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(08/09/13 5:31pm)
Anytime a program has a new head coach you are going to have some new players surface you have never seen before.
It could be an incoming freshman or it could be a veteran player that fits into the new system better than the old.
Well Auburn is no different, at every position on the offensive side of the ball Auburn fans can be expecting to see some new faces step up and take on a role in Gus Malzahn's offense.
Some of the older players you can be expecting to see have more of a role this season are junior tight end C.J. Uzomah and red shirt freshman Shon Coleman.
Coleman signed with Auburn in 2010, but had to put his football career on hold after being diagnosed with leukemia shortly after he signed with Tigers.
After beating cancer and returning to the field Coleman still had an uphill battle if he wanted to return to the star player he had been in high school.
He had to return to playing weight, get in shape and knock off the rust from not playing for so long.
But offensive line coach J.B. Grimes said on Friday that Coleman has finally returned to the player he once was.
"Shon Coleman is a really really good talented guy he just hasn't played football in a while and he's rusty," Grimes said. "He's a great kid and I really think he's got a bright future here as an offensive lineman. He is really coming on."
Uzomah, who has played a lot during his time at Auburn, has been a pleasant surprise to tight ends coach Scott Fountain so far in practice.
Malzahn's offense asks a lot of the tight end. He must be able to put his hand down and block, play h-back in the backfield and split out wide and play receiver. Uzomah is one of the few who can do all of these things. Something he could not do in the spring.
"He came back this fall and been a good surprise for me," Fountain said. "He's a better hand down blocking tight end, he's a better h-back for us in the backfield and we all know he can split out and do that type stuff. He's more of a complete guy that can do all of the things we ask to do in this offense and that's hard to find."
The young players who have impressed so far have been freshman running back Jonathan "Rudy" Ford and freshman receiver Tony Stevens.
Both were big pick-ups in last years signing class, and so far they have been as good as advertised.
"Rudy has done well, he has really good speed. I would say he's probably one of the faster players on our team," running backs coach Tim Horton said. "I can see him playing for us as a freshman and making some plays for us. Very pleased with his progress."
Stevens has impressed other players and coaches so far in practice even though he has been nursing a hamstring injury.
His hamstring is better now and if he can stay healthy this fall then Stevens should see playing time.
"Tony has been good. He has been everything that we thought he would be," receivers coach Dameyune Craig said. "We just want him healthy, so he can have a chance to compete and play full speed. He's shown flashes and he's gained about 10 pounds since he's been here so we are expecting some big things out of him."
Only time will tell if these players will be as good on game day as they have been on the practice field, but so far it seems like they will be.
(08/08/13 12:12am)
Gus Malzahn threw a small wrinkle into the team's first scrimmage on Wednesday when he decided to allow the quarterbacks to go live and be tackled by the defense.
"I though it was very important especially when you are trying to evaluate four guys to give them a chance to make plays just like a regular football game," Malzahn said after the scrimmage on Wednesday.
Evaluating the four quarterbacks was a major emphasis for the coaching staff during the scrimmage and Malzahn decided that to allow them to start separating themselves from one another then they had to surrender the orange jersey for a blue one.
Prior to fall practice beginning, offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said the quarterbacks would not go live, but was overruled by Malzahn on Wednesday.
"I never said the plan wasn't to go live," Malzahn said. "When it's not live your blowing the whistle and you don't know if they can break a tackle, you don't know if they can escape pressure. The big thing is when you are evaluating four guys you have to narrow things down, and the way to do that is to go live. So I've done that before I just felt like it was important that we did that now."
When the news reached the players that the quarterbacks would be going live excitement filled the locker room, especially for the defensive players.
"We kind of heard it around the locker room, but seeing them put on the blue jerseys put a smile on our face as a defense," safety Jermaine Whitehead said. "It turns our whole defense up, you get to hit the guy that's been talking all that smack."
With a growing number of teams utilizing athletic quarterbacks in their offenses, today's scrimmage provided a great opportunity for the defense to practice defending that kind of offensive attack.
"It brings a new aspect to the scrimmage that's for sure, because I've never been in a scrimmage where the quarterbacks have been live before," linebacker Jake Holland said. "It kind of gives everything a game like feel and that's what they wanted."
Auburn ran 107 plays in the scrimmage and rotated three groups in and out.
The coaches will begin evaluating the film of the scrimmage tonight, and then the team will have two practices on Thursday.
(08/07/13 4:47pm)
Both Chris Griffin and Chris Denson had 20-point games as the Auburn basketball team cruised to victory over the Real Deal Shockers 99-63 in an exhibition game in the Bahamas Basketball Federation Summer of Thunder Tournament.
Auburn hit 10 three-pointers in the first half, five of which came from Griffin, while Denson scored 21 of his game-high 24 points in the first half.
Griffin a junior college transfer committed to Auburn in April after previously being committed to Rutgers, but changed his pledge to the Tigers following the Mike Rice scandal.
