Quarterback guru George Whitfield can make Nick Marshall drop back into the San Diego surf until his feet turn to fins, as far as Gus Malzahn is concerned, but not until the Auburn quarterback's eligibility at AU is done.
The Auburn coach said as much about aborted plans for Marshall to work with Whitfield, along with Jameis Winston, this summer.
"We've never had anyone work with our quarterbacks while they still had eligibility," Malzahn said, according to al.com. "We feel really good about how we go about it and the success we've had before. There won't be anyone working with our quarterbacks until their eligibility is exhausted."
Marshall led the Tigers to the BCS National Championship Game in his first year as a starter for Auburn last season, but was heavily involved as a rushing threat and threw fewer passes than any regular starter in the SEC. Recruited out of high school by Georgia as a defensive back, Marshall's aspirations to play quarterback resurfaced at Auburn, after he'd spent a year playing quarterback at Garden City (Kan.) Community College. Whitfield called Malzahn "arguably one of the best quarterback coaches on the planet."
Whitfield has worked with the likes of Cam Newton and Andrew Luck, with a unique training style that incorporates drills on the beach. He is currently training draft prospects Johnny Manziel and Logan Thomas. But he'll have to wait another year to put Marshall through his training methods.
"You want them thinking exactly like you want them to think," Malzahn said. "When you get multiple people working, there's multiple thoughts, so we want them thinking one way."
Don't pack your beach towels just yet, Nick.
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
