QB likely to be running back/receiver
Quarterback Jalin Marshall, an Ohio State recruit, is piling up the stats as an elusive runner for Middletown.
By Bill Rabinowitz
The Columbus Dispatch Friday September 7, 2012
Jalin Marshall lives by a strict code these days: He gets his rest during the week so he can run wild on Friday nights.
Not in the streets, mind you, but on the football field for the Middletown Middies, for whom he is the do-everything quarterback. That explains why Marshall, already committed to Ohio State?s 2013 recruiting class, is in bed by 9:30 almost every other night of the week.
?I just try to keep my body in the best situation,? Marshall said. ?If you don?t get your rest, you won?t be able to produce like you need to in practice and the games. So I just try to maintain a healthy lifestyle and get plenty of rest.?
That approach has paid dividends through the first two weeks of the season. Entering last night?s game, Marshall had rushed for 377 yards, averaging 11.4 yards per carry, and scored three touchdowns. He also had passed for 199 yards and four scores.
?I think things are going real well,? Marshall said of his senior season. ?We work hard every day on getting our offense right, and I think it?s paying off.?
The quarterback?s stats speak to why OSU coach Urban Meyer and most other college recruiters have pegged the 6-foot, 195-pound Marshall as a versatile running back/receiver ? ?athlete? is the term used by recruiting services ? instead of a quarterback at the next level. Rivals.com ranks him as the No.2 ?athlete? in the nation among the 2013 prospects.
Meyer sees Marshall as a playmaking hybrid back who would fit nicely in the Buckeyes? spread offense.
?You look at where Jalin does his most damage, and it has been with his legs,? 247Sports recruiting analyst Bill Kurelic said. ?That?s not to say he can?t pass, but he is just 6 feet tall, and he doesn?t have what you would call the prototype passing skills.
cont..
