Zachary Marshall only had one Division I scholarship coming out of high school in Florida and Texas Southern was it.
But that didn’t stop the offensive line prospect from setting his expectations high when he arrived on campus last summer, only to have them realized.
“I was coming in, intending to be a starter,” said Marshall, the Tigers’ center. “I had to beat out a sixth-year senior for the job. He got hurt in fall camp, and when I came in in fall camp, I just stayed for the rest of the season.”
That isn’t typical of how things go for a virtually recruited freshman, especially at the offensive line’s most challenging position. But Marshall quickly proved he wasn’t a typical freshman.
The Tigers’ coaching staff became aware of Marshall when his high school coach from Bartram Trail High School in the Jacksonville area reached out to TSU offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Steven Smith. The two had a good conversation, which led to Smith receiving Marshall’s game tape, which then led to an on-campus visit with Marshall and his parents. Marshall got to hear TSU’s plan, and the coaching staff had an opportunity to understand the depth of football knowledge the 6-foot-4, 290-pound youngster possessed.
From there, all parties were sold on each other.
“He is probably one of the smartest dudes you will ever talk to,” Smith said. “When it comes to football, he did it from Day 1. From Day 1 on his recruiting visit, I put it up on the board, talked about it, and he was able to feed it back to me just like that. He’s been the same way ever since.”
And once injury met opportunity, Marshall seized the moment and never looked back. He started all 12 games at the leadership position of the offensive line, where blocking assignments are made, and one missed call could result in the quarterback being sacked or the running game being stuffed.
Marshall anchored an offensive line that ranked in the Top 25 of all FCS programs. Now, Marshall is ready to build on that with an even better sophomore campaign.
“I had a great freshman year,” he said. “There are still a lot of things I can improve on, and I was working on in the spring. I’m going to go into the summer getting better and coming into the fall even better than I was last year.”
Marshall has spent the offseason improving on his technique and run blocking. Smith has been impressed with his progress.
“Big growth from last year to now,” Smith said. “He’s getting stronger. He has always been a fighter, which was the one thing I loved about him when we recruited him. He’s smart, and he is a fighter, and he’s getting better and better.”
Marshall is a part of a talented young interior offensive line core, which includes 6-foot-3, 350-pound Jayden Daniels and Sterling product Malachi Godfrey, who is 6-foot-4 and 340 pounds. Both are guards, and all three were starters last season as freshmen.
The experience they gained from last season and the chemistry they have were on display during spring practices when they often dominated the line of scrimmage, giving the quarterbacks ample time to find open receivers and opening gaping holes for the running backs.
“The competition from high school to college is a lot faster; everybody is just as big or stronger than you. And everybody is super fast, too. That was the biggest difference.”
Zachary Marshall, TSU center
“The three young guys, I think they did a really good job,” Smith said. “The three freshmen who started progressed well in the spring, the same way they did last year.”
Marshall believes they will be even better this upcoming season, despite losing offensive tackles Braden Cain and Dennis Jones to FBS schools in the transfer portal.
“We’re a lot tighter as a group,” Marshall said. “From just playing last year, things click better, better than they did just coming in and trying to figure everything out.”
For Marshall, last year was about figuring a lot out as he learned to exist in a difficult cultural environment. But he adjusted to and embraced the culture and environment of playing college football at an HBCU.
“It was a great experience,” Marshall said. “The bands in the SWAC are just amazing, and all of the crowds are great.”
But Marshall admits he sometimes misses being at home in Florida.
“It’s different,” Marshall said. “I miss home a little bit but, beside that, it’s not very much different.”
What has made it better for Marshall has been a welcoming environment both on the field and around campus. He appreciates what he has learned so far from head coach Cris Dishman, Smith, and the other members of the coaching staff who either played in the NFL or have coached in the NFL or other major college programs.
Last season, Dishman and his assistant coaches helped produce TSU’s first NCAA-recognized winning seasons in more than two decades. The expectation is that the Tigers will build on that success this season.
“He’s getting better at his technique. Coming in last year and becoming the starter, he had consistency in snapping the ball, and now the great thing about it is he is adding more technique to what he is doing.”
Steven Smith, TSU offensive coordinator/offensive line coach
“We can be really good,” Marshall said. “We have a great receiving corps, a lot of people coming back. Our running back room is amazing, and the quarterback room is amazing as well.”
The high praise extends to the guys up front, too.
“The offensive line, we will be great,” Marshall said. “Last year, we were really good. I think we were ranked Top 25 in FCS as an O-line.
“This year we are going to try to come back and be better than that.”
