If Nick Marshall wants to draw a paycheck for playing football, it won’t be as a quarterback.

The Auburn senior could become a late-round pick as a defensive back if he commits whole-heartedly to a position change after Thursday’s Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.

Marshall will line up behind center against the Badgers. But then he’ll face a likely reality: That’s his final game as a starting quarterback, unless he wants to play rec-league flag football someday.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound athlete has been a terrific fit for coach Gus Malzahn’s offense at Auburn. He’s a tremendous runner, executes the read-option and play-action effectively and he possesses above-average arm strength. In short, Marshall and the Tigers can exploit any weakness in a defensive alignment in large part due to his dual abilities.

Marshall has run for more than 1,800 yards and 23 touchdowns in the last two seasons, averaging 5.8 yards per carry.

“While he doesn’t have elite lateral agility, Marshall is a shifty runner who has excellent acceleration to exploit creases, and he also flashes an extra gear to take it the distance when reaching the second level,” ESPN’s Kevin Weidl wrote in October.

But as a throwing quarterback, despite improved mechanics, good physical ability (other than size) and some elite NFL receivers, Marshall’s progress barley has produced incremental gains in production.

There are several reasons he’ll never play the position again.

NO. 1: HE’S OPEN TO CHANGE

Quarterbacks can be stubborn.

Tim Tebow, for example, wouldn’t even consider playing in the Canadian Football League and following the Doug Flutie route. Though NFL teams didn’t show much interest in moving him to tight end or H-back, the media asked him about it several times, and he basically responded with “quarterback or bust.”

Much like many great college players, non-quarterbacks, were signal-callers in high school as the most athletic player on their team, there are a handful of former college QBs who have made careers as NFL players at other positions.

The list includes Antwaan Randle El, Hines Ward (who played some quarterback at Georgia), Denard Robinson and Julian Edelman, among others.

“It’s just something I have to think about,” Marshall said on Nov. 20, according to AL.com. “As of right now, I’m open to play anything, but I’m looking to play quarterback.”

That’s a much softer stance than Marshall gave reporters earlier in his career, and as recently as last summer.

NO. 2: HE’S NOT ACCURATE ENOUGH AS A QB

Now hold on, you may say.

What about Cam Newton? Russell Wilson? Colin Kaepernick? Even Robert Griffin III when he was healthy?

Athletic quarterbacks with the ability to run have become more commonplace in the NFL in the last three seasons. But all of those quarterbacks have something Marshall does not: passing accuracy.

Operating within Malzahn’s offense, Newton completed 66.1 percent of his passes during his 2010 Heisman season. Wilson in his final year at Wisconsin? Completed 72.8 percent of his throws. Kapernick (64.9 percent) and Griffin III (72.4 percent) also did well in their final college seasons.

Throwing to the likes of Duke Williams, Sammie Coates, Quan Bray and Ricardo Lewis, Marshall has completed just 60.1 percent of his passes. Auburn’s receivers have dropped plenty of passes, but in a hurry-up, no-huddle system with such an effective running game, Marshall often is throwing into wide zones with just three defenders dropping back into coverage. Despite his strong arm and ability to throw deep, he doesn’t anticipate throws, throw receivers open or hit receivers in stride.

(By contrast, backup Jeremy Johnson has completed 73.1 percent of his passes at Auburn in 78 throws.)

It’s hard to say exactly what that completion percentage in Auburn’s offense translates to in a pro-style offense against a defense that isn’t as overmatched, but it’s bound to be well below 60 percent, not a winning formula in the NFL.

Quarterbacks like Wilson, Kaepernick and Andrew Luck use their athletic ability to buy more time in the pocket, keeping plays alive to throw downfield. Marshall has improved at that, but he’s just not a pro-caliber pocket passer.

NO. 3: HE’S GOT NFL ATHLETICISM

Initially enrolled at Georgia, Marshall played special teams and cornerback before getting kicked off the team due to theft.

Marshall also was slated to play basketball for the Bulldogs, though he said in a recent interview that he probably would’ve focused solely on football. But the fact that he could’ve played hoops for an SEC team is telling.

Also, as a high school freshman, he joined the track team two weeks before the state qualifying meet and finished fifth in the high jump, clearing 6 feet, 4 inches. That’s a good indication Marshall also could’ve been a star as a Division I high-jumper.

NFL scouts hope they could stash him at cornerback and safety and corral that elite athleticism into a position that better fits his skill set as a pro player.

“With Marshall, I’d say he’s a defensive back, a safety/corner, special teams guy,” ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. said during a conference call with reporters on Dec. 11. “That’s what everybody thought he would be (in college), but of course, he developed into a heck of a quarterback.

“At pro days he can be a guy that can showcase his ability in the secondary, just like when we talk about projecting quarterbacks at receiver. He’ll project into the defensive secondary and have a chance to be a later-round pick.”

CAREER AT AUBURN

Marshall and Malzahn teamed to lead Auburn to a surprise BCS National Championship appearance last season after near-miraculous wins against Georgia and Alabama. Despite a loss to Florida State and Jameis Winston in a thrilling fourth quarter, Marshall deserves a lot of credit for orchestrating that offense to an SEC championship.

Cited for possession of marijuana just prior to SEC media days, Marshall sat out the first part of the season opener, but rallied to guide Auburn to an 8-4 finish. Three of the losses came against teams ranked in the Top 25, and the defense performed poorly, getting coordinator Ellis Johnson fired.

Marshall has a chance to finish his career at Auburn 19-6 as a starter, including an SEC championship, a .500 record against Nick Saban’s Alabama and at least 55 total touchdowns in two seasons. That’s tremendous stuff for a young man that just three years ago was stuck at a community college trying to work his way back to the SEC.

No matter what his post-Auburn career holds, Thursday’s game against Wisconsin should be a celebration of a great college career.

The Tigers should be OK at the position, though.

Williams and Coates may both be headed to the NFL after this season, ironic considering Johnson at 6-foot-5 is much more of a traditional pocket passer. But Auburn should be in good hands with Johnson, who has a chance to be the best quarterback in the SEC next season, particularly if Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott declares for the NFL draft.