Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn was the first coach on the podium at the 2014 SEC Media Days in Birmingham, Ala., and right off the bat he addressed his decision to replace quarterback Nick Marshall at the week-long event with tight end C.J. Uzomah following Marshall’s citation for marijuana possession while in Georgia last Friday. Marshall was initially pulled over for excessive window tinting, but pot was later found above the sun visor in his car.
“Nick lost that privilege,” Malzahn said. “We have high expectations for our players, but specifically our quarterback being the face of the program. Up until last Friday, Nick had been a model student, teammate and citizen. Nick made a mistake and he’ll have to deal with the consequences.”
Malzahn did not go into detail about the punishment for his Heisman candidate, but it was very apparent that he’s extremely disappointed in his senior signal-caller. Marshall completed 142 of 239 passes for 1,976 yards and 14 touchdowns — with six interceptions — in his first year as the starter. He also rushed for 1,068 yards and 12 scores in captaining an offense that became the first SEC team in history to lead the nation in rushing (328.3 ypg.).
In addition to addressing the Marshall situation, Malzahn gave an update on the status of defensive end Carl Lawson, a Lindy’s preseason second-team All-SEC selection. Lawson, who had four sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss as a Freshman All-American last season, injured his ACL in the spring and had surgery in May. Malzahn said Lawson was aiming to return toward the end of the year.
“Carl is working extremely hard,” Malzahn said. “He’s determined to come back at the end of this year.”
The loss of the 6-2, 261-pound sophomore is a blow to Auburn’s defense. He drew rave reviews from teammates following spring practices, and senior defensive tackle Gabe Wright told me he was “unblockable” at times. But if there’s one unit that could lose a player of Lawson’s caliber it’s the AU defensive line. The Tigers are talented, versatile and deep along the defensive front. But losing a player of Lawson’s caliber stings.
Auburn came out of nowhere to win the SEC last season and came within seconds of winning the national title. With 14 starters back, the Tigers are attempting to become the first team to win back-to-back league titles since Tennessee achieved the feat during the 1997-98 seasons. Malzahn knows winning the league two years in a row will be a challenge, but the goals never change for the second-year Tigers’ head coach. He wants his team to be champions year-in, year-out.
“It’s been awhile (for a SEC repeat champion),” Malzahn said. “That says it all. That is a goal of ours, but we understand how hard it will be.”