Each time he visits Tennessee, his final decision isn’t getting any easier.
The four-star senior linebacker from Clinch County High School in Homerville, Ga., said the Vols are “one of my top two teams,” along with the Bulldogs, following his unofficial visit Saturday for their home finale against Missouri, and he said he’s “really starting to like them a lot.”
After spending Saturday and Sunday morning in Knoxville, he said he doesn’t “know where I’m going to go at the moment.” While Georgia and Tennessee are his two favorites, he said he also plans to take official visits to Auburn and Alabama.
“I mean, Tennessee is, like, one of my top two teams, and I really don’t know where I’m going to go at the moment, so I’m just trying to see, can I catch the feel? And I think I had a good weekend up here
“I like the coaching staff and I love Coach Pruitt, and Coach Sherrer is one of my favorite coaches,” Marshall said. “I mean, I know a few (Tennessee) players now. The coaching staff, I love the coaching staff. I’ve done said that previously, many times. I guess (I like) just the coaching staff. I just love the coaching staff, because I know every one of them.
“I mean, I can’t go somewhere for playing time. If I was looking at that, I could look at a different, other school. I’m looking at (Tennessee) because I love the coaching staff and I know they’ll take care of you, even if it’s not about football. That’s why I like this coaching staff.
“And I know that personally, just by other players that are, like, big-time right now telling me this, and they’re keeping it real with me. They tell me the coaches’ flaws. They tell me the coaches are good. That’s why I like these coaches, because a lot of people have done vouched for them on a lot of stuff.”
The Vols’ 50-17 loss to Missouri “was a bad game” for them, he said, but he “can’t go by that.” He said he’s encouraged by the improvement Tennessee has shown this season.
“They won some big games that people wasn’t expecting them to win,” Marshall said. "I mean, that’s surprising. Even when fans are doubting you, you’re winning big games like that. I mean, that tells that they’re on the right path and stuff. They lost this weekend, but they’re on the right path. And I think, when Coach Sherrer, when they get their recruits in and everybody else in, they’ll be just fine.
Mincey is trying to convince Marshall to join him at Tennessee
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I love Georgia because Georgia was my first offer,” Marshall said. “They were the first team that ever gave me hope, so that’s why I’m staying with them. I mean, I love (inside linebackers) coach (Glenn) Schumann. I love (head) coach Kirby(Smart) and everybody. I know I’ve got family up there. I’ve got friends up there that went to my home school.
“I mean, I still love Georgia, and I’ve got it in the back of my mind, ‘I can’t leave,’ and then another voice in my head that’s telling me, ‘I’ve got to go.’ It’s just hard. It’s just a hard process, and I’m going to have to evaluate it one by one. I’m just waiting now.”
"I don’t feel like them two, I don’t think they’ve got no doubt in their minds that they’re not going to Georgia,” Marshall said, referring to Smith and Walker. "I mean, I’m the one with the doubt. I’ve just got to do what’s best for me, I guess.”