Georgia’s Keith Marshall could possibly take a medical redshirt and sit out this coming season. In fact, at one point it seemed like the best option. But the junior tailback appears to be doing everything in his power to see that doesn’t happen.
The Bulldogs’ had a full-contact practice on Tuesday — their third in a row this spring — and there was Marshall dressed out in full pads. No, he didn’t get tackled or participate in competitive drills. But just the fact that he was running plays in full gear barely four months after being in wheelchair following double knee surgeries speaks volumes about the rehabilitation timeline he has established for himself.
“He’s definitely a lot further along than I expected him,” running backs coach Bryan McClendon said after Tuesday’s practice, the Bulldogs’ eighth of the spring. “But, I mean, Keith is one of those hard workers who’s going to go out and try to beat deadlines and he likes to compete. So right now he’s competing against what they said he was going to be out for, and right now he’s winning.”
One would think that Marshall would be happy just to be walking around at this juncture. The 5-foot-11, 219-pound former 5-star prospect out of Raleigh suffered a devastating knee injury on Oct. 5 at Tennessee when his legs were taken out from under him on a low hit by a defensive back as he tried to haul in a pass in the flat. Marshall was unable to undergo an ACL reconstruction on his right knee until Nov. 12. Simultaneously he got some work done on his left knee, which left him in a wheelchair for a short while.
When the Bulldogs entered into off-season workouts in mid-January, the thinking was that Marshall might not be back to full speed by the time Georgia opens the season Aug. 30 against Clemson. It probably played a part in the Bulldogs being able to land not one but two more 5-star signees at tailback in Nick Chubb of Cedartown and Sony Michel of Ft. Lauderdale. With Heisman Trophy candidate Todd Gurley and rising sophomore Brendan Douglas already in the fold, Georgia has the depth to not risk it.
And, of course, Marshall is a talent in his own right. Sharing the workload with Gurley, he has managed 1,005 yards rushing and 9 touchdowns in 19 games the last two seasons It might not be bad to separate him and Gurley from being in the same class. But that’s never been part of plan, McClendon said.
“Right now the plan is to see how far along he is, and then do what’s going to be best for him,” he said. “That’s priority number on. We’re going to do what’s best for him. That way everybody will be able to sleep good at night.”
But McClendon admits he didn’t expect to have Marshall going through drills with him at this point.
“He’s doing a good job of staying on top of things and coming in here and getting treated at least twice a day and then trying to constantly push what he does in practice,” McClendon said. “I’ve got to scale him back a lot and tell him ‘hey, don’t do that.’ But I’m very pleased with how he’s been. Obviously, you’ve just got to make sure that he knows when to say when. That’s what I’m talking to him about, staying between doing enough and doing too much.”
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are also getting more out of Gurley this spring than was originally expected. While his carries have been limited in competitive situations, Gurley has been on field for every minute of every practice so far.
“You’ve still got to earn what you get,” McClendon said. “That’s one of the biggest things I’ve been pleased about with Todd. He’s not sitting back and waiting. He knows how I operate and how we operate here, which is to make sure that everybody’s at their best. And the only way to be at your best is to practice that way and invest today into what you want to get during the season. I think they’re all doing that and I’ve been very pleased with them as far as that goes.”
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