He's Korliss, not scoreless

Arkansas running back Korliss Marshall runs for a touchdown after catching the kickoff in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Northern Illinois in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)
Arkansas running back Korliss Marshall runs for a touchdown after catching the kickoff in the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Northern Illinois in Fayetteville, Ark., Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

FAYETTEVILLE -- It took Korliss Marshall 55 touches in 11 games for the Arkansas Razorbacks to get his first touchdown.

It didn't take nearly as long for Marshall to score his second

Marshall needed just six more touches to reach the end zone again Saturday night as the sophomore running back from Osceola started and finished the scoring in Arkansas' 52-14 victory over Northern Illinois Saturday night in Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

"Korliss can be a huge weapon," quarterback Brandon Allen said. "The kind of speed he has isn't seen very often.

"Once he gets in the open field, he's got big-play capability."

Marshall took the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown after Northern Illinois won the coin toss, deferred and kicked into the wind. He caught ball between the hash marks, got key blocks from Keon Hatcher and Khalia Hackett, made a quick cut, found a seam and raced to the end zone untouched.

"Anybody who got the ball could've scored on that play," Marshall said. "The kickoff return team did an excellent job executing their blocks, staying latched onto their blocks and doing exactly what the coaches tell them to do."

Marshall said he initially "was kind of scared" catching the kickoff because he undercut the ball slightly.

"I had to reach up and grab it," he said. "Then once I got it, I took a couple steps, and I just saw the hole open up.

"I was like, 'Man, I've got to kick it into full gear.' I got one-on-one with the kicker. One of our goals is to never get tackled by the kicker, so I just decided to cut it backside a little bit, and then I got it back vertical."

Marshall's kickoff return fired up the announced crowd of 67,204 and the Razorbacks.

"It was a mega-boost," linebacker Martrell Spaight said. "We're a team where the defense feeds off the offense's energy and the offense feeds off the defense's energy, and we all feed off the special teams' energy.

"So when Korliss scored a touchdown right off the bat, we all had the mind-set, 'We're ready to roll.' "

Marshall is averaging 25.5 yards on 24 career kickoff returns, including an 87-yarder against Auburn last last season that was his longest before the touchdown Saturday night.

"I'm known for being the spark," he said. "I wish I could start every game out like that. I'm going to attempt to, but there are no guarantees that I am."

Marshall capped the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown run -- on third-and-2 -- on a draw play with 3:33 left in the fourth quarter. He found a hole and cut back to the left side.

"We literally saw their whole defense shift to the right," Marshall said. "So I knew that I was going to automatically bust the play backside."

Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema stressed he wasn't trying to run up the score against the Huskies, but he enjoyed Marshall's first rushing touchdown.

"It was neat to see him get in there at the end," Bielema said. "We just ran a lead draw -- which is no secret in our program, we ran it 20 times last week -- and he's exceptionally fast. He's as quick as hiccup."

Marshall is the fastest of Arkansas' tailbacks.

"He's an explosive kid," offensive coordinator Jim Chaney said. "Any time he gets a little crease he can score."

Marshall said it was especially nice to score his first two touchdowns after being limited to five carries the previous week in Arkansas' 49-28 victory at Texas Tech when he twice lost the ball -- once a kickoff return and once on a carry, though neither was ruled a fumble. Marshall also had a fumble on a rushing attempt in the opener at Auburn, which Arkansas recovered.

Bielema said Marshall had a great week of preparation for Northern Illinois.

"He was really locked in," Bielema said.

Marshall said he held a ball throughout practice last week, regardless of whether he was on the field running a play, going through a drill or watching.

"I took it so serious, because that jeopardized my playing time, putting the ball on the ground," he said. "I want to make all my coaches look good, and I want to make myself look good as well.

"I felt pretty bad after last week's game. I understood what the coaches were doing, which was a smart decision. If I put the ball on the ground, I've got to accept that I'm not going to get as many carries."

Sports on 09/22/2014

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