The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Marshall's throwing 'a work in progress'
Quarterback focusing on fundamentals, mechanics this spring.
Georgia Tech’s spring scrimmages and practices are closed to the public and media, so what can be learned about the Yellow Jackets largely is up to what coach Paul Johnson and his players choose to disclose.
On Monday, Johnson shared a particularly juicy statistic from the team’s Saturday morning scrimmage: Quarterback TaQuon Marshall completed 10 of 13 passes.
“The stats were better, but it’s still a work in progress,” Johnson said.
For Tech fans who hope for more out of the passing game next season, perhaps the key word in Johnson’s assessment was “progress.” Last season, Marshall’s first as the starter, he completed 37.1 percent of his passes. Marshall’s predecessor, Justin Thomas, had season completion averages of
51.3 percent, 41.7 percent and 53.4 percent.
At the start of spring practice, Marshall said he had flaws in his passing delivery he wanted to correct, notably dropbacks were too short and a tendency to overstride when he stepped into his throws. Marshall said Monday, after the ninth of 15 spring practices, he had definitely progressed.
“Because I know the first scrimmage, I left some balls out there that probably weren’t thrown too well — well, they weren’t thrown too well,” he said. “Missed a lot of wide-open guys. So that was one of the things that I really wanted to focus on going into the next scrimmage, just trying to hit the wide-open guys and just make some crisp reads and crisp passes.”
Marshall said he was taking the prescribed dropbacks, which has helped provide a better field of vision. “We’re not going to change his throwing motion; he’s a senior in college,” Johnson said. “But it’s more the mechanical stuff. I’m talking about, like, if it’s a threestep drop, take a three-step drop. If it calls for five, take five. If it’s a sprintout, get your shoulders square, get yourself in position. Because he’s got the ability to throw the ball if he gives himself a chance. But you’ve got to get fundamentals down to get set.”
Marshall’s 10 completions were a mix of short passes and downfield shots. Four of the completions went for 15 yards or longer, although one was a screen pass, according to a loose tally kept by Tech’s communications office. Wide receiver Jalen Camp caught a 20-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline and won a 40-yard jump ball.
“It’s reps,” Johnson said. “We talk about experience; he played for a year, right? We forget that he’s not like JT ( Justin Thomas), who was a three-year starter. So I think the more reps he gets every day, I’m sure he can tell you he learned something every day. That’s the nature of the game.”
It portends well for an offense that will bring back 10 starters, including Marshall, who started at least six games last season. Tech’s offense is run-based but thrives when it can pick up chunks of yardage off play-action passes. For instance, the Yellow Jackets produced 12 pass plays of 40 yards or more in 2016, sixth in the ACC. They did so despite attempting only 160 passes, whereas the rest of the league averaged 437 attempts.