Florida State is full steam ahead in fall camp, with the start of the season a little over two weeks away. These practices are giving multiple players the chance to stand out to the coaching staff, and junior quarterback Malachi Marshall has quickly done it.
The Seminoles wrapped up their second team scrimmage on Sunday night, and after the session, the quarterback was able to impress his head coach. When speaking to the media, Norvell expressed enthusiasm for Marshall.
"Really excited about him. Great arm talent, he's an exciting player to watch.... What I've really appreciated about him is coming in the summer. The amount of time he's spending, the amount of study that he's done to have a grasp," Norvell said.
Norvell added that he still has room to grow to learn the offense, but Marshall has come in and earned the respect of his teammates on and off the field. While Ashton Daniels is QB1, it seems Marshall can find his way into the QB2 role. And that could be a problem for sophomore quarterback Kevin Sperry.
Florida State's QB battle just got more interesting after scrimmage update
Sperry was a four-star recruit coming out of high school and has been with the program for two years. He was a player scouted by Norvell, but he hasn't done enough to lock down the backup QB role.
He's been under Norvell's guidance, but that doesn't mean he's done enough to secure any job. While redshirting last year, he played in three games, going 12-of-17 for 194 yards and two touchdowns in those games.
Although he's still a young signal-caller, it sounds like Marshall can make something shake. He transferred to Florida State this offseason but officially enrolled at the university in May. That gave him a later start in terms of getting on the field and learning the playbook.
In addition, he missed the first scrimmage due to an undisclosed injury. It's been less than ideal to start his career as a Seminole, yet Marshall stood out in the second scrimmage.
He started his college career at Stony Brook before transferring to Iowa Western Community College. He became one of the best JUCO quarterbacks in the nation there. He led them to a 12-1 record and the NJCAA Division I National Championship. Across 13 games, Marshall had 2,750 passing yards for 33 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Despite doing that at the junior college level, he clearly has the tools to be a successful quarterback. Norvell calling out his arm strength and ability to quickly process things is impressive.
The Seminoles haven't been able to develop quarterbacks under Norvell's tenure. Sperry has time to change that narrative, but he has to keep Marshall off his heels.
Sperry had the upper hand over Marshall in terms of time, yet things can change in a hurry. If Marshall continues to play well in practice and show the staff more than Sperry has, he could certainly be the backup on this team. The next couple of weeks will be big for this battle, but Marshall has entered the conversation.
Add us as a preferred source on Google