2017 Season Countdown: #61 Lawrence Marshall

2017 Season Countdown: #61 Lawrence Marshall


June 30, 2017

Lawrence Marshall

Name: Lawrence Marshall
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 268 lbs.
High school: Southfield (MI) Southfield
Position: Defensive tackle
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #93
Last year: I ranked Marshall #48 and said he would be a backup Anchor.
TTB Rating: 72

Marshall, who was listed in 2016 at 268 lbs., was a backup strongside end. Rumors have existed for a while now that he hasn’t been 100% committed to improving as a football player, and that resulted in him playing in just three games last season. He made 6 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in that playing time, and he struggled some when he got a chance to play. Originally a 240 lb. weakside end, he’s on one of those trajectories where he appears to be bulking up for a mediocre career inside.

Now Marshall is said to be around 280 lbs., and he’s playing 3-tech defensive tackle. Some players have bounced around due to need at different spots, but this appears to be at least a semi-permanent move for Marshall. Michigan needs help on the interior of the defensive line, and there’s not a whole lot of experience there. I profiled true freshman James Hudson III a couple days ago (LINK), so I view him as being almost on par with Marshall, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Hudson passed him up. It’s now-or-never for Marshall, who could see his time expire at Michigan if he doesn’t amp up his game. The Wolverines won’t want him back for a fifth year if he doesn’t become more disciplined and productive. On the plus side, Marshall has to see that there’s playing time up for grabs with Maurice Hurst, Jr. the only proven guy at his position. He could be the #2 guy, or he could be clawing for snaps with the likes of Carl Myers, Hudson, and freshman Donovan Jeter, among others.

Prediction: Backup defensive tackle

10 comments

  1. Comments: 313
    Joined: 8/17/2015
    JC
    Jun 30, 2017 at 2:50 PM

    I think I could make an argument for Lawrence Marshall being anywhere from the low 40s to the 70s.

    When Marshall was a recruit, he was a top250 DE. I thought if he improved his speed WDE could’ve been his landing spot, or if he bulked up a bit SDE could’ve been where he’d excel.

    If he actually is up to 280 lbs, I don’t know if he’d be functional as a DT, and I could see dropping him to 70.

    If he was sitting in the 265-270 lbs with some speed and power, I could see him as the #40 least indispensable player, because who do we have at DE?
    Gary
    Winovich
    Kemp
    From what I’ve seen, those three are the top 3. But who falls after that? Johnson/Jones/Freshmen?

    Freshmen are always wildcards. You ranked Marshall #50 his freshman year, he redshirted. You ranked Marshall #43 the next year, he didn’t show up. Last year he was #48.

    If he’s spelling as DT, I’d rank him lower. If he’s a functional SDE, I think he’ll end the season higher. It’s a crapshoot.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Jun 30, 2017 at 3:32 PM

      Freshman are wildcards individually. But the haul Michigan is bringing in collectively is very likely to be successful.

      If you take one guy with a 20% chance of success, you have an 80% chance of failing. But you take 5 guys with a 20% chance of success each you’re down to a 33% chance of failing. Strength in numbers.

      Michigan has 11 DL who are freshman (redshirt or true). This doesn’t include Gary. Take Dwumfour and Kemp out as >50% chance of success guys and you’re down to 9 guys. Put the vet wildcards like Marshall (JR) and Jones (SO) in and you’re back to 11.

      With a top 6 established (Hurst/Gary/Mone/Winovich/Kemp/Dwumfour)
      Michigan probably needs 2-4 of the 11 wildcards to step up this year. With our starters being who they are, these guys don’t have to be great – they just have to be playable. (Pending health issues of course.)

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Jun 30, 2017 at 3:33 PM

      SDE may be the deepest spot on the line for now. Gary (best talent) backed by Kemp (most probable top backup) backed by Jeter (best EE).

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Jun 30, 2017 at 3:40 PM

        Don Brown said in an interview not long ago that Jeter was headed for DT. Not that you can’t play both (we saw that with Wormley), but usually freshmen concentrate on one position.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          Jul 01, 2017 at 6:18 PM

          Interesting. Hadn’t heard that. Not too much of a surprise that he would end up there but I thought he was a little light for it in 2017. Not a big distinction in the long run but I agree that freshman usually get thrown at 1 spot.

  2. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Jun 30, 2017 at 3:11 PM

    I’d like to believe – I was high on Marshall as a recruit on the strength of his offers and potential as a rush end.

    But I don’t. At this point, while it’s not too late, it seems unlikely things will turn around.

    I think the rank is fair given the depth chart, but I expect at least a couple freshman to pass him. .

  3. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Jun 30, 2017 at 10:08 PM

    I agree with the rank, but am really disappointed. On a roster this young, a 4th year guy with a solid recruiting profile & offer list should not tumble nearly 20 spots

  4. Comments: 262
    Joined: 8/12/2015
    Painter Smurf
    Jul 01, 2017 at 9:59 AM

    Marshall did not look like a guy who deserves game snaps based on the spring scrimmage. It’s highly unlikely that he gets a fifth year, so I would prefer that the younger guys get backup snaps for developmental purposes.

  5. Comments: 19
    Joined: 8/12/2015
    LeeR
    Jul 01, 2017 at 1:18 PM

    Thunder, it looks like your TTB evaluation was more accurate than the recruiting site’s evaluations.

    We’ll never know, but I wonder how he’d have done at a MAC school, and if (rumored) effort issues would be around if he had started in a smaller pond with a better chance of getting PT.

    If he really did have effort/commitment issues at UM — and I don’t pretend to know either way — my best guess is that if a player is wired that way, he is what he is, and that any changes in effort/commitment come when a kid develops a more mature outlook on life.

    • Comments: 262
      Joined: 8/12/2015
      Painter Smurf
      Jul 01, 2017 at 1:34 PM

      Marshall actually had a great chance to make an impact in 2015. He was coming off a reportedly solid spring and UM had a hodgepodge at WDE. They wound up playing Jenkins Stone there for goodness sake. Was a golden opportunity for Marshall that season, and he did not take it for whatever reason.

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