Replacing a pair of gifted runners isn't an easy task for Andrew Marshall, but he's willing to do anything to help the Generals win.
Photo by Rich Cooley/Daily
QUICKSBURG — There’s no doubt Richard Long and Kyle Harlow had more.
The 6-foot-2, 216-pound Long (per Stonewall Jackson’s 2006 roster) and the 6-foot, 186-pound Harlow were more than adequately sized to play running back on a Group A football team. Together, they racked up 2,165 yards on the ground a season ago, with Long doing the majority of the carrying and Harlow the lead blocking.
So when Andrew Marshall shed his pads after a practice to reveal a red elastic undershirt with “Harlow” scrawled across the chest in marker, no one was fooled.
“Why did you steal Harlow’s shirt?” Generals coach Dick Krol asked him. “Here I am telling nice things about you, and you stole Harlow’s shirt.”
“I didn’t steal it; he gave it to me,” came the reply.
No, Marshall doesn’t have the physical assets of either Long or Harlow. What makes the 5-10, 154-pound running back a weapon for Stonewall is that he’s willing to give, in entirety, that which he does have.
“He’s the type of kid that doesn’t worry about his body,” Krol said. “He uses his body, and for a small kid sometimes it’s sort of reckless. But it helps us, and we’re not going to stop him from doing it.”
Marshall’s teammates echoed the coach’s appraisal.
“When we go in hitting drills, he’ll go up against anyone,” said 6-2, 241-pound senior tackle Nate Beall. “He’ll go against me, he went against Richard, he’ll go with anyone. And he gets right back up after he gets hit.”
Taking a pounding as the primary ballcarrier and an every-play defender every Friday night will wear on anyone’s body, and much more so an undersized player like Marshall.
“Richard had the talent to take it and the body to take it, and Marshall, he really has the heart,” senior quarterback Hunter Stout said. “I’m not saying Richard didn’t have the heart, but Marshall definitely does.”
Krol was blunt in comparing Marshall to Long, now a fullback at Appalachian State, whom Marshall backed up last season.
“Richard was 220 pounds. He can’t do the things that Richard did,” Krol said. “He will block people as we ask him to, he will run the ball within his capabilities, and he will never back off or ask for any special favors. But he can’t replace Richard in any way, shape or form. His speed’s not the same, his size is not the same. Just two totally different people.”
And Beall said that as a lineman, it’s slightly different blocking for a runner who isn’t Long.
“Richard hit the hole a little bit faster, but it’s not that big of a difference,” Beall said. “We just nickel and dime all the way down the field.”
But not even Long was asked to do what the Generals demand of Marshall defensively.
“They’ll put him on the line, like nose guard,” Stout said. “Another day I was in the scrimmage and I looked over, and he was playing corner with me, making plays.
“I haven’t seen anybody who’s actually tried that.”
While Long and Harlow excelled at their linebacker spots, Marshall spent last year playing his more naturally suited position of cornerback as well as the spot usually reserved for the biggest players on the team — defensive tackle.
“He goes against 250-pounders, no problem. He’s just quick and puts his body on the line,” Beall said. “It’s harder to block the quicker guys. You have to really get off the ball to block them. The bigger guys just kind of stand there.”
Marshall shrugged off the suggestion that a person who could play both positions is a rarity.
“I’m pretty fast, I can keep up with most [receivers],” he said. “And on the line, I’m pretty quick and can get by guys and get in the backfield and make things happen.
“I’ll do anything to win.”
That’s not a statement that needs any further qualification, at least in his teammates’ eyes. Last season, Marshall rushed 24 times for 85 yards, returned three kickoffs for 31 yards, racked up 43 tackles and recovered two fumbles. This year, he’ll likely spend 48 minutes a game on the field, and those numbers will increase as he shares carries with Brandon Moomaw, Aaron Carter and possibly others out of the backfield while playing a second full season as a defensive starter.
“He’s always stood out as being a smaller guy who could do stuff,” Stout said. “He’ll do anything you want him to do. He won’t back down from anything.”
