Jeremy Johnson, Nick Marshall finding groove in camp
AUBURN –
It's not a two-quarterback system in the traditional sense, but Auburn's top two quarterbacks are being prepared to play when the season begins Aug. 30.
Nick Marshall won't start for the Tigers against Arkansas. Tthat much is official. And while Jeremy Johnson taking the reins has yet to be formally announced, it's a foregone conclusion.
When Marshall will take the field for the first time is unclear, but he and Johnson are splitting first-team reps for now, with the former G.W. Carver star expected to get a bigger percentage of the reps once the Tigers begin formal game preparations.
Both have had strong practices in recent days.
"Jeremy's best days have probably been the last three or four days," Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said Sunday. "Throwing the ball really well, starting to make good decisions and ... from a leadership standpoint, I've seen a little bit of a change that he's more confident stepping up, and it doesn't matter if it's a guy older than him. ... (He's) taking charge of his group when he's out there."
Johnson, who has not been available for interviews, has impressed his wide receivers in preseason.
"The last couple of days, he's been hitting his target," Sammie Coates said. "It's one of those things at quarterback, it's a hard position. ... He's got a lot on his mind, and when he gets his head right, he throws the ball right. He's throwing it pretty good."
The charade of head coach Gus Malzahn refusing to acknowledge Johnson as the starter won't last much longer.
Johnson has been working on his footwork, specifically his three-step drops, and his eyes, according to Lashlee.
"(Three-step drops are) something he didn't do a lot of in high school, so it's not as natural as some others," Lashlee said. "Young guys ... the first thing they want to do is look where they're throwing it because all they're worried about is 'What's my read? Where am I throwing it?'
"Once you get comfortable, you can slow things down. Nick's to that point, Jeremy's getting to that point, and I think Sean (White) will be there quick. You get to that point where everything slows down. You can use your eyes to manipulate the defense."
Meanwhile, Lashlee feels Marshall has been "night and day" compared with where he was even in the spring, when he hit his completion percentage target and threw for 236 yards and four touchdowns on A-Day.
"His footwork's good. He rarely makes errant throws because he's off balance or because he's not doing the proper footwork and those fundamentals you ask of him," Lashlee said. "He threw the ball really well, but the best part of (Saturday) was there were times he just made great decisions. No. 1, 2 and 3 weren't there, and he hit the fourth guy."
Marshall racked up 3,044 yards total offense and 26 touchdowns last season and had do a lot of learning on the fly. Now a Heisman Trophy candidate, Marshall is "very comfortable" in the offense and feels things have slowed down for him on the field.
"Nick came from not knowing the whole offense to knowing everything," Coates said. "From knowing how to read the safety (and) who he's got to check down to. He's doing a great job — his eyes and everything. The way he's throwing the ball now, it's kind of scary."