Early Life and College
Marshall was born in Franklin, Louisiana. He was the oldest of seven children, whose father, Leonard Marshall Sr., was a foreman at a shipyard. Initially, Marshall's father did not like the idea of his son playing football, as he thought it was "a stupid game" that would prevent him son from doing more productive things. Later in his life however, Marshall Sr. expressed happiness over his son's success, and even rooted against his beloved Dallas Cowboys when his son's Giants teams played them. At the age of 18, Leonard met his future wife Janice Milburn, who was eight years his senior. She had a son, Rod Milburn Jr., who is the son of Olympic Gold Medal winning high hurdler Rod Milburn. Milburn Jr. was eight years old when Marshall and Milburn began dating.
Marshall majored in Business Management at LSU. He chose the school over the University of Alabama and its Hall of Fame coach Bear Bryant, because of the school's academic reputation and because it allowed him to stay close to home. Marshall played a crucial role in LSU's 1982 victory over Alabama, making several key tackles and prompting Bryant to state his regret in a post-game press conference for his inability to recruit Marshall. The team finished 8–3–1 and narrowly lost, 21–20, to the University of Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. He was named the team's defensive Most Valuable Player for his performance in the 1982 season.
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