Thomas Whitfield Marshall (born January 6, 1973) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

who played two seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. He was selected by the Eagles in the fifth round of the

1996 NFL draft The 1996 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The NFL draft, draft was held April 20–21, 1996 NFL seas ...

after playing

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. Marshall also played for the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe.

Early life and college

Thomas Whitfield Marshall was born on January 6, 1973, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He attended

The Lovett School The Lovett School is a coeducational kindergarten through twelfth grade independent school located in north Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History In September 1926, Eva Edwards Lovett, an educator who emphasized the development of the whole ...

in Atlanta. Marshall played

for the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

of the

. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

in 1991 and was a four-year

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from 1992 to 1995. He earned

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second-team

All-SEC The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * ...

honors his senior year in 1995. Marshall graduated in 1995 with a degree in consumer economics.

Professional career

Marshall was selected by the

in the fifth round, with the 47th overall pick, of the

. He officially signed with the team on July 15. He was released on August 25 and signed to the team's practice squad on August 28. Marshall was promoted to the active roster on November 19 and played in one game for the Eagles during the 1996 season. He also appeared in one playoff game that year. He was released on August 19, 1997. Marshal signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

on March 3, 1998. He was released on September 7, 1998. Marshall played in all ten games, starting ten, for the Frankfurt Galaxy of

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa) was a professional American football league that functioned as the List of developmental and minor sports leagues, developmental minor league of the Nati ...

in 1999, recording 34 defensive tackles, two special team tackles, three sacks, one pass breakup, and one forced fumble. The Galaxy finished the season with a 6–4 record and won

World Bowl '99 World Bowl '99 (also referred to as World Bowl VII) was the seventh championship game of the NFL Europe League. It was held at Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, Germany on Sunday, June 27, 1999. The game was between the 6–4 Frankfurt Galaxy and the ...

against the

Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons: * Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe) The Barcelona Dragons were an American football team that was a part of the World League of American Football and later in the res ...

by a score of 38–24. Marshall was signed by the

on July 7, 1999. He played in 15 games in 1999, totaling two solo tackles and one kick return for two yards. He was also a

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

while with the Falcons. Marshall was released on August 18, 2000.

Personal life

Marshall entered the real estate business after his NFL career.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, Whit Living people 1973 births Players of American football from Atlanta American football linebackers American football long snappers Georgia Bulldogs football players Philadelphia Eagles players Indianapolis Colts players Frankfurt Galaxy players Atlanta Falcons players Lovett School alumni