AU FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Caudle, Trotter may not play at A-Day

Gene Chizik isn’t promising a full-blown sneak preview of the 2009 season to unfold at A-Day, but there promises to be more than just stretching.

“We’ve got to get something out of the practice,” Chizik said. “It will be base defense and base offense and we’ll run some and throw it some and we won’t do a lot of blitzing and things of that nature, but it will be a good look at the base of all sides and on special teams as well.”

Chizik said the Tigers were too banged up to divvy the team into two equally strong squads for the annual open scrimmage.

Running back Eric Smith, cornerback Aairon Savage and safeties Mike McNeil and Zac Etheridge will definitely not play Saturday, coaches said.

There could and likely will be more players out Saturday, including two of the team’s quarterbacks.

Defensive tackle Mike Blanc said Barrett Trotter and Neil Caudle were hurt in Thursday’s 100-play “half-scrimmage” at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“We hurt two of the quarterbacks,” Blanc said. “We hurt Trott and Neil. They were scrambling with the ball and somebody got two nice little ones on them. They’re OK, though. They were back in action. There were just some nice hits out there. That’s what our defense has to do. We have to attack and swarm.”

Safety Mike Slade was also hurt in Thursday’s practice, safeties coach Tommy Thigpen said.

“I think Slade will be OK. I don’t know this yet, but he seemed to be OK,” Thigpen said. “He got banged up. He’ll be fine.”

The defense won Thursday’s scrimmage handily, players said — the third time in a row.

Never so happy
Thigpen laughed when he talked about how fortunate McNeil was to just have suffered a broken leg Saturday and not a serious knee injury, which can keep players away from the field for more than a year.

McNeil is expected to miss eight-to-10 weeks, Slade said Tuesday.

“A knee injury, a lot of times takes a little bit longer,” Thigpen said. “With the bone, it grows back and most of the time it grows back stronger. I’ve never been so happy about a broken leg.

“Some guys go in the tank, but this kid will love football even more. He’ll come back 120 percent and he’ll give you everything he’s got. I think right before he got hurt, he was playing some of his best football. I have no doubt that Mike will continue right where he left off.”

Long road back
Junior offensive lineman Darrell Roseman has yet to play a down in his Auburn career, so his goals are not quite as lofty as the rest of his teammates for the 2009 season.

“I’m still here,” Roseman said. “I’m still fighting, trying to get on that field.”

Roseman has been plagued by injuries since he arrived at Auburn and is still not fully recovered from the shoulder surgery he had early in the 2008 season. The injury happened on the first day Roseman was switched from defensive line to offensive line.

A few months earlier, Roseman had steel rods inserted into both of his shins to help his chronic shin splints.

“At first it was a big adjustment because you can tell they’re there,” Roseman said. “As the year goes along, I’m used to them now. You can still tell because you can feel the pain, but it’s better than it was.”

Roseman has gained 30-35 pounds since the surgery and weighs close to 300 pounds, he said.

“I’m so determined right now,” he said.

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