Auburn Football 2011: Barrett Trotter Gets the Keys to the Gus Bus

Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn and Head Coach Gene Chizik have named redshirt junior Barrett Trotter starting quarterback for the Auburn Tigers as they head into the 2011 season. 

As I've said since spring, I would have been surprised and worried if it had ended any other way. Recruited by Tommy Tuberville, the Tigers almost burned Trotter's redshirt mid-way through the season in 2008 as the offense never took off with Chris Todd and Kodi Burns at the helm.

After suffering a torn ACL that took away some of his mobility, Trotter came back to push juco newcomer Cam Newton, but Newton's size and athleticism just couldn't be overlooked. What that meant to me? Trotter's grasp of the playbook was almost enough that it could match Newtown's physical gifts.

Much talk from the Auburn fan base this summer was about transfer quarterback Russell Wilson, who eventually went to Wisconsin, and incoming freshman phenom Kiehl Frazier. Forever the optimist, I had great hopes for this season.

The thought that there was a possibility that Wilson could come in and win the job was terrifying. It meant that things would not be looking good for 2011. Malzahn's system is about pace and precise execution. He creates confusion in the defense with different alignments and motion, all while making them figure it out in the 15 or so seconds it takes to get to the line of scrimmage.

The plays have to be read, processed, checked and then executed by the quarterback very quickly. This means the quarterback must know the alignment of each player, motions and the various plays that develop.

We saw a learning curve with Newton as he ran a watered-down version at first and often let his running ability make up for reading his progressions. The turning point in his Heisman talk was when he became more comfortable with the plays as designed and the offense became nearly unstoppable.

I believed Trotter was "the guy" as soon as the unsurprising word came that Newton was off to take the top spot in the NFL draft. Trotter has the best knowledge of the playbook. In interviews, he was the obvious leader and was the go-to guy for interviews from the media. Unfortunately, I believe we'll see Clint Moseley wearing a different uniform come spring as Zeke Pike comes in to solidify the depth chart behind Frazier.  

I expect the coaches to play Moseley in some mop-up duty like Trotter saw last season, but you can be sure Frazier is going to get some quality reps as they prepare for the future of the Auburn offense.

In a statement released by the school, Chizik said this about the decision:

“These decisions are extremely tough when dealing with such competitive young men who have a strong desire to excel, Clint Moseley and Kiehl Frazier worked very hard and it’s been a great competition that will make our young team better. Clint and Kiehl both have a lot of ability and will continue to improve. We look forward to watching their progress as the years go on.”