LOS ANGELES — USC cornerback Iman Marshall wanted to shake things up. So he called his dad.
It was last year, in late October, a few days after the Trojans’ humbling loss at Notre Dame. In the first quarter of the rout, Marshall found himself lying on a training table on the sideline at Notre Dame Stadium, his left knee being examined. The injury, later diagnosed as a sprained MCL, marked the latest ordeal in an up-and-down junior season that was once seen as a potential springboard for his early departure to the NFL draft.
Marshall felt frustrated. His performance had suffered, and he was to miss games for the first time in his college career.
“We just need to go back toward what we were doing when I was younger,” he told his father, Tony, who recounted the telephone conversation this week.
The idea was to rehash an old routine. As Marshall emerged as a blue-chip high school recruit at Long Beach Poly, he and Tony often consumed film from his games and workouts. Tony, who also played at Poly, would offer instruction and various pointers to an eager teenager.
They stopped when Marshall headed up the 110 Freeway to USC in 2015. Tony sought to be less hands-on, while Marshall adjusted to new coaches.
But last year, the custom returned. Upon request, Tony reviewed Marshall’s game tape from earlier in the season and gave him advice. At first, it was a few video cut-ups. Then they met in person to watch together.
It has continued this fall as a weekly father-son ritual, a driving force behind Marshall’s bounce-back season.
After a midweek practice, Tony typically visits Marshall at his off-campus apartment and they begin a night of film study, analyzing footage from games and practices on an Apple TV.
“It gives me an excuse to see him, give him a kiss on the forehead and slap him on the butt,” Tony said, laughing.
Few players have been more important for the Trojans’ defense this season, especially with significant turnover in the secondary. Through five games, Marshall has allowed just nine catches on 17 passes, according to data from Pro Football Focus, a 52.9 completion percentage that currently stands as a career best. USC needs the trend to continue as it faces unbeaten Colorado and its prodigious passing attack Saturday night in a Pac-12 South matchup.
Marshall’s strong early performance more closely mirrors his sophomore season in 2016, previously his best college season, when the cornerback allowed 55.6 percent of the passes thrown in his direction to be completed.
Over the last few months, USC’s coaches have noted a sharper focus by Marshall, who has offered a similar honest self-assessment.
“Last year, I don’t think I prepared myself to the best of my ability,” Marshall said.
The film study has been among several changes in his weekly preparation and harkens back to a time from his childhood growing up in Long Beach.
Marshall didn’t participate in organized football until he was 9 years old, instead spending most of his early years around the sport with Tony, who functioned as a personal trainer, forging an early bond. In their backyard, Tony set up cups and cones for footwork drills, avoiding the early wear and tear of Pop Warner leagues, for a more educational setting. They still stage cone drills to work on his explosiveness. They also played the Madden video game in order to learn different positions, offensive formations and defensive coverages.
“Madden is a great simulation,” Tony said. “Even though the kids are having fun, they’re learning something also.”
Much of Marshall’s film review this season centers on himself, reviewing his performance and scouting his own habits rather than focusing on opposing receivers.
“I want to see how I would attack me if I was a quarterback,” Marshall said.
Tony usually visits his son after USC’s Tuesday or Wednesday practice. By that time, there will be film of 1-on-1 drills from practices to go over.
Sometimes, Marshall spots his own weak spots. Recently, he said he has surrendered completions to receivers running slant routes, an area of his pass coverage he focused on during the bye week.
On other occasions, Tony spots areas for improvement. When Marshall struggled last season, Tony found he needed to be tighter earlier in his press-man coverage rather than being tight 30 yards downfield, where he was prone to drawing flags for pass interference.
“That’s backwards,” Tony said. “If you’re gonna be a press corner, you gotta be physical at the beginning of your route and then after you control him, you have the opportunity to be more finesse at the top end of your route. You have to stop being so handsy. And the reason you’re so handsy is because you’ve already been beat at the beginning of the route. Now you’re in chase mode.”
Trojans defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast has urged Marshall, as well. Pendergast, who began his NFL assistant coaching career as a defensive backs coach, gave Marshall a list of four to five areas to work on during the offseason.
Atop the list, Pendergast said, included “playing the ball down the field better” and “understand where he’s at on the field in relationship to the receiver.”
“He wanted the criticism,” Pendergast said. “He wanted to be the best. You gotta really like that about a player.”
Pendergast noted Marshall has practiced harder, a refrain that has continued since spring workouts.
Tony remarked there is more of a “sense of urgency.” It’s his final go-round, an approach he failed to set last year despite hopes of turning pro.
“When you decide as a junior that you’re thinking about leaving, you have to treat your junior year like it’s your senior year,” Tony said. “You have to put everything out there. You can’t hold anything back. You have to attack that season, going into the offseason, as if you’re not coming back. You have to play as if you don’t have any more games left in your collegiate career. He didn’t play like that. He didn’t approach the offseason like that.”
This time, in the eyes of a proud father, he has.
“What you’re seeing this year is who Iman is as a football player,” Tony said.
