Auburn Football: How does Marshall suspension affect them?
By J.P. Scott
As you probably know by now, Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall ran into a little bit of trouble over the summer when he was cited for possession of a small amount of marijuana.
That incident has lead to Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn levying a “suspension” of sorts on Marshall, removing him from the the starting lineup for the season opener against Arkansas. How much time Marshall will miss beyond the first play is anyone’s guess, but I wouldn’t put it past Malzahn — adamant about running a clean program — to sit his starting quarterback for a half or more.
Truth be told, I’m not sure Marshall’s absence, regardless of how long, changes much of anything outside of the margin of victory for the Tigers.
The Auburn Tigers under Malzahn are a more fast-paced version of the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the Tom Osborne era. The Tigers ran the ball better than anyone in the country last season (328.3 yards per game). Even with the loss of Tre Mason, I don’t see that changing a whole lot.
There appears to be a three-man battle to replace Mason as the feature back in 2014. Seniors Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant — both of whom rushed for over 600 yards a season ago — are competing with redshirt freshman Peyton Barber for the role. All signs point to it being a battle that won’t be won until a couple of weeks into the regular season. Whoever comes out on top is likely to be a household name among college football fans before season’s end. The first leg of that competition against Arkansas should be one where all three backs get ample carries. Arkansas gave up 178.6 rushing yards per game a season ago and is in the process of implementing a new defense led by a coordinator who has only one year of previous experience at the position.
I can’t imagine Malzahn not wanting to exploit that early and often.
Marshall’s absence means someone else is going to be taking snaps and delivering handoffs to those backs. Enter sophomore Jeremy Johnson. The 6-foot, 5-inch Johnson saw action in four games a year ago and brings a different skill set to the Tiger offense. He’s a slightly more polished and traditional pocket-passer than Marshall, however, is not afraid to tuck it and run if he needs to.
If this year’s matchup with the Razorbacks goes anything like the one in Fayetteville did a year ago, Auburn likely won’t need Johnson to showcase his arm. The Tiger’s had a 28-3 lead midway through the third quarter before three untimely turnovers allowed Arkansas to slightly close the gap.
Long story short, I don’t think Marshall’s suspension is going to affect Auburn much at all in the season opener. In fact, you could even argue that missing two other key players in this game might have a bigger impact than Marshall not starting.
All-SEC left guard Alex Kozan, who started all 14 games for the Tigers last season, will miss the entire 2014 campaign with a back injury that will require surgery. He’ll be replaced by Devonte Danzey — a 2013 JUCO transfer who played in three games for the Tigers last season. The hope would be that his maturity would make up for any lack of raw talent you miss having Kozan out.
In addition to playing without Kozan, Auburn will be without Jonathan Mincy for at least part of this game. Mincy, who should be the starting strong safety for the Tigers this season, was also arrested on marijuana charges over the summer. His absence will be felt in the secondary, as Auburn is likely to jump out to a decent lead in the game — causing Arkansas to have to throw the ball regularly in order to keep pace.
Given the suspensions of two key players and an injury to a third, Auburn actually comes out of this ordeal in decent shape. Like most major college football teams, they’ll open the season against a presumably weaker opponent — allowing guys who don’t get a lot of playing time to get valuable snaps. They kill two birds with one stone by having that opponent be a hated divisional rival.
If the Auburn Tigers can come out of the Arkansas game unscathed, the 2014 schedule sets up for them to once again be in the mix for the SEC West title. The Marshall incident will be a foggy memory by season’s end.