Ad Disclosure
Nick Marshall has said in recent months his dream is to play quarterback in the NFL, however, that dream may alter somewhat.
ESPN draft analyst projects the Auburn signal-caller as a defensive back at the next level. According to Kiper, Marshall could be taken as high as the fourth round, should he make the switch.
Numerous collegiate quarterbacks have switched positions during the last two decades, though not many made the change to defense.
“You project them to wide receiver, some move to running back, or that safety spot,” Kiper said Thursday, according to AL.com. “For Nick Marshall, that’s a possibility. I could see him in the fourth round, fifth-round picks as a DB.”
Former Georgia quarterback Hines Ward began the trend of switching positions for the opportunity at an NFL career. Since Ward, Indiana’s Antwaan Randel-El, Missouri’s Brad Smith and Kent State’s Julian Edelman all have made the switch to wideout in the NFL.
Marshall is as electrifying a player with the ball in his hands as anyone in the SEC. However, because he began his career at Georgia at cornerback, the shift back to defense is feasible.
“That’s what was thought about him coming out of high school, going through the process, that he would be a [defensive back],” Kiper said. “That seems to be where he would figure.”
Though Marshall has said since his arrival on the Plains that he desired to play under center at the next level, he has softened that position and said he’d be willing to make a change.
“It’s just something I have to think about,” Marshall told AL.com in a November interview. “As of right now, I’m open to play anything, but I’m looking to play quarterback.”
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
