Michigan RB Jordan Marshall

Whose idea was it to call the player-led meeting? Trey Pierce. He's the first one to speak. Yeah, I mean, we all had a say in it. We had a lot of guys actually step up and speak and take accountability, so that was good. Yeah, we're excited for this week. Why do you guys feel it was necessary to do that? I think it's, again, if we say we're a player-led team, then this is going to be a player-led team. And things like that need to happen. And if he wasn't going to call it, I wasn't going to call it. And I think the same thing goes for Rod or Bryce or any four of the captains. And I think other guys also. You had Dom that had a lot to say that was very positive. You had other guys that stepped up and said stuff. But I'm just saying that a lot of guys would have stepped up and said they needed that meeting. So it was refreshing to have that meeting. How have you been feeling since Saturday? How did you internalize that week? I mean, I could not sleep on. I didn't go to bed until probably like five after the game. And the next day, still didn't go to bed until really, really late. And I think what really had me just up is what can I do better as a captain, as a player, as a leader of this team? Is looking myself in the mirror. And I think that a lot of guys did that. But also, what gets me upset is how we perform for our fans. And there are countless people that come to watch our games. We have 110,000 people and more that support us every single week. So for me, that just had me upset because they give everything and they love this program. So making sure that this week we can put on a show for them and be the team that we say we're going to be. And not only do it for ourselves, but for this community, the people before us. And I'm just excited for the opportunity that we get to go play a team like Oklahoma. It's a really good football team, top ten football team. I'm just excited for the opportunity for not only myself, but our team, our coaches, our fans. I'm just excited to go out there and have a fresh start. You mentioned wanting to be better on the field. Coach Whittingham yesterday said they're running that group a little too much east-west going on. Is that what you evaluated as a problem, or does it go beyond that? I mean, coaches, they're going to call what they think is best. And I'm going to go out there and execute however I can. And you guys know how I like to run downhill and hit people. So whatever I can do to help this team win, like I said before, is what I'm going to do. And if that was 45 yards or whatever it was that week, that's what it was. Got out with the win, and at the end of the day, I'm going to do whatever this team needs me to do. Rod was saying earlier that he felt like the team played soft on Saturday. Do you feel like there was a disconnect between what happened on Saturday and the football camp and preparation meeting up? 100 percent, and that's kind of where my mind was also at. I haven't seen us play this soft. I've never seen us get outrushed since I've been here and since I've watched Michigan. So that's something that I'm like, what can I do? And because that doesn't happen, especially we're more physical in that team, and we didn't show it. And I don't know if it's because we're looking ahead or we're like, oh, it's Western. But quite honestly, Western's a really good football team, really good coach, really good players, players that play really hard. They're going to do something great this season, and I'm happy for them. They played well, really good, again, really good football team. And again, I don't think that was our best brand of football. I think Jake would say the same thing. I think all those guys on the line would say the same things, that they would take accountability, just like I'm taking accountability for this. We have to be better because everything stems from the money. Bryce doesn't feed into that. He comes in here and just works. And again, I drove past here this morning, and he was in the building. I drove back to go let my dog out later, and he was still in the building. Bryce wants to be great, so I hope everyone knows that he wants to be great for this program. He's a Michigan kid. He's born and raised. He loves this program and would do anything for it. So again, there's no trust lost. He's our guy, and I have to do a better job at taking some of that pressure off running the ball as well. And we have to do a better job communicating on the sideline and staying flatline. No matter if we score on the first driver, we don't score on the first driver. We score on the second driver, we don't score. We have to be a young team, so we have to make sure that we're always in that not-too-happy, not-too-dang-we-didn't-score-this-drive. We have to be right in the middle of that, be happy for a second, and let's go right back down. We've got a lot of work to do. How different was it having seen the other team have possession for, like, 40 minutes when that's usually been a Michigan staple and not being able to outplay on the field? I'm sure it was a much easier one. I feel like it's hard because you can't get a rhythm. Like, you can't – your rhythm is – I mean, we played – I think it was, like, 1940s how long we had possession. And I didn't know that until somebody said it in our player-led meeting. I was like, wow. And that's – you just – again, there's no pace or rhythm you have. Like, even me as a player, I'm out there and I can't get a rhythm because we're not out there long enough or can't get going. And I think that's how a lot of our guys were. We're just standing on the sideline. You're trying to keep warm, but it's weird because you're just watching for so long. Again, I'm used to being the other way around. So now I know how that feeling feels, and I have to do a better job at preparing for moments like that. And also, we have to be better because we can't have our defense out there for 40-plus minutes. It's unacceptable. They play too hard. They work too hard. Again, it's just unacceptable. I think that, again, just a few blocks, a few assignments, a few – we weren't straining down field. Having those touchdown blocks, the ones down field that count, that get the big plays after that 15-plus yard. And I think that's what we're doing in practice is you have to strain at the end of plays. Not only at the beginning, but you have to finish your guy to the ground or get him all the way out to play. And there was a lot of yardage we left on tape and some big plays that we could have had and should have had. But, again, they wanted it more than us, and you can see that by the film. And, again, that's a sickening feeling that everybody had after the game. We left a lot out there for our opening game, and the guys are really taking that to heart. Again, they're really excited for the opportunity to go play a team like this, a really good coach, football team, What are some of the things you've been doing differently? Again, our main message has just been be more. Be more intentional about how you meet, how you talk, how you run this play, and making sure that not only having our scout team play even harder, having them just play. At the end of the day, just go play. You need to go play. And it's been, again, today was a great practice, physical practice. O-line looked physical. Our scout team did a great job at getting us really good looks today, but we have to keep that up tomorrow, Thursday, all the way leading up to Saturday. Jordan, can you describe what it's like to have to step up in competition, so to speak? I know you're not supposed to. You're supposed to take every game individually, but it's human nature. They're thinking, you know, we got UTEP this week and Michigan next week. You guys are probably thinking the same thing. We got Western this week and then Oklahoma's coming. I think that's, again, just like you said, it's human nature. But I also think that we overlooked Western because they're a really good, just like I said, really good football team, really good coach. And so is Oklahoma. And probably better, some better athletes. Coach Venables is a great coach. It's going to be challenging. But again, just like I said, we have really good players as well. And when we're clicking and playing as one, I think we can be one of the best offenses in the country. And I don't think we displayed that on Saturday. And that's, again, we have to do a better job at executing those plays that are called. No matter if that is East to West runs, no matter what it is, we have to go execute that at the end of the day. Thoughts on Cole Sullivan coming to town? I'm excited. Again, great kid, great person. Love the kid. Again, you guys have got the chance to talk to him. There's nothing really else to say. Again, he's a great guy. He's going to go out there and play as hard as he can. He loves the guys here still. So it's, again, at the end of the day, it's football. We're just going to go play. Great player, great person, great family. Thank you.