After a month of evaluating its options, Texas is making a move for a junior college quarterback.
Garden City (Kan.) Community College three-star quarterback Nick Marshall told HornsNation he has a scholarship offer from Texas and has scheduled an official visit for the weekend of Jan. 18.
Marshall said he spoke with new offensive coordinator Major Applewhite this week and specifically asked where he stood on an offer. He was happy with the news he got.
“I asked him if I have a scholarship from there, and they told me I have one,” Marshall said. “I was excited. It came out of nowhere.”
The No. 5-ranked juco quarterback prospect nearly committed to either Indiana or Kansas State earlier this month, but he opted to hold off in the hopes he could take a visit to Austin.
Bryan Harsin was his original recruiter, so Marshall wasn’t sure if Texas would continue to show interest. Applewhite reached out to him this week to sell Marshall on what he could do for the Longhorns.
“He basically said they need another Vince Young-type guy and I could fit their program well with the stuff they run and the stuff they could utilize with me under center,” Marshall said.
A 6-foot-2, 210-pound dual-threat quarterback, Marshall earned second-team NJCAA All-America honors in his only season at Garden City. He started his career as a defensive back at Georgia in 2011 before transferring to the junior college.
Marshall accounted for 3,786 total yards with 18 passing touchdowns, 18 rushing scores and 19 interceptions in 2012.
He won’t graduate from Garden City until May and would not join a college program until this summer, but Marshall does have three years to play two seasons.
The fact that he’s not a spring enrollee means Marshall has more time to let his recruitment play out, and he’s glad he’ll get a chance to visit Texas.
“I’m pretty excited,” Marshall said. “I can’t wait to see how it is when I go. Coach Applewhite said he was ready to get me out there on a visit and see what I’m like.”
Marshall said Indiana, Kansas State and Texas remain his three favorite schools, and Auburn recently contacted him to gauge his interest.
For now, he’d like to reach his final decision immediately following his visit to Texas, and no trip to Auburn is in the works at this point.
Texas evaluated two other 2013 juco quarterbacks -- Kansas State signee Jake Waters and Tanner McEvoy -- while Harsin was still at UT but didn’t offer either. The Longhorns currently have four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster and four-star Tyrone Swoopes (Whitewright, Texas/Whitewright) will enroll in January.