AU FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: QBs Caudle, Burns rise to top

Neil Caudle and Kodi Burns have moved to the forefront of Auburn’s quarterback competition, but Gene Chizik insisted Tuesday night that Barrett Trotter has not been eliminated.

“It’s not over at all,” Chizik said, “But as you come down this path at the end, it’s hard to evenly divide the reps between three people.”
Chizik remained vanilla in his ranking of the quarterbacks, as he said Caudle and Burns took more repetitions with the first team than they had in Auburn’s previous 11 practices.

“Really,” Chizik said, “that’s the extent of it.”

Chizik said there was no separation between Caudle and Burns.

“The only decision we’ve made is reps at this point,” Chizik said. “We certainly haven’t named a starter or a co-starter. Those two certainly haven’t won a position and Barrett Trotter’s not out of a position.

“We’re trying to focus on where we need to put our reps right now.”

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said after Saturday’s scrimmage that he hoped to narrow the three-man race down to two by
Tuesday’s practice in order to develop more cohesion between the respective quarterbacks and the rest of the offense. He apparently waited until right before Tuesday’s practice to inform the candidates, as both Caudle and Burns were clueless regarding their status during pre-practice interviews.

“You think about it,” Burns said. “You try to get your mind off of it with normal things, like going to church, hanging out with some of your friends and stuff. At the same time you’ve got to think about it because your focus is spring football.”

A-Day format set
It will be first-team offense versus first-team defense, and so on, at Saturday’s A-Day game, as Chizik said Tuesday he will maintain the scrimmage format the team has followed in its first two scrimmages of the spring.

That means the same modified scoring system, which has yet to be specified to reporters, will also be in place.

Don’t worry. Scoring keys will be distributed, so fans can have some clue as to how, for example, the defense can rack up 10 points on one play.

“We just feel that’s the best way,” Chizik said. “And it’s the way we’ve done it all spring.”

Auburn’s quarterbacks will not be live during the scrimmage and kickoffs and punts will be played at a “thud” tempo, Chizik said.

Billings status clarified
Wide receiver Montez Billings, who has been held out of every spring practice, has been dealing with “an academic situation,” Chizik said.

“We’re still working on that as we go,” Chizik said.

Safety dance
There have been players moving to new positions, players returning to old ones and players unexpectedly vaulted up the depth chart this spring.

And then there’s safety Mike Slade, who has taken on the unique role as both a starter and backup.

“I’ve got to play both roles,” Slade said with a smirk.

Slade, a sophomore who was converted to safety last season, was first filling in for Zac Etheridge, whose contact has been minimized this spring because of offseason shoulder surgery. Now, Slade is getting some looks at free safety because Mike McNeil is out for 8-10 weeks with a broken leg — all while fulfilling his duties with the second team.

After McNeil went down in Saturday’s scrimmage, safeties coach Tommy Thigpen said Slade “didn’t come off the field.”

“I have some real time back there, but everybody is just stepping up to play,” Slade said. “I’m just trying to step up and play and just add on to the team.”

“Everybody” doesn’t include that many, especially when experience is factored in.

Slade, Christian Thompson and Drew Cole have been presented a bittersweet opportunity with the injuries to both Etheridge and McNeil.

All three saw action in most games last season, but their action was minimal. Slade led the trio with eight tackles. Cole and Thompson combined for four.

Though the added playing time over the next five days will have little effect on where the young safeties stand in the fall, the experience is invaluable, Cole said.

“We’ve just got to make the best of them and go out there and perform,” Cole said.

Chizik said McNeil was “doing fine” following the surgery on his broken right leg Saturday, but would not set a timetable as to when he expected him to return.

“You just don’t know how people’s bodies react to it and things of that nature so I’ll leave it up to the professionals,” Chizik said. “I could tell you but I’ll probably be wrong so I’ll stay away from that one.”

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