Nick Marshall has really impressed me this season with his passing ability.
We all know he can run and he’s extremely athletic, but he was very accurate this year throwing the ball.
Marshall ended his collegiate career by throwing for 217 yards on 15 of 22 with two touchdown passes. His touchdown pass to C.J Uzomah was one of the better passes I’ve seen during the bowl season.
Here’s a look at the pinpoint throw from Marshall.
I’m not sure how to describe this offensive formation, but there’s one actual wide receiver to the field, and C.J. Uzomah to the boundary as a flexed tight end. The situation is a precocious one: third-and-7 in the fourth quarter with the Tigers down 21-17.
Now let’s break this down. You see the boundary corner pressed Uzomah with a cover 2 shell behind about 10 yards off the ball. That’s pretty standard third-and-long coverage.
You can see here that the boundary safety jumped the flat route after Marshall pumped toward it, leaving Uzomah in 1-on-1 coverage.
Here’s what’s really impressive and something you don’t typically see from a running quarterback. Marshall sees a blitzing linebacker right in his face and stands in the pocket to deliver the ball. Usually, when a scrambler sees that, he is high-tailing it out of there.
Look at the coverage on Uzomah here. You can’t ask for better coverage. But a great throw beats great coverage every single time. The ball placement by Marshall couldn’t have been any better. You can see the Wisconsin defensive back right on Uzomah’s back but couldn’t reach out and deflect the ball.
Marshall may not have the size of an NFL quarterback, but he really has impressed me with his arm strength and accuracy this year.
The Man. The Myth. The Legend.
