Auburn coach Gus Malzahn has started rotating his receivers in spring practices as the Tigers got back into spring practices Tuesday after spring break.
Former Mississippi Gulf Coast dual-threat quarterback Jason Smith is concentrating on being in that rotation at receiver more than before.
The nation’s No.1 JUCO athlete told his coaches that he wants to concentrate on being a receiver and have a smaller role as a quarterback, Malzahn said.
After throwing for 1,566 yards with 18 touchdowns and two interceptions last season, Auburn’s coaches guaranteed Smith a chance to compete for the starting quarterback position.
Now it appears Smith has made the decision to make his role at receiver more permanent outside of his package role at quarterback.
“We’re really trying to transition him into the wide receiver spot,” Malzahn said. “We want to give him the chance to learn the wide receiver position and everything that goes with it. He’ll still have some type of package or role as far as playing quarterback. We’re still trying to figure out what that is.”
According to what other players and coaches have seen out of the sophomore, Smith has a chance to be one of the top receivers on the Tigers’ roster in 2015.
“You can tell he is athletic,” said senior receiver Ricardo Louis. “He was a quarterback coming in, but we knew that he could be more. We tried him out at receiver and he has good hands. He runs the routes. He’s fast. He’s picking up everything quickly and nothing is really new to him.”
Sophomore tight end Chris Laye said Smith’s athleticism allows him to do things other people can’t.
“I think as he learns what he is supposed to do he can be a huge asset to the team,” Laye said.
While Smith’s chances at playing quarterback for Auburn seem to have diminished, the team seems confident in his abilities at receiver.
“We wanted to give him a real chance to play quarterback,” Malzahn said. “We’ll still have a package for him and we’ll see where that goes. He’s extremely talented. He wants to be good and he’s coachable. I think he’s got a real chance to help us.”
In other news:
Cornerback T.J. Davis underwent surgery for a torn ACL.
“He injured his knee last week, before we left," Malzahn said. "That's a tough blow, but we're hoping to get him back during the season. He was making some progress at defensive back and he was one of our better special teams players too. He’ll do everything he can to get back.”
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