Hard-nosed edge

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AUBURN, Ala. | Gus Malzahn didn't pinpoint when Auburn lost it last season -- perhaps in a 41-38 upset loss to Texas A&M or maybe a 34-7 loss at Georgia a week later -- but he wants his team to get that edge back starting this spring.

"That's that physical and mental, that toughness, that hard-nosed edge that we kind of lost toward the end of last year," Malzahn said Tuesday during a press conference before the first of 15 practices this spring.

Malzahn said a tough schedule, which included games against nine bowl teams, isn't a valid excuse for how Auburn finished last season with losses in four of its last five games.

"We knew that was going to be a challenge. You've got to overcome things like that and we didn't do that," he said. "We definitely lost our edge, especially toward the end of the year."

The process of getting that edge back starts Tuesday.

"We're going to be very physical in spring, and we're going to get that back," Malzahn said.

Malzahn said Auburn's other two main goals this spring are for the players to understand the basics of executing the base offense, defense and special teams, and to develop better trust between the coaches and players.

The offense and special teams haven't changed much but Will Muschamp will be installing a new defense this spring.

"He's one of the best in the business, so a guy like that gives a lot of people around him confidence -- not only his defensive coaches, but you can even tell the defensive players," Malzahn said. "We're looking forward to today. We're looking forward to this spring and really seeing the improvement that we make from today until the last day of spring."

In regards to building trust, especially with three new coaches on staff, Malzahn said their theme will be, 'Count on Me.'

"It's going to be that each player can count on each other, count on from a coaches standpoint and everything that goes with that," Malzahn said.

WIDE OPEN AT QB: Though Jeremy Johnson will open spring as Nick Marshall's heir apparent, Malzahn said Tuesday that all four of his scholarship quarterbacks (Johnson, Sean White, Jason Smith and Tyler Queen) will rotate equally -- at least initially.

"You want to make sure when you're installing the base offense you give each one of these guys enough reps to feel comfortable," Malzahn said. "Then as spring goes on, then you start identifying the guys that are a little ahead of the others and you start giving them the majority of the snaps. Our plan today is all four guys will get snaps."

Malzahn stopped well short of marginalizing Johnson's lead in the race, however. The rising junior from Montgomery was remarkably effective as Marshall's understudy during the past two seasons, completing 73 percent of his passes and handling the start against Arkansas last season with aplomb.

Still, the coaching staff doesn't want Johnson to get complacent.

"He got a lot of practice reps the last two seasons -- and obviously started against Arkansas and just did an outstanding job with that," Malzahn said. "We have a lot of confidence in Jeremy. He's going to have to go out there and win the starting job, but he's in a very good spot and we have a lot of confidence in him."

SMITH BEHIND CENTER: Smith signed with Auburn in 2012 as a wideout out of McGill-Toolen High in Mobile, but spent his two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. at quarterback.

That's where he'll begin today.

"We're going to give him an opportunity to win that job," Malzahn said. "That's what we recruited him to do and he seems very excited about it."

Will he move to receiver eventually?

"There's no timetable," Malzahn added. "We're going to give him a fair shot (at quarterback) and we'll see how that goes."

KOZAN RETURNS: Alex Kozan, the Tigers' top choice at left guard throughout the 2013 season, will return to practice today for the first time since last spring.

He suffered a nerve damage while lifting weights at home in Colorado last summer. Doctors repaired a herniated disc in Kozan's lower back, which relieved the pain he'd been experiencing since the injury.

That was the good news. The bad news was that Kozan was forced to sit out the entire 2014 season while his back healed. Linemen place a lot of torque on their backs while blocking, so it's possible that Kozan never again will play at a competitive level.

He won't know for sure until two-a-days. Kozan will be limited this spring and likely won't engage in any full-speed drills.

"Two years ago, he was one of our leaders," Malzahn said. "There's no doubt his absence last year was definitely felt, not just from a playing standpoint but from leadership. He's a great worker, his teammates have a lot of respect for him, so just by him being out there is going to be a breath of fresh air."

MOVING INWARD: Austin Golson, who started at tackle for Ole Miss in 2013, will open spring practice at center.

At 6-foot-5 and 310 pounds, the Prattville native is a little taller than the average center. Reese Dismukes, who started the past four seasons, recently was measured at 6-3 and 296 pounds. And he's two years older than Golson.

"We saw in our bowl prep that he's athletic enough to do that, so we gave him a few reps there," Malzahn said. "He looked pretty good. (Center is) very important to what we do. It's almost like another quarterback as far as everything we ask him to do with our no-huddle scheme and the pace that we play, to ID and all that. We're going to give him an opportunity, but that doesn't mean we're not confident in (Xavier) Dampeer. He's a guy that's (earned) a lot of snaps."

'H' OF THE MATTER: Kamryn Pettway played tailback during his days at Prattville (Ala.) High, but he's in the midst of a career change of sorts.

The redshirt freshman will open spring practice at H-back (also known as the "3" back) alongside early enrollee Chandler Cox in search of the starting job. At 6 feet tall and 220 pounds, Pettway has enough girth to become an enforcer on offense.

"It's a full-time move, at least at this point," Malzahn said. "He has running back skills. He can also do some running back, but we're going to give him a chance to win (the H back job) and he did catch our eye in bowl practice. It's something he is excited about. He catches the ball well, he's got running back skills and he is very big and very physical."