Jets player spotlight: An inside look at Jalin Marshall's training camp

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Jets player spotlight: An inside look at Jalin Marshall's training camp

We tracked Jalin Marshall on Monday. (Vincent Carchietta | USA TODAY Sports)

By Darryl Slater | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

FLORHAM PARK — Jalin Marshall is one of the Jets' most intriguing undrafted rookies. He is trying to make the team as a complementary wide receiver and punt/kickoff returner. 

Marshall, who just turned 21 last month, went undrafted after turning pro very early, following his redshirt sophomore season at Ohio State. He knows many people believe he made the incorrect decision by leaving school. And he now aims to prove them wrong. 

Marshall has looked impressive at times in his first NFL training camp. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick praised him for a being a "sponge" and asking insightful questions. Coach Todd Bowles said Marshall and Jeremy Ross will be the Jets' first two punt returners in Thursday night's preseason opener against the Jaguars. 

So it came as no surprise that Marshall won our fan vote, for this week's player spotlight feature. We tracked Marshall throughout Monday's practice, and spoke to him afterward about his day and routine.

Here's how it all unfolded: 

• 7 a.m.: Marshall awoke at the Jets' team hotel. A devout Christian, he said a prayer, to "thank God for waking me up." He ate breakfast at the Jets' facility and participated in a special teams meeting from 8:30 to 11 a.m. 

Players get a break from 11 until pre-practice stretching begins at 1:50 p.m. Marshall returned to the hotel and napped for 20 minutes, to freshen up. 

Back at the facility, his pre-practice routine is a dip in the hot tub, four Advil pills, and salt tablets to prevent cramping.

• 1:30 p.m.: He joined receiver Brandon Marshall and several other teammates on the field. They spend five minutes, before every practice, sitting around Brandon Marshall's cell phone, mentally preparing for practice. 

He has an app that features pre-recorded audio of a sports mentality/visualization coach offering advice on focusing and staying in the present. As they do each day of camp, the players sat quietly on the field and listened to the man's voice.  

"It tells you to breathe, close your eyes, visualize with your feet right now, where you are," Jalin Marshall said.

He loves this ritual, which Brandon Marshall established early in camp.

"It's a lot of stuff going on right now, and you're thinking about: Am I going to make the team? Where am I going to live at? What's going on back home?" Jalin Marshall said. "Everything that you're thinking about, it doesn't need to be brought onto the field, because you can't perform like you need to. You just get those things cleared out of your mind." 

• 1:50 p.m.: Practice began. After 15 minutes of stretching, Marshall did a punt/kickoff catching drill, as head coach Todd Bowles stood nearby and observed. Marshall caught one kickoff and streaked down the sideline, showcasing his speed. But Marshall constantly reminds himself to take things one at a time. 

"I just focus on catching the ball right here, like the mental [audio] thing, being present in this point right here, making this one count," he said. "I'm pretty confident after I catch it that I can do something with it." 

• 2:21 p.m.: Marshall and the wide receivers went through a route-running drill that involved catching soft throws from position coach Karl Dorrell. Then the quarterbacks came over and joined in. Marshall had no problems catching passes while running an out route and dig route. 

• 2:36 p.m.: One-on-one drills. Marshall couldn't get outside leverage against Marcus Williams, who knocked down a deep ball. Then Marshall juked Buster Skrine, who slipped, opening up Marshall for a sideline pass. From the 5-yard line, Marshall made a pretty, back-shoulder catch in the end zone, beating Williams. 

• 2:57 p.m.: The 11-on-11 team periods began — Marshall's chance to shine in a game-like situation. Marshall lined up in the slot and outside during team periods. After getting nine reps and catching the only pass thrown his way (a basic short throw), Marshall jogged to the sideline and greeted Brandon Marshall. 

They did a choreographed handshake routine that involved tapping just their pointer and middle fingers together, in tandem. They had the rhythm of this thing down, from spending hours and hours together in this camp. Jalin Marshall is 11 years younger than Brandon. Jalin admires and tries to emulate him.

"When I first got here, I noticed they were doing their little handshake with the two fingers," Jalin Marshall said. "I guess it means playing together. Me being younger, I've got a little swag to me, so we tried to spice it up a little bit." 

• 3:30 p.m.: In a red zone team period, Marshall beat Dee Milliner and made an over-the-shoulder touchdown catch on an out route. But Marshall said this wasn't his best catch of Monday's practice. Nor, in his mind, was his second touchdown catch, on a quick, crossing route. He beat Juston Burris on the play and was wide open. Like Marshall's first touchdown catch, Geno Smith threw this ball. 

• 3:55 p.m.: Instead, Marshall liked the catch that immediately preceded his second touchdown. It was another quick, crossing route, against Burris. Marshall gained just a few yards, on a Bryce Petty throw, to the 2-yard line. But for Marshall, the way he mentally processed this play made it special. 

Before the snap, Marshall surveyed the coverage and identified a blitz. He knew he had to burst off the line and beat Burris to a spot in the middle of the defense, because the blitz was going after Petty. "I knew he was coming to me, because I read the coverage," Marshall said. 

Marshall told himself to turn his head fast and get his hands up, ready for the ball, "because you know it's coming quick," he said later. Burris bumped Marshall as Petty flung the ball, but Marshall steadied himself, reached down for the low pass, and secured it with his body.

It was an admirable combination of mental awareness and physical execution — and an ideal way to conclude Marshall's practice.

• 4:20 p.m.: Practice ended, but Marshall stuck around. He practiced holding for some field goals, because he wants to be the emergency holder if he makes the team. He caught Jugs machine passes as a receiver, and also fielded about 15 punts fired skyward from the Jugs machine. 

His typical post-practice routine: check his phone for text messages, jump in the cold tub, return to the hotel to shower and relax, eat dinner at the team facility, and attend meetings until 9:30 p.m. He is in bed by 11, asleep before midnight. 

But before he dozes off, he makes sure to read his playbook and Bible, and listen to gospel music, with the television off. This routine helps him refocus, review the day's accomplishments, and contemplate the long road that still remains for him. 

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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com.