Since childhood, senior punter Aidan Marshall dreamed of being an Auburn Tiger. With both parents – Tim and Elizabeth Marshall -- being Auburn graduates, Aidan knew from a young age that he would likely attend school on the Plains.
Attending a specialist camp before his senior year in high school, Marshall earned a preferred walk-on offer on the Auburn football team.
Marshall graduated from Handley High School in Winchester, Virginia, as an honor roll football and baseball student-athlete. Excited to continue his football career, he arrived at Auburn and began practicing during the summer of 2017, instantly bonding with his teammates and the Auburn family.
"Some of my best memories with my teammates are just behind the scenes at practice," said Marshall, a physical activity and health major. "The guys as a specialist group would come up with different ways to make practice and football more fun than it already was."
Along with adjusting to a new school and a new part of the country, Marshall adjusted to becoming a student-athlete in the SEC.
"The main thing I had to learn being a student-athlete was discipline," he said. "When you're on the team, the snooze button is no longer an option. It was all about time management."
Despite being a challenge, early-morning workouts eventually became some of Marshall's fondest memories.
"Something I wish I would have been able to tell my younger self is not to take those things for granted," he said. "Getting up and going to 6 a.m. workouts seemed terrible in the moment, but those are the times that made me stronger in the long run."
It was during his first season that Marshall had his most memorable moment on the field. In one of his first starts, Marshall's 42-yard punt in the Iron Bowl pinned Alabama at its 1-yard-line.
"That play definitely has to be one of my favorite memories," he said.
During that 2017 season, when the Tigers captured the SEC West championship, Marshall also earned SEC freshman of the week honors against Texas A&M when he booted a 70-yard punt, the sixth-longest in Auburn history.
The Marshall Plan: Aidan Marshall punts in the 2017 SEC Championship Game
The 2020 pandemic season brought its own lessons and adjustments.
"It definitely changed the outlook on the sport for me, because it took that much more commitment to come in every day," he said. "It was also tough to have to stay away from the guys I'm usually around every day."
Marshall's goal of playing college football has been a dream since he was in the eighth grade, influenced by his older brother, Nick, who also pushed Aidan to work hard and achieve his goals.
"My older brother was definitely my biggest influence," he said. "He started kicking and punting before I did, so as his younger brother I would look at him doing it on the field and think that I wanted to do that, so that always pushed me."
On track to graduate from the Auburn University's College of Education in December, Marshall's goals do not stop at Auburn.
"My next step is to do everything I can to get to the NFL," he said. "I told myself I was going to give myself five years to try to get there.
"If the NFL doesn't work out for me, then I'll probably end up being some type of coach somewhere, coaching kickers and punters on their own. I would definitely enjoy that."
Approaching his senior season, Marshall has clearly demonstrated drive in achieving his goals, a quality that will stay with him long after his years at Auburn.
Callie Puryear is a student worker in Auburn Athletics media relations
