Michigan State WR Nick Marsh impressing teammates, coaches alike in quest for consistent playing time
East Lansing, Mich. – When asked about the status of Michigan State’s wide receiver room on Tuesday, Spartan head coach Jonathan Smith listed a handful of positive contributors on his own accord, including true freshman Nick Marsh.
Since arriving on campus in January, Marsh has earned positive reviews not only from his head coach, but from fellow players, too. Those comments began popping up in the spring, when Marsh, fresh off of finishing his coursework as a high school senior, joined his Michigan State teammates in East Lansing for his first extended practice session as a Spartan.
The former four-star recruit validated that praise when he caught three passes for over 100 yards and one touchdown during Michigan State’s Spring Showcase in late April. Three months later, Marsh has continued to catch the attention of those in and around the Tom Izzo Football Building.
“Nick’s different,” redshirt senior wide receiver Montorie Foster said on Tuesday. “That’s my guy. We call him ‘Megatron’ for a reason. He’s that guy who can go make big plays down the field, a big-bodied guy, and I just can’t wait to see him on Saturdays.”
Sophomore quarterback Aidan Chiles has developed a close relationship with Marsh both on and off the field since their joint arrival at Michigan State this past winter. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound Marsh was among the receivers who consistently repped with Chiles this summer.
“Nick, that’s my little man,” Chiles said. “He’s not little though, he’s a big dawg. But a young guy. Still young mentally, too. He’s working on it. We’re working with him. But overall, he’s going to be a big help this fall. He’s a great football player in general. He goes up and gets it. Any ball in his vicinity is his. There’s not too many bad things you can say about Nick.”
Like Chiles, Michigan State offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren feels like Marsh has the potential to help the Spartans this season. Marsh is firmly entrenched in a battle for one of the three starting wide receiver spots this fall. For him to earn a starting role or a consistent spot in the two-deep, he will have to continue to get comfortable within Lindgren’s modern, pro-style offense.
“Mastering it is hard,” Chiles said of Lindgren’s offense. “I still haven’t mastered it and I’ve been in the system for two years. So just knowing the offense is good enough as of right now, but as we get deep into the season, the playbook’s going to shorten up, we’re going to have different plays every week, and I think Nick’s going to adjust just fine.”
Lindgren on Thursday acknowledged additional difficulties that true freshmen wide receivers typically face while adjusting to the college level.
“It’s challenging,” Lindgren said. “I mean, it’s challenging, just the speed of the game. Guys are coming up and pressing you. It’s a lot more physical on the perimeter. I just think the detail, if you have a lack of detail at that position at this level, you get exposed. If the timing’s a little bit off, we don’t go, so it’s sometimes challenging to play those young guys.”
Should Marsh make an immediate impact this fall, it would put him on a short list of Michigan State wide receivers to do so as true freshmen over the past 10 seasons. Since 2013, Michigan State has had just two true freshman receivers catch over 30 passes.
Donnie Corley caught 33 for 453 yards and three touchdowns in his first season in East Lansing in 2016.
The next year, Cody White set a program record for true freshmen wide receivers with 35 catches and 490 yards in his first season as a Spartan. Hunter Rison also caught 18 passes for 223 yards as a true freshman that year.
In the six years to follow, only three Michigan State receivers caught 10 or more passes as true freshmen – Tre Mosley (21) and Julian Barnett (13) in 2019 and Ricky White (10) in 2020.
Despite the tall task, Lindgren believes that Marsh has what it takes to develop into an impact player for Michigan State as soon as this fall, thanks to his physical abilities and willingness to learn.
“Nick’s been awesome,” Lindgren said. “I feel like he’s matured. We’ve actually been able to move him around from X to Z. We’ve been moving him to some different positions and he’s been able to handle it. So I’ve been impressed with his maturity at his age. He’s just a strong, physical guy. That hasn’t really been the issue for him. I look forward to him helping us this year.”
Michigan State’s Nick Marsh catches a pass during the first day of football camp on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in East Lansing – Nick King, USA TODAY Sports
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