Ex-Harris star Marshall has big scrimmage at QB

TaQuon Marshall’s move from A-back to quarterback may have more meaning than originally thought.

The sophomore from Harris County switched positions on Monday and quickly made his presence felt during Saturday’s scrimmage at Bobby Dodd stadium.

Marshall threaded the needle between two defenders to threw a touchdown pass to Mikell Lands-Davis. Marshall also found wide receiver Ricky Jeune on a long touchdown pass and also ran up the middle for a touchdown.

“TaQuon Marshall did some really good things,” coach Paul Johnson said. “I think that’s going to be a good move. He’s quick … hard to tackle.”

Marshall could challenge Matthew Jordan for playing time as the No. 2 quarterback behind Justin Thomas. He is quicker than Jordan, but is just beginning to learn the position at Georgia Tech, although he was a quarterback in high school.

There were 124 snaps in the second scrimmage of the spring. The defense played well early in the day, with linebacker Chase Alford and defensive end Desmond Branch making tackles for loss in the backfield. Victor Alexander, who is expected to compete for time, recovered a fumble.

Line issues continue

A sore point on Saturday continued to be the lack of consistency on the offensive line, which lost two starters to graduation and is without starting center Freddie Burden (thumb injury).

“Something’s going to happen,” Johnson said. “Not going to watch that again. I’m sick of it.”

The Yellow Jackets still aren’t healthy there. In addition to Burden’s injury, Chris Griffin has been limited in his return from ACL surgery. Griffin is also being moved from tackle to guard. Griffin and Shamire Devine are expected to be the right guards.

The left guard in spring has been Andrew Marshall, normally the backup to Burden at center. That left Michael Muns at center.

“Pretty frustrating,” Johnson said. “Doesn’t seem to be getting any better.”

Depth at defensive back

Step Durham is expected to play a key role in the secondary this fall. He played eight games last year, mostly as the backup to graduated cornerback D.J. White, and started against Florida State. He finished with seven solo tackles.

“I’m working on my technique and trying to get better every time I touch the field,” said Durham, a junior from Jacksonville.

Durham singled out the play of Lance Austin and Jalen Johnson in spring practice.

Austin played 10 games last season and had five tackles, but is best known for returning a blocked field goal 78 yards to beat Florida State in what is commonly known as the “Miracle on Techwood Drive.” Johnson played in 10 games last year on special teams.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Ex-Harris star Marshall has big scrimmage at QB."