HOOVER, Ala. — Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn moved swiftly to suspend Nick Marshall from attending SEC media days, but Malzahn isn't ready to reveal additional punishment for his starting quarterback, who was cited for marijuana possession in his home state of Georgia last Friday.
"It is a privilege and a reward to represent Auburn here at the SEC media days," Malzahn said in his opening remarks on Monday. "Last Friday Nick lost that privilege.
"Up until last Friday, Nick has been a model student, teammate and citizen. Nick made a mistake and he'll have to deal with the consequences. I'm not ready to say what those consequences are at this time, but he will deal with it."
Marshall, who began his career at Georgia, was dismissed by Bulldogs Coach Mark Richt along with two other players in February 2012 for an incident that involved a dormitory theft. He played for Garden City (Kan.) Community College in 2012 before transferring to Auburn.
Tigers center Reese Dismukes, who was suspended for a game in 2012 after his arrest for public intoxication, said he called Marshall to ask if there was anything he could do to help.
"He's been nothing but a great piece of this fun journey we've been on the last year," Dismukes said.
Marshall has addressed his teammates since the Friday incident.
"Obviously we're disappointed, but we know that he'll learn from this mistake," said Auburn tight end C.J. Uzomah, who replaced Marshall in Hoover. "He's still our leader. We still have full faith in him."
Auburn opens the season on Aug. 30 with an SEC game against Arkansas. Marshall and cornerback Jonathan Mincy, who was charged with second-degree marijuana possession after his June 27 arrest, are candidates for suspensions for that game.
"It would change things strategically," Auburn defensive lineman Gabe Wright said when asked about potential suspensions. "I would hope they'd still be able to come around and engage and talk."
Guide out
Arkansas released its 2014 football media guide Monday to coincide with the start of SEC media days.
The Razorbacks touted their guide, which has its seniors posed on the front cover in similar fashion to the 1964 national championship team's picture, as the first to use the Reveal by EBSCO Media app, a feature that will allow fans to revisit moments, plays and players from the championship season of 1964.
The front cover features the lines "Respect the Past" and "Represent the Future."
Seniors Brey Cook, Trey Flowers and Alan Turner, who will represent the Hogs here on Wednesday, and Tevin Mitchel are front and center among the 19-man senior class.
Arkansas is printing copies of its 208-page guide, but neither Arkansas nor any of the other conference teams are distributing them to the media in Hoover, Ala., as has been custom in the past.
Coming home
Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn returned to Arkansas for business last fall, coaching the Tigers to a 35-17 victory at Arkansas, but he also returns to his home state for vacations.
Malzahn, originally from Fort Smith, and high school head coach at Hughes, Shiloh Christian and Springdale, and his wife Kristi, visit with their parents in Fort Smith. Malzahn traveled this summer to Hughes, where the football field was named after him, and he was in Northwest Arkansas to play in a golf tournament that helps raise funds in memory of Kevin Johnson.
Johnson, who coached with Malzahn at Shiloh Christian and Springdale and succeeded him as Springdale's coach, died in 2011 from cancer.
Malzahn said it's special to see Johnson's family and other friends.
"Kevin Johnson was one of those guys that really helped me get to where I'm at today," Malzahn said. "He was a right-hand man for me ... and really deserves a lot of credit for what we did."
K.T. on the mike
Kevin Trainor, Arkansas' associate athletics director for public relations, served as moderator in the print media room for the fourth consecutive year.
"It's a great experience," Trainor said. "There's a lot of excitement in the room for the upcoming college football season. You get to hear from all 14 of the coaches and a lot of other great speakers, including the commissioner. It's a fun way to get ready for the season."
Bowl mix
Some bowls with SEC tie-ins will continue to choose their teams, but in many cases, the conference will set the matchups, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said Monday.
The Sugar Bowl will have first choice of an SEC team not involved in the four-team national playoff, then the Orange Bowl and Capital One Bowls will have the next choices.
The other bowls with SEC connections will have teams chosen for them. Those bowls are the Outback, Music City, Taxslayer, Liberty, Texas, Belk, Birmingham and Independence.
The Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, no longer has an SEC tie-in, but it's possible an SEC team could play in that game as an at-large choice. The national title game will be played at AT&T Stadium a week after the Cotton Bowl.
Quick change
Auburn tight end C.J. Uzomah got the call from Coach Gus Malzahn on Sunday asking him to attend SEC media days on Monday in place of quarterback Nick Marshall, who was cited for marijuana possession on Friday.
"Obviously I was honored with Coach Malzahn calling me and asking me," Uzomah said. "The next thing was I needed to get a suit as soon as possible, so I called my mom and they brought it to me."
Uzomah, of Suwanee, Ga., said his mother had bought him a new suit two weeks ago.
Broyles trio
All three coaches who spoke on Monday's opening day -- Auburn's Gus Malzahn, Florida's Will Muschamp and Vanderbilt's Derek Mason -- have been finalists for the Broyles Award presented to the nation's top assistant, with Malzahn winning the award after the 2010 season for his work as offensive coordinator for BCS national champion Auburn.
The award was created in 1996 by David Bazzel, a former Arkansas linebacker and Little Rock-based radio personality/entrepreneur, to honor Frank Broyles, whose coaching tree includes dozens of men who went on to notable careers as head coaches.
Bazzel, who is in Hoover with the trophy, said he is busily working to wrap up the list of fall speakers for the Little Rock Touchdown Club, for which he serves as president.
Watch me now
Arkansas senior defensive end Trey Flowers is on the Lombardi Award watch list and senior linebacker Braylon Mitchell is on the Butkus Award watch list announced Monday.
43 button
Auburn representatives at media days wore buttons with "43" on their lapels in honor of former Tiger Philip Lutzenkirchen, who died in a one-car accident outside LaGrange, Ga., on June 29.
Lutzenkirchen, a member of Auburn's 2010 national championship team, caught 14 touchdown passes during his career, the all-time leader among Auburn tight ends.
Sports on 07/15/2014