USC football in the NFL: Trojans react as Iman Marshall suffers serious knee injury

Former USC football star Iman Marshall will miss the 2020 season with a knee injury.

The worst part of the NFL preseason is the wave of injuries that hit once players return to practice. Unfortunately, a USC football alum was caught up in that storm this year.

On Monday, Ian Rapoport of the NFL confirmed Iman Marshall suffered a “major knee injury” on Sunday, ending his 2021 season with Baltimore before it could begin.

The second-year defensive back will undergo surgery and look to come back in 2021.

USC football alum Iman Marshall suffered a serious knee injury.

Rapoport heard the word straight from Raven’s head coach John Harbaugh that Marshall “tore several ligaments including the ACL.”

If there’s a positive outlook for Marshall, it’s that he has plenty of time to recover before the 2021 NFL season. Knee injuries like Marshall’s usually carry a nine-month rehab timeline.

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USC took note of Marshall’s misfortune when it was announced on Monday, including the main Trojan athletics Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/USC_Athletics/status/1295388250840813569

USC wide receivers coach Keary Colbert had a personal message for Marshall. He tweeted, “God’s got you covered Biggie!!!”

Gavin Morris, USC’s director of player personnel, also tweeted about Marshall’s injury.

https://twitter.com/DaGman7/status/1295387515310886912

For his part, Marshall kept the focus positive when he tweeted on Monday morning.

He’s no stranger to lengthy injury recovery. Marshall spent much of the Ravens preseason in 2019 on injured reserve and only made his debut in the second half of the season. The team put him back on IR after this most recent injury.

https://twitter.com/iman_marshall8/status/1295390565656395780

“Appreciate everyone for the prayers and checking up on me,” he added later.

Marshall was a fourth-round pick by Baltimore in the 2019 NFL Draft. The cornerback was USC’s Defensive Perimeter Player of the Year Award as a senior in 2018.

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Even though he never achieved more than an All-Pac-12 second-team nod, Marshall proved his worth as a shutdown corner in his final season. He led the team in deflections and racked up 5.5 tackles for loss as proof of his contributions as a run defender.

The tough part now for Marshall will be overcoming a second year of delayed development to continue his pro career.