It took Cameron Marshall four carries to get three touchdowns, 104 yards and a Pac-10 Player of the Week nomination.
Marshall is the No. 1 running back this year after playing behind former Sun Devil and current Atlanta Falcon Dimitri Nance as a freshman in 2009.
A soft-spoken player off the field, Marshall is hesitant to bring attention to himself—this despite getting a celebration penalty in the opener.
After his opening game performance, he was quick to praise his teammates.
"The holes were open so a big shout out to the O-line and the tight end for leading the blocking,” Marshall said. “We just had a productive day rushing."
Marshall, as he walked into the room for Saturday’s post-game press conference with muscles bulging, showed off the work he had done the offseason. At close to 220 pounds, Marshall is the biggest running back on the team. But size only begins to describe what Marshall brings to the table.
“You have to look at Cameron Marshall, there's a guy that really jumped out today,” coach Dennis Erickson said after the opener. “He's got great speed, no one runs him down. You look at the other guys in there and it's a little different than it's been and we've been recruiting for that.”
According to ASU’s athletic website, Marshall came out of high school having run a 4.32 second 40-yard dash, bench pressing 355 pounds, squatting 525 pounds and power cleaning 275 pounds. He was the 23rd ranked running back in the country according to Rivals.com.
Many figured he would play a large role in the offense last year.
While appearing in 11 games last year, he received less than six carries per game. After breaking off a 75-yard run against Washington and running for 71 yards two weeks later against Cal, Marshall received his first career start against Southern California and rushed for 44 yards on 16 carries.
Marshall’s lack of playing time seemed odd at times. With Nance struggling to break big plays and Ryan Bass in the doghouse because of fumbles and attitude issues, Marshall showed the breakaway speed and downhill, power running style that the team lacked.
Unlike Bass, Marshall never complained.
While Marshall is likely to share carries with at least three other backs, he figures to play a more prominent role in first-year offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone’s offense.
“It’s seems like it is more (of a passing offense) so defenders will come into the box and we can just hit it up in there good,” Marshall said. “The less guys they put in the box the better for me. But I will return the favor when they put them in the box and we start passing.”
Marshall, always selfless, even when describing his breakaway runs of 50 and 38 yards in Saturday’s opener.
“I think the fact that I was untouched struck me the most,” Marshall said. “I went up there and thanked all the lineman for that. I can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Reach the reporter at nick.ruland@asu.edu
