It’s never easy to impress a teenager, and that is exactly what college coaches are trying to accomplish in the increasingly wild world of college sports recruiting.

Fenwick junior Nate Marshall had plenty of warning that a helicopter would be involved in Miami football coach Mario Cristobal’s recruiting visit on Tuesday. At first, it didn’t seem like too big of a deal to the highly-recruited defensive lineman. 

But it turns out Cristobal knows what he’s doing. Marshall changed his mind when the helicopter landed—in the snow—on Fenwick’s soccer field in River Forest. 

“That was pretty crazy actually witnessing it,” Marshall said. “Just seeing it and hearing it and watching them fly away. It shows how much of a priority I am for them and their program.”

Marshall has 22 scholarship offers and can basically choose any school in the country. All the biggest names are involved in his recruitment: Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame. 

It’s been a whirlwind few months for the 6-4, 265-pound multi-sport athlete, who also stars on Fenwick’s basketball team. 

“I took a visit to Miami over Thanksgiving break,” Marshall said. “I was with one of my Fenwick teammates. It was a cool experience. I met the Miami players and hung out with them most of the weekend.”

Miami has been hitting the area hard recently, landing St. Ignatius lineman Justin Scott and Kenwood defensive end Marquise Lightfoot from the Class of 2024.

Marshall’s parents, Nate Sr. and Khara, were on hand at Fenwick’s Priory Campus in River Grove to meet with Cristobal on Tuesday. They are impressed with how their son handles all the attention and his busy schedule. 

“He’s taking it with a lot of grace,” Marshall Sr. said. “Staying humble, not getting too big headed. He knows he’s blessed to be in this situation.”

Khara Marshall played basketball at DePaul, but nothing matches the current state of college football recruiting. 

“I went through the recruiting process but this is a very different experience,” Khara Marshall said. “It was not this grand at all.”

Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

The helicopter made an impact on mom and dad.

“It was a big, grandiose gesture for sure,” Marshall Sr. said. “It shows the importance they place on Nate. They even want to get up here and see him even in this -15 degree weather. However they have to get here. Helicopter, car, boat. They showed he can be an asset for them.”

The Marshalls know Cristobal wasn’t only in town to visit with Nate. He made other recruiting visits around the area and spent the morning in Indiana. But only one recruit walked Cristobal back to his helicopter and said goodbye. 

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Khara Marshall said. “We just tell [Nate] to make sure he’s having fun. Enjoy the process and have fun with it. He seems to be doing that.”