Shortly after Kodi Burns scrambled into the end zone to win Auburn the Chick fil-A Bowl in overtime last December, Head Coach Tommy Tuberville made the following remark about Kodi.

“He’ll go in as No. 1. He’s earned that.”

Of course, Coach Tubs was talking about spring practice, not the first game, but many Auburn fans saw Kodi as the heir apparent, and a perfect fit for the Spread offense.

Yet, almost immediately, Auburn's newly-hired offensive coordinator, Tony Franklin, countered Tubs in the media, stating, in effect, that there would be no No. 1 going into the spring.

When spring rolled around, Todd, Franklin’s long-time student from his days consulting with high-school football teams, injured his throwing shoulder, and it obviously affected his play. But still, Franklin refused to name Kodi the No. 1.

But even Franklin couldn’t deny that Kodi’s passing ability had improved a great deal during the spring.

In the final scrimmage of the spring, Kodi completed 12 of 15 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. In fact, in that scrimmage, Kodi completed his first 10 passes and also ran for 39 yards. This came against the a very stout Auburn defense.

Coach Tubs said, “I am really proud of Kodi Burns. He is very much improved. I like the way he ran the offense, and that is what you are looking for in a scrimmage like this at the end to see the control your quarterbacks have, especially in a new offense.”

But Kodi would still not be named the No. 1.

I know some people are saying, “But that’s a scrimmage. What has he done in a game?”

That’s the problem.

Kodi has played very sparingly so far this season. After the first game, in which Kodi and Todd alternated every other series (until Kodi was pulled for a slight injury in the third quarter), Franklin excused Todd’s abysmal performance by stating that it’s hard to get into a rhythm when you’re alternating series. I agree.

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