• QB Neil Caudle, 6-3, 201, Sr.
• QB Barrett Trotter, 6-2, 210, So.
• QB Clint Moseley, 6-3, 215, rFr.

Todd did end up winning the starting job and performed better than anyone would have ever expected, throwing for 2,612 yards and 22 touchdowns, breaking a school record in the process. Todd was the type of quarterback you see so often in college: no one really appreciates what he does until he's gone (see Cox, Brandon). That certainly was going to be the case until Newton signed in December. Now Auburn fans have larger goals on their minds. This won't be a stop-gap solution until the Tigers can figure out something long term. Instead of hoping to find someone like Todd, who can be a caretaker at the position (and to Todd's credit, he was pretty good), Auburn has a dynamic, exciting player in the pocket. With Newton's addition, the Tigers' ceiling this year went from middle-of-the-pack SEC team to something much, much better.

Auburn accomplished what it wanted to on the quarterback front by the end of spring, naming Newton the No. 1 guy (albeit after a few days to think about it). There really was no other option. Newton is physically gifted, with size, mobility and arm strength. He does things that no other quarterback on the roster is going to be able to do. When you have somebody like that, you play him. No questions. But the backups still did some good things. Trotter and Caudle both looked very capable in the spring game, even if you have to take those numbers with a grain of salt. And Moseley, even though he's lagging in the race, finally got some valuable reps with the regular offense instead of the scout team. He's only a redshirt freshman. There's a process to this whole thing.

Although naming a starter was goal No. 1, I'm sure Gene Chizik and Gus Malzahn would have liked to have figured out a pecking order behind Newton. Trotter and Caudle seem to be the candidates, with Moseley getting in the race in future years. As for other bad things, you probably would have liked Newton to play a little better in the spring game. He was 3-for-8 for 80 yards, connecting on a long ball to Quindarius Carr but overthrowing two gimme touchdown passes in the end zone. But fans have to remember, Newton's never played any meaningful minutes in an SEC game. It's going to take more than a few months for him to be as sharp as he's going to be.

Nobody. Makes this section really easy to write. What does that mean for the future? Well, Newton's only a junior and would figure to be around for two more years. Once he's gone, Trotter will be a senior and Moseley a junior, plus the Tigers will have whatever quarterback recruits they can haul in this year and next. With Tyrik Rollison all but gone, there's definitely an opening. And if the revival of Todd's career is any indication, Auburn is a pretty good place for a quarterback to play. It should attract some high-profile recruits.

Tough to go with anyone but Newton here. He was a star in high school, backed up one at Florida and put up some eye-popping numbers at junior college. There's no reason to think Newton won't succeed at Auburn. He's a sharp kid with big-time physical tools and the respect of his teammates. What else do you want in a quarterback? It might take him some time to get acclimated to Division I (err, Football Bowl Subdivision) caliber of play again, but once he picks it up, he has the chance to do some special things on the field, with a much higher ceiling than anybody currently on Auburn's roster. (Michael Dyer isn't here yet, so I feel safe in saying that.)

Obviously, the backup job. Caudle gives you the most experienced player of the group, someone who's worked with the offense the longest and should have the best knowledge of the playbook. Trotter gives you somebody with potential who could conceivably be a starter down the line. If I'm the coaches and it's garbage time, I'd definitely go with Trotter. Give him a chance to settle in at this level after a knee injury took away his redshirt freshman year. And judging by his A-Day performance, Trotter's got some ability. I'm sure the coaches would like to see what he do in an actual game, however.

"Strong, athletic, fast. He was faster than I expected him to be. He's everything they talked him up to be. ... He's earned a lot of people's respect. He didn't come in too arrogant or anything. He just came in, got to know everyone and that's crucial at that position." — linebacker Craig Stevens on Newton.

0 — Career FBS starts by any of the four quarterbacks on Auburn's roster.

I'm glad I saved this recap for last, otherwise I would have had to rewrite it once Auburn named Newton the No. 1 guy coming out of spring. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean he's the starter, just QB1 for you "Friday Night Lights" fans out there (it's on regular TV tonight!). But that's definitely a good sign that he'll be starting next fall. The fans knew it. The media knew it. I'm sure the coaches knew it. Newton was going to be the guy. That's why he came to Auburn. It's interesting, though, that throughout his career Malzahn seems like he's made due with the quarterback he's been given, first at Arkansas, then at Tulsa and now at Auburn. He's never had that extremely physically gifted specimen to work with. Now he does. And if those other quarterbacks could put up the kind of numbers they did, you'd have to imagine the ceiling for Newton being much higher. We'll find out in September.