Spring football is underway on The Plains, and in Gus Malzahn’s first press conference of the spring season, inside information was low, smiles were minimum and seriousness was at a 10.
And if you were waiting to hear the big news on who would be the spring football quarterback for the Tigers, today was not your day.
“To start out spring, we are going to rotate all four guys equally,” head coach Gus Malzahn said of the QB situation. “We will see how that goes. There will be no timetable on naming starters. It’s an open position… Once you find a starting quarterback we will build around his strengths.”
The quarterback position always garners the most interest and deservingly so, especially after the two year starter in Jarrett Stidham leaves for the draft. Freshman Joey Gatewood, freshman Bo Nix, junior Malik Willis and sophomore Cord Sandberg will all compete for the position.
When asked if it was possible for the quarterbacks to partake in live drills Gus said, “It is possible. Usually you can find out in a couple of live drills who will separate themselves.”
While all four of those players will be playing spring ball, there are a few who will be missing out. Daquan Newkirk and Jordan Peters will be out with foot injuries, Smoke Monday will be out with a shoulder, Will Hastings will continue to be out with a knee and Anthony Schwartz and Shaun Shivers will compete for Auburn track and field.
Eli Stove is expected to be back in full action for the spring and the aforementioned players will be expected back in the fall.
As for position changes for the team, Alec Jackson will officially be playing offensive line and Devan Barrett will officially change from running back to corner.
“Alec Jackson will start at tackle but we are not ruling out guard either,” Malzahn said. “It’s a chance to give a guy an opportunity to show what he can do.”
Offensive line was a big discussion at the end of the fall season with injuries and some on-and-off play but Malzahn seemed very confident when asked about his offensive line plans.
“Of course we have them all back and that is a positive," Malzahn said. "We need to leave spring with more experience and working together. We are getting the young guys ready to play. You are always trying to develop more depth … the key to our conference is to have a quality offensive line.”
Along with the quarterback position, no commitment was made at running back as well. Malzahn says he will look to running backs coach Cadillac Williams to evaluate the talent at the position.
“All those guys have a chance to compete for playing time," Malzahn said. "DJ Williams will have a chance to play… so far, we are impressed.”
The offensive game-plan will be undergoing a potential shift to try and speed up the Tigers game, with less substitutions and keeping the original eleven players on the field.
“We are going to try to be a little more versatile,” Malzahn said. “We are going to try and go as fast as we can.”
The team will also practice on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday going forward, which is different than the normal schedule but it gives the incoming freshman two more weeks with the strength and conditioning program.
The team will scrimmage on Saturday, April 30 and Saturday, April 6.
Before closing his press conference, Malzahn said, “I feel real comfortable. I am real excited to get out with the guys and coaching football and be a football coach.”
Auburn will have its A-Day spring game on Saturday, April 13.
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