Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011

Millbrook's Marshall picks Georgia

Everyone in the auditorium had his or her eyes fixed on Keith Marshall, the star football player, the prodigy, the coveted recruit.

On stage, Marshall kept looking at his hands Tuesday afternoon. His parents and teammates were close by. And in front of them were students, teachers and family members. When Marshall lifted his head, he saw all those cameras.

No matter how many touchdowns he scored, this was the part Marshall, who is considered the top running back in the country by some recruiting sites, knew would also be most difficult: picking a college.

"After a lot of prayer, thought and consideration," a nervous Marshall said, "I have decided that I will be enrolling (in) the University of Georgia."

Marshall, a senior at Millbrook, revealed his decision at about 2:45 p.m. His top schools were Clemson, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

There was enough interest in Marshall's decision to make his name the No. 2 trending topic on Twitter in the United States Tuesday afternoon.

Marshall spoke for just 18 seconds during his news conference, but received a standing ovation that last lasted for more than minute.

Burning the midnight oil

What most people in the auditorium didn't know was how Marshall came to his decision. On Monday night, Marshall was still torn between Georgia and Clemson.

Marshall said he was up until 3 a.m. Tuesday morning weighing his options. He even spent part of the night talking to Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd and receiver Sammy Watkins.

"I talked to them and they just said, 'Follow your heart,'" Marshall said. "They weren't trying to put any pressure on me to come there."

When Marshall fell asleep, he told his parents he was going to sign with Clemson. But at 8 a.m., when Marshall woke up, he told his father, Warren Marshall, he had changed his mind.

"I just felt at peace and I didn't want to have any regrets," said Marshall, who chose not to attend school Tuesday. "I felt like at Georgia I would never regret anything, no matter what happened."

Warren, who was a star running back at James Madison and played a season with the Denver Broncos in 1987, knew his son made the right choice.

"I think he still needed to sleep on it," Warren said. "He had the opportunity to pray about it. When he woke up he followed his heart."

'A great place for him'

A rare combination of speed and power, Keith Marshall can run the 40-yard dash in 4.23 seconds. He also added 10 pounds of muscle before his senior season.

Marshall, who is 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds, is Millbrook's all-time leading rusher.

Marshall rushed for 1,891 yards and 25 touchdowns this past season, in which the Wildcats finished 6-6. Last week, he was given the Gatorade North Carolina Football Player of the Year award.

Marshall ran for 1,560 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns in 2010. As a sophomore, he had 1,166 yards and 12 touchdowns.

"He has that drive that you want as a coach," Millbrook coach Clarence Inscore said. "I think Georgia is a great place for him."

Georgia coach Mark Richt came to Raleigh Sunday to speak with Marshall a day after the Bulldogs fell to LSU in the SEC championship game. Richt, who solidified his job security with 10 wins this season, received the news from Marshall an hour before the news conference.

"He was really excited," Marshall said. "He walked away from the phone and I heard him scream."