It’s no secret that Clemson is a top school for Braeden Marshall.
The four-star cornerback out of Florida’s Lake Mary High School spoke with The Clemson Insider on Monday and revealed why Clemson is a top school in his recruitment, as well as where things currently stand in his process.
Marshall — a 5-foot-11, 185-pound rising senior in the class of 2023 — could have a decision made by the end of July. Clemson will most definitely be in the mix until the very end.
“I’ve really been in contact lately with the defensive coordinator (Wesley Goodwin) and Coach (DeAndre) McDaniel — our relationship has really grown,” Marshall said. “I’ve talked with Coach (Dabo) Swinney a couple of times. He’s shot me a couple of texts. We’re just growing our relationship, not just with one coach, but multiple coaches and they’re coming down this week to see me at my school.”
“Shoot, it’s improved a lot,” Marshall said regarding his relationship with Goodwin. “Coach Goodwin, we’ve been talking on the phone probably twice a week now. Our relationship has just grown and he’s a great man. I feel like he’s gonna do great things with the defense, even though it’s his first year being a defensive coordinator. He tells me all the time that he loves the way I play and he says I can fit in the defense.”
As Marshall’s relationship continues to grow with Clemson, it should come as no surprise that he included the Tigers in his formal list of favorites.
Marshall released his top 10 schools on Tuesday evening, on his birthday. And as expected, Clemson made his top group, along with Arkansas, North Carolina, Penn State, Miami, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Nebraska and UCF.
“I think Clemson is in my top 10 really because when I first visited them it was a family environment,” Marshall said. “Coach Dabo Swinney’s message to his recruits really hit different. He really cares about his players and wants them to graduate. He wants them to grow as a man and have a better life after football. With all that, I feel like Clemson has had a top-tier program for the past couple of years and that’s a big reason why I’ve got them in my top 10.”
Clemson is recruiting Marshall to play the cornerback position. Other schools have recruited him to play either nickel back or safety, but Marshall says he doesn’t really care about where he plays at the next level. It’s no secret that he has the versatility to play all over the secondary.
With that being said, part of Mike Reed’s recruiting pitch to Marshall is that he’ll have a chance to come in and compete early for playing time at the cornerback position.
“He’s told me that he plays all his guys and he doesn’t recruit his corners to play on the bench,” Marshall said. “Going there and playing early, I know I gotta earn that, but he told me it’s there, I just gotta work for it. If it isn’t the first year, the second year I’ll be on the field.”
Marshall won’t be able to officially visit Clemson the weekend of June 3-5. Instead, he plans to take an official visit during the season. With that said, Marshall is still hoping to get back to Clemson sometime in the near future — he estimates that he’ll be back in Tiger Town either June 10 or 11 — as well as make visits to other schools that make up his top group.
As of Monday, Marshall is hoping to have a decision made prior to his senior season. That’s why he is making sure that he takes his visits this summer.
“Really getting my eyes on the campus more times and being with the coaches more in person will really determine that,” he said. And, hopefully, with all that, I’ll have a decision by late July, before the season.”
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