And then there were two.
After Saturday's scrimmage, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn vowed the staff would start to "narrow down" the team's four-man race for the starting quarterback job.
Two days later, Malzahn narrowed it down to two contenders and announced a surprising position change.
On Monday evening, Malzahn said the two newest arrivals to The Plains, junior college transfer Nick Marshall and true freshman Jeremy Johnson, will receive most of the quarterback reps with the first-team offense this week.
"We really felt that they've done enough that we really needed to give them a chance to win the job," Malzahn said. "They have earned the right."
Malzahn said he has not completely ruled out returning starter Jonathan Wallace, but the signal caller that started Auburn's season last year will be moving full-time to a new position--Kiehl Frazier is now a safety for defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson.
"He came to us and said, 'Coach, I want to move to safety,'" Malzahn said. "He practiced there today and did well."
Frazier played safety in high school, and he said on Monday evening that schools in the West Coast and in the Northeast recruited him to play there instead of quarterback.
The Arkansas native, who wore the No. 25 jersey at practice on Monday, officially made the move after learning from the coaches that the newcomers had taken the lead in the race.
"I'll be able to help the team at safety," Frazier said. "That will be my focus 100 percent. Something I'm fully going to embrace."
Frazier said he never contemplated a transfer and that his love for Auburn has never left, even after losing the starting job in a horrid 2012 season.
"I didn't play well last year, and that's something that's kind of set in stone," Frazier said. "I can't change that now. This will be best for me and the team for me to move to safety."
Frazier's move to safety ensures that Auburn will have its seventh different starting quarterback in seven consecutive seasons.
Malzahn said he and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee came to the decision on Johnson and Mrashall after reviewing film from Saturday's scrimmage. He said on Saturday that at this point in fall camp, the team could no longer handle rotating four players at the position.
"Both of them have extremely live arms," Malzahn said. "They both can run and both of them are athletic. It's just a matter of how quick they can get acclimated."
On Saturday, wide receiver Quan Bray spoke highly of both Marshall and Johnson. Bray said each quarterback tossed a deep touchdown pass in what was a good day for the Tigers' offense.
In non-quarterback news from Monday's press conference, safety Demetruce McNeal practiced for the first time this fall camp. The senior from College Park, Ga., has been out with an infection that required a surgical procedure.
Malzahn said Justin Garrett, who left Saturday's scrimmage in a walking boot, is day-to-day. The head coach expects the leader at the "star" position to be back later this week.
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