Background
Marshall was born in Pineview, Georgia, the son of Phillip Marshall and Shalina Cliett, and attended high school at Wilcox County High School in Rochelle, Georgia.
Marshall was born in Pineview, Georgia, the son of Phillip Marshall and Shalina Cliett, and attended high school at Wilcox County High School in Rochelle, Georgia.
At the Georgia Class A State Meet, he finished fifth in the high jump, recording a career-best leap of 1.93 meters (6-4).
He played college football at Auburn as a quarterback and was the Tigers starter from 2013 to 2014. He was a three-sport star in basketball, football and track. He was named the boys basketball Associated Press Class A player of the year twice.
In football, he led Wilcox County to the Class A championship as a junior, while passing for 2,956 yards and 32 touchdowns.
As a freshman, he joined the school"s track & field team, and with only two weeks of training, he qualified for the state finals in the high jump by leaping 1.78 meters (5-10) at the Region 2A Boys Meet. After that meet, he never competed in track again.
Marshall decided on going to the University of Georgia for college because he was offered the opportunity to play both basketball and football. Marshall began his college career in 2011 as a cornerback for the University of Georgia.
Marshall and two teammates were dismissed from the team for an unspecified "violation of team rules."
Marshall transferred to Garden City Community College where he was the starting quarterback in 2012 and led the team to a 7–4 record while scoring 37 touchdowns (19 rushing, 18 passing), passing for 3,142 yards, and becoming the team’s leading rusher with 1,095 yards.
After one season with Garden City Community College, Marshall then transferred to Auburn with the hope of playing quarterback. Starting quarterback for Auburn
In August 2013, Marshall was named starting quarterback for Auburn. This came after a heated four-man race for the position in head coach Gus Malzahn"s newly installed offense which saw 2012 starting quarterback Kiehl Frazier transfer to safety on the defensive side of the ball.
Marshall was instrumental in Auburn"s turnaround from a 3–9 season in 2012 to beginning the 2013 season 9–1 while beating the Ole Mission Rebels, then ranked #24 in the Associated Press Poll and #6 Texas Agricultural and Mechanical Aggies.
On November 16, 2013, Marshall was the quarterback behind a play known as "The Prayer at Jordan-Hare" when he threw a 73-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass to Ricardo Louis on a 4th-and-18 with 36 seconds left to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs. On November 30, 2013, Marshall threw the game-tying touchdown pass with 32 seconds remaining in the epic 2013 Iron Bowl to even the score 28–28.
Marshall was suspended for the first half of Auburn"s game against Arkansas because of a marijuana charge. He later continued his great performances that led to a 5-0 record to start the season.
He decided to enter the 2015 NFL Draft.