The opener will be a homecoming for James Madison running back Marcus Marshall

Technically, Marcus Marshall dropped down a level when he transferred from Georgia Tech to James Madison.

It didn’t take Marshall long to figure out that James Madison is not your typical Football Championship Subdivision program.

“When you come into a program that has had the success JMU has had, there is a different culture, a different expectation,” said Marshall, who grew up in Raleigh and was a a prep star at Millbrook. “We feel like we should win every week.”

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Saturday’s trip to N.C. State will be no exception for the Dukes, who are ranked No. 2 in the FCS coaches’ poll.

JMU has won 28 games the past two seasons (back-to-back 14-1 seasons) and reached the FCS title game two years in a row (winning it in ’16). It also has wins in two of its past three games against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents (at SMU in 2015 and at East Carolina last year).

“We respect every team we line up against but we don’t feel inferior, or anything like that, to anyone,” Marshall said.

Marshall, a senior, has a found a home at JMU after he spent the first two years of his college career in the ACC. The 5-10, 200-pound running back led the Dukes with 850 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He had 88 yards and a touchdown run in their 34-14 season-opening win at ECU.

Marshall was in the same star-studded Wake County running-back class (in 2015) as Bryce Love and Nyheim Hines. The three friends (and Marshall’s older brother, Keith, a former star running back at Georgia) ran sprints in the same track club together.

Love, from Wake Forest, went to Stanford and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy last season and enters the 2018 season as one of the favorites to win college football’s top honor. Hines, from Garner, went to N.C. State and had an All-ACC junior season before jumping to the NFL.

“I’m so happy for those guys,” Marshall said. “That’s everybody dream. That’s what we talked about growing up.”

Marshall began his career at Georgia Tech. He was the Yellow Jackets’ top rusher as a freshman in 2015 with 654 yards. He ran for 624 yards as a sophomore but lost the primary starting job in coach Paul Johnson’s run-heavy offense.

“I don’t have anything negative to say about Georgia Tech,” Marshall said. “I love my guys down there. I root for them every weekend.”

Marshall decided to continue his career at JMU, where both his mom (Denise) and dad (Warren) went. His dad is still the career-leading rusher there.

“It has been a really great fit for me,” Marshall said.

The Dukes won the FCS national title the year before Marshall joined them. They started 2017 with 14 straight wins but were edged in the title game, 17-13 by fellow powerhouse North Dakota State.

Marshall said there hasn’t been a huge talent difference at the FCS level.

“To be honest, in terms of speed and talent, they’re right there together,” Marshall said. “There maybe a size difference but not at every position.”

Marshall is looking forward to Saturday’s trip back home. It will be his first college game in Raleigh and first against former Millbrook teammate James Smith-Williams.

“We have a lot of great memories,” Marshall said of Smith-Williams, who will start at defensive end for the Wolfpack.

The two are “100 percent brothers,” Smith-Williams said. Marshall and Smith-Williams spent some time together in Charlotte for Smith-Williams’ birthday before camp started. They talk or text every day, Smith-Williams said.

“We’ll talk but we’re not talking about football,” Smith-Williams said about the run-up to Saturday’s game.

Smith-Williams won’t be the only familiar face at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday. Marshall said he has been working on getting as many tickets as possible for his friends and family in Raleigh.

“Anybody close enough to come will be there,” Marshall said.

Marshall would love a repeat of last year’s season-opening win of an FBS foe.

“That was a great way to start our season,” Marshall said. “That was a confidence boost going into our conference schedule.”

This story was originally published August 28, 2018 at 5:52 AM with the headline "The opener will be a homecoming for James Madison running back Marcus Marshall."