Injuries factor into Terrace Marshall’s career. But the Panthers WR refuses to give up.
.JPG "Panthers wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. (88) celebrates a first down during Carolina’s preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 15 in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Zach Bolinger)")
It was the fourth game of the 2019 college football season, when then-LSU wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. heard a pop.
He was running a go-route and thought his cleats came loose. Then he felt it.
His father, Terrace Marshall Sr. was watching his son closely from the stands and knew something wasn’t right. Terrace’s mother, Moeshia Brazzle, was at the concession stand in Vanderbilt’s stadium when Marshall Sr. called to tell her Terrace was hurt.
Marshall, now a Panthers rookie wide receiver, hobbled off the field. His father was hoping the injury was just a sprain.
An MRI revealed he had a bone fracture in his foot.
The injury threatened to end his sophomore season — a season that would eventually lead to a national championship for the Tigers. But Marshall somehow found a way back on the field. And in the national championship game against Clemson, he had three catches for 46 yards and a touchdown.
Marshall’s sophomore season was one of the reasons the Panthers took him in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft. He finished 2019 with 46 catches for 671 yards and 13 touchdowns, despite missing three games.
Last fall, he had 48 catches for 731 yards and 10 touchdowns.
When the Panthers drafted Marshall 59th overall, coach Matt Rhule said the Panthers had a first-round grade on him. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who was at LSU in 2019, had familiarity with the wide receiver as his offensive coordinator, and knew he could play both outside and inside.
“I think Terrace’s mindset is what separates him,” Brady said. “He never gets too high or too low and I think that’s important at the wide receiver position. When you watch Terrace, it doesn’t matter how many games he played, he was productive.
“And I think he would have been more productive, he just so happened to be playing with great players.”
That fall in the draft was because of injuries. The Panthers are taking a chance on Marshall. He’s quiet but confident. He’s been through a lot.
“With all the injuries I’ve had, some people may have quit,” Marshall said. “But I never lose confidence, no matter what is around me.”
Terrace Marshall’s young talent
Marshall’s confidence dates back to when he was a small child.
His father would take him to the backyard when he was four and teach him the fundamentals of football. He loved it. And not long after, the elder Marshall drove his son in his brown 1992 Chevrolet Suburban to the park to sign him up for a football league. When they pulled up in the parking lot, Terrace Marshall Jr. unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door before his dad had a chance to put it in park.
“He just had so much energy,” Terrace Marshall Sr. said. “I just knew if he could take the energy to the field, he’d be something else.”
He was right.
The coaches there said 4-year-old Marshall couldn’t play because he was too young, and the league had guidelines against children participating too early.
But they allowed him the practice that day. That was all Marshall needed. The coaches changed their minds and bent the rules for him, mixing him in with kids 1-2 years older.
“When we got done, the coach was like, ‘let’s see if we can make something happen anyway,’ the elder Marshall recalled with a laugh.
‘I’m going to make them cry for me’
By Marshall’s junior year of high school, he had developed a reputation as the best wide receiver in the state and one of the best in the country. Nearly every college program in the nation wanted him, including LSU, Texas A&M, Florida State, Oregon and Texas.
He was a three-sport athlete and played basketball and ran track.
Size with blazing speed, running a sub-4.4 in the 40-yard dash. Most importantly, he had a tendency to put up big performances when everyone was watching.
Lawann Latson, his personal wide receiver coach, remembers one game in particular during the spring after Marshall’s junior year.
More than 50 college recruiters were at the game, Latson said. And before kickoff, Marshall told Latson that he’d put on a show for everyone.
“He said, ‘coach, I’m going to go out there and make them cry for me today,’ ” Latson said. “I said, ‘OK. Go ahead, then.’ ”
The then-16-year-old receiver delivered on his promise. He caught five passes for 283 yards and five touchdowns, Latson said. One touchdown was a screen pass he caught and took 73 yards for a touchdown.
“Everybody left amazed. I was amazed,” Latson said. “They were crying over him after that game.”
This was normal for Marshall. He was nicknamed ‘Touchdown Terrace,’ for his propensity to get into the end zone.
