Marshall visiting his favorites

Hialeah (Fla.) Dade Christian quarterback Bilal Marshall is using the summer months to hit the road and check out his favorites.

"Two weeks ago I visited Duke and Wake Forest," Marshall said. "On July 22nd, I am going to be at Purdue and then I am going to fly over to Kansas afterwards."

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound signal-caller says he has narrowed his list of options at this point to those schools.

"It is just those four," Marshall said. "I really want to take some visits in the fall to see how it feels to play football there and then I will make my decision right after I take my officials. If I do feel like I am 100-percent sure that I want to play at a particular place, then I will make my decision earlier."

Marshall has a great relationship with coaches at all four institutions. At this point, he said nobody has moved themselves to the forefront for his services.

"They are all pretty even, I don't have a leader right now," Marshall said. "I am trying to see how Purdue and Kansas are too before I think about that."

Marshall talked a bit about his time at Duke and Wake Forest.

"I went to their camp and learned a lot from Coach (David) Cutcliffe," Marshall said of Duke. "He is a great guy. I got a pretty good feel for their coaching staff and what they like to do. It is definitely a place that I feel I can fit in at."

"When I went to Wake Forest I also got a great feel," Marshall said of the Demon Deacons. "They are my first offer, so I have built a good camaraderie with them for a long time. We get along pretty well. I have a great relationship there."

Away from football, Marshall was impressed by the academic opportunities afforded by an education from either of those institutions.

"Just the academic program - you get a degree from there you are set for life," Marshall said. "You have top fields at Duke. Apple (COO Tim Cook) is from Duke. You have great people at Wake Forest, Maya Angelou is a teacher at Wake Forest."

Out of his four favorites, Duke has already accepted the commitment of a quarterback - Glen St. Mary (Fla.) Baker County athlete Thomas Sirk. In Marshall's case, the South Florida dual-threat quarterback admits being the only quarterback in a class would be very appealing.

"Most likely it would be more comfortable if I am the only quarterback in the class," Marshall said. "If it comes to the point where I have to beat out another quarterback in the class, then I will."

As a junior, Marshall threw for 1,400-plus yard and 17 touchdowns. He also rushed for just shy of 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns. He tossed just three interceptions.