At the SEC Media Days earlier today, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn declined to state one way or the other whether Nick Marshall would be suspended for the season opener against Arkansas following a marijuana citation late last week.
If the head coach goes strictly by the book, however, the starting quarterback won’t miss a down. Probably. Maybe.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution sifted through AU’s 17-page drug policy in an attempt to figure out if there were any automatic triggers that would result in the loss of playing time for Marshall. Based on the Journal-Constitution‘s findings, a suspension for any length of games isn’t warranted, with one proviso.
From the paper:Assuming an arrest for possession qualifies as a positive test and it’s Marshall’s first-such encounter at Auburn, Marshall’s parents or guardians will be informed, he will be required to attend counseling and evaluation and he’ll be subjected to weekly drug-testing for the next 12 months.
And according to item 4 (a), “there will be no loss of playing time (for) penalty level I.”
Again, that’s assuming this is a first offense for Marshall, which there is no way of knowing.Of course, Malzahn could go against the policy if no suspension is warranted and sit his star player anyway for the Razorbacks game, although that seems highly unlikely given the innocuous nature of Marshall’s legal predicament. A decision and announcement is expected to take place at some point after the start of summer camp in early August.