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Fresh off their 31-14 dismantling of the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, October 30, the San Francisco 49ers returned to their facility, hosting seven visitors for tryouts.
Four wide receivers and three defensive backs came into the 49ers’ facility for a chance at a roster spot per the league’s transaction wire on Monday, October 31. But out of the seven, one of them has ties to a rising star on the 49ers defense and has a past history of earning All-American honors.
‘Biggie’ Among 49ers Tryouts
Iman Marshall was part of the defensive back trio of tryouts.
If the name rings a bell, the cornerback is a former fourth-round draft selection of the Baltimore Ravens. However, multiple ACL tears limited him in Charm City before he was ultimately waived on July 23, 2022.
But there’s more to “Biggie” than just his past as a Raven. He’s a former teammate of rising hard-hitting 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga.
“Biggie” Marshall first came to USC as a First-Team Parade All-American — one of the highest honors any high school athlete can have. He earned his accolades at Long Beach Poly, a well-renown NFL factory with names like Stephone Paige, Willie McGinest and DeSean Jackson starring for the Jackrabbits in the past.
But Marshall was the only one of the three defensive back tryouts with familiarity with Hufanga.
Marshall and Hufanga collaborated in the Trojans secondary in 2018, which was the future 49ers safety’s first season in the Land of Troy. Hufanga went on to play in eight games and posted 51 tackles, 31 solo stops, 3.5 tackles for a loss and delivered four pass deflections per Sports Reference.
That 2018 campaign became the final one for “Biggie” with USC. He went on to play in 11 games that season — producing 48 tackles, 37 solo stops 5.5 tackles for a loss and produced nine pass deflections — the latter stat tying for the second most in a single season for him. Had Marshall taken a redshirt season and return for the 2019 campaign, he would’ve also been teammates with a prized newcomer and future second-rounder named Drake Jackson.
The 6-foot-1, 207-pounder came to the league as a seasoned four-year starter at the college level. He was labeled as a prospect who “will eventually become an average starter” by nfl.com draft expert Lance Zierlein. Marshall, at that time, was even called a candidate to move over to safety because of “his ability to cover tight ends and handle run-support duties” which Zierlein felt made “Biggie” more of a natural candidate for a transition to safety.
The 25-year-old Marshall, though, has remained at cornerback. With the release of Willie Snead on Halloween, a new roster spot opened up. Plus, Emmanuel Moseley getting placed on injured reserve has forced the 49ers to search for additional CB depth since the Panthers win on Week 5.
Who Else Tried Out for 49ers?
While Marshall has a tie-in to Hufanga, one of the other DB tryouts shares a fourth-round connection with him. Here are the other tryouts:
Troy Pride: The former fourth-rounder of the 2020 draft to the Carolina Panthers has been searching for his next NFL home since being released for failing a physical on May 16, 2022. The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder played his college ball at Norte Dame, where he delivered 18 pass deflections and four interceptions.
Benjie Franklin: The 26-year-old was last seen with the Green Bay Packers practice squad in September 2022. He came to the league out of Tarleton State where he snatched eight career interceptions, had 27 passes defended and blocked two field goals. He also was clocked at 4.31 in the 40-yard dash during Tarleton State’s 2022 Pro Day.
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