John Franklin III's days as an Auburn quarterback appear to be nearing an end.

The senior worked exclusively at wide receiver during the first two periods of Auburn's practice on Tuesday, the fourth of spring, and did not wear an orange no-contact jersey like the other five quarterbacks.

On Saturday, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said Franklin was "primarily" still with the quarterbacks and competing for the starting job, but that appears to have changed.

Franklin, who has never played wide receiver in his career, took reps on special teams and worked with the wide receiver group on Tuesday.

Auburn offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said Franklin, who has not been available for interviews thus far this spring, spent "a little bit" of time with the quarterbacks in individuals drills on Tuesday.

"Sometimes he'll be with individual, sometimes he'll be with group, sometimes he'll be with team, still rotating him through," Lindsey said. "If John doesn't win the starting job, then he's going to go play another position. But right now he's definitely, definitely, still in the mix."

Franklin appeared in all 13 games last season and started against Vanderbilt but was replaced at halftime by Sean White. Franklin was 14 of 26 for 204 yards with a touchdown and had 430 rushing yards and two touchdowns last season.

"John is a great athlete," sophomore receiver Nate Craig-Myers said. "I think at receiver, that'll be a nice way to get him out into the field. You give him the ball, he can make a guy miss. ... He's probably one of the fastest guys on the team."

Franklin native left Florida State in part because he was unwilling to change positions from quarterback to receiver, but after the Sugar Bowl said he is willing to change positions if need be but would evaluate his future after the school year. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native is scheduled to graduate this summer.

During spring 2015, Jason Smith switched from quarterback to wide receiver after four practices.

Several other Tigers receivers played quarterback in high school and position coach Kodi Burns switched from quarterback to receiver during his Auburn career.