Tuesday, Aug. 4, officially marked the beginning of football season with the Tigers’ first fall practice.
The pressure is on for this year’s team, especially on the redesigned defensive program under Will Muschamp’s coordination that the Tigers are in need of, coming off a weak defensive season in 2014.
In post-practice, coach Gus Malzahn emphasized the standard that comes with playing Auburn ball, which is, in his simplest terms, “excellence.”
This standard will be a requirement of the new defense, which carries a majority of the Auburn fans' expectations this season.
The good news for Muschamp is a good number of defensive players are headed back to the field, including defensive lineman Davonte Lambert, who returns from an ACL injury last season while filling in for Carl Lawson.
“(Lambert) was one of our better defensive players last year,” Malzahn said. “His rehab went very well, he’s worked extremely hard to get back and to have his presence out there. He’s a real positive energy guy, he’s a leader.”
Last season, Lambert played 11 games, with nine starts, totaling 3.5 sacks to lead the team until his play time was cut short from his injury. According to Malzahn, Lambert, Lawson and offensive lineman Alex Kozan are in good condition to play, as long as the staff keeps an eye on them.
“Lawson’s been cleared for a while, Kozan is getting to that point where he’s looking really good,” Malzahn said. “More of the ACL guys … we’ve just got to be smart with.”
Lawson’s long-awaited return is finally here, and he said he’s ready to take the field.
“I’m ready for the first game,” Lawson said. “I’m ready to get back out there and enjoy the sport.”
As a true freshman in 2013, Lawson finished with 20 tackles, including 7.5 for loss.
He said he’s not thinking about his knee, and plays more with a “reckless abandon.” After sitting out last season, Lawson said he was able to observe the little things to keep in mind when he did finally make his return to the defensive line.
“[I watched] a lot of footwork stuff,” Lawson said. “A lot of little things where you don’t have to waste as much energy to get to your goal … Just the overall game itself, addressing formations … more swagger about what makes you a better football player.”
Lawson also said Muschamp is being careful not to rely on only one star player this season.
“(Muschamp) is trying to prep as many guys to be as good as possible,” Lawson said. “So there’s no overly-valued person … What happens when that one guy goes out? They blow up.”
As far as his thoughts on freshman recruit Byron Cowart, Lawson said, “Big dude …big dude.”
Behind Lawson in today’s practice was sophomore Cameron Toney, who saw limited action at linebacker last season.
Montravius Adams is also a key returner for the Tigers as a junior tackle with 10 starts last season.
In post-practice, Adams said he thinks he’s done pretty well this summer, but there’s always room for improvement. As far as being a leader this year, Adams said, “You’ve got to step up and take your role and do what you have to do.”
Adams also said Lawson’s return will be a big advantage to this season’s defense.
“I think it helps us a lot,” Adams said. “Last year, we needed some pass rush and we didn’t have that, and having everybody back, everybody healthy … it’s going to help.”
When asked if he feels he’s on the verge of a breakout season, Adams said, “I’m going to let the season tell you the answer.”
The Tigers’ 8-5 record last year is enough to give the defense an edge, according to Adams.
“Since I’ve been here [the defense] has been on the dot," Adams said. "The defense has its own edge, we have our own edge. We want to prove to people that we’re one of the best in the nation.”
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