Since Gus Malzahn arrived on the Plains as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, his teams have put up impressive offensive numbers. With quarterback Nick Marshall running the offense, the Tigers’ running game was among the nation’s best, not only because of its outstanding running backs, but because Marshall wasn’t afraid to tuck the ball and run at any point.

Now, Marshall has departed and Malzahn is tinkering with his offense a bit. Those changes were on display during Auburn’s spring game on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Yes, the running game will still be a big part of what Auburn does. Running back Roc Thomas was impressive on Saturday, as was Jovon Robinson. Peyton Barber figures to be in the running back mix as well and there will be plenty of carries from all three of those backs.

But the change may come with the quarterback. Jeremy Johnson is the presumed starter for Auburn this fall, and running is not what he does best. In fact, Johnson did not run the ball once during the spring game on Saturday. While that could have been by design to keep Johnson from contact, it’s also likely that Malzahn wanted to see what his offense would look like without the quarterback running so often.

Johnson is more of a pocket passer than Marshall was. Last season, Johnson completed 75 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions. In his only start of the season, Johnson was 12-of-16 through the air for 243 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Malzahn is known as an offensive genius, and he can see what he has in front of him. Look for Malzahn to adjust his offense somewhat to allow Johnson to do what he does best, pass from the pocket.

Tim Letcher is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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