Back at Archbishop Moeller in Cincinnati, RB Jordan Marshall was the Ohio player both Ohio State and Michigan refused to let slip away. At just 16, he had offers from both sides of the rivalry, with the then Buckeyes RB coach Tony Alford nearly convincing him to stay home. But they couldn’t seal it. He chose the team up north. And that choice is now colliding directly with the biggest stage of his life.

“It’s just exciting to get to play in this game,” Jordan Marshall said in an X post shared by Michigan Football on November 27. “Especially growing up in Ohio you hear all about the rivalry. Was never really Ohio State fan but you know what it is.”

And then he revealed what this moment truly means to him.

“I’m getting choked up a little bit,” he added. “But it’s just so exciting to be able to go out there and play for Michigan and be the running back out in Michigan and impact this game and that’s all I’ve ever asked for was to come out here and do what I can to help this team win.”

With RB Justice Haynes ruled out for the regular season, Jordan Marshall becomes Michigan’s feature back, with RB Bryson Kuzdzal behind him. It’s wild to think he once sat behind Haynes, because for weeks now, he’s looked every bit like a No. 1 back. The opportunity cracked open after Haynes went down. And he’s been building toward this moment since his high school days.

A 4-star out of Archbishop Moeller, Jordan Marshall earned Ohio’s Mr. Football in 2023, grew up surrounded by Buckeyes fans in Cincinnati, and still chose Michigan. It was a conviction fueled by a coaching change. He wanted to play in The Game, but not in scarlet and gray. And once he got to Ann Arbor, the rise came fast.

In just his second year, Marshall had 143 carries for 871 yards and 10 touchdowns, including 570 yards and seven TDs in the four games after USC this season. Last year he flashed with 100 yards vs. Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Inside the program, teammates rave about him.

“Jordan is an unbelievable leader,” Michigan fullback/tight end/captain Max Bredeson said. “For him being young, he can’t be a captain, but if I were to bet on it right now, I bet you guys we’ll one day be talking to him as Michigan captain Jordan Marshall.”

Over the past four years, Michigan’s starting running backs have delivered defining rivalry moments from Hassan Haskins’ five touchdowns to Donovan Edwards’ game-breaking runs to Blake Corum’s go-ahead score. This year, the responsibility of carrying that legacy forward sits squarely on the shoulders of an Ohio-born sophomore who now holds Michigan’s biggest offensive burden. And Saturday gives him the biggest audition of his young career. But before he ever carried the ball in this rivalry, Jordan Marshall made a comment that threw gasoline on an already volcanic matchup.

Jordan Marshall takes a dig at Ryan Day’s Buckeyes

Ohio State’s running backs coach at the time, Tony Alford, is now coaching him at Michigan. Ironically, the one Buckeye he connected with most is the one he ended up following to Ann Arbor. And Jordan Marshall didn’t dance around the reason.

“I really liked Tony Alford,” he said. “He’d probably be one of the reasons I went there. I didn’t like a few other people, and that’s truly why I didn’t pick there.”

Then he praised Michigan HC Sherrone Moore as “the best head coach in the Big Ten and college football.” And then came the part where he accused HC Ryan Day’s program of selfishness.

“I didn’t want to be around people that were about themselves,” he added. “And I truly believe that’s why Coach Alford came here too, is he wanted to be around better people.”

And that’s fuel for this already intense rivalry – The Game, the most intense, emotional, and pressure-packed showdown in college football. This year adds even more weight, with No. 1 Ohio State arriving undefeated behind the nation’s stingiest defense (8.4 points allowed) and a 34.7-point offense, while No. 15 Michigan counters with four straight wins in the series, its trademark physicality, and a defense giving up 17.9. The Wolverines hold the 59-51-6 edge and the home-field roar, but matchups like this are decided by who absorbs the hits, controls the chaos, and refuses to blink when the rivalry’s heat reaches its peak.

You can bet the Buckeyes heard Jordan Marshall’s comment. And you can bet they’ll have something extra waiting for him Saturday afternoon.