Plenty, actually. And we hope to learn more after this evening’s practice.
So, we’ve already talked about this a bunch of times, but the offense Gus Malzahn has brought to the Plain is fast. The pace at Auburn’s practice has been pepped up, leaving the Tigers little opportunity to loaf, casually stroll or think about slowing down without having a face full of Gus to deal with. We talked about that in our main story today.
As for these here quarterbacks, it appears the field, which was basically pared down to three when Chris Todd told us he wasn’t throwing the football yet. We learned yesterday that Neil Caudle and Kodi Burns swapped duties with the first team while Barrett Trotter has been heading up the twos. So that’s something.
There’s no need for us to bog you down with words regarding the quarterbacks from here on out. Let’s let them tell their side of the story.
In alphabetical order we have Burns, Caudle and Trotter.
We’ve got coordinators on video serving as the bread to this TNT sandwich.
Eat up.
Tigers don pads, disappoint coaches
Just because there was reason to celebrate his team’s first practice in pads, it didn’t mean Gene Chizik had to be happy with what transpired.
The Auburn coach supervised his first full-pads spring practice Saturday, a two-hour session in ominous, but primarily dry conditions.
There was plenty left to be desired, Chizik said.
“I thought at times, we showed signs of being physical, but we certainly didn’t make a habit of it today, which was obviously what we have to get back to,“ Chizik said. “I think they showed signs of having it in them, but at the end of the day, that certainly wasn’t near enough.“
Auburn will practice this evening and has 12 sessions, including today and A-Day, remaining on its schedule. Per NCAA rules, the Tigers must hold one more practice without pads and only 12 of the 15 may involve contact, eight of which can involve tackling.
Tiger coaches expect a better use of the time crunch in the next few practices.
“We’re still learning how to practice and go from what we call tracking and changing tempos,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “I was hoping we were going to be a little more physical than what we were today.”
Burns, Caudle rotating with first-team
Saturday served as Kodi Burns’ turn to run with the first-team offense, as the Tigers ran their first 11-on-11 drills of the spring – in pads, at least.
“It started off kind of slow and then we picked it up and then we kind of got slow again,” Burns said. “I think that as long as we know what we’re doing, we’re going to be able to do well.”
Burns said he and Neil Caudle have been swapping back and forth in running with the first team. Caudle said redshirt freshman Barrett Trotter has been heading the “blue group” – Auburn’s second-team offense.
“I think we’re all getting a fair shot,” Caudle said. “We’re all getting equal reps. We just have to go out there and take advantage of the reps we get and try to separate ourselves from the pack.”
An early LB depth chart
Roof, in his first meeting with reporters since spring practice began, set a preliminary depth chart at linebacker Saturday.
Josh Bynes, who emerged as a starter last season when Tray Blackmon was ruled out for the season, remains the first-team middle linebacker. Flanking Bynes, at the moment, are Craig Stevens and Spencer Pybus, Roof said.
Roof said junior-college transfer Eltoro Freeman, redshirt freshman Da’Shaun Barnes and sophomore Wade Christopher are his second-team linebackers – for now.
“It’s something that we continually evaluate,” Roof said. “We’re looking for guys that want to fly around and hit.”
Pugh beefs up
Center Ryan Pugh has joined left tackle Lee Ziemba as a member of the “Get Big” club.
Pugh, a junior, said he has gained 20 pounds of “good weight” and now tips the scales at 290 pounds. Ziemba weighs in at 308 after gaining 28 pounds this past offseason.
“It helps out a lot because the guy across from you are going to be 300+ everywhere you go,“ Pugh said. “Putting that weight on definitely helps as far as being able to get leverage, especially because I’m short already, so I need a little more weight, put a little more lead in my pencil.“
On the mend
Tiny speedster Philip Pierre-Louis said he has not faced contact in practice thus far and isn’t sure when he will.
“They’re really trying to limit me just to be sure but I’ve been doing everything,” Pierre-Louis said. “At times, I feel a little frustrated, but that’s what comes with injuries, things happen.”
Pierre-Louis tore his anterior cruciate ligament on the first play of 2008. He walked off the field under his own power.
“I just thought I twisted my knee. I thought I’d be fine, just jog it off,” Pierre-Louis said. “So when they showed me and told me I tore my ACL, it was a little disappointing, but I knew eventually I’d have to come back and play harder and practice harder.”
Let’s take this inside
Severe storms cleared the area just in time for Auburn to practice as scheduled Saturday morning.
Chizik has said that practicing inside Auburn’s 50-yard indoor complex will not be an option this spring, prompting the almost yearly question as to whether Auburn needs a 100-yard indoor practice facility.
“Obviously, an indoor facility would be something that’s certainly been up on the books,” Chizik said. “I’m sure that’s something that we’re going to work toward in the future. Obviously that would have helped some today.”
