There was a time in his life when David Marshall might have thought Lisfranc (pronounced Liz Frank) was the name of a girl in his senior class at Upson-Lee High.

Just kidding, of course.

On the contrary. There’s been nothing funny about the Lisfranc injury to his left foot that he suffered last year against Vanderbilt. It ultimately cost him the rest of the 2018 campaign.

“I didn’t know that it was even a serious injury until I got X-rayed,” said Marshall, who initially anticipated he'd only have to miss a couple of games.

That wasn’t the case. As the days and weeks wore on, it ultimately became apparent that the only time Marshall would be seeing was in Ron Courson’s training room. Recovery has been slow.

For those who don’t know, Lisfranc injuries result if bones in the midfoot are broken or ligaments that support the midfoot get torn. Severity of the injury can vary. Marshall’s was more on the severe side.

After undergoing surgery, the senior was unable to put any weight at all on the foot, resulting in him having to use a scooter in order to get around campus to and from class.

“Sometimes I had a mini-van come pick me up, but most of the time, I’d just use it to ride around,” Marshall said. “It’s better than crutches, though.”

Marshall is slowly getting back in the groove. Although he’s still not able to have any contact, Marshall has been able to take part in some of the drills with his teammates on the defensive line.

However, most of his time is dedicated to strengthening the foot, making sure he’ll be ready to roll once fall camp gets underway in August.

“I’ve just got to stay in that training room, get myself right,” Marshall said. “The challenge is to get my ankle back right, the process to get it right. Nobody likes to sit, so getting my ankle right, getting my strength right is all I’m trying to do.”

He’s definitely not looking back. Neither is head coach Kirby Smart.

“That’s in the year past,” said Smart, when asked about Marshall’s injury. “He’s a good player, so I’m not going to cry over that. We need him this year. I want him to stay healthy.”

That’s certainly the goal. With the graduation of Jonathan Ledbetter, Georgia needs Marshall to be the main man at defensive end, a position Smart wants to see create more havoc with opposing offenses this fall.

Marshall hopes to oblige.

“He’s got us going out there, knowing we need more tackles for loss, more sacks, more fumbles, more interceptions,” Marshall said. “So, we’re going out there and work to get more sacks, whatever he wants.”

In the meantime, Marshall’s doing his best to help some of his younger teammates step up their respective games.

That includes fellow defensive end Malik Herring, who's getting most of the first-team defensive end reps with Marshall’s still on the mend.

“I’ve been trying to get him the right technique,” he said. “Really, I just told him he’s got to step up, because you’ve got me in front of you, and if you want more playing time, you need to do more.”