AU FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Consistency on punt return a must for Chizik

The search continues.

Just when it appeared it couldn’t get much worse at punt returner for Auburn, it did against Furman on Saturday.

Philip Pierre-Louis lost yards on a handful of returns, let some bounce that he should have tried to catch and even committed the Cardinal sin of fumbling inside the 10-yard line.

Not much has gone right at the position for Auburn this year, which, not surprisingly, has left coach Gene Chizik dissatisfied by the comedy of errors.

“It just really is disappointing and we’ve invested a lot of time in it,” Chizik said. “We’ve got to get somebody back there that we can count on to do that. Obviously, we don’t have anybody at this point we feel like can.

“If it has to be somebody new, then that’s what we’ll do this week.”

Auburn has used five players at punt returner this season and all but one — Quindarius Carr — have fumbled. Pierre-Louis has been the longest to hold his job, taking over in Auburn’s fifth game against Tennessee after Anthony Gulley went down with an injury.

Gulley said he and Demond Washington were working on punt returns at Sunday’s practice.

“I think I’ll get a chance again,” Gulley said. “I love punt returns. I enjoy doing it.”

Gulley had some troubles during Auburn’s game in September against Ball State, when he bobbled one return and fumbled another.
He said he’s learned from that rough outing, mainly when it comes to looking ahead at the pressure coming his way instead of
focusing on the ball.

There’s only one chance to look, he said.

“That’s right when the ball is kicked, to look down to see how much space you got,” Gulley said. “I’m trying to carry that with me.”

Injury report
Saturday’s victory was executed about as perfectly as planned, but it appears at least one player was lost for the foreseeable future.

Wide receiver Travante Stallworth, who had seen his role with the offense increase over the past few weeks, suffered a right knee injury on second-quarter kickoff coverage. He needed help to the sidelines, was quickly taken to the locker room and did not return for the second half.

Chizik remained vague when discussing Stallworth’s injury, but did not say he was “day by day” like the others.

“It was a significant enough injury for him not to return to the game, obviously, and we don’t know the details of exactly where it is at this point,” Chizik said. “But it was again, significant enough for him not to return to the game.”

Tailback Onterio McCalebb missed his second consecutive game because of a nagging ankle injury.

“He was close (to playing),” Chizik said.

Linebacker Adam Herring did not play Saturday because of a nagging heel injury. Herring had offseason surgery on the heel, which prevented him from returning to practice until mid-August.

Freshman Jonathan Evans filled the void left by Herring on Saturday, picking up five tackles in the second half.

“That’s good for a guy like that to be able to get those reps, because right now he’s the next linebacker in the ballgame,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “Certainly you want those guys to have as many reps so when they come in and it’s crunch time, they’ve been there before.”

Auburn nabs a ranking
Auburn’s big victory over Furman apparently impressed one set of pollsters.

The Tigers went from unranked to No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll Sunday, putting Auburn back in the rankings for the first time since Oct. 4.

Auburn received votes in the Associated Press poll, but didn’t crack the top 25.

The Tigers also remained unranked in the BCS poll.

Learning on the job
Gulley had yet to take a snap at tailback since he came to Auburn from Brantley High School, so when he was thrust into action Saturday, a crash course on the play calls ensued.

“We might have drawn it up in the dirt beforehand,” Chizik said. “He was good.

“He knew where to go.”

That’s probably because the instructions from quarterback Neil Caudle were simple, especially on the second touchdown run that he took 50 yards.

“(Caudle) said ‘Get to my left,’” Gulley said.

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