Auburn Authority

AUBURN – With the first spring practice of the Gus Malzahn era in the books, we’ll take a look at each position on the depth chart and go over the starter, backup and who arrives in the summer. In the 24th installment of an extensive series, we look at the Quarterback competition.

The Two-Deep
Kiehl Frazier (6-foot-2, 234 pounds, junior) OR Jonathan Wallace (6-foot-2, 209 pounds, sophomore)

Coach Gus Malzahn’s View
“We have not made any decisions. It’s a dead heat at this point between Kiehl Frazier and Jonathan Wallace.  We gave equal reps throughout the spring. Toward the end of the spring we were able to evaluate them better, and both of those guys are capable of running our offense. I will be curious to see their progress once we get to fall camp on that.”

Starter
There is no starter yet. As was stated over and over and over again by Malzahn and Rhett Lashlee throughout the spring, the quarterbacks got an equal number of reps and split time with the first and second teams.

Now Jonathan Wallace had a much better performance on A-Day compared to Kiehl Frazier but a decision won’t be made strictly off that exercise either.

Auburn quarterback Jonathan Wallace throws a pass during A-Day. (Todd Van Emst/Auburn athletics)

Wallace was much more at ease and went 18-for-26 for 191 yards with two TDs and an interception with a few short carries on A-Day, showing poise and precision. Frazier was 10-for-16 for 125 yards with a touchdown and had a touchdown run but also was “sacked” twice and started the game with four three-and-outs.

When he still had the starting job in 2012 Frazier ranked as one of the worst quarterbacks in the country. He was 62-for-116 for 753 yards with two TDs and eight INTs and was sacked an outrageous amount.

Wallace was much more comfortable and had success but it mostly came against inferior opponents. He went 46-for-80 for 720 yards with 4 TDs and 4 INTs but had difficulty against Georgia and Alabama.

A-Day showed Wallace is still ahead of Frazier, who also ballooned up in weight during the offseason, but the competition was not in earnest yet.

Next Wave
There were no other scholarship QBs on the spring roster. Ben Durand and Tate O’Connor are walk-ons.

Summer Arrivals
JUCO transfer Nick Marshall arrives and fair or not, will be looked at by most fans and observers. The Georgia high school record holder for touchdown passes spent a year at corner for the Bulldogs and then went to Garden City (Kan.) C.C. where he threw for 3,142 yards with 18 TDs and added 1,095 yards with 19 TDs on the ground.

He only added fuel to the expectations by saying he wanted to win a Heisman Trophy and national championship at Auburn.

Marshall’s decision making needs to improve as he threw way too many interceptions for an SEC quarterback but as one of the top junior college quarterback prospects, he’s coming in ready to play. Marshall will likely enroll in June.

Jeremy Johnson has already enrolled in summer classes and has been working with his new teammates individually. Alabama’s Mr. Football is going to get a solid look and opportunity to compete.

Jason Smith had a very good year at quarterback for McGill-Toolen but he played wide receiver at the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game and could end up being switched over to wide out.

Quotable
“The challenge for the new guys coming in is during the summer. They have got to have a good understanding of the offense and they have got to have a good understanding of the receivers. There is a window of time, whether it is two weeks or three weeks, that you have to make a decision. Some coaches will wait until the last day before to see who the starter is. My experience is, the earlier the better so that you can start with getting everything that goes with being a leader.” – Gus Malzahn