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Recapping Auburn’s pro day: Marshall works out as both QB and DB

Ethan Levine

By Ethan Levine

Published:

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Nick Marshall was seen as “an athlete who can play quarterback” during his two years as the starter at Auburn, and many have questioned whether he can play the position in the NFL now that his college career has come to an end.

Marshall changed positions and played cornerback in the Senior Bowl in January to begin showing scouts what he can do as a football player, not just as a quarterback. He underwent defensive back drills at the combine last month and at Auburn’s Pro Day on Tuesday, but he hasn’t dropped the quarterback position entirely, at least not yet.

The former Tigers signal caller threw for scouts in Auburn’s practice facility on Tuesday, and the results, albeit in a familiar territory with his own receivers catching passes, were fairly promising.

Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn still feels Marshall can play quarterback at the next level, a stance he has maintained throughout Marshall’s pre-draft process.

“There’s no doubt in the right system he can get it done,” Malzahn told SEC Network analyst Matt Stinchcomb during the live broadcast of the Pro Day. “You’re talking about one of the best read-option quarterbacks in the history of college football, and he’s a winner.”

It will all depend on where he’s drafted and the makeup of that team’s roster in determining where he will play in the NFL and if he’ll find success at that position. But Tuesday cemented that Marshall is still interested in playing quarterback if he can convince a coach at the next level to give him a chance.

Marshall also put on 10 pounds between the combine and his Pro Day, weighing in at 217 pounds on Tuesday, which was actually more than wideout Sammie Coates weighed (212 pounds).

The former Tigers quarterback went through defensive back drills as well and even did some work with the special teams to show off his versatility to scouts from all 32 NFL teams.

Coates, one of the top wide receiver prospects in the draft, said he felt good about his workout. The wideout noted his goal was to prove he is a good route runner and that he has good hands, and admitted he felt he’d achieved the goal on Tuesday.

Coates received heavy attention from one man in attendance in particular: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. The coach and wideout were seen together numerous times throughout the day, and Coates could provide a much-needed deep threat in New England’s offense as a late-first-round pick to the defending champs.

Another player who impressed Tuesday was tailback Corey Grant, who spent the last two seasons backing up the SEC’s leading rusher (Tre Mason in 2013 and Cameron Artis-Payne in 2014). Grant has speed to burn but needed a strong Pro Day to stick out amongst the other tailbacks in this year’s draft class.

He did just that, clocking in with a 40 time of under 4.3 seconds. Grant also went through tailback drills and worked with the special teams, and claimed he thinks there’s a home for him in the NFL as an all-purpose scat back.

For what it’s worth, Grant also completed 22 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press before running that 4.26 second 40.

Malzahn agreed with Grant’s assertion that he can make it as a tailback in the NFL.

“He can run. He carries his pads extremely well,” Malzahn said. “Good kid, hard worker.”

Tight end C.J. Uzomah had a promising workout as he tries to catch on as either a tight end or lesser-used h-back in the NFL. His 40 time and broad jump both would have ranked in the top 5 among tight ends at the combine last month.

Full list of Auburn Pro Day participants: Cameron Artis-Payne, Angelo Blackson, Ben Bradley, Quan Bray, Sammie Coates, Reese Dismukes, Brandon Fulse, Corey Grant, Forrest Hill, Brandon King, Nick Marshall, Patrick Miller, Jonathon Mincy, LaDarius Owens, Trovon Reed, Chad Slade, Robenson Therezie, C.J. Uzomah, Jeffrey Whitaker, Jermaine Whitehead and Gabe Wright.

OTHER NEWS & NOTES FROM AUBURN’S PRO DAY

(Tweet is referring to WR Quan Bray, DB Robensen Therezie, DL Angelo Blackson, RB Corey Grant, OL Chad Slade and DL LaDarius Owens.)

(DB Jonathon Mincy.)

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Ethan Levine

A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.

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