Auburn, Frazier keeping faith together

Auburn quarterback Kiehl Frazier had a rough first month as the Tigers’ starter after being recruited to run a Spread offense but now finding himself in a Pro-style scheme.

Auburn quarterback Kiehl Frazier had a rough first month as the Tigers’ starter after being recruited to run a Spread offense but now finding himself in a Pro-style scheme.

Friday, October 5, 2012

— Kiehl Frazier said he hasn’t lost confidence despite a rough first month as Auburn’s starting quarterback.

“I’m still confident,” said Frazier, a sophomore who played in high school at Shiloh Christian in Springdale. “I’ve been confident since high school. That’s never been something that I struggle with. It’s just that I know I have to play better.”

Auburn is off to its first 1-3 start since 1998 with Frazier directing an offense that ranks last in the SEC in total yards (297.8 per game) and passing yards (144.8).

As a senior at Shiloh Christian in 2010, Frazier was named USA Today’s National Offensive Player of the Year when he passed for 2,975 yards and 42 touchdowns and rushed for 1,164 yards and 22 touchdowns. Last season, Frazier played in all 13 games for Auburn but was used primarily as a runner. He completed 5 of 12 passes for 34 yards with 2 interceptions while rushing 76 times for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns.

This season, Frazier is being asked to run a Pro-style scheme implemented by new offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler after being recruited to run the Spread offense un- der Gus Malzahn, who is now Arkansas State’s coach.

“He’s like all younger guys in the league. If you play too darn early, it’s maybe not a good thing,” Arkansas Coach John L. Smith said. “But, of course, the great thing about being young and playing early is you’re going to get better all the time, and I think that’s what he has done.

“I see them sticking with this young man.”

Frazier will make his fifth start when Arkansas plays Auburn on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.

“I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” he said. “That’s something I’ve got to work on improving week to week. Hopefully, as I keep preparing, I’ll cut out those mistakes.”

Against a schedule that has included three teams currently ranked in The Associated Press poll — Clemson, Mississippi State and LSU — Frazier has completed 47 of 89 passes (52.8 percent) for 546 yards and 2 touchdowns and thrown 7 interceptions. He also has one catch for 33 yards on a pass from receiver Quan Bray, but just 16 net rushing yards because of losses resulting from being sacked nine times.

“There’s been some signs of improvement,” Auburn Coach Gene Chizik said. “We certainly know there’s a lot of room left to grow, but as a quarterback in this league, experience is the great equalizer.”

Frazier had five turnovers — three interceptions and two lost fumbles — in Auburn’s 28-10 loss at Mississippi State on Sept. 8 in his first SEC start. He said he could sense how much fans must be down on him.

“After the game, I felt like that,” Frazier said. “But after a while you get over it and you learn to deal with it.”

Frazier said he’s learning not to take criticism personally, that it comes with playing the most high-profile position on the field in a conference that has produced the past six national championship teams, including Auburn in 2010 when Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton quarterbacked the Tigers.

“Winning is expected at Auburn and if you don’t do that, then people will be talking about it,” Frazier said. “We’re 1-3, so there are a lot of people off the bandwagon. If we do what we need to do these next couple of games, then a lot of people will get back on.”

Auburn had an open date last week, and Frazier spent much of the extra time studying video of his first four games this season. He also watched video of quarterbacks Loeffler coached previously at Michigan, including Tom Brady and Chad Henne, with an emphasis on improving his footwork and the timing of his release after dropping back to pass.

“I compared what I look like on the field to what they look like,” Frazier said. “I could see what I need to improve on to get to where they were when they played in college.”

Chizik said Frazier took full advantage of the extra work time.

“It will be interesting to see, after a week of really analyzing and assessing himself, how much progress he’s made,” Chizik said. “As the weeks go on we’ll see how much he’s learned and how much he’s improved, but our expectation and his of himself is that improvement has got to happen.”

Frazier said he was “real nervous” when Auburn played at Arkansas last season. He rushed 13 times for 54 yards and 1 touchdown but threw 2 interceptions as the Razorbacks won 38-14.

“I was a young guy getting to go home and play in front of a lot of people that I grew up around, so it was pretty nerve-racking,” Frazier said. “I think this year it’s more just another game, because I’m more of an Auburn guy now.

Sports, Pages 17 on 10/05/2012