Senior Spotlight: Taquan Marshall

By: Andy Demetra

They offered him a chance, which frankly, was more than the other schools did.

Despite throwing for 18 touchdowns and rushing for 12 more as an all-state quarterback at Harris County High School in Hamilton, Ga., most colleges pigeonholed TaQuon Marshall as a wide receiver or defensive back, believing his statistics were secondary to his measurements (5-foot-11, 185 pounds).

Paul Johnson, of course, has made a living on zigging where others zag. He offered Marshall a scholarship during a Junior Day visit, giving him a chance — not a promise, just a chance — to prove himself first at quarterback.

Marshall weighed the other offers, but decided to bet on himself.

“I chose Georgia Tech just because I knew I would have the opportunity to play early and then possibly transition to quarterback, because that was the position I had played my whole life. Just getting that opportunity from Coach Johnson and having the support from my family and teammates, it’s made it well worth it,” said Marshall.

Four years later, as he prepares for his final game as a Yellow Jacket, Marshall has made the most of that opportunity. After starting his career as an A-Back, Marshall will make his 23rd career start at quarterback for Georgia Tech (7-5) when it takes on Minnesota (6-6) in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit.

His final year may be a microcosm of his Tech career: shifting roles, persevering through ups and downs, but ultimately never straying from making an impact. Marshall may be the only quarterback in the Football Bowl Subdivision with a punt return: he recorded that during his first game against Alcorn State in 2015. Marshall’s contributions were modest in his first two seasons, serving as an A-Back in 2015 before settling in as Tech’s third-string quarterback as a sophomore.

"It’s one of those things that you kind of dream about when you’re a little kid, being in a clutch situation and pulling through."

He burst onto the scene in his first start in 2017, shattering school records in a 44-carry, 259-yard rushing performance against Tennessee. That performance, though, was tempered by the sting of a double-overtime loss to the Volunteers. Marshall broke the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback in 2017, but had to endure the disappointment — and for a quarterback, the burden — of a 5-6 finish. Individual accomplishments have been numerous for Marshall, but team success is what he has chased more.

Perhaps that’s why, when asked for his favorite game at Tech, he answered with the “Miracle on Techwood” game against Florida State in 2015, even though he was relegated to special teams that night.

“I still can’t believe it,” Marshall said of the game’s final play.

Entering the year, Marshall shouldered the pressure of getting the Yellow Jackets bowl eligible again. He didn’t dodge the tough questions when Georgia Tech scuffled to a 1-3 start. He battled toe and upper-body injuries and championed redshirt freshman Tobias Oliver when he had a pair of breakout performances against Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

“If he scored, I was meeting him out on the field. We’re celebrating together. If I scored like this past weekend, he’s meeting me out on the field celebrating. I think everyone on the team sees that. Everyone knows we can both play. There’s no slack, really, when either of us is out there. We look at it as putting the team in the best situation possible to be successful,” he said.

It’s that leadership that has long earned Marshall the respect of his teammates. A delicate situation was handled deftly. The Yellow Jackets kept rolling offensively, an ascendance that allowed them to win their last four ACC games.

The durability, leadership and savviness were all on display Nov. 10 as Marshall guided the Yellow Jackets to a win over Miami, a team that featured the nation’s second-ranked defense.

“Just being able to get back on the field with the guys [and] put a drive together at the end to seal the deal — that’s something I’ve definitely wanted to do since I’ve been here. I know it’s something that we struggled with last year,” he said.

“It’s one of those things that you kind of dream about when you’re a little kid, being in a clutch situation and pulling through.”

He’ll look for one last moment on Dec. 26 in Detroit. During the offseason, Marshall got a tattoo on his chest, one that occasionally peeks out from his collar at post-practice press conferences. It features the logo of Harris County High School, Georgia Tech mascot Buzz, and the arched “Atlanta” sign outside State Farm Arena. The collage, he said, symbolizes the three places that have helped shape him.

His journey from Hamilton to Atlanta, from Harris County to Georgia Tech, reaches its climax in Detroit. As his final game approaches, Marshall reflected on his first trip to Tech.

“When I first got here, I was like, ‘Dang, this campus is kind of big.’ I didn’t really know where I was going,” he said.

Tech fans found out soon enough.

By: Andy Demetra

Seek And Destroy: How can someone hit so hard and be so … nice? Meet Anree Saint-Amour, Georgia Tech’s smiling man of faith — and an unholy terror on opposing offenses.

