Auburn exits the spring with a better understanding of its personnel, but several position battles will continue through the summer and once again in fall camp in August. First-year coach Gus Malzahn and his staff feel good about the future but questions remain unanswered. AL.com beat reporters Joel A. Erickson and Brandon Marcello sift through the depth chart to review the spring position by position.

QUARTERBACK

The two-deep

Kiehl Frazier or Jonathan Wallace

Gus Malzahn's take

"We have not made any decisions. It's a dead heat up to this point. We gave them equal reps throughout the spring. Toward the end of the spring, we were able to evaluate them better. Both of those guys are capable of running our offense. I'll be curious to see their progress once we get to fall camp."

The battle

Coaches say Frazier and Wallace did not do anything to stand out over the other, but Wallace may have had the better A-Day performance. After a fumble led to a touchdown on the first snap, Wallace calmed down and bounced back to throw for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Frazier seemed uncomfortable at times, which led to some misfires, bad reads and a fumble of his own on a botched hand-off. He had the better completion percentage, however, completing 10 of 16 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Wallace seems to be much more comfortable in this offense, even though it would seem Frazier is better suited because of his ability to run and make a play outside the tackle box. Wallace is not a fast runner, but he's able to tuck and run when needed and makes the right read. The offense, while basic in the spring, will surely change with either of them on the field.

Players echoed their coaches' stance on the battle after every scrimmage behind closed doors. This battle will not be settled until the second or third week of fall camp in August, if then.

The contenders

Auburn quarterback Kiehl Frazier works out during spring practice Wednesday, April 17, 2013, at the Auburn Athletic Complex in Auburn, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

Walk-ons Ben Durand and Tate O'Connor did not play in the A-Day game, so judging them is a futile exercise. The arrival of three newcomers this summer will surely push Frazier and Wallace in off-season workouts. Junior college transfer Nick Marshall and freshman Jeremy Johnson, Alabama's Mr. Football, will compete for the starting job starting on Day 1. Many believe Marshall is the strongest contender to unseat Frazier and Wallace, who both started a handful of games in 2012.

Frazier has the upperhand by default. After all, he played in a similar offense in high school and during his freshman season when Malzahn was the offensive coordinator. Wallace played in a similar offense at Phenix City as well, so the switch from Scot Loeffler's pro-style philosophy to the hurry-up, no-huddle is a welcomed change for Auburn's quarterbacks.

The future

Malzahn and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee have several options on the table this summer. Interestingly, the one option no one mentioned during the spring is the taboo topic across the college landscape: a two-quarterback system. If Malzahn has his way, he'll select a starter the week prior to the opener against Washington State and stick with him.

"That's a position where you play one guy," Malzahn said.

Still, the backups may see some time on the field. A change-of-pace quarterback in this offense is the same as running a handful of Wildcat plays with a receiver or running back taking the snaps.

Who should be the starter? Well, the fan favorite to win the job appears to be Marshall. The problem is that no one has seen the junior college player suit up for the Tigers. He played one season at Georgia and left after some legal troubles, and arrives at Auburn knowing the coaches plan to give him a shot at quarterback and not safety. He threw 18 touchdowns with 20 interceptions at Garden City (Kan.) Community College, a concern for any coaching staff.

The five-man race at quarterback will heat up in August. The days of evenly splitting reps between two quarterbacks are over, and every snap will be precious for the contenders in August. It's why this spring was so important for the Frazier and Wallace, though neither pulled away from the other.

He said it

"They both did good and bad. It's just a matter of continuing to get better with our consistency throwing the football. That's the No. 1 thing. I think they have a pretty good grasp of what we're trying to do, but it's now being able to play fast knowing what to do. It's one thing to know it on the board and walk-throughs and practice and then when the bullets are flying operating fast and making good decisions and being accurate.

"There's not a lot of separation coming out of spring at this point. They both have things they do well and that can help us win. These aren't the kinds of things we're going to rush. We haven't in the past. We're not going to.

"It's good to continue on and just keep those guys pushing each other."

-- Rhett Lashlee, offensive coordinator