Top RB commits to Rebels

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Dec. 23, 2002 | 10:09 a.m.

Picture a running back with the size of Joe Haro and the acceleration and speed of a Dominique Dorsey.

What do you have? A two-time J.C. All-American running back named Alvin Marshall.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Marshall, who helped lead Compton (Calif.) College to a 7-3 record and first bowl game in over four decades, said he will sign a letter of intent with UNLV today after visiting the school over the weekend.

"Explosive as hell," is how Dick Lascola of the Fallbrook, Calif.-based Scouting Evaluation Association described Marshall to a reporter. "He is fast. When you watched him run with the ball the thing that went through your mind is, 'What is this guy doing in junior college?' He's an A-plus player. He should be an impact player for (UNLV)."

Marshall will enroll at UNLV in January and be eligible to take part in spring drills.

"I just committed to UNLV (on Saturday)," Marshall said. "I'll be sending them my letter of intent (today). I liked what I saw when I was on my visit there. John Robinson is a pretty good head coach. And my teammate, John Andrews, also signed there."

Andrews, a 6-2, 210-pound linebacker, was the defensive MVP of the Western State Conference (Marshall was the offensive MVP), no small accomplishment since one of his teammates was Marvin Simmons, who signed with USC out of high school and was widely regarded as the top prep linebacker in California two years ago. He set a school record with 138 tackles as a freshman and followed that up with 100 tackles in 10 games as a sophomore.

Marshall and Marshall top what appears to be a very productive early recruiting period for the Rebels.

Running back Ja Ja Riley (6-2, 200) will enroll at UNLV this spring after transferring from Ohio State. He must sit out the 2003 season.

The Rebels also added some much-needed beef to their offensive line with the signing of J.C. All-American offensive guard Joe Critchfield (6-4, 300) of Scottsdale, Ariz., Community College and tackle Tyler Crandal (6-6, 320) of Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Calif., both who will enroll in January and take part in spring practice. And UNLV picked up some help on the defensive line with the addition of Brian Nicholson (6-4, 275) of Palomar JC in Escondido, Calif.