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Auburn football fall practice report: A sign regarding the quarterback race?

It's still early, but perhaps we're seeing some separation in the grouping of quarterbacks.

By Chris Fuhrmeister
Todd Van Emst/Auburn University photo

Day 4 of fall practice has come and gone, and while there's a long way to go before the depth chart for Washington State is set, we may be seeing some cream rise to the top. On to the relevant news, notes, tweets and links.

The coaches may not be willing to comment publicly, but we can make educated guesses based on practice trends. So, Nick Marshall and Jonathan Wallace were working with the top-tier running backs, while Kiehl Frazier and Jeremy Johnson were working with the second group. As College and Mag Twitter follower @autgr4life pointed out, this could be purely coincidence. Frazier and Wallace alternated with first- and second-team offensive players during spring practice, and that could be the case here.

If Marshall and Wallace are indeed the top two candidates for the starting job, the race could come down to whether or not Marshall gets a complete grasp of the offense before Week 1. Ryan Wood of the Opelika-Auburn News thinks Wallace is on top right now, but if he was observing Ryan White holding for kicks, that could be an indicator that he'll be in the backup role (which often includes the holding job).

The first-string defense appears to be the same as it was at the end of spring practice. Justin Garrett certainly looked like one of the best defensive players on the field on A-Day, and Ellis Johnson appears to hold that sentiment, too. And if Robenson Therezie also looks like on of the best defensive players, that two-star dime package may get more use than otherwise intended.

While Dee Ford should be fine, the rest of the returning defensive ends haven't done much to prove themselves on the field. The faster Carl Lawson and Elijah Daniel can force their way into significant playing time, the better off Auburn's pass rush will be.

Well, that explains that.

No surprise there. Depending on how the quarterback race comes along, wide receiver should be the weakest position on the team this year. Hopefully, we'll have some other players step up along with Quan Bray -- hey, how about Trovon Reed, who say's he knows it's time for him to step up.

Nice to see Avery Young has come back from his injury and is working with the first unit. He was solid early last season before going down with injury. Have to wonder if Jordan Diamond can move his way into the first team at some point.

Running game is shaking up as expected. Tre Mason and Cameron Artis-Payne should both get plenty of carries, and it wouldn't be shocking if CAP was the feature back at some point during the season. He's a beast. As for the speed back role, Corey Grant is probably the favorite, but it appears to be up in the air.

Yeah, CAP's a beast.

Aug. 5 video links

The defense working the dime package with two stars (Marcello)

Marshall and Wallace working with the top running backs (Erickson)

O-line works with blocking sleds (Black)

Offensive line drills (Wood)

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