His former coach, Georgia's Mark Richt, once suggested that cornerback could be the position of the future for Nick Marshall. But the Auburn senior has always insisted on pursuing the sport from the quarterback position, and his current coach, Gus Malzahn, doesn't doubt his ability to play from under center in the NFL.
"Yeah, there's no doubt," Malzahn said, according to al.com. "He's one of the better quarterbacks in the entire country and I feel like he's one of the better overall players in the country. He's definitely an NFL player. He's much improved and I think he'll do nothing but get better."
At 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, Marshall's size would be well above average for an NFL cornerback, but well below it for a quarterback. If he participates in the Reese's Senior Bowl in January, the position at which he works out will be an interesting subplot to the practice week. Roughly a month later, he'll have to make what would likely be a definitive position decision at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
Marshall, for his part, has indicated that he wants to give it a shot at quarterback.
His play at QB this season has been slightly improved over last year. He's completed 99 of 166 passes for about the same 59.5 percent completion rate he posted last year. But he is taking fewer sacks this season, is just one touchdown pass short of matching his 2013 total, and has rushed for over 100 yards in four games. If Marshall insists on going through pre-draft evaluations as a quarterback, he'll need to attract the attention of a club more willing to structure an offense around a quarterback's athleticism.
Some teams are more willing to do so than others.
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