One of the bands stands out, and not just because it’s twice as wide as the others. It’s black with bold white lettering that reads: “KEEP CALM.”
An elementary phrase, but it's fitting given Marshall’s topsy-turvy college career. His aunt gave it to him during the offseason as a reminder all goals are attainable, even through tough times. The message resonated for Marshall on a bumpy road to Auburn, one not many touted high school recruits travel. In fact, teammates and coaches admit they didn’t see him bouncing back the way he has from last year’s dismissal from Georgia football.
Yet here he is, resurrected on the Plains of Auburn as the maestro of an awe-inspiring victory over his former team, still leading the Tigers through the biggest turnaround in college football.
And yes, he’s keeping calm.
A Georgia peach
Once upon a time, Marshall was a four-star prospect in a pivotal recruiting class for Georgia coach Mark Richt. It was 2011, with the Bulldogs coming off their first losing season under Richt and their worst since 1996. Fans, media and outsiders questioned the state of the program and particularly Richt’s future.
The coach cooled his hot seat with that class, the nation’s fifth best, according to Scout.com. What made the group special was that all but six of the 26 signees came from within the state, marking the second most homegrown commitments during Richt’s 13-year tenure.
The crew pegged themselves the “Dream Team” — would-be saviors of Bulldog Nation.
One of those Georgia natives was Marshall, hailing from the tiny town of Rochelle. Coming off a stellar season at quarterback for the Wilcox County Patriots, he arrived in Athens as a defensive back intent on splitting time between football and basketball. It made more than enough sense: Marshall still holds the high school state record with 103 touchdown passes and was twice named AP Class A Basketball Player of the Year.
Yet Marshall never made it to the hardwood. Defensive attrition forced the Bulldogs to burn his redshirt, and he poured his focus into football, playing in all but one game his freshman year. It was a small but important role in Richt’s larger resurrection, culminating in a 10-win season and Georgia’s first trip to the SEC title game in six years.
Less than two months later, on a brisk Friday afternoon in February of last year, Richt announced Marshall would be dismissed from the team.
Fortune turned sour
Georgia’s decision cited a “violation of team rules,” which was widely reported as theft from a teammate’s dorm. Two others also were removed from the team, and while no charges were ever filed, the damage was done.
“It’s a privilege to play college football and to be a part of this team and University of Georgia,” Richt said in a statement after the dismissal. “Along with that privilege comes certain responsibilities. Mistakes were made and part of our job is helping them learn from mistakes.”
Returning to Wilcox County, Marshall prepared to learn from his mistakes.
Within the week, he was enrolled at Garden City Community College in Kansas. By fall, he was back to his native role of quarterback. He led Garden City to a 6-4 record while posting Madden-esque numbers; 4,237 all-purpose yards and 37 touchdowns.
Before season’s end, Marshall’s phone was buzzing with offers to return to Division I. One of the first came from first-year Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn, who was the offensive coordinator for the Cam Newton-powered Auburn team that won the 2010 BCS National Championship. It was safe to say that he’d had a little experience, and some success, turning talented-but-troubled quarterbacks into winners.
He also had a move back to Auburn in the works. Marshall would be tagging along.
The next Newton?
Comparisons were drawn well before Marshall arrived on the Plains. Heck, even before he’d made his first official visit.
Georgia native. Dual-sport athlete. Dual-threat quarterback. Tremendous potential. Signed with top-flight SEC program. Dismissed after theft. Restored career in community college. Returned to the SEC. All Marshall needed to add was “Brought an elite program back to prominence.”
Easy enough.
Entering fall camp, he was slated as the fourth quarterback on Auburn’s depth chart. Last year’s starter, Kiehl Frazier, has moved to defense and the other three candidates were freshmen, transfers or other unprovens like Marshall. The JUCO transfer was named the starter midway through fall camp, just two weeks before Auburn’s season opener.
Other than a 35-21 loss at then-No. 6 LSU, the first month of the season was smooth sailing. Marshall said he became more comfortable in Malzahn’s offense, and it showed with an aerial attack consisting of 902 yards and four touchdowns.
