TaQuon Marshall is preparing for his second season leading Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack, but the quarterback is going to miss some practice this season.
According to Ken Segiura of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Marshall left Monday’s session 40 minutes early because of class.
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson had a simple explanation for the departure: “School trumps practice.”
Segiura notes Marshall wasn’t the only Yellow Jackets starter who departed early — among others, left tackle Will Bryan did, too — but Johnson acknowledged the impact of Marshall’s absence.
“It wasn’t just the quarterback. We had quite a few, but yeah, (losing) the quarterback is big.”
Marshall burst onto the scene in 2017, scampering for 249 yards and five touchdowns in his first career start. He ended the campaign with 1,146 yards and 17 scores on the ground, but Georgia Tech finished 5-6.
Although the ACC Coastal isn’t full of elite teams, the schedule is problematic for the Yellow Jackets. They’ll head to Louisville on a Friday night and Virginia Tech on a Thursday, so those Mondays will be reserved for game prep instead of conditioning. That means Marshall could miss valuable reps.
But as long as the NCAA demands these players be called student-athletes, the student aspect must come first.