Could Backup QB Marshall Salvage the Seminoles Season?
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The
Florida State offense is four downs of absolute torture. It is as one-sided as
a firing squad. Coach Mike Norvell must be diagramming plays in braille. In
Tallahassee, the forward pass is something that occurs when a lady is offended by
a male admirer.
Two games
into this season, Florida State (1-1) has suffered mightily in their passing
game, whether they want to admit it or not. Current starter Ashton Daniels was recruited
out of the transfer portal by Norvell to come to the third school of his
collegiate career. A transfer from Auburn and Stanford, Daniels has tried to be
balanced when it comes to his passing skills. He has thrown almost as many
interceptions (23) as he has touchdown passes (29).
And what
is the going NIL rate for a quarterback of that caliber, you ask? Between $800,000-$1
million. Do they teach investing and economics at Florida State?
Daniels has
averaged just 163 yards in each of those two games, and thrown only two
touchdown passes. Now might be the perfect time for Norvell to make a
quarterback change, and Norvell should call Malachi Marshall’s number.
Marshall
arrived over the summer after leading Iowa Western Community College to the
NJCAA national title last season. He threw for 2,750 yards, 33 touchdowns, and
just eight interceptions. In the title game, he threw three touchdown passes.
Marshall passed for a season-high 385 yards and five touchdowns in a 64-13 win
over Highland Community College. In that game, Marshall completed 22 of 27
passes (81.5 percent).
For his efforts,
Marshall was named the NJCAA Division 1 Offensive Player of the Year and
first-team JUCO All-American.
Once in
fall camp, Marshall caught the attention of the coaching staff with his passing
skills and athleticism, enough for Marshall to earn the No. 2 quarterback spot
behind Daniels. He should be elevated now.
Marshall
could provide the spark that the Seminoles passing attack so desperately needs
at this time. With a bye week looming, now is the perfect time to acclimate
Marshall to Division 1 FBS college football. Marshall should be getting live
reps in practice now and be ready to take control of the huddle in Tuscaloosa
on Sep. 19 against No. 12 Alabama. What does Florida State have to lose at this point?
This is an
opportunity for Marshall to build chemistry with All-American receiver Duce
Robinson and get him more involved in the offense. He is much too talented a
receiver to only have five catches for 75 yards and no touchdowns through two
games.
Also,
maybe it is time to shuffle some coaches around and get Tom Herman more
involved with the quarterbacks and the passing game. Norvell should have
already taken advantage of Herman’s experience with developing quarterbacks, like
Sam Ehlinger at Texas and Greg Ward Jr. at Houston.
Herman was
also the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for three years at Ohio
State under Urban Meyer. In 2014 under Herman, the Buckeyes’ offense was ranked
in the top ten and averaged 498 yards and 44 points per game, on their way to
winning the national championship.
The
pressure on Norvell has to be intense. The fan base is calling for his
dismissal. With 18 losses over the past two years and two games, Norvell has to
make personnel decisions, among both coaches and players alike. Those decisions
must result in wins on the field this season. Insert Marshall into the game as
the starting quarterback. If it works, Norvell is a genius. If not, Norvell
could be wearing a dunce cap in the corner, waiting for that expensive pink
slip.
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