Vencent Marshall

[Big Cat]

Bob Wheeler from Longhornfanzone.com does a great recruiting newsletter that is free. The other day he profiled a kid named trent hearne. Here is the info he wrote in the newsletter. Sorry, the pics wont show up.

It seems that the more great kids I go see the more I realize how important it is to pay attention not just to the guys who everybody says are great, but the kids who are on the field getting it done. Recruiting guys know a lot, and I'm not knocking them, but you can grab a kid who is tearing [deleted] on the practice field and 8 ties out of 10 he'll have gotten two offers.
Happened today. At Ennis practice I noticed one guy going full speed, and his full speed was righteous. Little guy about 5'9", no more than a 165. My size. But too fast and shifty for words. Eric Metcalf clone. Calves like bricks. So I say "Coach, who is the little guy there? He looks like a solid ballplayer."
Well it turns out "the little guy" just won the State Title on the triple jump at almost 50 feet. "the little guy" has a 37 inch vertical leap. And "the little guy" is being looked at by a load of colleges.
I'm talking about Vincent Marshall, who was the other starting receiver for Ennis with Broderic Jones, and who caught over 50 balls himself last year.
They were a First Team All-District tandem. Here he is:
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/robertcw4/marshall.jpg" TARGET=_blank>http://www.geocities.com/robertcw4/marshall.jpg</A>



I know yo're loking at this guy and going, "oh man Wheeler there's a thousand of those guys in Texas." Nope. There aren't a thousand guys anywhere with 37 inch vertical leaps who win the state Triple Jump. The only word I can think of to sum this kid up is explosive.
His strength and conditioning coach took a lot of pride when he told me, "they don't catch up to him often but when they do he lays a lick. He didn't step out of bounds on his own one time last year. He'll crack you."
Which I guess explains why A&M wants him at DB.
Speaking of that lemme get to his questionnaire:

Vincent A. Marshall - WR/DB - Ennis
"V-Will" - #9
5'9", 162, 4.4
Bench press: 8 reps of 230
Vertical leap: 37 inches

2000 Offensive stats:

54 catches, 1,100 yards, 15 TDs

1st Team All-District

Your current favorite colleges: - Have they sent letters? - Offered a scholarship?

1. TCU (Letters, offer)
2. UT (Letters, offer)
3. Texas A&M (Letters)
4. Oklahoma
5. SMU

Which colleges do your parents like best?

"Anyone that will offer me a full scholarship."

Do you plan to commit early or wait? Wait

Camps you will attend this summer?

July Camp at Ennis High

What other sports did you letter in? Track

Do you plan on playing another sport in college, if so which? Track for sure

What position do you want to play in college? DB

Which colleges want you to change positions? A&M

Do you want to play or redshirt as a freshman? Redshirt

Which colleges seem to like you most?

1. TCU
2. UT
3. Texas A&M
4. SMU

Well it's awful hard to show you explosion in a still, or even a set of stills but here's a good effort:
[URL=http://www.geocities.com/robertcw4/marshall2.jpg]http://www.geocities.com/robertcw4/marshall2.jpg



In this one Marshall cuts left, which is where the hole was and where the play was designed to go, and he looks cooked. Well, he made it through that hole and was off to the races. He reminds me a lot of Metcalf, but if you've seen any recent footage of Quan Cosby you'll think "Quan" as soon as you see this kid.
His head coach, Coach Harrell, told me that he will not only hit you, but that he will go up and take a ball, that he's that strong. Arkansas had a coach at practice and they've had a few guys just like him.
You hate to embarrass anyone, but look at the way Marshall flat deeks this safety out of his jock. The kid realized he wasn't gonna get him so he sort of turns and then turns again and pretty soon he's completely turned around and lost and Marshall goes into the endzone.
[URL=http://www.geocities.com/robertcw4/marshall3.jpg]http://www.geocities.com/robertcw4/marshall3.jpg


I'm going to guess that a lot of schools are going for the tall DBs these days and that his best shot is at a school that doesn't mind the smaller DB, like A&M (had several guys like Mickens who were smallish), or somewhere he can be a guy who catches hitches and stuff.
His coach said "he needs to go somewhere they'll throw him the bubble screen and the quick hitter and let him make something happen." I hate the bubble screen but that sounds like a player for either Texas' or OU's system. I can see him eating up chunks on those little wide receiver screens.
I'll be keeping an eye on Marshal Monday, and I'll talk about his game when I do the Jones update Tuesday, but when you're looking at Jones do't forget this kid. He's going somewhere and he's going to make an impact.
I suspect that with all the people who want to watch Jones seeing Marshall as well, especially now that he has won the State Triple Jump Title and shown what a leaping ability he has, that you'll see a lot more interest in Marshall soon. look for the teams that throw it 20+ times like Purdue, Texas, OU, et al, to take a shine to this guy.


[This message has been edited by Big Cat (edited 05-28-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Big Cat (edited 05-28-2001).]

[This message has been edited by Big Cat (edited 05-28-2001).]

[Hoofprint]

Sounds small, but if we're going to take small players, that's the kind of speed we need. Sign him. He sounds like a productive player.