As Auburn prepares to take on Washington for its first game of the season, the focus is on the Huskies’ defense.
Former Arizona State (2016) and current Auburn offensive coordinator, Chip Lindsey, had nothing but praise for the opposition at Wednesday night’s press conference.
“In my experience in the Pac-12, Washington was one of the top teams in that conference,” Lindsey said. “They are very well coached. I think we’re going to see the same type of team next week.”
In the one game Lindsey coached against Washington in 2016, his team lost 44-18. The Huskies were able to apply pressure on Arizona State’s quarterback, recording six sacks and coming down with an interception.
With Auburn’s offensive line in a state of flux, seeing how Stidham reacts against the pass rush is on the forefront of Lindsey’s mind.
“Pressure is what makes all quarterbacks struggle,” Lindsey said. “I think Jarrett has continued to grow by watch film and being in the SEC for a year. He understands the D-lines we play are pretty good and he gets a chance to go up against one every day at practice.”
Last season, in the five games where Stidham was sacked three or more times, he threw three picks and had an average Quarterback Rating of 28.7. The Tigers went on to lose four out of five of those games.
Washington’s defensive line lost Pac-12 Player of the Year, Vita Vea, to the draft this year but returns senior Greg Gaines, who was selected to the all Pac-12 second team. They were also able to sign the No. 8 defensive tackle prospect in the 2018 class, Tuli Letuligasenoa.
Another key component to the Huskies’ defense is their secondary, which returns all four starters. Junior Myles Bryant was an honorable mention for all Pac-12 honors and is expected to capitalize off his sophomore year, while Byron Murphy and Jordan Miller are touted as one of the top DB duos in the nation.
The Washington CB duo of Jordan Miller & Byron Murphy return to anchor the Huskies secondary pic.twitter.com/omVaabQlRK
— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 14, 2018
While the Tigers are in the early stage of their game prep, junior wide receiver Darius Slayton understands what Auburn has to do in order to take control.
“It is really important for us to establish the run game,” Slayton said. “Make them play at our pace. I think that would be huge for us.”
Last season, Washington had the No. 1 defense against the run, allowing the fewest yards of any team in the country. Auburn is looking to junior Kam Martin and redshirt freshman Jatarvious “Boobie” Whitlow to fill the shoes of Kerryon Johnson at the running back position.
“It’s getting to that time,” Slayton said. “You’re just itching waiting for Saturday to get here.”
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Bryce Johnson is a junior Journalism major at Auburn University from Santa Monica, CA. He works as a sports writer for The Plainsman.
- @Brycejohnson310
- bzj0020@auburn.edu
