Saturday's scrimmage was the grind right before a big level up for Auburn's football team as players continue to improve.
"We got a lot accomplished: somewhere between 70 and 80 plays," said coach Gene Chizik. "We got a lot of special teams working today, which was a good opportunity to capture some of that on film. We got a long way to go, but today will be a good day to look at the film and get some great evaluation."
Quarterbacks are still being evaluated, but Chizik said no candidate has become clearly superior at this point.
Kiehl Frazier, a candidate for starting quarterback, said he doesn't let the competition influence his mindset during practice.
"Coach Chizik really keeps that under wraps, so we're not really worried about that," Frazier said. "It has to happen before Clemson I guess. He could tell us in the locker room right before the game. It doesn't affect me at all. I still have three years left, so I'm going to do everything I can every day to improve."
There were a few false starts on the offensive line, and Chizik said he hopes to improve the focus of the younger players in subsequent practices.
"We've had about 10 practices right now, so I think they're getting better," Chizik said. "It's the focus and the mental part of the game that's really challenging those young guys, especially at this point in camp when everyone's tired and beat up. We've done a lot of contact work, but there's some good things happening out there."
Linebacker Kris Frost said he's seen the team's defense continuously improve, and Saturday's practice has only increased his confidence in the defensive line.
"It's all about playing fast and playing tough," Frost said. "That's what we're all about. We want to make teams quit. That's what we've set out to achieve, and we're doing the best we can to be ready."
The scrapes on Frost's head and arm prove that practices are rough, but he said it's important for each player to work hard and learn their roles by rote before the first game.
"When you know what you're doing you can definitely play faster," Frost said. "The more we know what we're doing and know our assignment, the more we can be confident and focused on what we're doing. The defense is definitely feeling like we're coming along. Day after day we're making strides, and even if we have the slightest mishap coach (Brian) VanGorder is going to take care of it in the filming room."
As for next practice, Chizik said he hopes to review the tapes and eliminate the inconsistencies that arose in Saturday's scrimmage.
"There's great competition going on both sides of the ball," Chizik said. "Nobody's really come in and stepped heads and tails above anybody else, but we're going to keep working."
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