With this year’s addition of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp to the coaching staff, changes, and hopefully improvements, are sure to follow on the defensive line. In Gus Malzahn’s pre-first spring practice press conference, he said offense would mainly stay the same along with special teams, but adjustments will be made for Auburn’s defense, which hasn’t earned a top spot in the SEC since 2007.
Anthony Swain will graduate this spring and will not return for the Tigers in the fall. Gage Batten has also officially left the program, confirming rumors of his absence from the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin.
With Kris Frost and Cassanova McKinzy at linebacker, Braden Smith will start out at guard this afternoon, with Avery Young at left tackle as well as Josh Holsey at corner.
Trey Matthews will start at safety alongside Jonathan Ford, who will also experiment at corner.
Sophomore Shon Coleman returns with a year under his belt after four years off from football because of his battle with leukemia, and will fight for the left tackle job. Alex Kozan will be limited this season in playing time along with Jordan Diamond at their positions on the offensive line.
Redshirt freshman Dontavious Russell will also work for a spot on defense after sitting out the 2014 season.
“This is the time for (redshirt freshmen) to compete for a job,” Malzhan said.
Senior cornerback Jonathan Jones is learning his third defense during his four years at Auburn.
But that does not seem to bother Jones at all, who has a simple approach to learning new schemes.
“The thing about football is there’s different terminology, but it’s basically the same thing,” Jones said. “You learn the different nuances of each defense, but that’s mostly off the field. You’ve got to get in your playbook off the field, and then come on the field and execute.”
Muschamp has been with the team since his hiring in December, but his first spring practice running the defense had a different feel than the bowl practices, according to Jones.
“He was actually in charge today, so he was definitely intense,” Jones said. “He knows what he’s talking about, so he has high expectations of us. We’ve got to meet his expectations because he’s not going to lower them.”
So far, Jones said he likes what Muschamp brings to the practice field.
“He’s intense,” Jones said. “He expects the best from you every day. Just energy. He wants you to bring your best energy, fly around, and that’s what you can expect from him every day.”
As for his new position coach, former Auburn defensive back Travaris Robinson, Jones said he and Muschamp have similar expectations for the defense.
“They’ve been together for a while, so they’re the same people,” Jones said. “They’re on the same page, both intense, and expect a lot from us.”
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