Marshall balls out at Auburn camp

Center Peyton Marshall is only a rising junior, yet he's already up to 6-foot-10 and 305 pounds — with room to grow.

Marshall made his first trip to the Plains Thursday as a central component of Kell High School's squad at Auburn's Team Camp inside Neville Arena. The Marietta, Ga., already has an offer from the Tigers, but he nonetheless savored a chance to meet Bruce Pearl the team's other coaches face to face.

“Just the love they showed me on the first day,” Marshall said when asked for his highlight of the day. “They’re already treating me like I’ve been here for a while, so that really sticks out to me when you’re thinking about where you want to go in the next few years.”

In front of the staff, Marshall was able to show off his passing ability; he hurled pin-point outlet passes and found open cutters. He was also a menace down low and drew three defenders with every catch the ball near the block.

“I think I played pretty well,” Marshall said. “Down the stretch, I got tired. I gotta work on that, but as far as establishing myself early and getting my teammates involved and playing defense, I feel like we played pretty good today. I feel like I did pretty good with that today with that as well.”

Fitness has become important to Marshall.

At one point last year, Marshall said, he was up to 350 pounds. He's now down to 305 pounds and credits a ketogenic diet and a more active lifestyle for the change.

“I was seeing everyone around me get things that I wanted and I knew couldn’t do it at that point in my life,” Marshall said. “I had to make a decision either I’m gonna do it now or do it never, so I cut down and things are looking better now.”

Marshall said he currently hold 13 offers, but mentioned that Auburn and Illinois have been his most ardent suitors so far. The fact that Auburn offered him a scholarship so long ago really means something to him.

“They showed love early,” Marshall said. “I’m nowhere as good as I’m gonna be, so for them to mess with me right now at this point that’s like really showing real love, that they're not just looking out for themselves. They see it in me.”