Gus Malzahn's players had to quickly shake off any rust accumulated in the week off and prepare for the first scrimmage of the 2016 calendar.
The scrimmage, which started at Jordan-Hare Stadium on an overcast Saturday morning and was later moved to the indoor practice facility due to rain, was important for building separation at key position battles—especially the one at quarterback.
"During the scrimmage, there were a few scores by the offense, but there were also the defense [getting] some turnovers," Malzahn said. "Energy was good...overall. I thought it was a pretty productive day. We got some good information moving forward."
With the third full week of Auburn's 2016 spring camp in the books, let's recap all the major news and notes from what was an offense-heavy week at the post-practice podium:
We'll do it live
Auburn's first scrimmage of spring camp served as an important mile-marker for the quarterback battle. Saturday was the first day Malzahn let the defense tackle the signal-callers.
"It's very good to evaluate those guys in a live situation, and it's very good for our defense to have a quarterback go live," Malzahn said. "You can learn a lot about the pass rushing and everything that goes with that. I thought all three [quarterbacks vying for the starting job] got some good work."
Malzahn said newcomer John Franklin III "got quite a bit of work by design" in Saturday's scrimmage because the staff had never seen him practice with the team in a live situation. Running back Jovon Robinson said Franklin busted a 70-yard run "that surprised everybody in the stadium."
"That's a quick person, man," Robinson said. "When you can move laterally as quick as he can? You can do special things on the field. You saw that today. In the spring game, we can make some people happy."
But Franklin wasn't the only Auburn quarterback to make a big highlight play in the scrimmage Saturday. Former starter Jeremy Johnson hit running back Roc Thomas on a wheel route for 75 yards and a touchdown.
"I was getting some pretty good holes," Thomas said. "At times, the defense would do some different things that the offensive line hadn't seen yet, so I think that was good for them to see. It was a pretty good scrimmage."
Defensive backs Jamel Dean and Stephen Roberts said Johnson's bomb to Thomas was the only "big play" the secondary gave up to the opposing quarterbacks in what was a run-heavy scrimmage.
But that was just fine for the offense.
"That's what we do," Robinson said. "We got in the end zone a lot. I managed to get in the end zone today. Going through this offense, we know success is not given; it's earned. But we earned a lot of points today, so we did pretty good."
Malzahn said the rushing attack did well for the most part, but some of the "rookies" in the backfield, such as early enrollee Malik Miller, had issues with ball security. None of the quarterbacks threw interceptions, and the defense's only forced turnovers came from fumbles.
But the Auburn head coach seemed pleased with the overall progress both sides of the ball showed in the Tigers' first scrimmage of 2016.
"Sometimes the offense wins, sometimes the defense wins and sometimes it's pretty close," Malzahn said. "I'd say today it was pretty close. We're rotating a lot of guys and letting everybody play."
Receiving high praise
Saturday's scrimmage was also an important time for Auburn's wide receivers, who must step up in 2016 to replace the production Ricardo Louis, Melvin Ray and the dismissed Duke Williams provided.
"They all got opportunities," Malzahn said. "A couple of guys made some catches down the field. They played extremely hard."
Earlier in the week, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee spoke highly of several receivers both new and old in the Auburn system.
Early enrollee Kyle Davis continued to be a major discussion subject, even though he has been limited in practices due to a recent shoulder surgery. The 6'2" wideout wears a bright orange noncontact jersey in practice and stands out in other ways as well.
"Physically, just what we call on the hoof, the way you look at him, he looks the part," Lashlee said, per Wesley Sinor of AL.com. "He looks good in pads...just from what we've seen so far we feel pretty good about his chances of having an opportunity to compete for a spot come fall camp."
Redshirt freshman Darius Slayton has been able to do more in practices, and he hit the ground running this spring by battling for playing time. Senior receiver Tony Stevens, a player Lashlee said is in a "time of urgency" after underwhelming so far on the Plains, sees something similar in Slayton.
"He's looking pretty good," Stevens said. "I've seen him improve from last year to this year. He's more urgent now. He wants the ball, wants to be out there making plays, and that's a big plus for us because we're going to need everybody."
