When we reflect back on the 2013 season, the imagines of Nick Marshall dazzling us are probably some of the most memorable.. Whether its the Pray at Jordan-Hare or the option pass to Sammie to tie the bama game... there are an endless amount of great plays from Nick in that season. Interestingly, he was sort of the opposite of Cam Newton in terms of recruitment hype and fanfare. Actually, he was moved to DB at uga, which most already knew. And playing QB Auburn would be the highest level he would ever play in that position unlike Newton, who for all intents and purposes is headed to the next highest level of play which is in Canton, OH.
Marshall was not as natural in the position as was Newton, but definitely was as electric. However, there was a bit of slow start for Nick Marshall. There were times it was even debated could the offense be better served with a better pure passing QB which most thought existed in True Freshman Jeremy Johnson. Johnson was listed by Rivals as a Pro-Style QB with a 4-star, 5.9 rating. He was essentially hand-picked by the new incoming Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn and his OC Rhett Lashlee.
Marshall beat out Johnson for the 2013 starting QB. And this quote was actually quite prophetic from Gus Malzahn, "Nick Marshall has emerged and earned the right to be our starting quarterback," Malzahn said in a statement. "As I've said, we wanted to go with the guy that gives us the best opportunity to win football games and Nick is that guy. He has caught on quickly in the short period of time he has been with us. He is a playmaker with a big upside, and once he becomes more comfortable with the offense, he has the chance to improve each week."
The 2014 season arrived with much fanfare for National Championship expectations. The QB position was set. Nick Marshall was the QB1 and Jeremy Johnson was QB2 with much thought abilities to take over when needed and perform well. And he did. Throwing for 243 yards and 2 TDs in one half of football against Arkansas. The memory of the connection between Johnson and Duke Williams would live forever in the minds of the preseason hype promoters.
In 2015, Auburn and Gus Malzahn turned the offense over to Jeremy Johnson. This was viewed by many to be the next evolution of the Gus Malzahn offense. Adding a pocket passer with the perceived skill set of Jeremy Johnson. He was showed with offseason expectations like this "High expectations follow new Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson into the 2015 season. They stem from his impressive showing in limited action last season and a skill set that makes him a threat as a rusher and a passer. But he doesn't care to hear any comparisons to former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, whose dual-threat skill set led the Tigers to the 2010 national championship."
There was actually concern that Johnson, like Newton would only stay the QB1 for one season before bolting to the NFL. As we already know, that would not be the case.
The QB recruiting took a big blow in 2015. Sean White was the only QB added in 2014, maybe being viewed as a transition from Johnson and even more accurate pocket passing QB. The 2015 QB recruit was Tyler Queen. Why? I don't know.... I wish I did. Auburn missed on QBs. A lot of QBs.
If there was ever a more clear snapshot of the failures of the AU QB recruiting and develop with Gus Malzahn, I believe it certainly begins with the 2014 and 2015 QB class. Clearly, everybody expected Jeremy Johnson to be the man for 2015, but the options beyond that season seemed limited and less certain. Especially, when you consider the size of White and the injury to Queen. That is certainly head scratching...
The 2016 season was maybe even more head scratching from a QB personnel perspective. Clearly, Jeremy Johnson was a bust. Nobody saw that coming. Hard to really blame what happened in 2015 on anything and anybody other than just the reality that a Bust at the QB1 will sink you no matter what. But that disaster did not seem to settle in solely that 2015 season but linger into 2016. There was two new QBs brought into the mix for 2016: Woody Barrett - 3-star, 5.7 rated, very raw DT QB and John Franklin - a Juco and once FSU QB transfer. Interestingly, the biggest story was the selection of Franklin over Jerrod Evans, who many believed to be the obvious choice for a 2016 QB1. Evans went on to have tremendous success at Virginia Tech, and one can only speculate that had he went to Auburn, the 2016 season may have started with a win over Clemson and finished with a Playoff appearance.
But that was not to happen... Instead we had a QB carousel for several weeks including the Cox Cat. And finally, the offense settled in on Sean White to lead, and he was adequate while he was healthy, but clearly lack the playmaking abilities Auburn fans had once seen from the former greats. Franklin was never really a factor at QB, nor was he really given much of an opportunity, not that he deserved it either.
