Cameron Marshall
RB, 5-11, 210 LBS, ESPN Scouts, Inc Grade = 76.
FR, San Jose, California (Valley Christian HS)
Lookin' straight YOKED
Overview:
One of the elite high school athletes in Northern California and an incredibly well rounded back with the ability to beat defenders in a variety of ways. Has excellent speed and strength and can attack defenses between the tackles from sideline to sideline. Also an excellent track and field athlete.
Scouting Report:
Regarded as an excellent downhill runner, runs with sensational power and boasts phenomenal quickness. Runs a 4.32 40-yard dash, bench presses 355 pounds, squats 525 and power cleans 275. Scouts - Marshall is talented running back with great foot-speed and quickness. Has good size and desired body composition to carry the load and remain durable. Hits the hole quickly with authority and is a very sturdy and balanced in-line runner. Picks and darts through the traffic with subtle cuts and is difficult to get a clean shot in with his low center of gravity and shiftiness. Flashes good lateral quicks sidestepping initial traffic and making the first defender miss. Shows a good burst out of his cuts. Has great top-end speed in the second level. Our main concern is his lack of great strength on contact. Legs can go dead and he struggles at times breaking through initial arm-tackles. We question his vision and natural feel as a runner when projecting for the next level. Tends to bounce it outside instead of planting and accelerating downhill when he has a north-south seam. Could struggle to consistently stretch it laterally versus pursuing college defenders. Overall, Marshall has great measurables on paper when projecting as a college running back but lacks a similarly impressive skill set on film. May possibly get a look on defense where he shows good range and a burst of speed closing on the football. A great athlete who has the potential to develop into a good football player.
Accolades
Rated as the No. 23 running back prospect in the nation by Rivals.com Also rated by Rivals.com as the No. 7 running back in the state of California and the state's No. 56 overall prospect. Ranked as the No. 42 running back in the nation by Scout.com, and also listed by them as the No. 5 running back in the state of California and the state's No. 50 overall prospect. Rated by SuperPrep as the No. 4 running back and the No. 58 overall athlete on its California/Hawaii/Nevada 150 list. Earned All-West Region honors by PrepStar. Regarded by Scout.com as the No. 7 running back and No. 78 overall athlete in the West region. Was regarded as the Running Back of the Year in his school's league. Was named the Offensive Player of the Year on the All-Northern California Team and was named the Nothern California Player of the Year by the Cal-Hi Sports Publication. Also earned All-County and All-Bay Area recognition.
High School Career
Collected nearly 3,000 rushing yards and 38 TDs during his high school career. Coached by Mike Machado at Valley Christian High School.
Senior Year
Rushed for 1,904 yards and 24 TDs as a senior in 2008. Had 4 non-offensive TDs to total 28 on the year. Added 3 TDs on INT returns.
Junior Year
Carried 118 times for 807 yards (6.8 avg.) with 11 TDs as a junior in 2007.
Sophomore Year
Carried 20 times for 186 times (9.3 avg.) with 3 TDs as a sophomore in 2006.
The Decision
Chose ASU over Northwestern, Oregon and Utah, among several other offers. Verbally committed to the Sun Devils on Jan. 27, 2009.
The Verdict:
For 2009, I don't know if there are many carries Marshall is going to be able to get. If he isn't redshirted, I think he will simply be depth. While Herring graduated, we still have Nance, DeWitty, Ryan Bass, and others at the RB position who would line up ahead of Marshall. The kid looks legit though, he certainly brings more to the table than Nance does (I am really down on him). We certainly don't have a ton of runners with his kind of speed.