After playing two games in six days, Georgia Tech quarterback TaQuon Marshall had appropriate plans for this weekend, now open after Central Florida canceled its game against the Yellow Jackets.
“Rest up,” Marshall said. “I’m going to be 150 percent by the time Pitt comes, so I’ll be ready.”
Marshall was disappointed that the Jackets' game against UCF was washed out because of the effects of Hurricane Irma, but he recognized that it had its benefits, saying that "we're happy that we can get a break also and rest our bodies and move on to next week."
Few needed a break as much as Marshall. He carried the ball 44 times against Tennessee, a school record and a total exceeded just twice in FBS last season. Dating to 2000, no quarterback has run more times in a game, according to the NCAA’s online data.
The physical toll through two games has been considerable.
“More than I expected,” Marshall said. “Saturday (against Jacksonville State), I was getting hit pretty hard. I just really have to take care of my body after games, get in the cold tub, make sure I go to treatment, just really take care of my body. Eat right, get enough sleep so I’m well-rested.”
Marshall briefly was knocked out of both the Tennessee and Jacksonville State games. He left the Tennessee game after suffering an apparent left-shoulder injury after getting tackled by two Volunteers on a keeper, returning the next series. Against Jacksonville State, Marshall was blasted by a Gamecocks safety in the left shoulder area again after handing the ball off to B-back KirVonte Benson. He came back again for the next series.
Coach Paul Johnson would like more protection for Marshall on such plays.
“There was a couple in the game that, quite frankly, could have probably been flagged, but they tend to let them hit our quarterbacks,” Johnson said.
The hit that took Marshall out, he said, was “pretty bad. Clearly, he didn’t have the ball.”
Johnson went through this in 2015 with then-quarterback Justin Thomas. Against Miami, Thomas was knocked out of the game when he was shoved to the ground and slammed his head on the turf after a handoff to B-back Patrick Skov. Johnson called it a "cheap shot from behind."
With nine regular-season games left, starting with next Saturday’s ACC opener against Pittsburgh at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Marshall almost certainly has some big hits still to come.
“I don’t really think about it,” Marshall said. “When game time comes, I just go out there and I’m ready to play, ready to have fun with my teammates and just go out and ball as much as I can. I really worry about how I feel after the game and after everything’s said and done.”
Despite the hits that quarterbacks absorb in the offense, it won’t be a surprise if Marshall makes it to the end of the season intact. Since Johnson’s first season in 2008, the No. 1 quarterback going into the season has started 112 out of 119 games. Four of the seven absences were in 2010, when starter Joshua Nesbitt broke his arm trying to stop an interception return, an unlikely circumstance for injury in the Jackets’ run-heavy offense.
“The thing about it is, at least they see it coming, and they’re runners,” Johnson said. “It’s a lot better than (a drop-back quarterback) standing back there with your back turned and your arm back and you getting killed from the blindside and you don’t see it coming.”
Like Thomas and Tevin Washington, Marshall, listed at 185 pounds, does not have the sturdy frame that Nesbitt did. However, Washington in particular was adept at deflecting hard hits and limiting the toll to his body. Fortunately for Marshall, he can easily gain counsel from two former quarterbacks who played in Johnson’s offense – quarterbacks and B-backs coach Craig Candeto and Washington, a grad assistant. Marshall was also witness to Thomas’ 2015 season, when he made all 12 starts despite an accumulation of dings.
“He’s a tough kid,” Johnson said of Marshall.
He’ll have to be.
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