While it is still too early to tell, right now it looks like Griffin could be a reliable option for the Tigers once the season starts.
"Chris Griffin is a guy that really can shoot the ball from range, hitting six threes tonight and that's why we recruited him," head coach Tony Barbee said in a press release. "He can really pace the floor, if you leave him open it's pretty much a layup."
Auburn will return to action on Thursday night to play the Bahamas All-Stars in its final exhibition game of the summer.
(08/07/13 1:51am)
After five straight practices, and the first day in full pads, football head coach Gus Malzahn decided to take it a little easy on the players to help get the team get ready for the first scrimmage of fall camp Wednesday.
"We shortened it just a little bit, we've got a big scrimmage tomorrow so we just want to make sure everybody gets to the scrimmage and is somewhat fresh and has a chance to mentally prepare because it'll be a big scrimmage for us. Not only as players but for coaches evaluating them," Malzahn said. "Will put them in different situations and try to get them on the field and make plays. We will be fairly basic offensively and defensively so we can evaluate."
Coaches have stressed the importance of these scrimmages to the players and how it is their chance to show the coaches how they can contribute to the team during the season.
"They've been telling us tomorrow is just like an NFL preseason game one," defensive end Craig Sanders said. "During the scrimmages you've got to show out, because they are going to start evaluating us to determine who is going to be on scout team and who is not going to be on scout team."
Obviously the most important thing going into the scrimmage is for the coaches to have the chance to evaluate the quarterbacks.
After five practices there has not been any separation among the four candidates, but tomorrows scrimmage could be the first chance for one of them to separate from the pack.
"There's nothing better to evaluate a quarterback than a scrimmage situation with live bullets coming and everything that comes with that," Malzahn said. "Some people find a way to raise their level and some people get a little nervous."
So far the coaches have been throwing a lot at the players mentally, so tomorrows scrimmage will be a chance for the coaches to test the players on everything they've learned.
"We really are just looking for people getting the plays right, getting lined up right, going fast, execution and getting everybody to work together as one unit," Jay Prosch said.
The Tigers will be looking to execute around 100 plays in different situations for tomorrows scrimmage.
(08/06/13 2:57am)
Defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson would prefer to be able to evaluate his defense with them in full pads, which he will get the opportunity to do tomorrow when Auburn straps on the pads for the first time this fall.
But just because Johnson has not had his players in pads does not mean his defense is not getting any work done.
"We have probably overloaded the kids at this point, but there is just no way around it," Johnson said. "A lot of times defensively when you can't hit without pads the one thing we like to do is really focus on install, and then when you put pads on you focus more on fundamentals. We'll slow down a little on the mental overload when we get the pads on and hopefully the kids will start to polish up."
Last year one of the weakest spots on the defensive unit was linebacker. So far this camp Johnson has been impressed with how they have shown up prepared and ready for practice, but believes they still have a long way to go.
"The older guys came back at least as well prepared if not better," Johnson said. "A couple of them lost some weight, because we thought it would help them and it did. I think from the standpoint of mental assignments they've been really good. The physicality of it we don't know yet, because they've been running around in shorts, but we'll start to find out more in the next few days."
Kris Frost has continued where he left off from spring, by impressing Johnson with his ability to learn and improve. Cassanova McKinzy though has surprised Johnson and improved a lot from spring to now.
"He's lost some weight, and his change of direction, redirecting on counters and coming out of his break when he drops in zone and those kinds of things are a lot better," Johnson said. "Just acceleration and explosion at the point of attack he's a lot better. Also, he can practice longer at a high tempo. He would not finish a practice and I felt like he was too heavy and out of shape. He did a good job of dropping some pounds and I think it really shows."
Even with some players showing off early in practice it's still way too early to tell how the depth chart will shake out before the home opener against Washington State.
"We haven't done enough at this point to tell you if a guy can play linebacker or not," Johnson said. "I know which ones can run around in pass scale and I know which ones can do drills and things, but until we put them in good live situations we won't know. Sometimes a player that doesn't look real cute in a drill is just a good natural player. Sometimes a player can do all the right things when you walk through the barrels and when you run through it five minutes later he's good, but you do it five days later and he can't remember. Will just have to see who surfaces."
Johnson also gave an update on DeMetruce McNeal who has had an infection and then had a minor surgical procedure. He listed him as day-to-day.
(08/04/13 1:52am)
During last year's dismal 3-9 season, leaders on Auburn's football team were limited.
If any team is going to be successful, leadership is something a team has to have an abundance of.
This year, veterans are assuming more of a leadership role than they have in the past, which is something they learned from previous teams at Auburn.
"When I first got here we had Darvin (Adams)," junior receiver Trovon Reed said. "Darvin was the leader of the room, and I saw how he led. Then I saw Emory (Blake) become the leader of the room, so what I try to do is mimic all those guys. Those guys knew what it took to win. This young group now, I'm trying to help them know I know what it takes to win. I've been here when we've won and I've been here when we've lost, so just roll with me because I'm not going to let you down."
