Courtesy: Duke Photography

By John Roth, Blue Devil Weekly

DURHAM, N.C. - By the time they are three years removed from high school, most football players have given some indication of what they might be able to accomplish at the collegiate level. But for Duke’s Jabari Marshall, his third season past the prep ranks is more like a starting point and launching pad for the remainder of his college career.

After graduating from Atlanta’s Mays High School in 2004, Marshall redshirted his freshman year at Duke and sat out last season for academic reasons. So when he stepped on the field for the opening contest against Richmond in September, it marked his first game action since the 2003 Georgia state high school playoffs.

“I remember my first kickoff return against Richmond,” he says. “I needed it, and after I got it, everything clicked again and I was back. It didn’t take long because it’s what I do.

“I hadn’t played in awhile, and I had some questions about myself a little bit. But when I got out there, it was just back to normal.”

Marshall’s journey has been anything but normal, but his rookie season has been a good one from a personal standpoint. He is one of the fastest players on the team, and Duke’s coaches have put that speed to use mostly on special teams. He has been the top kickoff return man on the squad, with an average of over 26 yards per attempt, which ranks among the national top 25. He has also been a gunner on the punt team and made several plays in coverage situations, including the recovery of two fumbles.

While the team remains winless and the youthful roster inconsistent from week to week, Marshall has done his job well virtually every game. He emerged as the primary kick returner after his roommate, fellow speedster Ronnie Drummer, was injured against Richmond. Over 75 percent of his returns have gone for at least 20 yards, and on a few occasions he’s been only a block or cut away from going the distance, such as in the Florida State game when a defender knocked him off balance after a 67-yard gain. He also had a 44-yarder against Vanderbilt, a 38-yarder at Alabama and a 34-yarder against Navy.

“He’s got some grit about him, and he doesn’t shy away from mixing it up. He takes pride in what he does,” says coach Ted Roof. “He’s fearless. He doesn’t dance around. We’ve just got to maintain our blocks a little bit longer, and he’s obviously got the speed to hit a home run.”

Marshall says he plays without fear because he figures that after a lifetime of carrying the football, he’s already been hit about as hard as he’ll ever be hit — although he also acknowledges that a shot he took in the recent Navy may have been the hardest ever for him.

His home run speed may be a natural resource, but he is quick to credit its refinement to his extensive background as a track sprinter.

“When I was younger I was pretty fast, but it wasn’t trained speed,” he says. “When I got to high school I started running track, and I learned a lot of speed mechanics from my summer track club because they had time to work with you individually. I think I got college football speed by running summer track.”

Marshall was on a state championship 4x100 relay team in high school, and last spring ran that event for the Duke track team along with Drummer. The two helped the Blue Devils to the second fastest time in school history at 41.81 seconds. Marshall also runs the 100 and 200 individually, and last spring at the ACC meet he was clocked in 22.73 seconds for the 200. He plans to be back on the track this year.

“Running track is fun. It keeps your speed up, and speed helps you in football,” he says. “Ronnie and I didn’t run the times we could have (last spring) because we were still doing football, but it kept our speed up, and it keeps us in shape.”

Marshall had plenty of time to focus on his physical shape and conditioning last fall when he was out of school. He spent part of his time working out in Durham and the rest at home in Atlanta contemplating his return for the spring semester.

“It was kinda hard, but I feel like it made me work harder to get back and do the best I could when I got back,” he notes. “It made me think about the game more and how it really affects your life. Right now my life is just going to school and football. I had both of those taken away, now I’ve got them back and I’m trying to make the best of it.

“My mom was my biggest supporter. Most of the time I was with her and we’d talk about it and she’d tell me it was okay. She was my biggest fan as far as keeping me up. She just told me to work hard and be ready when my name was called again.”

Duke’s coaches — who initially beat out Notre Dame, Auburn and Illinois for Marshall’s services — penciled his name in at defensive back for his return to the team this season. Marshall had played both offense and defense in high school, with nine interceptions his senior year and 14 for his career. During preseason practice, however, he was switched from cornerback to wide receiver. He saw limited duty on offense for the first eight games, but during the last two weeks his named was called a few times with pleasant results. He turned the corner for 15 yards on a reverse in the Navy game, then ripped off runs of 22 and 20 yards at Boston College.

“He’s one of our better athletes, and I wanted to find a way to get a guy who has the ability to make some big plays on the field,” Roof says. “It’s certainly shown up in his kick returns, and every week he’s picked it up on offense a little bit more.”

Indeed, Marshall says his recent opportunities on offense are due to the fact that he has finally developed a better understanding of the playbook. “Physically I can do whatever they want me to do, but learning it and putting it all together, now I’m starting to get it and they’re giving me my shot,” he says.

Marshall returned one kickoff and two punts for touchdowns in high school, and he continues to look for the seam or block that will launch him toward the end zone at Duke.

“Personally I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job, but I want to do better,” he says. “Your goal on kickoff return is to score and I haven’t done that yet. But I feel like I’ve tried my best each week and gotten a good outcome from what we’ve done.”