So you're thinking about a tight end who is a 6'5" 220 pounds (self-declared) rising senior and you're probably thinking high-school string-bean where a proper S&C program can put some meat on his bones before he can even sniff the field. And then you look at his highlight tape
You see Ben lined in tight as an H-back, in the slot, in the wildcat, you even see him even throwing the ball. He's a flex-receiver, not a hand-in-the-dirt traditional TE. You see the ball snapped and you see Ben seemingly run down the field at three-quarter speed, but he's deceptively fast due to his long legs. He pivots on a cut-back route, showing he's not some gangly string-bean; he's an athlete. The ball is thrown far and he reels it in with one hand. Behind him, and he twists his body to catch it and keeps going. He's got soft hands and caught 93 YPG as a junior in a very good HS football program.
This is a modern TE - in the mold of Keleki Latu or heaven forbid the stable of receiving TEs that Stanfurd used to terrorize us with - a flex-guy who you put in the H-back position or slot that will constantly be a mismatch threat everywhere he goes.
Imagine being a defensive coordinator and seeing 13 personnel sets with Terry, Latu, and Marshall. If you fail to crowd the box, you're going to get run over. Even then, if it's a pass, you've got an ILB trying to cover a flex-receiver. And then one of the flex receivers goes in motion. Now you've got a 5'10" CB trying to defend a 6'5" receiver. Opposing safeties used to cheat toward our receivers since they were the primary and we wouldn't get many explosive plays. But if you've got threats everywhere, something good is going to happen.
I mean, Marshall is just a rising HS senior and he's got a bunch of development ahead of him, but I am already sunshine pumping on him.
So you're thinking about a tight end who is a 6'5" 220 pounds (self-declared) rising senior and you're probably thinking high-school string-bean where a proper S&C program can put some meat on his bones before he can even sniff the field. And then you look at his highlight tape
Ooooooo....
http://www.hudl.com/video/3/13148653/61416028ff02080a002abc25
You see Ben lined in tight as an H-back, in the slot, in the wildcat, you even see him even throwing the ball. He's a flex-receiver, not a hand-in-the-dirt traditional TE. You see the ball snapped and you see Ben seemingly run down the field at three-quarter speed, but he's deceptively fast due to his long legs. He pivots on a cut-back route, showing he's not some gangly string-bean; he's an athlete. The ball is thrown far and he reels it in with one hand. Behind him, and he twists his body to catch it and keeps going. He's got soft hands and caught 93 YPG as a junior in a very good HS football program.
This is a modern TE - in the mold of Keleki Latu or heaven forbid the stable of receiving TEs that Stanfurd used to terrorize us with - a flex-guy who you put in the H-back position or slot that will constantly be a mismatch threat everywhere he goes.
Imagine being a defensive coordinator and seeing 13 personnel sets with Terry, Latu, and Marshall. If you fail to crowd the box, you're going to get run over. Even then, if it's a pass, you've got an ILB trying to cover a flex-receiver. And then one of the flex receivers goes in motion. Now you've got a 5'10" CB trying to defend a 6'5" receiver. Opposing safeties used to cheat toward our receivers since they were the primary and we wouldn't get many explosive plays. But if you've got threats everywhere, something good is going to happen.
I mean, Marshall is just a rising HS senior and he's got a bunch of development ahead of him, but I am already sunshine pumping on him.
Notice the number of respected academic athletic programs.
Always nice to rip a recruit away from the Chanticleers
Here's a nice short piece from an apparently local site:
Why Ben Marshall, a 3-star tight end for Blackman, committed to California football, Pac-12
https://www.dnj.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/08/12/football-recruiting-ben-marshall-blackman-3-star-tight-end-commits-california-pac-12/10221690002/
With a list that long he doesn't look under the radar at all. Definitely some schools within Cal's ballpark. Welcome!