NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The rumors are true. Two quarterbacks will be playing in the BCS National Championship Game.
Shortly after Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston had finished answering non-stop questions in an hour-long session with the media on Saturday — perched on an elevated podium — Nick Marshall walked into the same room and took a seat at a small table. He was surrounded by teammates, having not been designated as one of the four players with his own area.
The Auburn quarterback didn’t need the attention. He just needed a second chance.
A quarterback in high school, Marshall was moved to the secondary upon enrolling at Georgia, but was booted from the Bulldogs in February 2012 for his involvement in a dormitory theft.
So the Georgia native headed to Kansas, where he played at Garden City Community College before returning to a stage he never thought he’d see again.
“What means the most is coach [Gus] Malzahn and [offensive coordinator Rhett] Lashlee gave me the second chance to come back into the SEC to play football,” Marshall said in the days leading up to Monday night’s game. “[The incident] is something I try not to think about. It’s just something I put behind me and thank the man above that I got a second chance to play college football.”
Marshall enrolled at Auburn this summer, having missed spring practices. With a new coach, who employs a no-huddle, hurry-up offense dependent on a quarterback’s quick decision-making, Malzahn and Lashlee weren’t sure what to expect from the junior.
Then, Marshall mastered the system he knew nothing of, improving each week and becoming one of the nation’s best running threats. He ended the regular season with 1,023 yards rushing with 11 touchdowns on the ground in 12 games, while ranking 22nd in the nation with 8.3 yards per completion and throwing one interception in the past nine games.
“He’s done some things that have exceeded expectations,” Lashlee said. “I think the best thing he’s brought to the table are two things: He’s been extremely coachable and he’s had no ego and done everything I’ve asked him to do, trying to do it at the best of his ability.”
Lashlee continued: “He’s a winner. He’s a phenomenal athlete and phenomenal winner. … Bottom line, certain guys have a knack for winning and making guys around them better, he’s one of those guys.”
Marshall has the chance — a chance he wasn’t sure he’d ever have — to lead the Tigers to a national championship in his first season after transferring from junior college, as former Tiger Cam Newton did.
And even if he thinks his arm is overlooked, Marshall is sticking with what got them to Pasadena, Calif. — the nation’s best running game.
“That’s something we take pride in, running the football it’s just something we do,” Marshall said. “We’re going to run the football at them until they stop us. We’re going to go out there and keep doing what we’ve been doing this whole year and just hope we come out with this win.”