Brilliant debut has unhappy ending for Jackets’ Marshall
ATLANTA — The final play was a most unfitting way for TaQuon Marshall to end his brilliant debut as Georgia Tech’s starting quarterback.
Flinging the ball toward a teammate in a desperation heave.
Flat on his back after a broken play.
Up to then, Marshall had turned in one of the greatest performances in school history.
Officially named the starter just minutes before the first game of the season, the junior carried the ball a staggering 44 times for 249 yards and five touchdowns against Tennessee on Monday night. He also passed for 120 yards, completing five of nine and showing a surprisingly strong arm out of the triple-option offense.
It was the most rushing yards ever by a Georgia Tech quarterback, breaking the mark of 199 set by Eddie Prokop in the 1944 Sugar Bowl. It was the most touchdowns scored by any Yellow Jackets player, regardless of position. It was all for naught. The Volunteers rallied from a pair of two-touchdown deficits in the second
half before surviving 42-41 in double overtime, stuffing Marshall on a two-point-conversion attempt when the Yellow Jackets decided to go for the win rather than settle for a tying PAT.
“He played his tail off,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “He played tremendously.”
Until the end, but that wasn’t totally his fault.
Marshall took the snap at the 3 and rolled right, looking for a hole. The blocking broke down, leaving him with no chance to get to the end zone. As he was about to go down, he flipped the ball toward KirVonte Benson in a desperate bid to salvage something.
The ball touched the turf, prompting the nearest official immediately to signal an incomplete pass even though it looked like a possible lateral.
Benson grabbed the ball and tried to power into the end zone. It wasn’t clear if he got in. It didn’t matter. Game over.
“We had numbers of the backside. Reversed out and tried to get outside of it. Then overran it and I thought I could get up under it,” Marshall said. “It might have been a little selfish of me.”
He scored three touchdowns in regulation and added scoring plays of 1 and 13 yards in the extra periods.