This is the first in a new series from KWVA Sports where we look back at Ducks of the past to view their time in an Oregon uniform, and catch up with them where they've been since.
By Levi Profitt
If you started following the Oregon football team in the days of Marcus Mariota, and the end of the Chip Kelly regime like I did, a number of explosive running backs probably stick out in your mind. Names like DeAnthony Thomas, Royce Freeman, and LaMichael James bring back memories of lighting up the field and transitioning talent to the NFL with varying amounts of success. But what about one name that doesn’t get recognized or brought up as often?
Byron Marshall attended Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California. Graded as a 4-star athlete, Marshall ran for 914 yards and nine touchdowns his senior year in an injury-shortened season. It was enough to impress major programs to send offers his way with Nick Saban of the University of Alabama, Todd Graham of Arizona State University, and Rich Rodriguez of the University of Arizona all trying to bring Marshall away from a home state offer from Berkeley. Marshall had one more offer in addition to these, from a school up north and coach Chip Kelly. Marshall decided to attend the University of Oregon for his freshman season in 2012.
Marshall became part of the offense quickly, scoring four touchdowns in his freshman year. He added on to that in 2013 with the best rushing year of his career at Oregon. Marshall totaled over 1,000 yards on 168 carries in just 12 games his sophomore year, scoring 14 touchdowns on the ground in the process.
Marshall’s junior season would bring change. He became much more of a receiving threat in 2014, hauling in 74 passes for over 1,000 yards through the air en route to six receiving scores. He also added nearly 400 yards and a score on the ground in a year where the Oregon team battled its way to the biggest stage in college football, the College Football Playoff National Championship against Ohio State University. Marshall became the biggest threat in a game Oregon would ultimately lose, catching a team-high eight passes for 169 yards and a touchdown in a loss to the Buckeyes.
After a number of losses on the offense, including the Heisman trophy winner Mariota himself, Marshall looked to be a mainstay on the Oregon offense for his senior season after switching to wide receiver in 2015. It was not to be, however, as Marshall’s season was unfortunately cut short after just four games due to a leg injury that required surgery in a blowout home loss to Utah. Marshall would never return to the field in an Oregon uniform.
Byron received an NFL Draft Combine invite but was only able to compete in the bench press event due to his lower-body injury. He came into the draft ranked as the 33rd wide receiver in the nation on Bleacher Report’s list of the top 50 receivers heading into selection day. That wasn’t enough for NFL general managers, however, as Marshall went undrafted in the 2016 NFL draft, eventually signing a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.
He would be released on September 3rd of 2016 by Philadelphia before signing a deal to remain on their practice squad the next day. Marshall would be promoted to the active roster in mid-December before making his NFL debut on December 18th for a game in Baltimore, where he would get 11 total touches (including nine carries) for 28 total yards. In total, Marshall would end up carrying the ball 19 times and catching three passes for the Eagles in 2016 for 74 overall yards. This would once again mark a milestone, however, as Philadelphia wouldn’t play Marshall again.
The Washington franchise (now known as the Commanders) signed Marshall away from the Eagles practice squad in November of 2017 to play a total of three games for 68 total yards before Marshall once again succumbed to injury. Washington put him on injured reserve for the rest of the 2017 season, and Byron wouldn’t see action again until 2018.
2018 marked Marshall’s last season in which he would see NFL action. After returning from injured reserve in Week 11 of the 2018 season, Marshall would end up playing in six total games and totaling 39 yards from scrimmage. Marshall’s last game in an NFL uniform was December 30th, 2018 against his former team, the Philadelphia Eagles in a 24-0 loss where he would return three kickoffs for a total of 55 yards.
Marshall would end up bouncing between stops in Buffalo and even the team that hosted his first NFL action in Baltimore before seeing his last NFL practice squad contract expire in January 2020.
Marshall’s most recent stops on his NFL journey took him to the Canadian Football League, where he would sign with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2021, and the Ottawa Redblacks in 2022 before his eventual releases from both teams in the summers of 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Marshall doesn’t have much of a social media presence at all, and although he wouldn’t find his way into the endzone during his NFL career, his impact is felt in the Oregon record books as the 20th leading rusher and the 33rd leading receiver in Ducks football history.