Spring football practices have begun and the Auburn Tigers are without returning starting quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who is sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Most of the focus has been on the quarterback competition between incoming freshman Joey Gatewood and returning sophomore Malik Willis. Both Gatewood and Willis will be competing this spring to be Stidham’s backup, however, it may not end up being that tight of a contest.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Malik,”Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. “He was our backup quarterback last year and just like I said, I mean, he really is taking a step forward and he looks like a starter out there.
"You know, I'd say right now Joey is just learning the foundation, so it's really hard to say, but we have a lot of confidence in Malik. You know, last year, Malik would have played — especially the second half of the season, we would have felt pretty good that we could have run most of our offense. We've got a lot of confidence in Malik.”
Willis has been working with the first-team offense while Stidham is out, and Gatewood has had the chance to take snaps with the second-team offense. It is yet to be determined if the freshman will work with the starters at all this spring.
Malzhan wants the freshman to focus on learning the offense before anything else.
“Joey has gotten the reps with the [second team] and I think he’s been a quick learner,” Malzahn said. “There’s a lot of moving parts to being the quarterback in our system that you’ve got. The communication from the sideline, you’ve got to communication it to the offensive guys, then you’ve got to see the defense, then you’ve got to do your read and then you’ve got to do your play. I’ve been impressed with his want-to and I know coach Lindsey has felt the same way. You can tell he’s very talented, you can tell that. These first two days have been good for him.”
Willis did not get much playing time last season, but when he did get in, the Atlanta native mad the most of it. He rushed for 221 yards and one touchdown on only 16 carries in 2017 as a true freshman. In addition, he completed 6-of-7 passes for 45 yards and one touchdown.
“There’s something to be said when you go out there and you’re playing with the first group from a quarterback standpoint,” Malzahn said. “He has seemed more comfortable. Of course, he should having a year under his belt. He’s done a good job so far with his approach, just the attention to detail. Things are becoming natural for him. You can tell he’s not having to think about a whole lot of stuff. He’s starting to just play football. I think that’s really important.”
Auburn will return to the practice field Tuesday.
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