Stevens speaks the truth. Auburn's returning receivers who recorded at least a single catch in 2015—Stevens, Marcus Davis, Jason Smith and Stanton Truitt—combined for just 575 yards of production.
Auburn is going to need everybody, from the experienced ones on down to the underclassmen, to become better playmakers under the guidance of new wide receivers coach Kodi Burns. The former Auburn quarterback-turned-receiver is making his mark with more of a hands-on style of coaching this spring.
"He's out there like he's one of us," Stevens said. "He's really hands-on. He shows it, and then we do it. He does receiver drills that I've never done before, ball drills on the floor. And even before practice, he's out there coming up to us one-on-one and doing drills with us."
New blood boiling in the secondary
The spotlight has been shining brightly on the Auburn secondary this spring, with new defensive backs coach Wesley "Crime Dawg" McGriff taking over a unit that is looking for major improvement.
One of the defensive backs making a strong impression hasn't played a snap of college football yet—cornerback Jamel Dean, who transferred from Ohio State to Auburn last year. Dean suffered a serious knee injury in his junior year of high school and wasn't medically cleared to play for the Buckeyes in the spring of 2015.
After Dr. James Andrews gave him the all-clear on a second opinion, Dean decided to join former Auburn assistants Will Muschamp and Travaris Robinson's growing stockpile of defensive recruits from South Florida.
"I wanted to try something new, and I wanted to be back in the south," said Dean, who made it clear he "didn't hold any grudges" after how things turned out at Ohio State. "I thought it was the best fit for me just because of the defense they run."
Now, Dean is already making a major push for the starting cornerback job opposite fellow Florida native Carlton Davis. At 6'2" and 205 pounds, he's an ideal corner to line up against the larger receivers that are starting to dominate the SEC.
"He has a lot of talent. He can run. He's a physical guy," Malzahn said. "He really caught our attention in bowl practice when we did some scrimmaging and he's carried it over into spring... He's a young guy; he's still learning, but his attitude is good, and he's got a lot of talent."
But while Dean is impressing in his first weeks of full-speed work at Auburn, another young defensive back is catching his own eye.
"John Broussard, man," Dean said. "I see him getting better every day in spring and improvement. I like to see that for later on in his career."
As an early enrollee, Broussard could get a head start in providing depth at cornerback this fall. The true freshman from nearby Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama, stands 6'0" and has room to grow at 170 pounds.
Roberts, who played against Broussard in high school as a converted quarterback at Opelika High School, continues to see plenty of growth in the former 4-star recruit.
"That's just a guy who likes to work," Roberts said. "I know he may be small now, but he's going to get bigger. Just having him focused and ready to play, ready to come in and do some work, that's what has impressed me about him this spring."
Quick hits
- Stevens said Franklin started a group text message with all of Auburn's wide receivers the moment he arrived on campus. "He's pretty much a leader in my eyes. On the field, you can see he's having fun out there. He's already at home."
- Safety Johnathan "Rudy" Ford returned to practice this week for Auburn. Robinson said Ford, who he called "one of the fastest guys in the SEC," hawked Franklin down on his 70-yard run Saturday.
- Starting center Austin Golson got reps at left tackle during the media-viewing portion of Tuesday's practice. According to Malzahn, new offensive line coach Herb Hand is continuing to "mix and match" by cross-training players at other positions for depth purposes.
- Dean said he is competing for a starting job with redshirt freshman Javarius Davis at the cornerback spot opposite Carlton Davis.
- Junior running back Roc Thomas said sophomore H-back Chandler Cox "ran the ball well" at practice for someone who isn't a natural at the position.
- When asked if junior defensive end Carl Lawson was still "unblockable" in practices, Malzahn responded with a trademark "no doubt."
- Saturday's scrimmage ended with three live punt returns, which Malzahn said were taken by Ryan Davis, Javarius Davis and Stephen Roberts.
All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting "star" rankings are courtesy of 247Sports.
Justin Ferguson is a National College Football Analyst at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
Read more Auburn Football news on BleacherReport.com
from Bleacher Report - Auburn Football http://ble.ac/1PAQgSP
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment