LSU Football: The one thing Terrace Marshall Jr could’ve done differently
By Zach Ragan
LSU football will be without its best wide receiver for the rest of the season.
LSU football junior wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr surprised a lot of folks this past weekend by announcing his decision to opt-out of the 2020 season.
Marshall played in seven games for the Tigers this season and put up some impressive numbers.
The Louisiana native caught 48 passes for 731 yards and ten touchdowns. Over a 15 game season, those extrapolate to 103 receptions for 1,566 yards and 21 touchdowns.
That would’ve been an incredible season — especially when you consider all the talent that LSU lost from its historic team last season.
The impressive season that Marshall was having, however, isn’t what makes his opt-out decision so surprising. It’s the circumstances surrounding the decision.
LSU football wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr could’ve done something different in his opt-out decision
LSU hasn’t played very well this season. In an effort to fire up the team, Marshall gave a speech recently to his teammates about “finishing the season”.
And then Marshall decided to not finish the season.
I’ve said multiple times that I understand Marshall’s decision. And I actually agree with the decision. I especially like the fact that Marshall met with Orgeron and told him about the decision in person.
But he should’ve told him sooner.
According to The Advocate’s Brooks Kubena, Marshall had been planning to opt-out after the Texas A&M game for “about a week”.
Yet Orgeron didn’t know anything about the decision until Sunday morning at the meeting with Marshall.
It certainly puts Coach O and the Tigers in a tough spot. The wide receiver depth chart is currently a mess (especially with Racey McMath likely still out). Knowing about Marshall’s decision a week ago wouldn’t change the personnel issues that LSU is dealing with, but it would’ve at least gave Orgeron and his staff an extra week to come up with some backup plans.
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I wish Marshall nothing but the best in his pursuit of the NFL. And I think he’ll be a fantastic player at the next level. But hopefully, he learns to give some advance notice to his coaches the next time he decides he’s opting out of a season.