The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541451
20 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2025 physical. You have to be physical to play at this university. We pride ourselves on running the ball. Michigan prides itself on that, and has for years. For me, that's how I talk to our running backs. You have to be willing to take the dirty two and three yards to get that long one. If you're not, you're not going to get that long one." WAITING FOR THE BREAKAWAY Marshall cited the win at Michigan State as the perfect example. The Wol- verines threw just twice in the second half, after clinging to a 10-7 lead at in- termission. They kept pounding away, and in the fourth quarter, Marshall found himself racing away in front of MSU fans witnessing their chance for an upset completely vacated. "You can feel it when you're hitting the defense, hitting them," Marshall assured. "Michigan State — a big one. We were just pounding the ball, pounding the ball, and it just opened up for us at the end of the game. Justice had two mid-long ones, and then I had a long one. We pride ourselves on hitting them in the mouth, and eventually we're going to get a long one." The second-year Wolverine still enjoys the crunch as much as the cash-in. He conceded that deep-into-fall football in the Midwest often amounts to a game of toughest guy wins. "I would say that, and the hits hurt a little more — probably for both of us," he noted. "But I'm going to make sure that when I hit you, you're going to feel it, especially in the cold. "Again, I've been playing in the cold since I was a little kid. I remember play- ing in games that were 10 degrees, 15, in high school. Wind child and all. Or it's 40, and some of the guys on our team are like, 'It's cold,' and I'm like, 'What are we talking about? This is warm.' It's just embracing it. That's what you have to do. You knew when you were com- ing here that it's going to be cold toward November. "You think about this — if we could get a Playoff game here, it's going to be pretty cold." He's thought about College Football Playoff games, all right. That marks Michigan's next big step up in the fledg- ling Moore era. This year, that means no slip-ups before Ohio State, and a fifth straight victory over the Buckeyes. Mar- shall doesn't need to spend much time back at home before he hears how the latter part of that plan consists of a pipe dream. Needless to say, he's not listening. "We just let people talk," he said. "We believe in this building, and we believe in the people in this building. That's all I really care about — our opinions here. "I went home [on the bye week] and I hear, 'Go Bucks!' and 'We've got you this year,' and so on. You have to embrace it and be willing to take the steps to prepare for this moment. They wouldn't be say- ing that if they weren't worried about you. For me, it's just preparing for every single day and just being the best player I can be for this team." As for his decision to head north, he wouldn't change a thing. Marshall mar- vels at his situation, insisting he's sur- rounded by "the best university, the best school, the best people, the best com- munity. It's amazing. These fans are Marshall sprang onto the scene by pounding out 100 yards in the rain against Alabama's defense last year in U-M's ReliaQuest Bowl victory. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL