Analyzing the Twitter Buzz About Iman Marshall as National Signing Day Nears

One day before national signing day, the country's top-ranked cornerback recruit, Iman Marshall, has six schools holding their respective breaths: USC, Florida State, Notre Dame, Michigan, LSU and UCLA. 

Which of those six Marshall is still seriously considering is anyone's guess, but the Long Beach, California, product sure knows how to put on a show. Last week, he announced his finalists in the form of a teaser video released by Bleacher Report, which had the epic feeling of a "What should I do?" LeBron James commercial.   

The Twitter buzz surrounding Marshall's decision has been largely created by the 5-star recruit himself. The man they call "Biggie" is feeding the frenzy, retweeting various pleas from the fans of his potential future schools. The experts at Rivals are predicting he'll stay in Southern California and attend USC, but Marshall has yet to tip his hand. 

Let's take a deep dive inside Biggie's social media world. 

He's seen visions of glory at the Big House:

"

@iman_marshall8 The greatest day in your life is when you put on the winged helmet and hear the BIG HOUSE ROAR "IMAN" pic.twitter.com/QEEvo4Pspj

— Rodrigo Villalobos (@rodrigo_goblue) February 2, 2015"

"

I'm getting a Iman Marshall jersey right away if he comes to Michigan @iman_marshall8

— MichiganOnly™ (@MichiganOnly) January 30, 2015"

Florida State fans (including Mia Khalifa) have shown him some love and even formed a hashtag to make a final push: #BiggieToTally. 

"

@iman_marshall8 come join #FiveStarUniversity 💪 pic.twitter.com/MAfA1Pqxct

— #BiggieToTally (@YaAlreadyNole) February 1, 2015"

"

FSU is the move, right @iman_marshall8?

— Mia Khalifa (@miakhalifa) January 30, 2015"

And, of course, the locals at USC have expressed their desire for Marshall to stick around:

"

Edit I made for @iman_marshall8 #FightOn #USC pic.twitter.com/iz2uXDKWwI

— Will Black (@ovo_will) January 28, 2015"

Marshall met last week with the Florida State coaching staff. A few days earlier, he was hanging with Jim Harbaugh and friends.

"

Nole Nation pic.twitter.com/qNWvtCdIm7

— Biggie (@iman_marshall8) January 29, 2015"

"

Time Well Spent With Some Great Coaches #GoBlue #U〽️ pic.twitter.com/0TuaY881FE

— Biggie (@iman_marshall8) January 27, 2015"

Heck, Marshall won't even rule out Alabama, which is not one of the six schools he named as a finalist.

"

“@Joshua_McMillon: My Boy @iman_marshall8 Gne Shock The World And Sign With Bama On Wednesday” maybe

— Biggie (@iman_marshall8) February 3, 2015"

It's worth noting that Marshall did not make an official visit to USC, per B/R's Damon Sayles, while he did visit Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan and FSU. But the Trojans coaching staff perhaps did even better: It visited Marshall on his own turf at Long Beach Polytechnic High School (via Los Angeles Times):

"

@iman_marshall8 with @uscfootball @CoachSark and coaching staff #whynotus #AllAmericanMakers #D1 #whosnext pic.twitter.com/4oxdYCBXhC

— LB Poly Football (@LBPoly_Football) January 28, 2015"

For what it's worth, Biggie was also recently seen rocking a Trojans T-shirt at a local high school basketball game:

"

We got @iman_marshall8 in the splash zone tonight!! #turnup 💦💦 pic.twitter.com/ugiEPPxmxv

— Splash Zone (@RealSplashZone) January 31, 2015"

My best guess? He'll choose USC. Still, I wouldn't be too shocked if he picked Florida State while Michigan seems like a close third.  

For the moment, only one thing is clear: Marshall is a special talent at cornerback, one whom Rivals recently compared to the Arizona Cardinals' Patrick Peterson. 

He is expected to announce his decision Wednesday during the 4 p.m. ET hour on ESPNU.