Nick Marshall had yet another game where he eclipsed 100 yards through the air and on the ground in Auburn's 41-7 victory over LSU.
But 207 passing yards, 119 rushing yards and four touchdowns is a game that can be considered perhaps his most impressive performance yet for the dual-threat quarterback, especially against an SEC team that Auburn had not beaten since the 2010 undefeated season.
Although everyone has taken notice of Marshall's ability to perform on a national stage by glancing at his statistics against LSU, players and coaches have noticed how his abilities to run and control the offense have improved this season because of his confidence and knowledge of the offense.
"Nick brings something special to the game every time he steps on that field," wide receiver Sammie Coates said. "He's a playmaker who's going to do something great every time he has the ball in his hands."
When Marshall is able to have games where he has success with running and throwing the ball, that makes it even more difficult for opposing defenses, according to Coates.
"For our quarterback to be able to get out of the pocket and still make plays, it helps us out," Coates said. "When he makes plays running the ball and throwing the ball it keeps our offense balanced and keeps defenses on their toes."
According to Coates and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, Marshall's intelligence of being able to read what the defense is bringing has given the offense more chances to have more explosive plays, which creates more points on the scoreboard.
"He can go out there and see what to do with the defense," Coates said. "He's so smart back there. He's doing a great job with knowing what to run and what we can't run. The way he is playing right now is unbelievable."
Coates also said that Marshall is the rare type of playmaker who is able to see something, such as an opening on the defense, and is able to create a successful play from it.
Marshall's increased knowledge of the offense this season has given him more responsibility and more freedom with calling more plays on his own.
According to Lashlee, Marshall has had to to make a lot of reads in a split second before or right after the snap.
"With the way we read so much stuff, whether it's zone read or power read, there are a lot of decisions being made in a split second after the snap," Lashlee said. "We don't call a lot of that stuff. I think that's why he has been such a threat doing what we're doing because he just does a really good job knowing when to call or pull something."
According to Lashlee, Marshall began to really get a good grasp of the offense during the Tennessee game last year and since then the coaches' trust in him has continued to grow to the point where now they fully trust him to make some of the play calls.
"We have a good bit of confidence in calling what we need to call and if it's not there he's going to make the most of it," Lashlee said. "As a coach you trust him more and more to call things to give him chances to make plays knowing that if it's not there he's going to make it right. That's probably the biggest change from last year to now."
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