Nick Marshall played cornerback and special teams for a year at Georgia and then later starred for two seasons as Auburn’s quarterback.
Could Marshall do all of that in the NFL?
NFL scouts, coaches and personnel executives who came to Auburn’s Pro Day on Tuesday got another chance to find out. They watched Marshall participate in quarterback and defensive back drills and also field some punts.
“I’m going to do anything to be on anybody’s team,” Marshall said. “I am going to do whatever they want me to do.”
Marshall is the latest standout college quarterback to discover his size (6-foot-1, 205 pounds) and skills don’t make him a top NFL prospect. Marshall was a perfect fit as a dual-threat quarterback in coach Gus Malzahn’s offense, but NFL teams don’t run read-option plays extensively.
“If he gets in the right system not only can he play quarterback but he can excel,” Malzahn said Tuesday. “He’s one of the best zone-read quarterbacks in college football history, in my opinion. But he’s a good enough kid and a good enough athlete he can excel at any position.”
Marshall was a top quarterback and basketball player at Wilcox County High. He went to Georgia with an eye on playing both sports, but coach Mark Richt dismissed him from the football team in 2012 after he and two other players reportedly were caught stealing from a teammate.
After playing 13 games at cornerback at Georgia, Marshall transferred to Garden City (Kan.) Community College to play quarterback in 2012. That led to two outstanding seasons as Auburn’s quarterback, but Marshall acknowledged he ponders what playing cornerback for four seasons could have meant for his pro future.
“I think about it now and then, but you can’t dwell on the past,” Marshall said. “Just focus on what the future brings.”
It’s not clear how Marshall’s future NFL team will use him. He was at cornerback for Senior Bowl week in January, worked with the quarterbacks at the scouting combine in February and did both Tuesday.
Marshall’s size is an asset at cornerback, but his drill times place him in the middle of the pack for that position group. Marshall said some NFL scouts and coaches told him he could be a defensive back as well as a third-string quarterback who can run direct snap plays in “Wildcat” packages.
“Just do whatever it takes to get on the field,” Marshall said.
Marshall was among seven Auburn players from the state of Georgia to work out for scouts Tuesday. The others: wide receiver Quan Bray (LaGrange High), long snapper Forrest Hill (Jonesboro), cornerback Jonathon Mincy (Southwest DeKalb), tight end C.J. Uzomah (North Gwinnett), defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker (Warner Robins) and defensive tackle Gabe Wright (Carver-Columbus).
Uzomah was among the Auburn players trying to make a case for scouts after they didn’t receive invitations to the combine.
Uzomah posted an unofficial time of 4.53 seconds in the 40-yard dash, better than all tight ends at the combine. Uzomah said he weighs 263 pounds, heavier than the top tight ends at the combine, though he bench-pressed 225 pounds only 19 times Tuesday.
“It’s not a shot at the other tight ends, but I definitely felt like I should have been there (at the combine),” Uzomah said. “I think I proved that today. I definitely had a chip on my shoulder.”
Whitaker earned cheers from teammates as he pressed 225 pounds 41 times. Miami offensive lineman Ereck Flowers’ 37 repetitions were the most at the combine.
“I just wanted to do the most ever,” Whitaker said. “When I got the first three, and it didn’t even feel like I’d done one, I said, ‘OK, we might be here for a while.’”
