Auburn football and head coach Bryan Harsin conducted an open practice for fans in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. In front of a crowd of about 3,500, the Auburn fans got to see what changes are being made to the football team under its new coaching staff. Many aspects of the team will look similar to onlookers, but just as many will be completely different.
WIDE RECEIVER CORE
Immediately, fans will notice that the receivers that line up for Auburn will be names they may not recognize. Anthony Schwartz, Seth Williams and Eli Stove have all gone on to the NFL Draft, and their roles need to be filled. In practice, Kobe Hudson, Ja’Varrius Johnson, Elijah Canion, Malcolm Johnson Jr. and Caylin Newton all ran with the first-team offense as potential receiver replacements.
Receivers Shedrick Jackson and Ze’Vian Capers did not practice, as they were listed as “limited” earlier in the week. Quarterback Bo Nix, who ran with the first team all day, seemed to favor throwing to Canion in many different drills.
Canion, a sophomore, had his best game of the year in the team’s bowl game against Northwestern, where he hauled in three catches for 80 yards. The development of chemistry with the young receiving core will be a huge storyline throughout spring and fall.
OFFENSIVE BACKFIELD
Bo Nix, as many would have assumed, ran with the first-team offense all afternoon. Nix was accompanied by running back Tank Bigsby, and the duo seemed to be in mid-season form. There were two instances where the tandem ran a trick-play: where Nix would pass to Bigsby behind the line of scrimmage on the right side, Bigsby would pass it back to Nix, and Nix would throw downfield along the left sideline. It seems as if Harsin has already implemented some new wrinkles into the offense and felt comfortable enough with them to display the play twice in only the team’s third practice.
Who runs with the second team is where the real questions lie, however.
During practice, sophomore quarterback Trey Lindsey ran with the second team. It was presumed that super-senior Grant Loy would be the incumbent second-string quarterback, but it appeared a potential leg injury kept Loy out of practice.
Loy was seen working out with the other players who Harsin had previously listed as “out” or “limited,” but Loy’s name was never mentioned as previously being injured. Loy sported a training band on his left leg to his left hip and did not appear to ever fully extend his leg throughout the day. It is unclear whether Lindsey playing with the second team is based on a competitive analysis between the two or because of Loy’s potential ailment, but it should be noted that there is a chance for a shakeup in the depth chart for the quarterbacks.
Alongside Lindsey, for most of the afternoon, was running back Jay Sharp, a name many Auburn fans may not know well yet. Sharp is a redshirt freshman from Birmingham who showed explosive speed when he got through the first level of defenders.
Sharp and senior Shaun Shivers split carries for most of the practice, but it does not appear that Sharp and Shivers are in any sort of battle for touches. Sharp may be used as a speedy, outside the tackles type of back where Shivers can run it in the trenches, with his signature pinball style of play. Again, names Auburn fans may not be terribly familiar with seemed to be making an emergence on offense.
TIGHT ENDS
Tight ends may be a word new to the Auburn vernacular and playbook, but the position group was in full display on Saturday. In many instances during first and second-team offensive drills, multiple tight ends were lined up on the ball, caught passes and even went in motion.
Sophomore Tyler Fromm, brother to former Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, took snaps with the first team exclusively and lined up first in every individual tight end drill. Fromm caught passes strictly from Bo Nix and did not drop a ball, as Nix hit the lengthy pass-catcher in the chest with every pass. Fromm does not have frightening speed, but a tight end that can catch and is a huge presence (listed at 6’5 250 pounds) can be a favorable asset to the Auburn offense.
Luke Deal and Brandon Frazier also lined up with Fromm and caught passes both during first and second-team periods. J.J. Pegues, a returning crowd favorite from last season, caught passes from Nix and frequently was used as a lead blocker for Tank Bigsby in space. A tandem of Fromm and Pegues could give Auburn some much-needed size in the pass-catching department and could greatly assist in blocking.
Tight end John Samuel Shenker was not at practice, as he is a dual-sport athlete who is currently traveling with the baseball team. Harsin said previously that he believes Shenker will have an impact on offense and accepts that Shenker is sparingly available during baseball season. His absence at practice will not impact his role on the team.
DEFENSIVE ALIGNMENT
On defense, the totally new coaching staff has implemented some different looks on the defensive side of the ball. In Harsin’s first spring football press conference, he talked about how new defensive coordinator Derek Mason intended to implement multiple different schemes, some of which were on display Saturday.
A defensive alignment of four defensive linemen, two linebackers and five defensive backs was used frequently against Auburn’s first-team offense. Zakoby McClain and Owen Pappoe were the two linebackers charged with holding down the middle of the field in this 4-2 set. Safety Smoke Monday frequently was called down from his safety spot, to press receivers close in the slot and the defense would shift over accordingly.
Harsin mentioned in his earlier press conference that the team anticipated utilizing a 3-4 set on defense, where three defensive linemen are on the ball with four linebackers behind, and the team utilized it sparingly. This base defense is the reverse of what most of the team previously ran under former coach Gus Malzahn and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who utilized a 4-3 set. Harsin noted post-practice that implementing new defensive schemes does not materialize overnight and that the defense is in the process of evolving.
“So with today, we're progressing through," Harsin said. "So what you're seeing is just pieces and parts. This is our progression for the third practice, this is where we are on the install. Once we put it all together, what does that look like, what is that going to be? More one-high, two-high? What's the front look like? More 3-down, 4-down? I don't have an answer for you there. But we're doing it all, right? We're doing it all, then we'll make our determinations and decide what that's going to look like after these practices and going into summer.”
The defensive line, headed up by seniors T.D. Moultry and Tyrone Truesdell will be a constant work-in-progress according to Harsin.
During practice, defensive line coach Nick Eason subbed in linemen constantly and switched players around all afternoon. Sophomore Colby Wooden, a returning defensive linemen, appeared sparingly during the practice. The former starter at defensive tackle made the SEC All-Freshman team last season but did not appear to be the automatic starter under the new coaching regime.
Derick Hall, listed now as an EDGE instead of his previous position at BUCK, played a lot of linebacker in space, covering up running backs out of the backfield. The junior will most likely play a role that changes every week, depending on the opponent and schematically where he is needed.
Hall and Bigsby had a nice matchup in the middle of practice, where Bigsby caught the ball out of the backfield and was headed Hall’s way. While cutting up-field, Bigsby juked towards the sideline and Hall went to the ground, but Hall was able to get up and push the running back to the turf almost immediately following. Hall’s speed and size should be an asset with the new defense.
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