Kiehl Frazier was Auburn's starting quarterback in five games last season, but now he is switching positions and becoming a safety, head coach Gus Malzahn announced Monday. The coaches informed him that Jeremy Johnson and Nick Marshall will be getting the majority of the QB reps, and that's when he offered to make a move.
Malzahn expressed his gratitude for Frazier's willingness to make the transition:
Kiehl Frazier wanted to and moved to safety today. "I'm very proud of Kiehl Frazier. He's a winner, a class act," Malzahn says.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) August 12, 2013
Malzahn on Frazier: "He's going to be full-time safety. He can still do some things on offense, but he's putting his energy into safety."
— Ryan Wood (@AUBlog) August 12, 2013
Frazier's turn under center was a struggle -- he completed just 53.4 percent of his attempts and threw eight interceptions while connecting on only two touchdown passes. By the end of the season, he had been supplanted by true freshman Jonathan Wallace, who got the starting nod in the team's last four games.
The race for the starting spot is down to Johnson and Marshall, who are both newcomers to the program. Johnson was a consensus four-star prospect in the class of 2013 and regarded as one of the nation's top 15 pro-style quarterbacks. Marshall is a junior college transfer who threw for more than 3,100 yards last season.
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