Gus Malzahn: Nick Marshall can play QB in NFL

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn says former QB Nick Marshall can play QB in the NFL.

I couldn’t control myself, I had to place him in the top-10 of 2015 NFL quarterback prospects. Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall was good enough in the past two seasons as a starter at Auburn to earn a spot among the meager 2015 quarterback class.

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Though he moved to cornerback for the 2015 Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL, his head coach, Gus Malzahn, is still telling anyone who will listen that he (Marshall) can play quarterback at the NFL level.

Speaking to NFL Network, Malzahn praised Marshall for his play at quarterback.

“I know he can be a quarterback at the next level.” Malzahn did qualify his remarks though, “It needs to be in the right system. You’re talking about a guy that’s probably one of the best zone-read quarterbacks in the history of college football.”

Interesting it is that Malzahn chose to qualify Marshall’s abilities to play in the NFL using his expertise as a zone-read quarterback (keep in mind he knows something about zone-read quarterbacks transitioning to the NFL after he oversaw Cam Newton’s lone college season which led to him being selected No.1 overall by the Carolina Panthers).

Could Malzahn possibly be clamoring to Chip Kelly, the one-time Oregon coach, who uses the zone-read scheme more than any other coach in the NFL, and who is rumored to be interested in trading up to one of the top spots in the draft to draft his former Duck quarterback Marcus Mariota?

If so, the reasoning for Malzahn, and anyone who chose to employ that logic would be that Mariota is going to cost your organization (Philadelphia Eagles) an arm and leg to acquire. You have a player fairly similar in ability, especially doing the thing you most like to do: running the zone-read.

That is of course all speculation. None of us know anything for certain about what the Eagles are thinking.

What we do know is that Marshall has appeared committed to his switch back to cornerback, the position he began his college career at with the University of Georgia before leaving the program to play a year at Garden City Community College.

Marshall said the transition won’t be tough, “It’s something that if I put my mind to it I can do anything I want.”

His college coach agrees, “He’s a great athlete. He can play defensive back, he can play receiver, he’s got a great attitude, he’s a team player, and he just wants to help someone win.”

The 6’1″ athlete–to use a designation sometimes used in college recruiting when the player’s position is unknown, was exceptional as a senior at Auburn, completing more than 61 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and just seven interceptions while also rushing for close to 800 yards.

His 4.54 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine approximately 10 days ago, makes him one of the best athletes for the quarterback position, and more than adequate for the cornerback position.

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