Mel Kiper: Nick Marshall’s future in NFL is at defensive back

AUBURN, Ala. (TNS) — As time has gone on, Nick Marshall’s stance on the NFL has softened. Upon winning the starting quarterback job during Auburn’s 2013 fall camp, Marshall, time and again, would reiterate that was the position he wanted to play in the pros.

But last month, Marshall retreated from that a bit.

“It’s just something I have to think about,” he replied when asked whether he would be willing to play defensive back in the NFL. “As of right now, I’m open to play anything, but I’m looking to play quarterback.”

According to Mel Kiper, that’s a smart decision.

“With Marshall, I’d say he’s a defensive back, a safety/corner, special teams guy,” ESPN’s draft expert said during a conference call Thursday. “That’s what everybody thought he would be (in college), but of course, he developed into a heck of a quarterback.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Marshall made the move from quarterback to defensive back. After four stellar seasons at tiny Wilcox County (Ga.) High School — where he led the Patriots to the 2009 Class A championship and left as the state’s career leader for touchdown passes (103) — Marshall arrived at Georgia and immediately shifted to defense. With Aaron Murray entrenched as the Bulldogs’ starting signal-caller, there was no need to waste Marshall’s talents sitting on the bench.

With that, he became a cornerback, appearing in 13 games as a backup at the spot in 2011.

“We believed he could be one of the best cornerbacks in America,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said earlier this year. “We believed he could be a very high draft pick as a corner as well. He’s that talented of a guy.”

After he was dismissed from Georgia in February 2012, Marshall transferred to Garden City Community College in Kansas. It was there he returned to quarterback, which has continued since he arrived in Auburn.

Even though it’s been three years since Marshall has lined up in the secondary, Kiper said it’s evident the tools are still there.

“You can see the toughness when he’s running with the football, the athleticism, the feet,” Kiper said. “To me, it’s something you’ll look at and say, OK, there’s been some guys who’ve made the move to safety.”

That group includes a Super Bowl-winning coach in Tony Dungy (who played quarterback at Minnesota) along with Ohio State’s Rex Kern and Oklahoma’s Jack Mildred. Even though all of three of those players starred in the 1970s, Kiper isn’t worried about Marshall’s transition.

After all, he’ll have ample time to show scouts he has what it takes to make it as an NFL-caliber defensive back.

“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,” Kiper said. “He’ll project into the defensive secondary and have a chance to be a later-round pick.”

Kiper then got more specific, highlighting which rounds he expects the probable quarterback-turned-defensive back to come off the board.

“I think for Nick Marshall,” Kiper said, “I can see him in the fourth-, fifth-round mix.”