Take a survey around the Georgia Tech locker room and you’ll quickly notice a disconnect with defensive end Anree Saint-Amour.

“He’s one of the best guys I’ve ever met in my life,” said linebacker David Curry. “He spreads positivity no matter where he is.”

“He’s definitely somebody you can look up to. Everybody on the team thinks highly of Anree,” said linebacker Brant Mitchell.

“Anree is definitely one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met in my life,” added defensive end Desmond Branch.

Wait, are we sure we’re talking about the same Saint-Amour? The fire-breathing, quarterback-torturing senior who has made one havoc play after another for the Yellow Jackets defense?

That guy?

“When you’re on the field, it’s a battle. They’re trying to get a win and we’re trying to get a win, and it comes down to whoever wants it the most. You’ve got to be violent,” Saint-Amour explained.

"He’s a real live, athletic, freak, genetic goofball."

He smiled as he spoke, a typical reflex for the 6-3, 245-pounder. Saint-Amour may be known as one of the kinder, more easygoing players in the Georgia Tech locker room, a polite pastor’s son from Suwanee, Ga. But as Georgia Tech’s 3-4 defense evolved this season under first-year coordinator Nate Woody, Saint-Amour emerged as his most dependable, destructive playmaker. Witness the path of destruction he carved over a one-month span in the middle of the season:

• Against Bowling Green, Saint-Amour became the first defensive lineman with an interception return for a touchdown since Georgia Tech Hall of Famer Michael Johnson in 2008.
• Against Louisville, he forced a pair of fumbles, the first Yellow Jacket with two forced fumbles in a game since D.J. White in the 2013 Music City Bowl.
• Against Duke, he finished with two sacks, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry that resulted in an interception.
• After two tackles for loss against Virginia Tech, Saint-Amour saved his coup de grâce for North Carolina, where he tallied a career-high 9 tackles, 3 hurries, a tackle for loss, and an interception that set up Tech’s game-clinching score in a 38-28 win over the Tar Heels.

“He’s a real live, athletic, freak, genetic goofball,” said Branch, who joked that his own numbers are down because Saint-Amour keeps getting to the quarterback first.

According to head coach Paul Johnson, the Jackets’ switch to a 3-4 has weaponized Saint-Amour even more.

“He probably [has] a little more movement and slanting in what we’re doing now, penetration and getting upfield. That kind of plays right into his wheelhouse,” Johnson said.

Saint-Amour offered his own perspective. “It’s a simple defense. You’re not forced to think too much. Also, it’s a big attacking defense. You hit a gap and you go,” he said.

He may seem like a natural in it, but Saint-Amour said it took him a while to feel fully confident in Tech’s new defense.

“In the spring, we had some success with it but that was just the basics of the defense, and it was against the option. We hadn’t seen it against a [different] offense until we got to fall camp,” he explained.

“I felt like maybe after the third game of the season, I felt more comfortable with it.”

Those havoc plays, he believes, are the end result of his improved grasp of the scheme. Along the way, he built an all-ACC-caliber resume while continuing to embody the weapon that Woody has used to describe his team’s defense.

“At the beginning of the year, he came up with this concept of our defense being like a broad ax. The whole thing was that our defense was supposed to be swift, it was supposed to be fast and it was supposed to be powerful. That’s what we’re looking to represent,” Saint-Amour said.

Detroit, Michigan, will now be the setting for his final game as a Yellow Jacket as Georgia Tech takes on Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl. Saint-Amour may feel pressure to end his career with a win — not to mention deliver a proper sendoff to Johnson, the Jackets’ retiring head coach — but that pressure won’t come at the expense of his placid demeanor. Saint-Amour owes much of that to his faith: his father, Manfred, is a pastor at Emmanuel Haitian Alliance Church in Lithonia, Ga. His spirituality extends to his day-to-day activities with teammates, as Saint-Amour often leads the Jackets in a breakdown following the team prayer.

He also takes pride in his Haitian heritage. His parents immigrated to the United States from Haiti, and at his father’s church, sermons are delivered in both English and Creole. Saint-Amour can still speak some of his family’s mother tongue when prompted.

“’Sak pase,’ is a big slang [word] that we say. And then we say, ‘M’ap boule.’ It’s like saying, ‘What’s going on?’ And you say, ‘I’m hot,’ like ‘Everything’s good,’” he said.

“M’ap boule” may also describe Anree Saint-Amour’s play this year. Come Dec. 26, he’ll look to create havoc one last time in a Yellow Jacket uniform — his torment, as always, served with a smile.