He grew up in Bossier City, La., with his mother, father and younger sister. His parents divorced when he was eight years old but they were always his biggest supporters. They sacrificed so he could play football and taught him the importance of hard work.
His dad told him, ‘you’ve got to be the hardest worker because somebody is going to be always working when you’re not.’ It would serve as a constant reminder for Terrace.
He’d sometimes train three times a day — often by himself. He’d wake up at 5 a.m. to work out at 5:30 a.m. before school. Then he’d have basketball practice or track, and leave that practice for football.
He was always on the go. Always working.
His mother, a Christian, often reminded him that there would he would often face obstacles he’d have to overcome. And he could use his victories to inspire other people.
“Without a test, there’s no testimony,” she said.
Mother’s words of wisdom
Marshall had dealt with injuries before that fracture at LSU. A lot of them.
He suffered one in ninth grade. He missed his entire 12th-grade year with an injury.
But the injury during his sophomore year in college affected him most. The team doctor told him he’d likely be out for the remainder of the season.
“I cried myself to sleep for a week straight, trying to see why,” Marshall told The Observer.
Why did it happen to him? And why now?
At the time, Marshall was leading the country in touchdowns. He had six in just the first three games. More than his LSU teammates Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, who finished the 2019 season with career years and were drafted in the first round of the 2021 and 2020 NFL drafts.
And he was supposed to be in that position, too.
Marshall said he refused to believe the doctor’s prognosis that he’d be out for the season.
“I remember hearing that, and I was thinking, ‘nah,’ ” Marshall said. “Denying it.”
Then he remembered his mother’s words: “Without a test, there’s no testimony.”
‘I can’t give up, I can’t give in’
Marshall’s parents have always been his biggest motivation.
They’ve attended almost every game. They were there for him when he had that injury in 2019, always sending encouraging words and staying with him when he was on bed rest.
Rehab was difficult.
“I had to wake up every day with a new mindset to grind towards what I wanted to do,” Marshall said, “and that was to finish the season out.”
And in just five weeks, he made it back on the field against Auburn where he picked up where he left off — two catches for 29 yards and a touchdown.
The following week against No. 3 Alabama, he had two catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. It was all coming together.
“It was a great moment,” Marshall said. “I couldn’t do nothing but thank God.”
His parents saw it all.
“He’s 20, but he’s been through so much,” Brazzle, his mother, said. “But he wears it well because of the faith he has in God. I can’t give up. I can’t give in.”
Terrace Marshall Jr. is fulfilling his dream
Ideally, Marshall will compliment Robby Anderson and DJ Moore in 2021, and perhaps step into the No. 2 role in 2022 if Anderson leaves in free agency.
And at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Marshall’s size and speed make him a red-zone threat, and the Panthers could use help there; in 2020, they were 28th in the league out of 32 teams in red zone touchdown percentage, scoring a touchdown on 50.1% of their red zone trips.
But the 20-year-old receiver will have to remain healthy and stay on the field.
So far, so good.
In the spring at rookie minicamp and at organized team activities, Marshall took it slow, running sprints and receiving drills under the watchful eye of a trainer. He had a knee scope surgery this offseason.
Rhule said given his most recent injuries, the plan was not to overdo it with Marshall in training camp to keep him healthy. Since then, he’s been at full speed, making plays and big catches over defenders.
In the Panthers’ first preseason game, he caught three passes for a team-high 88 yards. One of those occurred in the first half, when Marshall caught a pass in space and took it for 60 yards. When he was tackled, he fumbled, but was fortunate the ball landed out of bounds.
Still, he played well, and should be a major factor for the Panthers, who were looking for a No. 3 wide receiver after Curtis Samuel left in free agency.
“Terrace, to me, he’s a big fast, strong, athletic guy,” Rhule said. “I think his best football is ahead of him. He’s got a very humble spirit about him. A very quiet kid. When I say quiet, I mean, he’s just here to learn.”
For Terrace, he’s just trying to accomplish his goals of making it in the NFL, and retire his parents. For all that he’s been through, he refuses to give up.
“With the sport we play, it’s dangerous. I understand that,” Marshall said. “But I’m just going to keep fulfilling my dream, no matter what happens.”
This story was originally published August 21, 2021 at 8:00 AM.
