Checking the Tape: Chris Marshall

“Checking the Tape” is a weekly series that highlights the Ole Miss football team’s offseason acquisitions. Whether it’s coaches, transfers or recruits, sports writer Owen Pustell goes in-depth and analyzes each individual. This week, Pustell takes a look at transfer wide receiver Chris Marshall.

Height/Weight/Position:

6’3/205 lbs/WR

2022 Stats (True Freshman): 11 REC, 108 Yards, 0 TDs

Though Chris Marshall was not overly productive during his freshman season, Rebel fans should be excited about the transfer receiver. He was a five-star recruit in the 2022 cycle and opted to sign with Texas A&M but entered the portal after a disappointing, sad and embarrassing 5-7 season that featured a home loss to Appalachian State (to whom A&M paid $1.5 million).

Strengths

As a recruit, Marshall was heralded for his size and contested catch ability. Per his 247Sports profile, Marshall played basketball extensively in high school, which has helped his ability to be physical and win jump ball situations.

Marshall is also a very natural athlete. He is fluid for his height and already weighs more than 200 pounds with plenty of room to add more weight. (He has the potential to build his body the same as DK Metcalf or AJ Brown.)

Ole Miss is in need of a physical possession receiver who can overpower shorter DBs and make catches away from his body. Marshall fits that bill to the last decimal and could become Jaxson Dart’s (or whoever the QB is) best friend next season.

Look for him to be a DeAndre Hopkins-type of receiver. Someone who has good hands, possesses an easy frame and can win jump balls, but might not be the burner to take the top off a defense.

It’s tough to judge Marshall after just an 11-catch season, but he also has a dirty stiff arm that he busted pretty effectively last season. I don’t necessarily buy into the recruiting hype that pinned him as an elite threat after the catch, but he certainly won’t be a pleasant tackle for cornerbacks.

Weaknesses

As mentioned earlier, his background on the hardwood is both a plus and a minus. Yes, he is a great 50/50 ball winner, but he still has to develop as a route runner and learn the intricacies of his position.

There were times last year (Alabama and Mississippi State were in which he got significant play time) when he looked sluggish getting out of breaks and seemed to be moving a little bit slower than everyone else.

Of course, there is time to change this, but if Marshall is going to be a serious threat at Ole Miss, he needs to speed up his game. The physical ability is all there; it’s just about adjusting to the college level and stepping up accordingly.

2023 Projection

Marshall comes to Ole Miss along with fellow transfer Tre Harris. Harris and Marshall have similar physical builds, and both should play mostly on the outside while Jordan Watkins and JJ Henry take work in the slot.

I would put Harris over Marshall on the depth chart based on experience and production. However, Marshall has a much higher ceiling than Harris and should play significant snaps as well. I predict him to finish with around 500 passing yards as the third receiving option in a run-heavy offense.