Ohio State's Jalin Marshall Is the Model for the Future of College Football

COLUMBUS, Ohio — After waiting more than a year for it, Urban Meyer finally received a national letter of intent from Jalin Marshall. And once he did on a cold February morning in 2013, the Ohio State head coach didn't sell the Middletown, Ohio, star short.

"Jalin Marshall is a young man that if he was a guy that wanted to play the game and wait until signing day to put the eight hats out there, he could have whatever many amounts of hats he wanted," Meyer said of the 4-star prospect who committed to the Buckeyes in January of 2012. "I would rather recruits do it the way he did it, but can you imagine Ohio State University and the state of Ohio and Buckeye Nation if he would have waited and put on a hat?

"That would have been a great day. Because we think he's certainly if not the best player in Ohio, one of them."

Upon arriving on campus six months later, a preseason concussion and standard freshman struggles would delay Marshall's ability to make good on Meyer's promise. But through the first nine games of his redshirt freshman season, the 5'11", 205-pounder has proved to be well worth the wait.

Helping eighth-ranked Ohio State reenter the race for a spot in the first-ever College Football Playoff, Marshall has proved to be one of Meyer and the Buckeyes' most reliable weapons. Ranking fourth on the team in receiving with 14 catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns as well as fifth in rushing with 107 yards and one score on 17 carries while also returning punts, Marshall seems to have done a little bit of everything for Ohio State, and his responsibilities are only growing.

In fact, you may have noticed that I'm yet to have listed a position for Marshall here. His role(s) on the Buckeyes makes it difficult to do so.

Ohio State's official roster pegs Marshall as an H-back, Meyer's preferred name for the wide receiver/running back hybrid position that Percy Harvin made famous in the spread offense at Florida. But even the versatility that spot entails doesn't do enough justice in describing all that Marshall is capable of.

PAUL VERNON/Associated Press

With Braxton Miller on the shelf with a torn labrum and true freshman Stephen Collier being saved for a redshirt, Marshall has managed to also take on the role of Ohio State's third-string quarterback. That's not exactly a foreign position for him, either, as he first made a name for himself as a running quarterback during his storied prep career in Southwest Ohio.

"That's right where he should have played," Meyer asserted. "He was the best player on that team."

Accumulating 2,641 total yards and 26 touchdowns in his junior season, Marshall found so much success as a quarterback that the likes of Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and UCLA each offered him a scholarship to come play the position at their schools. But none were able to overcome the pull of Meyer and Ohio State, where Marshall knew that a position switch was likely. Yet that still hasn't prevented him from lining up from behind center.

As Meyer and Buckeyes offensive coordinator Tom Herman have continued to implement their hurry-up offense, Marshall has been used as one of the unit's most important interchangeable pieces. With the ability to line up at wide receiver, running back and, yes, quarterback, Ohio State has used Marshall as its Wildcat signal-caller, taking direct snaps against often unprepared opponents.

"The Wildcat's legitimate, especially at tempo," Meyer said on Monday. "We have a couple of passes ready for him, too."

Marshall has actually already attempted one on the season, letting an incompletion fly in the Buckeyes' Nov. 1 win over Illinois. And while his one pass attempt thus far in his college career was ultimately unsuccessful, don't be surprised if more are in his future—and not just because Meyer said so.

As explained by Heisman.com's Chris Huston, the future of football could very well be players like Marshall, ones capable of running, catching and throwing. In a pair of tweets following Ohio State's win over Michigan State, Huston was actually referencing Miller but might as well have been talking about Marshall as he explained his vision for a new age of offense.

Meyer doesn't seem to disagree with that notion, stating that when it comes to recruiting, versatility is a priority.

"We put the [all-points bulletin] out every year for the multidimensional athlete on offense," Meyer said. "That's the tight end 'H,' and it's the tailback 'H.' And just over the years, that position has evolved. You like moving those checkers around when you can have guys that can take direct snaps."

Marshall certainly seems to fit that mold—and then some—possessing the ability to line up at any skill position on the OSU offense while also taking on special teams duties. As a threat to throw, it's fun to think about what the Buckeyes offense could potentially look like next season with Marshall and potentially Miller lining up alongside current OSU quarterback J.T. Barrett.

And while such formations may be nothing more than fan fantasies at a school like Ohio State, don't expect players with skill sets like Marshall's to stop showing up in Columbus anytime soon. Asked by B/R on Wednesday about his status as one of college football's more cutting-edge players, Marshall didn't shy away from being labeled one of the prototypes of the future of the sport.

"Hopefully, it could be," Marshall said. "I definitely don't want to be deactivated from that role in this offense. I enjoy that, and I feel like it helps us out a little bit, and the role's expanding more and more each week. I feel like it's great for me and great for the team."

That's exactly what Meyer was envisioning when he raved about Marshall's potential on national signing day two years ago. And fortunately for him and the Buckeyes, the wait is finally over.

The future is now.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com and recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.