Marshall a go for NFL draf

Richard Marshall has played his last Fresno State football game and is headed for the NFL — hardly the scenario he envisioned when he first laced up the Bulldogs pads four years ago after arriving from Locke High in Los Angeles.

"My thought was just competing for a starting job," he recounted Friday.
His next job should bring big bucks.

"I wasn't thinking about money, I was just thinking about a great opportunity most people want, but few really get," the junior cornerback said after declaring himself eligible for the NFL draft. He has until Jan.15 to submit his intention in writing to the league office.




The 5-foot-11, 188-pounder with 4.4-second speed in the 40-yard dash said he was influenced this week by an NFL evaluation that projected him to go in the second or third rounds.
If the prediction holds up, that means he'll go on the first day of the April 29-30 event in New York. And that's what he had to hear to follow James Sanders as the second Fresno State defensive back to leave early in two years.

"It had to be the first day," Marshall said. "To be honest, I thought the evaluation would come back and be the third round. And when it came back second or third, that pretty much summed it up for me."

According to Bulldogs coach Pat Hill, the NFL grade is completed by a board of personnel evaluators from 10 teams who study film of the player and include the athlete's measurable statistics such as size, speed and jumping ability.

Fresno State secondary coach Randy Stewart said Marshall's computer numbers are good, but that it was his athletic ability that elevated him in the eyes of professional experts.

"That's the strength of his game, the athleticism," Stewart said. "Size-wise, he's average. But it's his ability to accelerate, to jump and the explosiveness, those are the things they're looking at."
Stewart said he doubted Marshall would skip his senior season one year after a bizarre sequence had Sanders announce he would leave early and then change his mind only to reverse course again and say he would go after failing to hear from an NCAA petitioning committee.
"I thought Rich wouldn't go, but I knew it would be a possibility, especially after James went out," Stewart said.

Marshall said this season he remained in contact with Sanders, who played well as a rookie for the New England Patriots. And Marshall heard this from his buddy: "Play every game as if it's your last, and if you decide not to come back, go with it full steam ahead."

Cornerbacks with the ability to lock down elite receivers are coveted in the NFL. And by many estimates, seniors Jimmy Williams (6-3, 205) of Virginia Tech and Tye Hill (5-10, 180) of Clemson are good enough to go in the first round of the draft.

Marshall is among five cornerbacks who have declared their early eligibility. And he did so without fear in an era of having to defend tall, imposing wide receivers such as Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald and Plaxico Burress, who range from 6-3 to 6-5.
"I know big receivers are up there," Marshall said, "but I don't think there's anybody I can't handle. I'll get in anybody's face and play them head up.

His stock no doubt received a boost when he helped limit USC 6-5 All-American Dwayne Jarrett to five catches for 37yards and no touchdowns in the Bulldogs' 50-42 loss to the Trojans in November. Jarrett finished the season with 91catches for 1,274 yards and 16 scores.

"NFL people haven't done near as much homework on Rich as they're about to do," Stewart said. "And I'm sure the No. 1 game they'll study and focus on will be that SC game."
Marshall said he'll probably select an agent by the end of the week.

Stewart, meanwhile, will begin the chore of replacing a 28-game, three-year starter who led the team with 78 tackles this season. And Marshall's 57 solo tackles were 17 more than his nearest teammate. He also finished with a school career-record 39.9-yard average return on nine interceptions.

If the 2006 season began today, Stewart said, either senior-to-be Elgin Simmons or junior Damon Jenkins would start opposite Marcus McCauley, a starter since he joined the Bulldogs in 2003.

Simmons and Jenkins played nine and four games, respectively, this season.
"After them," Stewart said, "there will be somebody you and I haven't heard of yet. But we'll have a guy ready on time."
The reporter can be reached at aboogaard@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6336.