With Joey Gatewood electing to leave the team and transfer, Auburn will look toward redshirt freshman Cord Sandberg and walk-on senior Wil Appleton to move up on the depth chart.
Sandberg is not like a typical redshirt freshman, though. Currently he is 24 and will turn 25 in January. Coming out of high school Sandberg was recruited and committed to play at Mississippi State, only to sign with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he played in their minor league system for six seasons.
Following his departure from baseball, Sandberg was a late addition to the fall of 2018 roster when he committed on July 30. He spent last season as the fourth quarterback on the roster behind Jarrett Stidham, Malik Willis and Gatewood, all of whom are no longer with the program.
Last season and this season Sandberg has acted as the signal-caller quarterback on the roster while on the sidelines.
Sandberg has seen very limited action during his time with Auburn, playing only once last season during the Alabama State game. The lefty completed one pass for 22 yards and ran three times for 35 yards. This season Sandberg has only seen the field briefly during the Kent State game where he ran once for four yards.
Head coach Gus Malzahn did not seem concerned about having Sandberg move up the depth chart.
“Cord has been here for two years,” Malzahn said Wednesday following the news of Gatewood’s transfer. “He is an older guy, he’s 24 years old. He played professional baseball for five years (actually six seasons), so he has been with us and understands what we are doing."
The only other backup quarterback on the roster is Appleton. Appleton has not seen any college action during his time with Auburn but as a senior in high school he was named his region’s Most Valuable Player for the Albertville High Aggies.
Malzahn felt comfortable with Appleton as well, saying that he knows the offense well.
Behind these three quarterbacks most likely lies current starting running back, Boobee Whitlow. Whitlow has ran the Wildcat for Auburn all season and was a quarterback in high school.
For the 2020 recruiting class, Auburn currently has a commitment from dual-threat, 3-star quarterback Chayil Garnett.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
