Marshall could decide final visit soon

Iman Marshall could soon finalize his official visit schedule.

The top-rated cornerback and five-star prospect by Rivals.com said last weekend that his trips to Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State and LSU still are in place and he could decide shortly whether his fifth visit will be to Texas or Oklahoma.

"It's going to be really soon," Marshall said. "I've been prolonging it but I have to push it back anyway because I have to take care of my SAT stuff. Once I take care of everything I'll know how I'm going to plan out everything."

Other than Marshall's official visits, the five-star from Long Beach (Calif.) Poly is especially focused on three Pac-12 schools - USC, UCLA and Stanford.

This past weekend former Long Beach Poly teammate John Smith, a freshman receiver for USC, had a big game in the Trojans' victory over Fresno State and it was important to Marshall not only because of Smith's success but to see that the new USC coaching staff wasn't timid in playing freshmen.

"That's a big thing, my guy up there, especially seeing that they're playing young dudes, with JuJu being a true freshman out there and contributing and putting on for the Long Beach Poly legacy," Marshall said. "I'm very appreciative of him and playing with him for the last two years and I'm excited for him and his future."

The Bruins are clearly making a run at Marshall and while Stanford isn't discussed as much there's no question the academic and athletic mix there is a major factor in Marshall's considerations.

"UCLA is very strong in my eyes as well as USC and Stanford," Marshall said. "They're very strong to me. I just want to see how the season plays out, throughout the whole season, and then I'll make my decisions from there.

"The academics are (strong) and they're always contending for bowl games (at Stanford). Last year they were in the Rose Bowl. Not a lot of people have the opportunity to go to Stanford so being in the blessed opportunity I'm in you have to take Stanford into great consideration."