Frazier adds element to Auburn offenseOctober, 4, 2011By Edward AschoffAll week, Kiehl Frazier worked on a handful of plays that he’d run against South Carolina.The plays weren’t too taxing for the backup quarterback and he wasn’t going to be asked to make a lot of decisions, so he felt confident about what he could do given the chance to help on the field.He even felt prepared for the hostile crowd inside Williams-Brice Stadium that greeted him with jeers and boos.But when Frazier first trotted out onto the field in the first quarter, the true freshman was reminded that he was about to charge headfirst toward an SEC defense with a ferocious defensive line and things weren’t going to be as easy as they were in practice.“Whenever you look over there and you see Jadeveon Clowney and No. 6 (Melvin Ingram) you can tell that’s not the scout team,” Frazier said.No, those two eat scout team scrubs for breakfast.However, even with the daunting task of having to actually run rather than throw, Frazier moved the ball well for the Tigers, racking up 48 yards on nine rushes, including a long of 22 yards that set up Auburn’s first touchdown from within the 1-yard line.He even converted three third downs on his runs, including a clutch one on Auburn’s game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.Auburn coach Gene Chizik said that he had set packages for Frazier to run and was very impressed with what he saw out of the true freshman. Chizik said Frazier’s role is expanding in the Tigers’ offense.“The more he handles the ball and the more we give him some opportunities to just getting used to what it’s like out there on game day, he’s going to get better and better,” Chizik said.What Frazier does is he brings a more athletic option to the quarterback position. He is certainly given the run-first approach from his coaches right now, but there is still that threat to throw and that caught South Carolina off guard at times. Ingram said players were in the wrong spots at times and anticipated differently when Frazier was in the game.“We just had a couple of misfits on how we were supposed to play that,” Ingram said “It wasn’t anything spectacular. It was just a couple of misfits and not knowing how to play the ball.”Frazier relished in his chances last Saturday and thinks that he’s progressing with every game that passes. He’s even further along in his development than he expected to be at this point.And he’s having fun out there. Too many times, young players get caught up on the pressures of succeeding and living up to the hype, but Frazier isn’t. He enjoys his responsibility and he enjoys disappointing opposing fan bases in the process.“It’s fun,” he said. “You look back and you see all the fans yelling at you and stuff and then you get in the game and whenever you make a good play it’s quiet. It was definitely a different experience.”Frazier has carried the ball 13 times for 81 yards this season, but his only pass attempt went for an interception. Still, he’s happy to help and that’s all he’s worried about.“I’m comfortable with my role because what [offensive coordinator] [Gus] Malzahn thinks we need to do to win the game that’s what I’m with,” he said.
"His only pass attempt went for an interception"???? Maybe they are telling us something we don't know.
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