Bay Area Watch: Byron Marshall comes to rescue at No. 2 Oregon

As fast as University of Oregon sophomore tailback Byron Marshall is — he ran the 100 meters in 10.61 seconds as a prep — he didn't exactly sprint from Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.) High School into his college career. 

Make no mistake, Marshall was one of the most ballyhooed athletes to ever come out of the Bay Area, drawing comparisons to a bigger, stronger Jahvid Best. Serra coach Patrick Walsh called him a Houdini on the field who "will run you right over."

But his senior season was disappointing after three sterling ones. He missed three games with injuries, was less than 100 percent in others and finished with 914 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, down from his two previous seasons when he rushed for 1,035 and 1,360, respectively, and combined for 37 touchdowns.

His final game, a 43-42 playoff loss to St. Ignatius, he had just 11 carries for 58 yards and one score. A hamstring injury ended his senior track and field season early as well.

But ironically, an injury to preseason Heisman Trophy candidate De'Anthony Thomas has opened the door for Marshall, who has taken full advantage.

The 5-foot-10, 207-pounder has rushed for five straight 100-yard games, a team-best 892 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for the national lead for the country's No. 2 team. He ranks 14th in yards nationally and sixth in yards per carry (6.76) for backs with at least 100 carries.

Thomas returned last week and started against UCLA, but when he tweaked his ankle injury in the second quarter, Marshall came to the rescue again with 133 yards and three touchdowns.

None of it has surprised his high school coach Mike Machado.

"In these big-time programs, opportunity is few and far between, so you either take advantage or squander," Machado said. "Byron has obviously taken advantage, like he always has. We're obviously quite proud and excited here on our campus. Our younger players are taking notice."

The Oregon staff noticed Marshall's off-season training after a solid true freshman season when he rushed for 464 yards and four touchdowns. Marshall thought he was timid his initial season and has been especially effective — even better than Thomas — at running inside and hitting holes hard.

"I've been saying this since fall camp, that he had one of the best fall camps on our whole team,'' Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost told Oregonlive.com. "When you put in the work, good things happen.''

Machado predicted all good things for Marshall, whose brother Cameron was waved by the Miami Dolphins in August after a superb college career at Arizona State.

The Valley Christian coach talked with Byron right before graduation and told him to leave his senior season behind.

"I told him not to dwell on it, that he had to move forward and not let the past or negativity drag him down," Machado said. "He's done exactly what was need to excel at the next level. He's only going to get better."

Marshall told Oregonlive.com: "If you are not getting better, you are getting worse. So I'm just trying to get better every week."

Shout out: In his postgame press conference, Oregon coach Mark Helfrich didn't single out Marshall or former Pittsburg (Calif.) standout, safety Avery Patterson, who had seven tackles (three for loss) and an interception, but rarely used sophomore TJ Daniel, a 2012 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) graduate. Daniel, who doesn't have a tackle this season, mimicked UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr on the scout team.

"(Daniel) is the unsung MVP of this game," Helfrich said. "That guy made us better."

More watchers: A pair of former De La Salle (Concord) All-American linebackers are contributing at Pac-12 schools. Michael Hutchings, a 2012 All-American, has nine tackles as a true freshman at USC, while Michael Barton, a redshirt freshman, is tied for seventh for Cal with 30 tackles. ... Bishop O'Dowd graduate Hardy Nickerson Jr. is second on Cal in tackles with 53 and Livermore graduate Damariay Drew is third with 47. ... with Despite a loss to Stanford, Oregon State junior Sean Mannion, a Foothill (Pleasanton) graduate, still leads the nation in passing yards (3,263) and touchdowns (30). Mannion actually has a wide margin in both categories — 398 in yards and five in touchdowns. ... Cal true freshman Jared Goff, of Marin Catholic (Kentfield), is sixth in passing yards with 2,692.