AU FOOTBALL: Todd dealing with spectator role as recovery from surgery continues

Chris Todd rolled to his right, away from the pressure, and saw an open receiver 15 yards ahead of him.

He cocked his arm back seconds before the impending blow from his pursuers and let loose what he hoped would be a key third-down conversion in a game Auburn desperately needed. The ball wobbled with minimal spiral and landed softly in the hands of Arkansas’ Adrian Berry, a linebacker stationed more than 7 yards ahead of Todd’s target.

There was no deflection and really no reason for the ball to fall as short as it did. It was simply all the strength Todd could muster.

After one more three-and-out, Todd never saw the field again in 2008 — a season where the guy who could once “throw a ball through a carwash without it getting wet” wasn’t able to make even the simplest of tosses.

“I wasn’t making throws that I could make my sophomore year in high school,” Todd said.

Something was wrong.

It was originally believed that Todd had surgery on his troubled right shoulder before he came to Auburn from Hutchinson Community College, but he refuted that rumor last week. Todd didn’t think it would be necessary then, he said.

Now, though, heading into his final season with the Tigers, Todd had to make a decision.

He could have reconstructive surgery on the bum shoulder, a no-guarantees operation that could, perhaps, bring Todd back to his gun-slinging ways. Or, he could skip the pain and rehab and simply walk away with nothing less than a free education.

The decision, Todd said, was easier than it appeared.

Bring on the knife.

“So many questions pop through your head,” Todd said. “But the thing you have to hold your head onto is, if my arm comes back to where it was, things will be good, things will work out.”

Hope, not tangible progress, is all Todd has at the moment, as three other quarterbacks are battling for the job he ultimately wants.

Todd has not been cleared to throw at practice yet, as he continues to recover from the surgery he had shortly before Christmas 2008. There’s no clear timetable as to when Todd will be allowed to show off that arm.

“It’s real hard. That’s what you want to do. You want to be in the heat of stuff, you want to be in competition,” Todd said. “It’s frustrating, but I just got to keep doing rehab and get back as soon as I can.”

Tony Franklin, the embattled former offensive coordinator, helped coax Todd away from his commitment at Troy and remained a firm supporter of him, even when it was apparent Todd’s arm wasn’t right.

At some practices in the fall, Todd flashed the arm Franklin had seen ever since he knew Todd six years back. At others, Todd would labor.

And sometimes, Todd would show both sides during one passing drill.

“He had issues from the beginning,” said Franklin, now the offensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State. “He didn’t even notice it, and then the ball wouldn’t travel where it was supposed to go. That’s a tough deal.”

Even with Todd nowhere near 100 percent, Franklin believed — and still does — that Todd should have made the five starts he ended up making.

“He was still the best guy to give us a chance to win,” Franklin said. “He doesn’t whine, or complain or cry. He just plays.”

Franklin said he and Todd still talk frequently. Franklin was there to consult Todd and his parents before he decided to have the surgery.

There was nothing to lose, Franklin said, and with renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews performing and endorsing it, little could go wrong.

“The bottom line is, if you want to play, you have to have it because without it you probably have no chance,” Franklin said. “And with the surgery, if it gets back to healthy, you’ve got a chance.”

Todd’s chances aren’t improving as he continues to sit out the majority of drills at spring practice.

During Thursday’s practice, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn had the five quarterbacks in camp work on their throws when moving to their left and right. When the other quarterbacks threw their ball, Todd tucked it away.

“You’ve got to evaluate the guys who are out there,” Malzahn said. “When he gets healthy enough, we’ll definitely evaluate him. But it’s not fair to him unless he’s completely healthy. That’s the situation we’re in right now.

“There’s nothing like when those live bullets are coming at you and the speed.”

Whenever he does come back, Franklin is confident he’ll impress.

“If his arm comes back and it’s 95 percent of what it was, than hopefully he’ll be a different guy,” Franklin said. “And if it’s not, then I’m sure that he’ll probably be finished.”

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