marcus Marshall gave us a big lift. …” Johnson said. “He’s another guy that can give you a big play.”
That speed and elusiveness was an element that Tech was missing in its previous four games in which it had just three runs of at least 20 yards. Marshall’s performance earned him ACC rookie-of-the-week honors and likely another start Saturday against Florida State.
The big play, it seems, may be back.
Marshall showed that speed in the season-opening win against Alcorn State, rushing for 184 yards on only eight carries. But then he began to get bottled up, not cracking more than 45 yards or a run longer than 12 yards in any of the next five games.
Patrick Skov remained at B-back during that stretch, but he is more of a short-yardage true fullback than the galloping runner that is Marshall.
Needing someone to help turn his offense back into something that he could recognize, Johnson tabbed Marshall as the starter to put some “Ohhhh” back in the option.
“I think that’s who I am,” said Marshall, whose 439 yards rushing this season are the most by a freshman running back under Johnson. “That’s who I was in high school. They knew that when I came here. I feel like that’s what I can provide.”
The 58-yard runs showed how dangerous Marshall can be from different starting points.
On his first, which resulted in a touchdown, Marshall flowed to the right, took the pitch from Justin Thomas and raced straight down the sideline, benefiting from solid blocking by the A-backs and wide receivers. The big play, a long time coming after four games of mostly frustration, lifted the team.
On the second, Marshall took the ball on the dive, kept his head up and found a lane to his right, ran a few yards, cut to his right again and took off toward the sideline, which hemmed him in enough so that a Pittsburgh player could catch up and tackle him. The run showed his maturation within the offense because he could have just put his head down, got a few yards and ended the play. Marshall said Tech worked on that play during that week because there were opportunities missed against Clemson.
“He made some progress seeing things,” position coach Bryan Cook said. “Running the ball, I thought his vision improved and his understanding of the way we want to hit things all got better.”
Marshall's big runs helped open things for the rest of Tech's offense. Thomas said he saw a lot more lanes than in previous games, and he broke off runs of 51 and 45 yards. They were his first two runs of at least 25 yards since the season's second game against Tulane. The Yellow Jackets had four runs of at least 25 yards against Pittsburgh.
“Defenses can’t just key on one person,” Thomas said. “They have to take one of us.”
Being a running back in the option offense involves more than just an ability to run. Marshall, 5-foot-10, 209 pounds, is continuing to work on holding onto the ball after he lost a fumble against Pittsburgh, his blocking in the passing game, and being successful in short-yardage situations.
“I think I’m still capable of doing that stuff,” he said. “Some of that comes with getting bigger and stronger and are things that come over my career. Right now, I’m still relatively small to play B-back in this offense, but it’s nothing that can’t be achieved.”
About the Author
