LSU Football: A star has been born in the midst of Tigers’ struggles this season
By Zach Ragan
LSU football has a legitimate star on their hands.
LSU football lost a lot of star power after the 2019 season.
Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire became household names during the Tigers’ historic run in 2019.
And none of them are on LSU’s 2020 roster (Burrow, Jefferson, and Edwards-Helaire are in the NFL, while Chase opted out of the 2020 season).
Losing that much star power means there have been plenty of opportunities for players to step up and become the face of the LSU football program.
No one has taken advantage of that opportunity quite like junior wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr.
Terrace Marshall Jr is becoming a household name for LSU football
It’s easy to forget, thanks to the insane numbers that Chase and Jefferson put up last season, but Marshall was incredibly good in 2019.
The former five-star recruit caught 46 passes for 671 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Not bad for a player that was the fourth option in the passing game (at best…he also had to battle tight ends Thaddeus Moss and Stephen Sullivan for targets).
With Chase, Jefferson, Edwards-Helaire, Moss, and Sullivan out of the picture, it’s meant that Marshall is LSU’s top option in the passing game.
And he’s more than delivered so far this season.
In five games, Marshall has caught 31 passes for 540 yards and nine touchdowns.
Those numbers put Marshall on pace for a 15-game season total of 93 receptions, 1,620 yards, and 27 touchdowns.
That’s beyond impressive — especially considering he’s doing this without Joe Burrow (and Myles Brennan is hurt, so Marshall has played with true freshmen quarterbacks recently).
On the field, Marshall is playing like a top ten NFL draft pick.
Off the field, the LSU wide receiver is proving to be a tremendous leader.
It’s no secret the Tigers have struggled this season. Marshall, who is usually quiet, took time this week to speak to the team. A move that meant a lot coming from a player who’s typically reserved.
“I just wanted to play my part of my leadership role on the team,” said Marshall this week when asked about talking to the team (via 247Sports). “I don’t say too much, but I feel like whenever I do say something that my point can be made across”.
“I just wanted to get in front of the team, try to just motivate all the young guys to the old guys and just remind them that we’ve still got a mission ahead of us and we’ve just got to keep playing and keep rolling.”
A wide receiver with Marshall’s leadership abilities and on-field skills is rare. The Tigers are fortunate to have him in Baton Rouge.
But unfortunately, it looks like Marshall won’t be at LSU for much longer.
Next. How LSU needs to shift its focus. dark
NFL teams are going to be salivating at the thought of drafting him.
Can you blame them?