When the Tigers opened spring practice this week, Joey Gatewood acted like a different player than last season.
Head coach Gus Malzahn said Saturday that Gatewood, a redshirt freshman, has matured since last season and has been impressive as a leader to his teammates and coaches.
"You can tell he's not a freshman anymore," Malzahn said.
Prior to spring camp opening, Malzahn said the four quarterbacks battling for the starting role — Gatewood; former five-star prospect and true freshman Bo Nix; Malik Willis, Auburn's backup for the past two seasons; and Cord Sandberg, a 24-year-old sophomore who appeared in just one game last season — would all be rotated equally around a "bland" offense in order to hone in on their individual strengths.
For Gatewood, those strengths lie in his raw athleticism as a 6-foot-5, 237-pound former four-star prospect.
Malzahn added that the coaches won't be looking for any sort of leader under center until after next Saturday's scrimmage, but until then, Gatewood is apparently making waves.
"He's competing hard for the starting job," Malzahn said. "His approach has been completely different than last year, which is to be expected."
Gatewood took just 13 snaps for Auburn last year, all of which came in the Tigers' 63-14 rout of Purdue in the Music City Bowl. On the final drive of the game, the freshman rushed thrice for 28 yards.
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
