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Football Recruiting
Jalin Marshall Becomes Second Five-Star Commitment in 2013 Class for Buckeyes
By Tony Gerdeman

With work still being done on the 2012 class, Urban Meyer got the 2013 class off to a five-star start twelve days ago with the commitment of Trotwood defensive back Cameron Burrows.

Burrows is no longer alone. News broke late Monday afternoon that Middletown quarterback Jalin Marshall (6-0 190) had verbally committed to Ohio State, giving the Buckeyes a two-man class with still over a year prior to the 2013 Signing Day.

While not a surprise that he chose the Buckeyes, it was a surprise that the announcement came when it did considering that he had planned to make his choice known on January 31st. Local media decided to beat Marshall to the punch, however.

"Went to sleep a Buckeye fan, woke up a Buckeye," he tweeted Monday evening.

Marshall, hailing from the same high school as past Buckeye great Cris Carter, rushed for 1,859 yards and 20 touchdowns last year. He also threw for 782 yards and six touchdowns and was named the Greater Miami Conference's co-offensive player of the year.q

"It’s one of the biggest decisions of my life, and I feel like I made a great choice," he told the Middletown Journal. “It’s close to home, and it’s my childhood dream school. When they gave me the opportunity, I kind of knew where I wanted to go."

One of the top athletes in the 2013 class, the dynamic Marshall is difficult to categorize. Scout ranks him as a five-star running back, and one of the top ten players in the nation. In fact, they have him as the top-rated running back overall.

The other three major recruiting services, however, tab him as an "Athlete". For instance, 247Sports ranks him a five-star prospect as an athlete, and the fifth-ranked player in the nation overall at the moment.

There are many questions about his ability to play quarterback at the college level, hence none of the services rating him as such.

Still, Marshall says that Meyer will at least give him a shot at playing quarterback, but being a Buckeye anywhere on the field is all that really matters to him.

"I’m at Ohio State for wherever they put me," Marshall told the Middletown Journal. "They want me to come up there and throw for them. If they don’t like how I throw the ball, then I can be dangerous as an H-back. He’s going to use me in a lot of different ways."

Because he is such a gifted athlete, and because starting quarterback Braxton Miller will only be a junior when Marshall gets to campus, expect him to play all over the field when he arrives. For Marshall, that sounds just fine.

"Hopefully they put me in places he’s not [Miller] when we’re there together. We can do some things when we’re on offense together."

The talk for all recruits of Marshall's ability of late has been that of "the Percy Harvin role", which Meyer had tremendous success with at Florida.

As a sophomore in 2007, Harvin ran for 764 yards and had 858 yards receiving. As a junior, he had 659 yards rushing and 644 yards receiving.

It's not fair to any recruit to compare them to somebody as gifted as Harvin, but it does give you a glimpse into the role that Marshall could find himself a part of down the road.

And maybe even with the added twist of throwing the ball here and there.

So when someone asks if Marshall will play quarterback, running back or wide receiver, the answer, it would seem, is simply "Yes".

But Ohio State will be getting more than just the football player, they will also be getting the person, and according to Middletown coach Troy Everhart, that's as big a coup as landing Marshall the football player.

"He’s got great parents who are setting the right example," he told the Middletown Journal.

"There’s no silliness. We didn’t pull hats out of a bag. We didn’t hold a press conference. He’s one of the few lucky ones who has someone at home who’s paying attention and doing things right. If we had more parents like his, we’d all be better off."

With Marshall and Cameron Burrows in the fold, the Buckeyes have commitments from the consensus top two players in Ohio. They are now expected to help Meyer and his staff in recruiting future teammates from around the nation.

Expect them to be successful in their efforts.

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