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| Southfield (MI) Southfield defensive end Lawrence Marshall |
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 225 lbs.
High school: Southfield (MI) Southfield
Position: Defensive end
Class: 2014
Notes: Holds offers from Bowling Green, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Syracuse, Tennessee, and Toledo . . . ESPN 4-star, 83 grade, #12 DE, #107 overall . . . Rivals 3-star, #19 WDE . . . Scout 4-star, #12 DE . . . 247 Sports 4-star, 91 grade, #12 WDE, #207 overall
Strengths: Shows a good first step, both forward and also laterally on slants . . . Does a good job of making plays in the trash . . . Can reach out and slow down or tackle runners while being blocked . . . Good straight line speed . . . Long wingspan . . . Decent frame to add weight . . . Violent hitter
Weaknesses: Often stands up too high off the snap . . . Does not show ability to use hands to shed blockers . . . Very rudimentary pass rusher . . . Shows virtually no versatility in pass rush moves . . . Mediocre change of direction . . . Sometimes appears not to be hustling when chasing plays from behind
Projection: Strongside end. Marshall is a good athlete, but he's not outstanding in any facet of the game. He gets off the ball and shows good straight line speed, but he lacks some refinement, and he's not helped by the quality of his opponents. He does make some plays against a quality-coached opponent in Farmington Hills (MI) Harrison, but even in that game, he was unblocked on too many plays; other teams just don't pay any attention to him and allow him to slice in for uncontested sacks, tackles for loss, etc. Rather than being Lawrence Marshall highlights, these seem like Southfield opponents' lowlights. Technique can be improved, but I think a lack of explosiveness and change-of-direction skills might be an issue as a weakside defensive end. Marshall seems like a decent FBS player, but not a future superstar.
Reminds me of: Craig Roh. Roh was a good high school athlete who was able to blow past high school offensive tackles at times, but he also struggled to rush the passer because of an inability to change direction well. Roh used his hands better as a prep, and he was eventually a very technical player with limited athletic ability.
Likelihood of committing to Michigan: Marshall was committed to Ohio State at one time, but they have since been eliminated from contention. Several insiders think that Michigan State is the leader for his services, but Michigan seems to be right behind; if things fall through with the Spartans, the Wolverines might be next in line to contend for his commitment.
I don't come to this site for the lofty praise, I come here for the truth. Not what you want to hear about a player Michigan fans are so excited about, but it is what it is. Once again, well done Magnus.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteAgreed! Thank you as well!
DeleteCraig Roh's career was very strange. He came in with such hype as a pass rusher, but never really developed into one. Then, he somehow became very good as a run-stopper and holding up to double teams, which was thought to be his biggest weakness coming in.
ReplyDeleteRoh was always a pretty technically advanced player, so it's not really a surprise that he held up to double teams. The issue with him early in his career (when he was 235-250 lbs.) was that he was too light. Once he hit that 280-ish pound range, he was fine.
DeleteDo you want him to commit to Michigan or would you rather his scholarship be used on someone else? I know we're still in on McDowell and Hand, and we already have Mone, I can't see the staff taking 4 D-line commits.
ReplyDeleteGiven the chance to pick, I think McDowell and Hand would be no-brainer additions. That's not necessarily realistic, though. If Marshall wants to commit, you have to weigh the chances of those other guys committing down the road. Is a bird in the hand worth two in the bush?
DeleteI've never been too keen on handling Birds, so idk how to answer this.
DeleteI was under the impression that Marshall was a WDE pass rushing type considering the coaches pursuit of players like McDowell and Hand. WDE seems like a position the coaches have had a tough time getting top guys at, mostly taking project type players but haven't had much interest from the elite ones.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if I want this guy to be one of 16 players in this class, but if the class ends up being around 20, I think we should take him and hope he develops into a contributor with 4 years under Mattison... unfortunately Roh changed positions a lot and only spent 2 years with the current coaching staff...
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
ReplyDelete* Do you think it will be easy for Marshall to add 50 pounds (what he'd need, presumably, to play SDE)?
* Looking back (to '09) on Roh, what were your expectations for his career when you looked at his HS film?
Clark has added about 60 pounds, and he was thinner than Marshall in high school. I think it all depends on nutrition and lifting. I don't think it would be that difficult if he WANTS to do it.
DeleteI overestimated Roh's career. Below is a link to my 2009 recruiting awards, but I pegged Roh as the best defensive/overall recruit in Michigan's 2009 class. Obviously, Lewan and Denard Robinson were better offensively, and Toussaint/Gallon are on that next echelon. I was probably right as far as defense goes, but definitely not with the "Overall" category. I didn't do full commitment posts for guys at the time, so there's not a real in-depth breakdown of what I thought. I was pretty much in line with the recruiting sites, who thought he was a top-200-ish player.
http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2009/02/2009-recruiting-awards.html
Clark is a WDE and has similar measures coming out of high school, but he is actually listed 2 inches shorter than Marshall- so maybe Marshall could carry more weight. I don't know if that kind of weight gain is typical or unusual, but it seems impressive to me.
DeleteI'm not one to care too much about positions, as I see them as being very fluid (it seems about half of kids end up moving at one time or another). Still, I'd be a little surprised if Marshall ended up anywhere other than WDE. I think the staff would prefer to have a 6'6 270 lb type at that spot. Probably depends more on who else forces their way onto the field as much as anything else.
One thing you can say for Marshall is that when he is left unblocked he goes straight to the football and makes you pay.
ReplyDeleteOn one snap about four plays into this vid, he does a real nice job dropping his hips, setting up a nice wide base and puts a nice hit on a back trying to juke him off of the edge.
Were our dreams to come true and we were to get both McDowell and Hand, I think he can play the weak side, he is fast. That combination with Mone could be real nasty.
Honestly, I think Hand could play on the weakside if McDowell and whoever else could play strongside end and get the job done. We don't necessarily need a WDE in this class, IMO.
DeleteI think Da'Shawn Hand is a kid that coaches devise schemes around and will end up everywhere in an effort to undo or confuse double teams. Hand on the weakside would be an awesome thing. I also think that, going back to a prior conversation, Hand is one of those veery few kids that will most likely legitimately need to be going to the NFL before he uses up his eligibility.
DeleteI do like Marshall though, probably a little better than you do. The only thing that really bothers me about him is the fast commitment and subsequent decommitment to the Buckeyes. Believe me when I tell you about knowing on the kids will be kids thing, but that kind of stuff always makes me wonder some. Fair or not, recruiting drama equals maturity issues in my mind.
Interesting that you and Rivals are fairly meh on Marshall. I find the weaknesses listed in your write-up to be encouraging actually - all things that can be coached up. (Although I know you have doubts about coaching kids who don't hustle, I think generally if work ethic is a real problem those kids won't last 4 years and get replaced.)
ReplyDeleteWhat I see is an athletic edge player with offers from Oklahoma, Tennesee, Ohio State, and Ol Miss. That doesn't necessarily say much about his ceiling, but if a Michigan kid is getting that kind of attention from all over the country, it tells me he's got some potential.
Glad to have him - now if we can progress with Hand and Marshall - this could be one of the better DL classes in Michigan history. If they get either, the DL recruiting will be a success. If they get both, a coup.