Kodi Burns, Chris Todd battle for starting quarterback role as Tigers air it out in annual A-Day scrimmage
Kodi Burns: showcases his abilities as quarterback during the A-Day game on Saturday. He and junior transfer Chris Todd are competing for the quarterback starting position for the 2008 season. Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR
The 2008 version of A-Day was all about the quarterbacks.
Not since the Jason Campbell - Daniel Cobb quarterback debate of 2002 has Auburn seen as intense a battle as the one between sophomore Kodi Burns and junior transfer Chris Todd.
All eyes were on Burns and Todd throughout the 48- minute scrimmage, even teammates who were looking to catch a glimpse at who could be the future starter.
Burns led the Blue Team on the field first, but that shouldn’t serve as any indication of who’s ahead in the race for number one on the depth chart.
“Everyone knows those are going to be the two fighting for the job,” said running back Ben Tate. “So, I’m just watching, trying to figure out what’s going on. I’m ready for them to finally pick a guy who’s going to be the leader.”
Burns and Todd both avoided interceptions and threw the ball well on the day. Burns went 14-21 for 142 yards, while Todd improved on his poor first-half performance to finish 18-27 for 190 yards.
Both threw touchdowns to wide receiver Robert Dunn and caught the eye of head coach Tommy Tuberville.
“I thought our quarterbacks did an admirable job of reading coverages and getting the ball off,” Tuberville said. “Kodi’s got to learn to get the ball off a little quicker and learn a little bit more touch. Chris Todd got better as the game went along. You can tell his arm’s getting a little stronger. That’s what Chris has a little bit over Kodi in terms of throwing a strike, throw it hard and throw it with a little touch. There’s going to be a little competition there.”
New offensive coordinator Tony Franklin was much more critical of the quarterbacks’ play.
“Chris’ arm was better in the second half than the first half,” Franklin said. “The first half he had nothing on the ball at all. Nothing. He came back out in the second half and didn’t take a warm-up throw and threw the ball with a lot more velocity. Kodi, I thought, threw the ball really good in the first half. I thought he moved around well and all that.”
Franklin was glad to see Burns and Todd get the ball in the end zone, but wouldn’t extend his praise much further saying, “Neither one of them is ready to go out and win an SEC Championship. They’ve both got a long way to go and a lot of competition left.”
Robert Dunn: beats Zac Ethridge over the middle on a 28-yard Kodi Burns pass for one of his two touchdown receptions in Saturday’s scrimmage. Pete Riley / PHOTO EDITOR
Quick Hits
- It was painfully obvious in the first half that Todd’s arm was nowhere near where it needs to be. Franklin said he was somewhere near 60 percent and hoped that the break, combined with therapy, will help him recover before two-a-days.
- Auburn’s wide outs performed much better than the first scrimmage, dropping only a handful of balls Saturday.
- Burns is looking increasingly comfortable in the pocket and delivering the ball with some serious authority. Although Burns tallied more than 30 yards on his feet, it could have been much more. On the two-hand touch rule: “When I scramble, there’s no way I’m down on a lot of those, and they know that and the coaches know that. So, a lot of time those will be first downs or even more than that.”
- Tommy Trott was noticeably more fluid and nimble at the tight end position. One of the most prolific pass catching tight ends in high school history, look for Trott to flourish in Franklin’s spread offense.
- Often injured running back Tristan Davis saw significant action and ran well.
- Linebacker Josh Bynes interception return for a touchdown was just a glimpse at the speed at the linebacker position. Tray Blackmon, Craig Stevens, Bo Harris and Bynes all possess the speed and athleticism to cause quarterbacks havoc come opening day.
- Defensive End AJ Green tallied two sacks early in the scrimmage but was forced out with what Tuberville called a “tweaked hamstring.”
- Special teams stood out for all the wrong reasons Saturday. Missed field goals, extra points and botched punts highlighted the kickers’ poor performances.
- DeRon Furr didn’t see the field until 0:21 left in the third quarter but played most of the fourth.
- Third-string quarterback Neil Caudle ran the ball well but was once again inconsistent at the helm for the Tigers.
- This ‘n that
- The strangest citing of the day was the return of Stanley McGlover —without hair.
- Not only are Auburn students fed up with the endless construction to and from class. Coach Tuberville said of showing recruits around campus: “We’ve got so much construction on campus. I had to apologize for that.”
- Brandon Cox was awarded the offensive player of the year trophy at the beginning of A-Day.
