"We've got about four or five guys that are competing for that spot," said defensive backs coach Willie Mack Garza.
The front runners are Torin Harris, a redshirt freshman, and Brian Baucham, who has fully recovered from a scary motorcycle accident.
Harris is running with the first team, but Baucham has stood out by making plays on the ball.
"Baucham is a playmaker. He has not played very much. He was injured most of his career here. He plays bigger than what he is. He's extremely quick and fast, but he's still got a little rust on him because he has not played in a while. He's green and growing," according to Garza.
Besides Shareece Wright, the entire unit is short on experience. True freshman Nickell Robey is the baby of the bunch, but he was praised for his play in the first scrimmage.
Willie Mack is not surprised by Robey's fast start to camp. "He's very intelligent and works extremely hard. He's able to grasp a lot of defenses."
T.J. Bryant was expected to start at the nickel position, where he played for most of last season, but he's forced to watch likely all of camp from the sidelines while recovering from cheekbone surgery.
Bryant's absence has opened up the competition even further.
"That nickel spot was going to be competitive. We're going to play our third best corner there. It's open and it was open coming in."
Despite his injury, Bryant has been visible on the sidelines and Garza expects him to be in the middle of the fray when he returns.
"T.J. was having a battle. He was starting out as the starting nickel, but he knew going in it was going to be competitive. When he comes back, he'll have an opportunity to play nickel and play cornerback."
While Garza is tasked with replacing the entire secondary, Shareece Wright is a luxury item. He has first round NFL talent and now he's matured into a team leader.
"He's really stepped up. In the past, he was younger and immature, now he's really matured and grown. Last night, he spoke in front of the entire team about the direction and path of the team and how important it is that everybody stay focused."
If I had to rank the competition, Harris is the leader with Baucham and Robey in a tight battle behind him. Redshirt junior Daniel Harper is in the mix as well, while Bryant still has to rest for another three weeks or so.
Whatever the current standings, Garza stresses that there is plenty of football to be played and plenty of room for movement.
"They're all young, but they're coming around and we'll see what they do in the next scrimmage."
Torin Harris (top), Brian Baucham (middle) and Nickell Robey (bottom).
