College Football 2011: Auburn's Position Battles Heat Up on the Plains

Days have passed and Vegas oddsmakers have predicted the Auburn Tigers to go 4-8 this college football season.

This recent article by yours truly turned out to be less than accurate; there was a reason for this, and it throws more light on the 2011 Auburn Tigers.

When Russell Wilson visited Auburn he was welcomed and told he would have to compete to win the starting job. Most believed he could pull this off over Barrett Trotter or Clint Moseley, the two major contenders at the QB position.

There was another factor added to the equation though that perhaps changed Wilson's thinking late in the process.

Apparently true freshman Keihl Frazier enrolled in the first summer semester and hit the ground running—literally. It seems he came prepared and willing to compete for the staring quarterback role this fall. He has been working on the few deficiencies he had in mechanics and studying the Auburn offense for months.

Some have been so impressed with his effort that they are now predicting him to win the starting quarterback position from Week 1 this season. It is much too early to make such a prediction, but it certainly seems the competition recently heated up considerably, and this seems to have gotten Wilson’s attention.

In fact, it seems that many believe this could be the most SEC-ready freshman class to come to the Plains in quite some time. It is evident from early strength and conditioning reports that this freshman class will have players who can and will contend for playing time this season.

Frazier, Angelo Blackson, Gabe Wright, Christian Westerman, Reese Dismukes, Brandon Fulse, Kris Frost, Erique Florence, Jonathan Rose, Jermaine Whitehead and Robenson Therezie are just a few of the names to listen for out of fall practice.

Jabrian Niles and Devaunte Sigler both reported at SEC size and could well find themselves playing time this season. Most had assumed these two would likely red shirt in 2011. Westerman has impressed with incredible feats of raw strength since arriving.

With just a few weeks remaining before the opening of fall camp, it appears the competition for several positions on the Auburn football team just got a lot more interesting.