Will Auburn Quarterback Nick Marshall Start the Season

A New Tipping Point for the Tigers

 

Auburn’s Head Coach Gus Malzahn faces his biggest decision, which may well turn out to be a tipping point in Auburn football history.

The tipping point is that magic moment when small changes have a significant impact on outcomes.  There are tipping points in society such as when  a sick person starts an epidemic, or a single act of kindness profoundly changes a child’s path and those that they impact in their lifetime.  In his widely acclaimed bestseller, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, Malcolm Gladwell explores the tipping point phenomenon.

There are tipping points in football games, seasons, programs and players lives, when a single event or handful of small events determines the end game.  Auburn’s 2013 season was enchanted with many tipping points like when the ball literally tipped into the hands of Ricardo Louis to defeat Georgia, 43 to 38, Nov 25, last year.

 

On July 11, 2014, only 3 days before Coach Malzahn was to open the first day of SEC Media Days in Hoover, AL, he got the disturbing news that  Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall was cited by the GA police for drug possession.  Marshall would have attended SEC Media Days, but Malzahn quickly replaced him with C.J. Uzomah.

 

“I’m not saying what that consequence is right now, but it will be addressed,” Coach Malzahn.

 

Malzahn was presented with a dilemma of how to punish the behavioral problem and must decide if Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall will be the starter for the fast-approaching season opener with an SEC West opponent, the Arkansas Razorbacks.  Gus knows his decision could be a tipping point of his program.

Sound too dramatic? 

No, not really. Not when you consider Malzahn’s reputation for being the guardian angel of second chances.  Marshall already used his first chance when he was dismissed from UGA and still bares a tat from that school.  Gus sticks his neck out for guys and so far only about half have not chopped it off.

So will Malzahn make an example of his quarterback and send a strong message to the rest of the team with his disciplinary action or soft pedal it and try to get him on the field as early as he possibly can.

An SEC Champion QB like Marshall gives the Tigers and Malzahn a comfort level in the season opener at home against Arkansas, but also sends the wrong message to the team and sets a  bad precedent for drug tolerance.  Auburn’s policy is that a player is suspended for half the season on the second offense, not the first.  Malzahn will have to decide what is best for the team, not only now, but down the road.  Will he go down Easy St. like Kevin Sumlin did last year, penalizing Johnny Manziel for only the first two quarters of the season opener against Rice or will he make a stronger statement to the team by sitting Marshall down for longer.

Does a slap on the wrist for Marshall tip the program out of control into a  downward spiral like we saw from the 2010 National Championship year to the 60-year low record in 2012?

The real question should be not if, but how many games will Nick Marshall miss?

Is Jeremy Johnson prepared for SEC West opponent, Arkansas on week one?  Johnson came extremely close to winning the QB Battle last year as a true freshman, which says volumes about this student athlete, considering what a freakish athlete Nick Marshall is.  Johnson was called upon a few times in 2013, starting in one game, and receiving SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice.  He was 29 of 41 passing with 422 yards and six touchdowns and only two interceptions.  He played a limited role against Arkansas and Georgia, coming in cold off the bench and completing passes for first downs.

 

Enter Jeremy Johnson

If Johnson starts for Auburn in the opening game against Arkansas, it could be a little bumpier ride to start the season, primarily due to a lack of experience, especially in SEC play.  But the upside potential of Johnson should have Auburn fans very excited and the way Malzahn develops his offense around the quarterback, playing to his QB’s talents, Johnson is in a position to steal the show away from Marshall.

Consider this, Johnson plays the entire Arkansas game week one  and plays as good as he did in his limited role last year.   Week two, he beats San Jose State.  Week three, Auburn has the weekend off, preparing for the Thursday night game against Kansas State on the road….Who do you play now Coach?  Johnson who has Auburn clicking on all cylinders and who has opened up the passing game to the tune of 40 points per game!  Or Marshall who led the team to within 13 seconds of winning the National Championship in his first season at Auburn.  As far as problems go, picking between two phenomenal QB’s is not too bad of a problem.  The dilemma lies in the proper amount of discipline to set the best standard for the rest of the team, not just for 2014, but for years to come.

What does it really mean to wear an Auburn Jersey?

Projecting a little further down the road, if Johnson leads the team to a victory on the road at Kansas State in a hostile environment on Thursday night…

Does Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall even get another shot at significant playing time, assuming Johnson stays healthy the rest of the year and keeps winning?

 

Jeremy Johnson 2013 Season Highlights