Embattled quarterback Nick Marshall vying for Heisman
AUBURN – The buildup to Nick Marshall's senior season could have been nearly two months of near endless hype; a coronation of sorts for Auburn's returning starting quarterback as the leading returning signal caller in the SEC and the conference's top Heisman Trophy candidate.
Those plans were derailed by Marshall's own bad decision when he was cited for possession of marijuana July 11.
Marshall's road of redemption after being dismissed from Georgia in 2012 hit a fork, and he chose the wrong way. Again.
The embattled Tigers quarterback will begin his final college campaign and Heisman candidacy on the bench, the result of the punishment doled out but Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.
"I'm not too worried about the Heisman," Marshall said. "I'm trying to gain the trust of my teammates and my coaches. And then I'm just trying to go out there and win games with my teammates."
Whether Marshall will be able to hold up to the added scrutiny that comes in the wake of his transgression — on top of the limelight already shining on quarterbacks of top-10 teams and Heisman candidates — will be known early on.
Following Marshall's run-in with the law, his odds to win the Heisman fell from 9-to-1 to 16-to-1, according to the Bovada online sports book.
Regardless of outside perceptions, Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee is steadfast in support of his pupil's viability as a Heisman candidate.
"I don't think there is any question," Lashlee said. "There are a lot of factors that matter; the team winning; is he playing well in big games; have we improved throwing the ball. There are a lot of things that go into that."
Marshall is going to be asked to alter his game to be a more polished passer, stay in the pocket and throw more often than last season. He relied heavily on his legs in 2013, when he rushed for 1,068 yards and 12 touchdowns while throwing for 1,976 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Auburn coaches liked what they saw from Marshall in the spring, which he capped off with a strong A-Day outing with 236 yards and four touchdowns. His improved footwork was evident, and supposedly, he has become more accurate.
Those stats, coupled with the attrition of the SEC's top six quarterbacks from a year ago, have Marshall as the most efficient returning passer in the conference. Marshall earned five preseason accolades as he was named to the Maxwell, Davey O'Brien, Walter Camp and Manning Award watch lists and was named First Team All-SEC.
As the Tigers aim to repeat as SEC champions and get back to the national championship, their success will be built not only on Marshall's play on the field, but also his mental ability to move on from a major "mistake" off of it.
"It's kind of like our team's ultimate goals: You can't look way out there," Lashlee said. "You've got to have ultimate goals, and you've got to know where you want to get to, but if you focus on that and don't take care of the present, it's not going to do any good.
"If he does what he's capable of and what he's supposed to do, and our team is fortunate enough to play well and stay healthy, then I think all of those individual accolades will take care of themselves."