AU FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: TE Lutzenkirchen ready to step up, in

Gene Chizik said the Tigers have a plan for replacing tight end Tommy Trott if the senior can’t make it out for Saturday’s game against West Virginia.

It includes pretty much everyone.

Chizik didn’t provide many specifics or a timetable regarding Trott’s knee injury, but he did name a number of options to fill his void.

“We’ve got Philip (Lutzenkirchen) — that’s encouraging,” Chizik said. “He’s a young guy that’s going to be a very good player, and we are going to up his responsibility in his role. Obviously, Gabe McKenzie has played a lot of football here. And then we’ve got a lot of other guys — the John Douglas’ of the world, the Eric Smith’s of the world, who can jump in there and do a little bit of both.”

The first name appears poised for the most responsibility.

Fresh off his first career touchdown Saturday in the Tigers’ win against Mississippi State, Lutzenkirchen has had his responsibilities amped up in practice over the past couple of weeks. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said Lutzenkirchen will definitely have a larger role in Auburn’s offense Saturday.

“He’s got a lot of talent,” Malzahn said. “He’s getting used to college football, and the demands from the physical and mental standpoint. He’s going to be a very good player for us, but we’re going to need him to step up very quick.”

Lutzenkirchen has had to take on a significantly different role with Auburn than he had at Lassiter High School in Marietta, Ga.

There, he was more of a slot receiver. Now, he’s being asked to block more.

“Since I’ve been here, they’ve really preached that I need to get the blocking down, so I guess they are — I wouldn’t say comfortable, but more comfortable at where by blocking is at,” Lutzenkirchen said. “That’s the main difference.”

McKenzie, meanwhile, has yet to see the field during significant moments in Auburn’s first two games. His absence this spring is still hampering his development, Malzahn said.

“He’ll play some, too,” Malzahn said. “He’s still learning. Each practice it seems like he gets more comfortable.”

Tackle battle
Safety Zac Etheridge has led the Tigers in tackles the past two seasons and is currently tied for the team lead with middle linebacker Josh Bynes.

Bynes wants that streak to come to an end.

“A safety leading the team in tackles two years in a row? Of course, I didn’t start the whole year, but still, I can’t let that happen again,” Bynes said. “I’ve got to take that reign from him.”

Bynes said Etheridge has earned that status, though, and is not just benefiting from missed opportunities by the linebackers.

“A lot of teams down at the end of the game last year started passing it more, so it opened up a lot of plays for them to make tackles,” Bynes said. “I ain’t going to take it from them. They did their job and they made the tackles.”

No sacks
Auburn’s offensive line wasn’t informed until Tuesday that it was one of just 12 teams (seven that have played two games) to not allow a sack this season.

Center Ryan Pugh said it’s one of just a few possible statistics the offensive line can strive for, so it’s an obvious benchmark to try to maintain.

“It becomes addicting to see how long you can keep that going,” Pugh said. “What it does, it makes you go out to practice that much harder to become that much better to keep that going.

“As an offensive lineman, you don’t get the touchdowns. The only thing you can get recognized for are things like that.”

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