When four-star dual-threat quarterback Jason Smith signed with Auburn during the last recruiting cycle, many wondered if he had what it takes to be the next Nick Marshall in Gus Malzahn’s spread rushing attack.

At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, Smith is not a big, strong-armed quarterback suited for a traditional offense; neither was Marshall. Smith is lightning quick, has surprisingly nice zip on his throws and a knack for making defenses pay with his legs, or even just the threat of his legs; again, the same can be said of Marshall.

But with Marshall gone, the quarterback job now belongs to Jeremy Johnson, a fine athlete but also a bigger, stronger, more traditional quarterback from the pocket. Johnson completed 12 of 16 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover in his only start of 2014, a Week 1 win over Arkansas.

The Tigers’ new starter only needed a half to amass those numbers while Marshall served a half-game suspension, and it was at that point that Johnson cemented his fate as Marshall’s replacement in 2015.

Now consider Smith’s conundrum: as a junior college transfer, he only has three years of eligibility remaining at Auburn. Johnson, a rising junior, has two years remaining himself, which puts Smith’s chances at eventually becoming Malzahn’s go-to quarterback in serious jeopardy.

The JUCO transfer opted to sacrifice his career as a quarterback to benefit the team and maximize his impact on the field during the next two seasons. The coaches used him as quarterback, receiver and kick returner to open spring practice, but it took him only one week to volunteer himself for a permanent move to wideout, the position he’s played almost exclusively throughout spring ball since that point.

“I always had that in the back of my head if things got a little hectic at the quarterback spot,” Smith told AL.com regarding his move to receiver. “… You have to worry about a lot of stuff at quarterback. I didn’t see anything wrong with moving to receiver at all. I think I will help the team at that way.”

This is coming from a player who threw for 19 touchdowns against just two interceptions as the full-time starting quarterback at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College last fall. But Smith is more concerned with helping his team win games, and his coaches have no issue with finding ways to use his explosive athleticism.

“He’s a guy that we’re trying to get on the field,” Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee told AL.com. “He’s a great kid who’s willing to soak everything up and learn and play hard.”

It’s no mystery as to why he was regarded as the No. 1 athlete in the 2015 recruiting class; he has speed to burn and can change direction in a hurry, and as he grows more comfortable at his new position he has the potential to dominate from the slot, especially while D’haquille Williams occupies defenses on the outside.

And Smith’s quarterback career isn’t completely finished just yet. Malzahn told the Ledger-Enquirer that his primary focus is allowing Smith to learn the receiver position, but he intends to use him as a quarterback in certain packages to keep defenses uncomfortable.

“He’ll still have some type of package or role as far playing quarterback. We’re still trying to find out what that is,” Malzahn said.

Ultimately, when an athlete as dynamic as Smith makes this kind of move to better the team, it shows he’s falling in line with Malzahn’s mission statement on the plains. Perhaps no coach in America makes better use of raw athleticism than Malzahn does, and Smith knows he’ll be a beneficiary of that if he makes the necessary sacrifices. In fact, he’s already doing so.

You may not see him taking many snaps under center, but expect to see plenty of Jason Smith this fall.