Many have written off this group of receivers and don't expect them to do much this season, which puts much more of a priority on leadership for success.
But Dee Ford and the defensive line have very high expectations for their season, especially with potential new stars Carl Lawson and Elijah Daniel at defensive end.
Even with the talent on the defensive line, leadership will still remain a priority, and Ford does not see that as being a problem.
"It's really us pushing them and guiding them, and trying to make their job a lot easier," Ford said. "One thing they came in with is violent hands, and that is the most important key to pass rushing. They are a little wild, but they have violent hands. So from there you can clean up the technique, because pass rushing doesn't have to be pretty."
Both Ford and Reed are veteran players that have seen a lot during their time at Auburn, but sophomore defensive back Josh Holsey is showing that you do not have to be a veteran to become a leader.
While veteran safety Demetruce McNeal is out with an injury, Holsey has been leading and helping the new players learn the new defense.
"I'm teaching the ones that play my position. I know I'm learning as well but I know a little more than they do," Holsey said. "They are asking me questions and I'm telling them whenever they need help to just come ask me. When we are in the film room I sit next to two of them. So I'm helping them out telling them what checks to make and all that."
After getting an interception today in practice, Holsey is showing the younger guys that he not only knows how to lead off the field, but on it as well.
If Auburn wants to improve from last year's season, then leadership like this will need to continue throughout the season.
(08/04/13 1:43am)
Day two of Auburn football practice went a lot like it did on the first day, but today Head Coach Gus Malzahn was much more pleased with how practice went.
"Overall our approach to practice, attitude and effort was good today," Malzahn said. "The pace was better today, and we definitely challenged our players with that."
Practice was again split up into two parts, with the second part focusing more on the younger players. Tomorrow Auburn will put shoulder pads on for the first time this fall, and practice will go much faster with an emphasis on pace than it has the first two days.
"Tomorrows practice we will put everybody together for the first time," Malzahn said. "We will be in shells, which will be very good for us to evaluate our guys upfront."
Safety Demetruce McNeal did not participate in practice again today. Malzahn said Friday that McNeal was out for a medical reason, and before practice today he was walking around with a noticeable limp.
"I think he will be able to practice soon," Malzahn said. "It's nothing major we just want to make sure that he is 100 percent before we send him back out there. He's a veteran guy and has a lot of experience."
When McNeal returns he will have to compete for playing time with sophomore Josh Holsey who was moved into the safety position during McNeal's absence.
Holsey was a cornerback last year and says that right now his focus is on safety, but that he could be moving back to safety.
"Right now I'm at safety. I feel like when McNeal comes back that I will start doing both corner and safety," Holsey said. "But right now I'm focusing on safety."
Quarterback play was similar to yesterday's practice, but Malzahn said that the two new quarterbacks Jeremy Johnson and Nick Marshall looked much more comfortable than they did yesterday.
"We're throwing a lot at them just from the sideline, and they are feeling more comfortable from the sideline," Malzahn said. "They were able to relax a little bit more today and just play football, but overall it was similar to yesterday."
Auburn will practice again tomorrow, and will have pads on for the first time in fall practice.
(08/03/13 2:36am)
Auburn's first fall practice got off to an interesting start on Friday, Aug. 2, after head coach Gus Malzahn announced that red-shirt freshman tight end Ricky Parks will no longer be on the team because of a violation of team rules.
"Like I've said before we have high expectations for our players on and off the field and we wish him nothing but the best," Malzahn said.
Parks was expected to compete for playing time this fall even though he was playing behind junior tight ends CJ Uzomah and Brandon Fulse.
While this is not the best way to start a new football season, overall Malzahn felt that his first fall practice went well.
"It was really great to be out on the practice field with our players," Malzahn said "Our coaches were extremely excited and our players were too. It's something we've been looking forward to, and they've worked extremely hard to get to this point."
Not all of the first practice went smoothly though. Malzahn said that the quarterbacks had some mishaps, but that it was good for them to get that out of the way early in fall camp.
"There's nothing like making mistakes and learning on the practice field and not in the game," Malzahn said.
Right now all of the quarterbacks are getting equal opportunity to prove themselves and Malzahn says they will do that as long as it takes.
"The first part of practice we let the two new guys sit back and see how everything went, and the second part we let them get all the reps," Malzahn said. "Overall, I think they were pretty equal."
Sophomore offensive lineman Greg Robinson felt like the rest of the team handled the first day of practice well, even though a lot of pace was thrown their way.
"Everybody was encouraging one another trying to push each other to make sure that nobody falls apart," Robinson said. "We had a lot of pace today, but we are trying to get our edge back."
Malzahn divided practice into two sections, with the first focusing on older players and the second focusing on the younger players.
Auburn will practice the same way again Saturday afternoon.