Biggie Marshall apologizes to USC teammates for costly penalty
Senior cornerback Iman "Biggie" Marshall didn't want to say much to reporters Wednesday about the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he drew late in USC's loss to Cal, a flag that extended the Golden Bears' ultimate game-sealing drive.
But Marshall was eager to address it with his teammates, which he did Monday after Trojans coach Clay Helton showed the team clips that included that mental mistake and a similar one from Amon-Ra St. Brown earlier in the game.
"Of course, Monday, I addressed the team, apologized for my actions," Marshall said. "That did have an effect on the game. And that’s it."
Cal was set to face a fourth-and-13 at its own 43 with several minutes remaining after having a reception overturned on review, but Marshall's penalty gave the visitors a first down and they ultimately ran the clock out on a 15-14 win.
Helton said he met one-on-one with Marshall about it and the senior corner expressed his interest in speaking to his teammates about it so that he didn't set a bad example for the younger players.
"Being able to address that [with] the team and show them, 'This is what hurts you. If you're going to make those decisions, you're going to come stand over by me for a half dozen, 6-8 plays, be able to watch, be able to calm down and know that if you do it again you're out of the game,'" Helton said.
"... Like we said, Cal was an emotional, competitive game, but now you're walking into a UCLA and Notre Dame game that the stakes are even raised more as far as emotion goes because you kind of know all the guys. I thought it was really a class-act move, a pro move and a veteran move, a captain move by Biggie."
Redshirt-freshman defensive tackle Jay Tufele said the players appreciated Marshall's gesture.
"Having Biggie apologize to us, it means a lot because during the moment, things can get rough," Tufele said. "But understanding that he's a senior and that he knows what he did was wrong, so just having him apologize it's really great and I think a lot of younger guys are going to learn from that. And hopefully that never happens again."
As for his session with reporters after practice Wednesday, Marshall didn't want to get into much about the miscue.
It was a chippy game throughout between the teams, and he seemed a little miffed that the officials called the penalty in that moment. Helton, for his part, said he was not given an explanation from the officiating crew or the conference as to what specifically drew the flag.
"I was talking. Everybody talks, it’s football, what else can I say? If we cant talk, we cant say anything, what can you do? That’s it," Marshall said.
He declined a couple follow-up questions, saying he didn't want to speak on it anymore.
But later, he did have one more comment on that moment.
"That’s football, but at end of the day, you've got to control yourself in the heat of the moment," he said.
Marshall was playing after being limited all week with a sprained ankle/foot. He's been USC's only steady cornerback and his absence would have been a significant blow to the Trojans' defense.
According to Pro Football Focus, he was only targeted once in the game, giving up a 5-yard reception.
Teams have been reluctant all season to attack Marshall, who entered last week second in the country among cornerbacks in yards allowed per coverage play (0.42).
The costly penalty aside, he's had a career-best season for the Trojans.
"It’s a blessing, but you know, can't ever be satisfied," Marshall said Wednesday. "I want to be No. 1 in everything I do, so always work, try to be better, and I got great people out here to get me better. I got [Michael] Pittman, I got Tyler Vaughns, I got a lot of these dudes that keep pushing me and I just got a lot motivation and I got a chip on my shouder every time I play."