Fifteen months after leading Auburn to a Southeastern Conference title as a quarterback, Nick Marshall is preparing for a career as an NFL cornerback.
It’s a major switch even for a player who started his college career as a cornerback at Georgia. But Marshall is far from the only draft prospect who figures to turn pro at a position different from where he spent the majority of his college career.
Auburn teammates and coaches are confident Marshall can successfully navigate the move.
“Some people are just football players,” said Trovon Reed, who played both wide receiver and cornerback for the Tigers. “You’re not going to sell Nick on one position. Nick could go out there and play receiver, he could go play safety. He’s a football player.”
Improving the chances of being a pro football player is motivation enough to switch from throwing passes to defending them — or catching them.
Or for a move from defensive end to outside linebacker or hybrid roles. That’s a possibility for star pass rushers including likely first-rounders Dante Fowler Jr. (Florida), Randy Gregory (Nebraska), Vic Beasley (Clemson) and Bud Dupree (Kentucky).
None of them appears to be sweating the adjustment too much.
“It’s not been real tough,” Beasley said. “You’ve just got to keep your mind on the right things and that you’re working against other competition.”
They’ve got plenty of company.
Former Florida State starting left tackle Cameron Erving moved to center late in his senior season and projects as the top NFL prospect at that position, a potential first-rounder.
Other players also began transitions in college, sometimes blossoming into stars. Highly rated Pittsburgh offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings spent his first two seasons as a reserve defensive end. That relative inexperience as a blocker might be regarded as an asset by some teams taking more of a long view.
“I think that’s one reason why teams are intrigued with him, because they see him as a player that’s only been over there for two years, so they see a real upside with him,” said Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage, a former Cleveland Browns general manager.
Others are just seeking entry into the league, if not an immediate huge payday. Oklahoma’s Blake Bell and Arkansas’ A.J. Derby both switched from quarterback to tight end as seniors.
Bell started eight games at quarterback as a junior and eight games at tight end in his final season. Oregon State’s Obum Gwacham was a receiver until his senior season and now is projected as a defensive end or outside linebacker. Michigan’s Devin Gardner started 27 games at quarterback and four at receiver, where he’s trying to make it in the pros.
Yale’s Tyler Varga, at 5-foot-11, 225 pounds, scored a school-record 26 touchdowns last season, but is moving from running back to fullback.
All are projected as late-round picks or free agents.
Marshall, meanwhile, didn’t commit to defense until after his arrival at the Senior Bowl in January.
Dismissed from Georgia in 2011, he moved back to offense in junior college and at Auburn passed for 4,508 yards and ran for 1,866 in two seasons.
At Auburn’s pro day, Marshall participated in defensive back drills, threw passes to teammates and fielded kicks. The busy day illustrated potentially different roles in all phases, including as a wildcat-style quarterback, for the projected mid-to-late-round pick.
“I’m locked into defensive back right now,” Marshall said at his pro day, “but to be on anybody’s team I’ll do what they want me to do.”
Marshall ran a respectable 4.54 40 at the NFL combine, but made a solid impression at the Senior Bowl given his 11th-hour switchover.
“I thought he flashed more than enough ability for people to really be interested and do their homework on him as a cornerback, because at 6-11/2, 205 pounds, he’s exactly what these coaches are looking for from a size standpoint,” Savage said. “His speed has been right on the edge of being fast enough to stay at corner.”
Nebraska’s Scott Frost moved from quarterback to safety and was a third-round pick in 1998.
There are other success stories for former quarterbacks staying on offense such as Michigan’s Gardner. Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El had a nine-year NFL career as a wide receiver. The New England Patriots’ Julian Edelman, a former Kent State starting quarterback, has evolved from a star return man to a go-to receiver, catching the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl in February.
Savage has some experience projecting college defensive ends as linebackers before it became more commonplace. He was with the Baltimore Ravens in 1997 when they picked Florida State lineman Peter Boulware fourth overall and moved him to linebacker, where he made four Pro Bowls.
“That was much more of a risky proposition than it is now,” said Savage, noting that more teams regularly run defenses that include three-man fronts with four linebackers.
Florida’s Fowler is projected as a potential top-five pick after a career in which he had plenty of chances to display his versatility at linebacker and on the line. He figures he’s the top defensive prospect “just because of how complete I am. “
“I can do it all,” Fowler said. “I feel like that’s why I’m rated enough to be the No. 1 defensive guy off the board.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
