With less than three weeks to go before the season opener against Arkansas State, the Auburn Tigers practiced in full pads Monday.
The Tigers will hold one more practice Tuesday morning before holding a closed scrimmage inside Jordan-Hare Stadium later that night.
"Today was a little more physical of a practice," said coach Gene Chizik. "It was full pads. We have a scrimmage tomorrow, so most of the day was physical contact, but not bringing anyone to the ground. We were trying to learn and keep installing; we know we are getting ready for school to start so we are trying to narrow down the guys we feel like we are going to play within two-and-a-half weeks."
Monday's practice opened with special teams play and was followed by individual and position drills before moving to 7-on-7 and 11-on-1 drills: offense versus defense.
"It is back and forth," Chizik said. "You get some good things on both sides and things you can learn from on both sides. A lot of good things by the offense--some really good explosive plays, but we still have to be able to hunker in there and run the football consistently and we are still looking for that."
With the first three games starting at 6 p.m. or later, Auburn will have a late scrimmage to ensure players are adapting to factors as minute as the placement of the sun.
"We're trying to simulate as close as we can to game time," Chizik said.
Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said he is looking to improve consistency and determine who is ready to play in the first game.
"We started narrowing things down," Malzahn said. "We're very specific on what we want to see from certain people and what they can and can't do in certain situations. This includes young guys; we want to see if they're ready to play in the first game."
Freshman Ryan White made the move from quarterback to defensive back after talking to coaches and is now practicing at corner.
"We're trying to see what he can do," Chizik said. "It was a late move during camp, but that is where we feel he'll have the best chance of helping us."
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