No time for riff-raff today. Whole lot going on, so we’ll just dive right in.
***Today was Auburn’s first day in pads. Players, obviously, were stoked. The reviews from the coaches were a bit mixed.
“I thought at times, we showed signs of being physical, but we certainly didn’t make a habit of it today, which was obviously what we have to get back to,“ coach Gene Chizik said. “I think they showed signs of having in them, but at the end of they day, that certainly wasn’t near enough.“
“I was hoping we were going to be a little more physical than what we were today,“ defensive coordinator Ted Roof said.
***Roof spoke at length with us beat hacks for the first time since spring practice commenced. He offered up a few good tidbits. He’s been very impressed by linebacker Craig Stevens, defensive tackle Mike Blanc and safety Mike McNeil thus far. At linebacker, he’s got Stevens, Josh Bynes and Spencer Pybus going from left to right on your radio dial with the first team. Roof said he’s liked the progression junior-college transfer Eltoro Freeman has shown, but still has him on the second team for now.
***Gus Malzahn also made his first appearance on the hot couch inside the Rane Room. Always a delight, Malzahn didn’t provide much clarity on Auburn’s open quarterback situation, but had a few insightful things to say.
Kodi Burns worked in with the one’s today, but that was merely part of the rotation. “In such early stages, it’s hard for me to comment one way or another completely, but I think they all want to be good,“ Malzahn said.
As for the amped up pace of practice that Malzahn has instigated and the subsequent reaction from players…: “I’m going to be bet they’re in a little bit of shock, as far as what we’re asking them to do,“ Malzahn said. “But here’s the great thing about it: We weren’t happy two days ago with their pace and we really challenged them. They came back strong, and we saw that aspect—at least early—where they know the pace that we want to run plays and get on and off the field and get used to practicing fast.“
***Philip Pierre-Louis, who went down on the first play of 2008 with a torn ACL, still isn’t facing contact, but appeared upbeat today. He said he was on, if not ahead, of schedule, and that he’d be out there “soon enough.“
***Center Ryan Pugh has added 20 pounds of “good weight” and now weighs in at 290 pounds. “It helps out a lot because the guy across from you is going to be 300+ everywhere you go,“ Pugh said. “Putting that weight on definitely helps as far as being able to get leverage, especially because I’m short already, so I need a little more weight, put a little more lead in my pencil.“
***As you may have already noticed from today’s video, Chizik appeared much more open with reporters today. He provided some great insight on Freeman and JUCO-transfer tailback Onterio McCalebb. Maybe this was a one-day anomaly or maybe the new coach is getting just a bit more comfortable with us beat hacks.
Auburn coach Jeff Lebo is one of four candidates on VCU athletic director Norwood Teague’s short list to replace Anthony Grant, according to a report in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Grant will be announced as Alabama’s new head coach Sunday. Teague wants a replacement by Thursday.
The other candidates according to the report are Rams assistant Tony Pujol, Florida assistant Shaka Smart and Texas assistant Russell Springmann.
One thing not seem like the other?
Grant made $700,000 plus incentives at VCU for the 2008-09 season, according to the Times-Dispatch. He, or Alabama, owes VCU $240,000 for leaving. Lebo made at least $785,000 this season and his contract runs through 2013. If he were to opt out now, VCU, or Lebo, would owe Auburn $350,000 per year until 2013, which would total a sum slightly less than $1.5 million.
If it doesn’t make sense to you, you’re in the majority. Lebo, an SEC coach, would be jumping to the Colonial Athletic Association for what is expected to be equal or slightly more money.
But I’ve learned to never rule out anything in coaching maneuvers. Just last year, when we were just freshly removed from Ohio University, we saw Tim O’Shea leave the Bobcats for a lower-paying job at Bryant University, which won’t be tournament-eligible for another four years. An eight-year deal, low expectations and the ability to move back to his native state made it worth his while.
Perhaps there’s a connection we aren’t seeing yet. Or perhaps Teague, a fellow UNC grad around the same time as Lebo, is helping an old buddy leverage a pay raise.
We’ll keep you posted.
UPDATE: Atheltic director Jay Jacobs said VCU has not contacted him to speak with Lebo at this time.
So all the talk this week, last week and all the weeks to come are going to be about the offense.
But hey, Auburn has a defense, too. And in our opinion, their drills are a lot more fun to watch.
Like this one, where defensive coordinator Ted Roof has his linebackers get low and high-step over some pads—all at the same time!
Or how about this one, where Tracy Rocker somehow sautered a football onto a large stick and uses it as a tool in this drill.
Now this one looks like a whole lot of fun. Minus the whole Rocker yelling at us part. Get some.
And finally, we’ve got Phillip Lolley teaching his cornerbacks how to properly stick someone at the line of scrimmage. Lolley’s old school. We like that.
