AUBURN NOTEBOOK: Experienced offensive line fighting injuries

It was a rare accomplishment: When Auburn started spring practice back in February, the Tigers returned all five starters on the offensive line.

But AU didn’t have much time to savor it. Right guard Chaz Ramsey missed almost all of spring practice after undergoing back surgery.

Ramsey hasn’t yet attended a practice this preseason; his status for the upcoming season is unknown.

And Thursday morning, the sophomore wasn’t the only projected starter who was missing.

Two other returning starters — center Jason Bosley and left tackle Lee Ziemba — missed all or part of Thursday morning’s practice, the first of two sessions that day.

A sore knee kept Ziemba out of 11-on-11 workouts Thursday morning, though he went through most of the other drills. Junior Andrew McCain replaced Ziemba in the lineup for 11-on-11 work.

Center Jason Bosley’s absence appeared more serious. Bosley, who injured his back Wednesday, wasn’t present for either of Thursday’s two practices.

Sophomore Ryan Pugh, AU’s starting right tackle, moved to center to replace Bosley. Sophomore Mike Berry replaced Pugh at right tackle.

The opportunity wasn’t lost on McCain and Berry, who have spent most of the preseason working with the second-team offense.

“Any time you can get in there and work with those guys and go against the (starters) on defense, you want to take advantage of it,” McCain said. “It’s been a good opportunity for me to be able to get in there and really work on my mistakes.”

The opportunity didn’t last long for McCain: Ziemba was back in 11-on-11 action by Thursday afternoon’s practice. But McCain impressed his teammates with his play during his cameo with the starters.

“McCain definitely has the tools,” Pugh said. “He’s had the tools. He’s got a sense of urgency about himself and he’s got a chance to win a spot and get some playing time.”

Head coach Tommy Tuberville said Bosley’s absence wouldn’t last much longer either.

“He’s fine,” Tuberville said of Bosley. “He just twisted his back a little bit. Hopefully he’ll be back in the morning.”

Wideouts battle drops
It’s exactly what Tony Franklin didn’t want to see.

AU’s offensive coordinator was hardly thrilled with his receiving corps’ performance in Thursday morning’s practice. The wideouts struggled all morning catching the ball, culminating in a series of blatant drops in a 7-on-7 passing drill.

But Franklin stayed positive.

“It’s good we struggled with it in the morning practice,” Franklin said Thursday morning. “Hopefully we’ll come back this afternoon and not have the same issues.”

He was right: Auburn wideouts caught 19 of 23 passes during team drills in the afternoon session, including a leaping touchdown grab by sophomore Chris Slaughter during a 7-on-7 drill.

That’s the kind of improvement Franklin has seen from his receivers since spring practice.

“They’re much better than in the spring and will continue to get better,” he said. The bottom line is, they’re good enough to win in this league.”

Injury report
In addition to Ziemba, Bosley and Ramsey, a few other injured players missed some time.

Defensive tackle Zach Clayton, a former Opelika star, sat out both practices. Clayton was poked in the eye Wednesday, but Tuberville said he could be back as early as this morning’s practice, which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.

Safety Mike Slade was held out of both of Thursday’s practices with an undisclosed injury. Tight end Brent Slusher missed his fourth consecutive day of practice with an undisclosed injury.

Defensive tackle Tez Doolittle (hamstring) and defensive end Antonio Coleman (hamstring) both participated in 11-on-11 drills during Thursday afternoon’s practice. The workout was in shoulder pads and shorts, but it’s the most contact either player has gotten in 11-on-11 action since the start of preseason practice.

cmickle@oanow.com | 737-2561