All Jalin Marshall did as a redshirt freshman was run for 145 yards and a touchdown, catch 38 passes for 499 yards and six more scores, and average 11.8 yards on 24 punt returns with another TD. Oh, and he threw a couple of passes just for fun.
So what will the Middletown product do as a sophomore to take the next step?
Despite playing H-back instead of receiver, Marshall was one of the Buckeyes’ most dependable pass-catching threats a season ago. He finished second on the team in receptions behind only Michael Thomas, and third in yards and touchdowns behind Thomas and Devin Smith. At season’s end, he was making some of Ohio State’s biggest plays down field, including a sick catch in the National Championship Game off the back of an Oregon defender.
Let’s enjoy that again. (I dare you not to watch the whole rest of the video.)
Because of Marshall’s emergence as a downfield threat, the graduation of Devin Smith and Evan Spencer, the return of fellow H-back Dontre Wilson, and Urban Meyer’s designs on getting Curtis Samuel the ball in more ways, there is speculation that Marshall could fill more of a full-time wide receiver role.
While Marshall doesn’t have Smith’s ability to streak down the field and take the top off the defense, he’s not exactly slow, either. Jalin could slot into Thomas’s old position, giving Michael the opportunity to take the Devin Smith role.
Sure, Thomas also doesn’t possess Smith’s straight line speed either, but he’s shown an ability to go over defensive backs and make plays, such as his grab against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and a corner catch over Will Likely in the Maryland game. This ability would give Thomas an opportunity to fill Smith’s shoes, even though his plays down the field would come in slightly different ways.
Even if that isn’t the plan, Meyer has shown a willingness to rotate a lot of receivers. That could mean Marshall plays as a third receiver with Thomas and someone else, or he could split time with the California native.
Either way, moving Marshall to receiver full time isn’t a bad idea. He’d still be in a position to carry the ball on jet sweeps or throw passes off of reverse action. In other words, he could still do all the things as a wide receiver that he did last season as an H-back.
It’s clear that Ohio State needs to keep getting Marshall the ball. That way he could destroy more teams the way he did Indiana last season, when he went off for 95 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions and a 54-yard, game-breaking punt return score.
If the Buckeyes are going to replace Smith’s production, and get back to the College Football Playoff in 2015, it would be prudent to follow the Marshall Plan.
