When it comes to coaching football, Auburn defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson says there are two things you cannot control--injuries and the weather.
"Thank goodness we have an unbelievable indoor facility," Johnson said after Monday's practice. "We have not missed a beat in terms of being able to practice."
While the Tigers have still been able to go to work during these last few days of heavy rain, the uncontrollable factor of injuries has taken its toll on the defense.
"We stalled out and hit neutral about a week ago with the loss of so many players that are in the starting picture," Johnson said. "At one point, we had our best pass rusher, our returning tackle leader, our third-best cornerback out...in fact, we practiced one day without three of our four best corners."
Johnson said the Tigers were also without four players on the defensive line in the past few days, including starting defensive end Dee Ford.
The veteran defensive coordinator says he is thankful most of those injuries were not too serious, but he says Ford will "definitely" miss Auburn's season opener against Washington State and "will miss an extended amount of time."
Ford, who led the team in sacks last season, has not practiced in over a week after suffering a knee injury.
Johnson also said cornerback Jonathan Jones, who is expected to be in the rotation this season, is out for an indefinite period of time after suffering an injury away from practice. The cornerback underwent surgery on his ankle on Monday.
"That was a heartbreaker because he was doing such a good time and was going to see a lot of playing time," Johnson said. "He turned (his ankle) on some wet steps, and it just snapped."
While Ford and Jones will miss Aug. 31's opener, Johnson expects defensive leader Justin Garrett to be available. A projected starter in the "star" position in the 4-2-5 defense, Garrett suffered a sprained foot in the Tigers' first scrimmage of fall camp.
"We're going to err on the side of caution with Justin," Johnson said. "We're going to make sure he has a full week of practice. He could have come back on it a day or two ago, but it's still a little tender."
Even with all of the depth issues on the defense, Johnson says he has been pleased with the defense's improvement over the last four practices.
"We've still got a long way to go, but we have seen some improvement," Johnson said. "We have gotten a little bit better each practice...guys are giving a lot of effort out there."
Johnson attributes some of that improvement to the reinforcements who have come from an unlikely source--Rhett Lashlee's offense.
Like former starting quarterback Kiehl Frazier did in his move to safety last week, freshman running back Johnathan "Rudy" Ford has voluntarily moved full-time to cornerback.
"We love Rudy, we feel like he's going to be a really good player for us," Lashlee said. "But at the end of the day, we've got to win. We have got to do what's best for the team.
"(Ford) came to us and said, 'Coach, I want to help the team win. I want to win now.' And right now, that's what's best for our football team."
Lashlee said the speedy Ford was most likely going to see some playing time on offense this season, but the secondary is an area of the team that needs a lot of help in depth given injuries and dismissals.
"He's a big time athlete," Lashlee said. "So to be able to be young and immediately prove yourself on offense...then go over and help us out on defense...that says a lot about his character, his toughness and his ability."
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