Open spaces in the passing game soon gave way to open lanes in the running game. He’s posted more rush yards than pass in three of the seven games since Auburn’s lone loss and is a big reason the Tigers rank third nationally in rushing at 320 yards per game.
Marshall’s signature win didn’t come until mid-October, when he led the Tigers into Aggie Land and out-dueled defending Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel. The victory confirmed Auburn’s return to relevance and springboarded the Tigers to their second-half surge.
Marshall finally had arrived, but it was no time to celebrate.
The prayer at Jordan-Hare
Marshall restricted himself from just about everyone outside of football and family ahead of last week’s matchup against Georgia. He was not made available to the media and said he didn’t speak to any Bulldog players, as he had through much of the season.
“They’re just another team in our way trying to stop us from accomplishing what we want to do this year,” he said.
Georgia cornerback Damian Swann, Marshall’s former roommate in Athens, said he didn’t approach Marshall before the game because he didn’t want the matchup getting to his head.
“It was strange the first couple plays, but at the end of the day, you know, we’re both out there trying to win for our team,” Swann said. “When we’re in between those white lines, it’s team against team, not me against him.”
Marshall said following the game that the crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium was as raucous as he’s seen. He admitted to having some jitters in warmups, though a sideline full of former teammates staring at him across the field surely didn’t help.
With Marshall’s dominating first half performance, it looked as if the matchup against his former Dream Teamers would go Auburn’s way. That was before Aaron Murray led the Bulldogs to a comeback for the ages.
As Georgia churned out 21 unanswered points to take a 38-37 lead, the Jordan-Hare crowd breathlessly sunk in their seats. The Auburn offense remained at ease on the sideline.
All Marshall had to do was look down at his wristband.
“I just kept calm,” he said. “I didn’t get frustrated at all. You can’t get frustrated playing quarterback. (Maintaining composure) is just something I’ve done my whole life. It’s really just the next down.”
The Tigers got the ball back with just 1:45 left, quickly digging themselves into fourth-and-forever. Needing 18 yards for a first down and roughly 40 to reach field goal range, the fat lady’s choir began to echo outside Jordan-Hare during the game’s final timeout.
That’s when Auburn wide receiver Ricardo Louis approached Marshall with a demand the quarterback get him the ball.
“I told him the whole game that I wanted the ball in my hand,” said Louis, who finished with a career-high 131 yards. “Whether it was running or catching the ball, I wanted the ball in my hands. I told Nick before that play, and told him to throw me the ball, and I made a play.”
The replay of what happened next has been shown more times in four days than any this season. It’s footage neither Auburn nor Georgia fans will ever forget.
Marshall took the snap and dropped back, maneuvering through the pocket as pressure closed in. With one final crow-hop, he heaved the ball to Louis in double-coverage. Georgia safeties Tray Matthews and Josh Harvey-Clemons collided when attempting to intercept the ball, tipping it to Louis. He caught it in stride and scored.
In 10 seconds, a hallmark comeback of Murray’s iconic career was reduced to a heart-wrenching loss.
Marshall, the one who used to don the red and black, was on the field celebrating with his new teammates.
“He has that ‘it’ factor,” Malzahn said of Marshall. “He’s a special player.”
Restoring luster to Iron Bowl
Auburn’s victory ensured the Nov. 30 tilt with Alabama will determine the SEC West representative in the conference title game. With both teams ranking among the top six in the BCS, and with national title implications, this might be the biggest Iron Bowl yet.
Yet Alabama’s dominance was predicted. Auburn’s placement among the country’s elite remains the story. One year removed from irrelevancy, the Tigers’ rebound parallels Marshall’s.
“If a guy has a situation where he doesn’t finish here at Georgia, a guy that signed with us, my goal is for him to find a new home and have success at it,” Richt said.
Added Swann: “I’m proud of Nick. I’m happy to have a friend like that, to go through some things and still be able to bounce back from it and still be doing something good with it. It’s good for me to say I know that guy, I stayed with that guy — a good guy.”
Bouncing back. Keeping calm. It’s as if Auburn and Marshall were meant for each other.
