Nate Marshall received the type of threat that will put a scare into anybody, even a grown man who's likely making six figures on one of the best defenses in America will put a scare in you.
"Coach [Jay] Hill definitely threatened to call my mother a few times, so that's what I didn't want happening," the U-M edge laughed Tuesday after practice. "I fill my parents in on everything, and they know, I always have things to do better."
This discussion with media came after Marshall ended Michigan football's 17-10 win over Oklahoma in resounding fashion. He used his favorite rush move − speed to power − to get around the right tackle, then bulldozed his way between the lineman and a running back who came over to try and help, before he swallowed up
John Mateer for a walk-off sack.
But had he continued on the path he was on earlier in the year year, he almost certainly would not have been in that position. It seems fair to say Marshall was on coach Kyle Whittingham's bad side in the spring after Marshall says he wasn't attending class.
His name didn't come up almost at all in the offseason until late into August, when he kept showing out with his play.
“Nate Marshall, who had some struggles in spring, some things that I wasn't real pleased with off the field, has really grown up in the last eight months,” Whittingham said late in fall camp. “Knock on wood, hopefully he can stay on that trajectory. He’s one of the best pass rushers on the team, if not the best pure pass rusher.
"He's got a real talent for bending the edge and getting his hips turned and getting to the QB.”
While missing class was something he could perhaps get away with under the old staff, he found out it wasn't going to fly under the new regime, as he rolled his eyes and said "class checkers" alluding to how he got caught.
The first time he was busted for skipping class, he had to go into the team facility for a workout at 6 a.m. on a Saturday. The second time it happened, his entire position group had to show up, also at 6 a.m. on a Saturday.
A third time would've meant the entire defense had to do it, but after two mistakes, Marshall knew he couldn't let his teammates down again. He said they didn't give him too hard of a time because they knew he was going to "get right" and they "trusted" him not to make the same mistakes.
By his account, everything has started to turn around for the psychology major, who stated he recently earned Academic All-Big Ten honors. Marshall called it a process to grow into someone who could be trusted on and off the field, but said he now feels great about himself – both as a player and as a man.
It's all led to the opportunity to see the field, where he's made an immediate impact. Marshall has racked up three pressures, two hurries, two tackles and a sack in just 21 snaps the past two weeks. It's been hard to crack the rotation behind John Henry Daley and Dom Nichols, two of the best edges in the Big Ten, who've combined for 200 snaps through two weeks.
The only other player in the room ahead of Marshall's 21 is senior Cam Brandt with 38, someone who has years of sweat equity in the program. Marshall didn't have that trust, but he had the talent. After months of growing and maturing, he's becoming someone the Wolverines can trust − on and off the field.
"I definitely feel like I had to make some change," Marshall said. "I didn't know when it would come within myself. I've been trying to change for a long time now, but I finally brought it within myself to make the change."
[ MUST LISTEN: Reacting to Michigan's upset over Oklahoma. Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube . ]
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's Nate Marshall got right off the field. Now he's a menace on it
