After Auburn's sixth consecutive victory over arch-rival Alabama last November, head coach Tommy Tuberville knew he had to make a change on offense. That change was just down the road in Troy.

On December 11, 2007, Al Borges resigned after four seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Although the Tigers were 41-9 during Borges' tenure, the numbers put up by the offense continued to decline each season after the incredible 13-0 finish in 2004. A day later, Tony Franklin was hired as Borges' replacement. As the offensive coordinator at Troy, Franklin helped the Trojans to back-to-back eight-win seasons, consecutive Sunbelt Conference Co-Championships and a New Orleans Bowl victory in 2006. Troy's offense, which was last in the conference in total offense prior to his arrival, was second in the Sun Belt in 2006 and was first in the league in total offense (452.8 ypg) and scoring offense (34.0 ppg) in 2007. Nationally last season, his offense was 17th in total offense and 25th in scoring offense. Tony Franklin (Photo courtesy of autigers.com) Known for being a master at running the spread attack, Franklin was brought in by Tuberville to give Auburn's offense a much needed boost. The spread is a different kind of beast than the West Coast offense the Tigers were accustomed to running under Borges. It takes a smart, athletic quarterback along with speedy receivers to be successful. Auburn seems to have the tools at both positions to give opposing defensive coordinators plenty of headaches and hopefully win enough conference games to end up in Atlanta for the SEC title game. After Franklin's hire was official, Chris Todd decided to transfer to Auburn instead of Troy so he could still be coached by Franklin. Todd threw for more than 10,000 yards in Franklin’s system at Elizabethtown (Ky.) High School and also ran the same system during his short stint at Texas Tech before transferring to Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College. Chris Todd (Photo courtesy of autigers.com) Todd would probably be the starting quarterback when Auburn opens the season Aug. 30 against Louisiana-Monroe if he hadn't suffered a shoulder injury at the end of last season. The injury plagued him during spring practice which caused a tight race between him and sophomore Kodi Burns. Burns saw playing time in a few games last season and was the hero in Auburn's bowl victory over Clemson when he ran for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Burns has great speed but seems to lack a strong and accurate throwing arm, which could keep him in the No. 2 spot if Todd's shoulder continues to get back to 100 percent. Look for Franklin to use a two-quarterback system similar to the one that was used with Brandon Cox and Burns in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Sophomore Neil Caudle and true freshman DeRon Furr will have to watch from the sidelines for a few years before they see any significant playing time. But, getting familiar with Franklin's system and working with the scout team will prepare them to be starters in the near future. Senior Rod Smith looks to be the No. 1 target at wide receiver again this season after leading the team last year with 52 catches for 705 yards and five touchdowns. Despite getting off to a slow start in the spring, he finished strong with eight receptions for 146 yards in Auburn’s final two spring scrimmages. Montez Billings will backup Smith but could see plenty of playing time when the offense needs a deep threat. After being injured at the start of the 2007 season, Billings finished with good numbers and played a major role in the victory against Florida. For the year he caught 28 passes for 311 yards and one touchdown. James Swinton (Photo courtesy of autigers.com) James Swinton wasn't used very much in his first three seasons, but after a very productive spring he has the potential to be a star in Franklin's offense. The senior will have the opportunity to show off his speed and is expected to be a bigger part of things in 2008. Sophomore Tim Hawthorne suffered a broken arm early in the spring which sidelined him for the rest of drills. His size and body gives him an advantage on the inside. He caught four passes for 47 yards last season and will be a key player in the four wide receiver package. Primarily used as a slot guy in his first three years, senior Robert Dunn will get more looks on the outside this year. He was moved to the outside for the bowl game against Clemson and played well. Dunn missed a lot of the practices in the spring because of class conflicts. When he did get to practice, he was impressive. Since he missed a lot of spring drills, he will need to learn more about the new offense and improve on his consistency during preseason practice if he wants to have a solid senior year. Phil Marion Coming next week: Running Backs