Franklin's Marshall on Hall of Fame senior list

Leonard Marshall, who went from Franklin Senior High to LSU to two Super Bowl victories with the NFL’s New York Giants, appears on this year’s list of senior finalists eligible for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Marshall, a defensive end, was picked 37th overall In the 1983 NFL draft. He went on to play 10 years with the Giants and finished his career with one-year stints with the Jets and the team now known as the Washington Commanders.
Marshall was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. In his 12-year career, he played in 177 games and amassed 83.5 sacks and 714 tackles.
He may be best known for the 1990 NFC championship game, when he had two sacks and two forced fumbles. Marshall hit Forty-Niners quarterback Joe Montana hard enough to bruise the legend’s sternum and keep him out of action two years.
At LSU, Marshall was the defensive Most Valuable Player in 1982. After LSU upset Alabama, Tide coach Bear Bryant lamented that he tried but failed to recruit Marshall.
“Up until high school,” Marshall wrote for the Players’ Tribune website, “you’ll look at football just as an excuse to stay in shape while hitting people you don’t like. But football is your opportunity, Lenny. It’s what you were meant to do.
“You look up to guys like Clinton Burrell and Lyman White, who are among those special few athletes who played football at Franklin High School and went on to get drafted by the NFL. I’m here to tell you that if you follow the right path, you’re going to be mentioned right alongside them one day. You got it, son.”
Marshall finished LSU with a business administration degree and pursued a variety of educational and business interests after his pro career. He has also been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy and has advocated for protecting players safer during their football careers.
Marshall is one of dozens of players who meet senior inductee eligibility. They can have played no more recently than 25 years ago and must have earned at least one major post-season honor.
A 33-member selection committee awards induction to a winnowed-down group of players who must receive approval from at least 80% of the voters.