Auburn coach Gus Malzahn talks with reporters during the Southeastern Conference football Media Days in Hoover, Ala., Wednesday, July 17, 2013.The newcomers have surpassed the former starters in Auburn's quarterback race.
Tigers football coach Gus Malzahn announced Monday that freshman Jeremy Johnson and junior college transfer Nick Marshall will get most of the repetitions this week in practice. Sophomore Jonathan Wallace is still in the race, but junior Kiehl Frazier requested a move to safety and traded his No. 11 jersey for No. 25 in Monday's practice.
"These two new guys, we feel like, have earned the right to compete for the job," Malzahn said. "We've seen them both improve each practice. They both have extremely live arms. They can run, and they're athletic."
Frazier, the USA Today's national offensive player of the year for the 2010 season, started the first five games a year ago, and Wallace started the final four.
"I'm very proud of Kiehl Frazier," Malzahn said. "He is a winner and a class act."
Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee provided some separation in the quarterback competition after the Tigers went through their second preseason scrimmage this past weekend. Players interviewed after the scrimmage said Johnson and Marshall had the best performances of the four, but the coaches refrained from announcing a pecking order.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Johnson was a Rivals.com top-100 national prospect after throwing for 3,193 yards and rushing for 705 last season for Carver High in Montgomery. He accounted for 38 touchdowns.
Marshall was a part of Georgia's "Dream Team" signing class in 2011 and played sparingly as a defensive back for the Bulldogs before being dismissed from the program and winding up at Garden City Community College in Kansas. At Garden City last fall, Marshall threw for 3,142 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 1,095 yards and 19 scores.