Gene Chizik knows Michael Dyer is going to play. So does Gus Malzahn and, frankly, so does Dyer.

The clarity, though, stops there.

How much Dyer will be involved in the offense when Auburn opens the season against Arkansas State remains a mystery for now.

Actually, based on what coaches say, it’s more of a work in progress.

“Obviously now, he can carry the football,” Malzahn said. “We know that. But there’s a lot more to playing running back, specifically in our offense that we ask him to do.”

If anything, Dyer is understanding when it comes to discussing his future playing time. He may have been first in the rankings among Auburn’s 30 newcomers for the 2010 season, but he was by no means guaranteed a top spot on the depth chart at running back.

There has been no indication that Dyer has done enough to supplant senior Mario Fannin, whom running backs coach Curtis Luper — like he did with Ben Tate last season — guaranteed would run for 1,000 yards this season. Dyer received the lion’s share of carries at Tuesday’s scrimmage while Fannin received just five, but that was by design in the final trial by fire for Auburn’s freshmen.

Fannin might just have been his biggest fan after the offensive-dominated, but not run-dominated, scrimmage.

“Mike had a couple good runs,” Fannin said. “He broke through the middle and used his speed to get to the second level. That pretty much gave our offense some momentum. That’s what we needed from our running game.”

It’s clear that Fannin won’t be able to do it all by himself, and a player like speedster Onterio McCalebb won’t take away carries from Dyer because he offers an incomparable skill set. At the beginning of fall camp, Luper barely hesitated when he said Dyer would definitely play, so it’s clear Dyer isn’t in a situation like Dontae Aycock was last year.

Aycock, a highly touted four-star recruit, came into a camp a little heavy, wasn’t expected to play much and ultimately did not. He was dismissed from team this summer and is currently walking on at South Florida.

Dyer, meanwhile, arrived in May and has looked every bit the part of an every-down running back, massive biceps and all.

“He’s a pretty good load to bring down,” linebacker Craig Stevens said. “He’s nice and compact, like Mario.”

Very recent history suggests Dyer will certainly see the field and receive a significant number of carries, but won’t be Auburn’s workhorse.

Tennessee’s Bryce Brown (403 yards, three touchdowns), Alabama’s Trent Richardson (642 yards, six touchdowns) and Texas A&M’s Christine Michael (844 yards, 10 touchdowns) all had solid seasons after coming in ranked first, second and third, respectively, among incoming running backs, according to Rivals.com. Only Michael, though, was his team’s leading rusher as both Richardson and Brown backed up entrenched veterans.

Pittsburgh’s Dion Lewis, an under-the-radar recruit, ran for 1,799 yards and 18 touchdowns as a true freshman in 2009, but didn’t have much in his way on the depth chart.

Dyer’s ability to prove his worth not only as a runner, but as a blocker, too, will play a major factor in determining just how much of an uphill climb he truly has.

He’s at least attacking the less glamorous part of his job, a facet he didn’t exactly have to focus on at Little Rock (Ark.) Christian Academy, with a positive attitude.

“Now that I’m learning the techniques of blocking, I’m really getting to enjoy blocking and it’s gotten fun, actually,” he said. “It’s something I got to do.”

Though the thought of redshirting hasn’t even come close to crossing his mind, Dyer appears fully aware that he won’t be the every-down guy he’s used to being. Or as Chizik put it on the Scott Van Pelt
Show on ESPN Radio on Wednesday, Dyer, like a number of Auburn’s freshmen, won’t be “the whole team” like they were in high school.

“I’m just going to go out and do what I can for my team,” Dyer said. “Whatever that is I’m going to fulfill it the best I can.”

That mentality probably won’t be necessary after this year.

“When the season starts and I first get in, people will know the reason why I came here and why I wanted to play for this team because of my abilities and the reason why I run,” he said. “I think the first game, people’s eyes are going to open not just for me, but for the team because of all our abilities.

“For me when I get my chance to actually shine and carry the ball a few more times, they’ll understand.”

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