The 2016 season was an improvement from the 2015 disaster but still very much felt like a disaster in and of itself. Primarily, the season was shrouded was again in poor performance from the QB1 position. The optimism for 2017 seemed bleak because there was not a qb on the roster in 2016 that anybody wanted back in 2017. Not a single one.
Insert Jarrett Stidham....
Continued in Part 3.
Marshall was not as natural in the position as was Newton, but definitely was as electric. However, there was a bit of slow start for Nick Marshall. There were times it was even debated could the offense be better served with a better pure passing QB which most thought existed in True Freshman Jeremy Johnson. Johnson was listed by Rivals as a Pro-Style QB with a 4-star, 5.9 rating. He was essentially hand-picked by the new incoming Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn and his OC Rhett Lashlee.
Marshall beat out Johnson for the 2013 starting QB. And this quote was actually quite prophetic from Gus Malzahn, "Nick Marshall has emerged and earned the right to be our starting quarterback," Malzahn said in a statement. "As I've said, we wanted to go with the guy that gives us the best opportunity to win football games and Nick is that guy. He has caught on quickly in the short period of time he has been with us. He is a playmaker with a big upside, and once he becomes more comfortable with the offense, he has the chance to improve each week."
The 2014 season arrived with much fanfare for National Championship expectations. The QB position was set. Nick Marshall was the QB1 and Jeremy Johnson was QB2 with much thought abilities to take over when needed and perform well. And he did. Throwing for 243 yards and 2 TDs in one half of football against Arkansas. The memory of the connection between Johnson and Duke Williams would live forever in the minds of the preseason hype promoters.
In 2015, Auburn and Gus Malzahn turned the offense over to Jeremy Johnson. This was viewed by many to be the next evolution of the Gus Malzahn offense. Adding a pocket passer with the perceived skill set of Jeremy Johnson. He was showed with offseason expectations like this "High expectations follow new Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson into the 2015 season. They stem from his impressive showing in limited action last season and a skill set that makes him a threat as a rusher and a passer. But he doesn't care to hear any comparisons to former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, whose dual-threat skill set led the Tigers to the 2010 national championship."
There was actually concern that Johnson, like Newton would only stay the QB1 for one season before bolting to the NFL. As we already know, that would not be the case.
The QB recruiting took a big blow in 2015. Sean White was the only QB added in 2014, maybe being viewed as a transition from Johnson and even more accurate pocket passing QB. The 2015 QB recruit was Tyler Queen. Why? I don't know.... I wish I did. Auburn missed on QBs. A lot of QBs.
If there was ever a more clear snapshot of the failures of the AU QB recruiting and develop with Gus Malzahn, I believe it certainly begins with the 2014 and 2015 QB class. Clearly, everybody expected Jeremy Johnson to be the man for 2015, but the options beyond that season seemed limited and less certain. Especially, when you consider the size of White and the injury to Queen. That is certainly head scratching...
The 2016 season was maybe even more head scratching from a QB personnel perspective. Clearly, Jeremy Johnson was a bust. Nobody saw that coming. Hard to really blame what happened in 2015 on anything and anybody other than just the reality that a Bust at the QB1 will sink you no matter what. But that disaster did not seem to settle in solely that 2015 season but linger into 2016. There was two new QBs brought into the mix for 2016: Woody Barrett - 3-star, 5.7 rated, very raw DT QB and John Franklin - a Juco and once FSU QB transfer. Interestingly, the biggest story was the selection of Franklin over Jerrod Evans, who many believed to be the obvious choice for a 2016 QB1. Evans went on to have tremendous success at Virginia Tech, and one can only speculate that had he went to Auburn, the 2016 season may have started with a win over Clemson and finished with a Playoff appearance.
But that was not to happen... Instead we had a QB carousel for several weeks including the Cox Cat. And finally, the offense settled in on Sean White to lead, and he was adequate while he was healthy, but clearly lack the playmaking abilities Auburn fans had once seen from the former greats. Franklin was never really a factor at QB, nor was he really given much of an opportunity, not that he deserved it either.
The 2016 season was an improvement from the 2015 disaster but still very much felt like a disaster in and of itself. Primarily, the season was shrouded was again in poor performance from the QB1 position. The optimism for 2017 seemed bleak because there was not a qb on the roster in 2016 that anybody wanted back in 2017. Not a single one.
Insert Jarrett Stidham....
Continued in Part 3.
