Maybe there’s another world in which running back Jordan Marshall is getting ready to suit up in scarlet and gray for The Game on Saturday, rather than the maize and blue of Michigan football.
Marshall, a Cincinnati native, was a top-80 player in the class of 2024 (per 247sports composite rankings) – and one of the top five running backs nationally. He had more than two dozen Division I offers, from programs all across the country.
That, of course, included Ohio State, as OSU running backs coach Tony Alford went hard after one of the top three players in Ohio to stay in his home state.
Instead, Marshall headed north, to Ann Arbor and the Wolverines, in December 2023. Why? As Marshall previewed the upcoming clash between No. 15 Michigan (9-2, 7-1 Big Ten) and OSU (11-0, 8-0), he explained how he ended up with Michigan.
“I really liked Tony Alford – he would probably be one of the reasons that I went there,” Marshall said on Tuesday, Nov. 25. “I didn’t like a few other people and that’s truly why I didn’t pick there. I think coach Alford will tell you the same.”
The Game is clearly personal to Marshall and he wants to put himself in the pantheon of greats who are immortalized in the rivalry for a big time performance.
He wouldn’t be the first Ohio native to star against That Team Down South – It’s a tradition that includes Desmond Howard, Charles Woodson and even Marsha;;’s current teammate, Rod Moore, who had the game-sealing pick in 2023’s Wolverines win.
“For me, it’s how I put myself in that in that mode or that spot, to be with those great players,” he said. “What’s popped into my head since Sunday is legacy. This is a game to stamp my legacy. This is a game to put my team within legacy.”
Senior defensive edge and captain Derrick Moore said “everything will always be personal” with Ohio State – and he hails from Maruyland, rather than Michigan or Ohio. For Marshall, it was a big decision to leave his home state to play.
Two-time captain Max Bredeson sees the devotion to U-M in Marshall already, as this week he said he would “bet” that Marshall will be a captain during his time in Ann Arbor.
That matches a vision Marshall saw for himself even back in his high school days, even as Alford attempted to sway him to Columbus.
“The best head coach in the Big Ten in college football, and how he carries himself and how he puts himself over the team, and it’s all about culture,” Marshall said of Ann Arbor’s appeal. “That’s what I wanted to be around. I didn’t want to be around people that were about themselves.
“I truly just believe that that’s why coach Alford came here too, he knew that he wanted to be around better people.”
Indeed, a few months after Marshall committed to U-M, Alford made the leap, too, taking the job as Michigan running backs coach under newly promoted head coach Sherrone Moore.
Marshall got a taste of The Game last season, with one carry for 3 yards. But this year, the redshirt freshman will be the Wolverines’ lead back, and in a game in which U-M wants to run, run and run some more, he could blow past surpassing his career high of 25 carries.
Marshall’s downhill style would seem to make him the perfect “November back” – an observation that made him laugh as he responded that he likes “to hit people” whether it’s warm or cold. Regardless, he’s looking forward to his first snow game since grade school, with the temperature forecast to be in the low 30s when U-M and OSU face off Saturday (noon, Fox).
This has already been a standout season for Marshall, with 871 yards on 143 carries – a 6.1-yard average – and 10 touchdowns. Another 129 yards will make him U-M’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Blake Corum in 2023.
In each of the three games Marshall has started, he has gained at least 133 yards. But Marshall doesn’t care about personal milestones – he’s focused on extending U-M’s win streak in the rivalry to five.
“It’s humbling, all the greats’ play in this game,” he said. “It usually comes down to our room and how we perform. … For me, it’s just, how do I put myself in the position to help this team win every single snap.
“Excited to go out there and again, go against my state where I’m from, and give those boys work.”
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why RB Jordan Marshall picked Michigan football over Ohio State
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
