7/6/2022 football Edit

Newcomer Profile: Jalen Marshall

Mitchell Forde • PowerMizzou

Staff

The Missouri football roster in 2022 will look drastically different than a season ago. Eli Drinkwitz and his staff have added a whopping 34 scholarship newcomers to the team since last season ended, thus turning over more than one-third of the roster. Nineteen of those newcomers arrived on campus in June to begin summer conditioning.

As we continue to count down the days to fall camp, PowerMizzou is going to profile each of those 20 newcomers who have arrived since the end of spring practices in order to help fans get to know all the new faces on the roster. Today, we take a look at local defensive tackle Jalen Marshall.

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Position: DT

Height: 6-4

Weight: 302

Year: Freshman

Last School: St. Thomas Aquinas (Ks.) high school

Kansas City native Jalen Marshall wowed the Missouri staff at a camp last summer, which led to a quick commitment to the Tigers. (Derek Young/KSO)

Thirteen months ago, Marshall wasn’t really on Missouri’s radar. The Kansas City, Kansas native had received a scholarship offer from Barry Odom and his staff, but hadn’t heard much from the Tigers since Drinkwitz took over.

That changed when Marshall came to campus for a camp in late June. There, he worked out for the staff and got re-offered. Less than a week later, he returned to Columbia for an official visit, and by mid-July, he had committed to the Tigers. He stuck with his pledge even after Drinkwitz fired former defensive line coach Jethro Franklin and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks left for the Carolina Panthers.

Like fellow defensive tackle Marquis Gracial, Marshall brings legitimate SEC size to Missouri, something the staff prioritized on both lines of scrimmage in this recruiting cycle. He’s already listed at 302 pounds.

However, in a crowded defensive tackle room, it would come as a surprise if Marshall makes a consistent impact as a true freshman. Like most true freshman linemen in the SEC, the smart money would be on a redshirt year in 2022 as he continues to build strength and agility with an eye toward anchoring the defensive line in the future.