Warren Keith Marshall Jr. (born February 16, 1994) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

, and was selected by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

in the seventh round of the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

High school career

Marshall attended Millbrook High School in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, where he played football and competed in track. Marshall was 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds as a senior high school running back.

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

rated him a five-star prospect and the top-ranked running back in the class of 2012. Marshall was recruited by Georgia running backs coach

Bryan McClendon Bryan McClendon (born December 28, 1983) is an American football coach who is currently the wide receivers coach and pass game coordinator at the University of Georgia. He previously served as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coac ...

who first observed Marshall as a sophomore halfback. Marshall committed to Georgia on December 6, 2011, and attempted to sway high school

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

friend

Todd Gurley Todd Jerome Gurley II (born August 3, 1994) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons, primarily with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Georgia, where he recei ...

to commit to Georgia instead of

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

. Gurley committed to Georgia five weeks later. The pair wanted a combined talent similar to the rushing tandem of Alabama's

Trent Richardson Trenton Jamond Richardson (born July 10, 1990) is an American football running back for the Caudillos de Chihuahua of Fútbol Americano de México. He played college football for the University of Alabama, was recognized as an All-American, and ...

and

Mark Ingram II Mark Valentino Ingram II (born December 21, 1989) is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama, where he was the first Alabama player to win the Heis ...

. Marshall was the North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school senior, rushing for nearly 1,900 yards, and recruiters appreciated that he was the state Class AAAA 100-meter dash champion. Marshall's

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

coach Clarence Inscore praised the synergy saying, "The idea of two highly recruited athletes ... playing the same position, a lot of people would say, man, that's kind of crazy, you're going to give up a lot of your carries. They were so mature in having that forethought to think, ... it's going to take two guys to get it done in the SEC."

Track and field

In addition to football, Marshall competed on the school's

team as a sprinter, and participated in the 2011 USA Youth Outdoor Track & Field Championships in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

, as well as the 2011 NCHSAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the 100 meters. He was named the 2011 Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year for the State of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. He won the 100-meter dash at the 2011 USATF Region 16 Championships, with a time of 10.44 seconds. He also placed first in the 200-meter dash at the 2011 CAP8 Conference Meet, at 21.54 seconds. At the NCHSAA 4A Mid-East Championships, he earned first-place finishes in both the

100 meters The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

(10.52s) and

200 meters The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

(21.30s).

College career

Marshall and Gurley, endearingly nicknamed "Gurshall" by fans, rushed a combined 964 yards in their first five games during the 2012 season, Marshall averaging 86 yards. Marshall's first freshman honor was the SEC Freshman of the Week award conferred alongside Gurley for their performance in Georgia's win over

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

quarterback

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a mem ...

was also awarded making it the first time the SEC named three players for an award. For his second, and best, 100-yard game (September 29, 2012), Marshall had 164 yards and two touchdowns (75 and 72 yards) in 10 carries. The game was Georgia's best rushing game for a single player since Washaun Ealey's 183 yards against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

in 2009. Marshall sustained a season ending injury his sophomore year. On November 17, 2015, Marshall announced he would enter the NFL Draft and not seek another year of eligibility at Georgia.

Statistics

Professional career

Marshall ran the fastest 40-yard dash at the 2016

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

with a time of 4.31 seconds. He was selected by the

in the seventh round of the

with the 242nd overall pick. On August 30, 2016, Marshall was placed on injured reserve. During training camp for the 2017 season, Marshall tore the

patellar tendon The patellar tendon is the distal portion of the common tendon of the quadriceps femoris, which is continued from the patella to the tibial tuberosity. It is also sometimes called the patellar ligament as it forms a bone to bone connection when t ...

in his right knee, ending his season. He was waived on July 25, 2018.

Personal life

Marshall previously roomed with his high school friend and fellow running back

. His younger brother, Marcus, was a running back at Georgia Tech from 2015 through 2016 before he transferred to James Madison in 2017. James Madison is the alma mater of Marshall's father, Warren Keith Marshall Sr, who is JMU's career leader in rushing yards (4,168, 1982–86). Warren is a Madison Hall of Famer, and played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

after they selected him in the sixth round of the

1987 NFL Draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Marq ...

. Warren set JMU's single-game rushing record of 264 yards in a 1986 victory over unbeaten and third-ranked William and Mary, and he set team career records of 20 100-yard rushing games, three 1,000-yard rushing seasons, 737 rushing attempts and 34 touchdowns. He had 29 career rushing touchdowns and caught five touchdown passes. His 208 career points still ranked second in team history and his 29 rushing touchdowns third at the time of his induction.

References

External links

*
Georgia Bulldogs bioWashington Redskins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Keith 1994 births Living people African-American players of American football American football running backs Georgia Bulldogs football players Players of American football from Raleigh, North Carolina Millbrook High School (NC) alumni Washington Redskins players