Fair / 71° F
No separation for Auburn quarterbacks
Published 9:13am Wednesday, August 22, 2012By Andy Graham | Sportz Blitz
The Auburn Tigers are a mere 10 days away from opening their 2012 season against Clemson University in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff; however, as I write these words, competition still rages on in the loveliest village.
Battles are still being fought in the offensive line, defensive line and secondary for starting positions and, from all indications, the competition is raising the level of play.
The most talked about position still up for grabs is quarterback, but unfortunately recent comments by Gene Chizik indicate the competition has not created any separation. In fact, “no separation” has become a common theme when it comes to the evaluation of those vying to fill that coveted role. To most Tigers fans, this has been a disappointment to say the least.
Junior Clint Moseley, sophomore Kiehl Frazier and true freshman Jonathan Wallace are the three individuals battling to become Auburn’s starting quarterback.
Wallace is the wildcard and certainly a longshot to win the job.
While he has no college experience, coaches and teammates have constantly praised his intelligence, work ethic and leadership capabilities. With those impressive qualities, his time will surely come sooner or later.
Clint Moseley started six games last year and didn’t play bad considering he was running for his life most of the time. Moseley suffered from shoulder soreness during the spring and was shut down for the most part. Apparently, his shoulder problems have continued into the summer and he has been unable to compete at 100%.
This would seem to indicate that Moseley is also an unlikely candidate to win the starting job.
Kiehl Frazier played in every game last season taking on the role of the Wildcat quarterback, but he only attempted 12 passes all year and looked less than confident doing it.
In the spring, Frazier appeared to have made significant progress and threw the ball with confidence. He has taken the majority of the snaps with the first-team offense this summer and teammates have been very impressed with his leadership.
This brings us back to why most Auburn fans were extremely disappointed to hear Coach Chizik say there has been no separation among the quarterbacks. Kiehl Frazier is undoubtedly the most physically gifted quarterback on the roster and his competition this summer has been a freshman with zero experience and another guy who isn’t close to 100%.
It seemed like the perfect opportunity to separate himself and leave no doubt, but apparently that has not happened in the eyes of Gene Chizik. It doesn’t mean Frazier won’t go out and have a phenomenal year, but it is a legitimate reason for disappointment. I certainly could be wrong (highly doubtful), but I fully believe Kiehl Frazier will be named the Auburn starting quarterback sometime this week.
I also fully believe Coach Chizik has been challenging Frazier to elevate his level of play with his comments. It doesn’t necessarily mean Frazier has played poorly.
It just means Chizik believes he can play better.
We’ll all find out what kind of quarterback the Tigers have in a little over a week.
Graham is a columnist for Sportz Blitz.
