The latest and greatest out of Auburn appears to be the backup QB situation, our defensive depth and as always the exact injury situation...
BACKUP QB: It seems obvious they would really like Rollison to be it. Bitter posts Malzahn stated he doesn't want him to redshirt if he can contribute and that Malzahn said "You don't want to waste anybody, and especially if they're talented ". However it appears they are still looking. It doesn't appear from this perch though that they are going to go on this extended research project and then come back and say Caudle is #2.
To me however that still seems the best course of action. I would think the playbook and game planning they do for Todd would be very similar to what they would do with Caudle. It would seem they would do a lot of different things with Rollison. It is hard to believe that Rollison, even being very talented, would be a better option as a true freshman than a 4th year junior.
We have been burned doing it before. I think if we would have brought in Blake Field instead of Burns (as a true frosh) against Miss St in 07 we would have won the game. I was definitely not super impressed with Blake Field but the guy had been under Borges learning the offense for 3 years and had been the backup for 3 years. While he probably wasn't going to beat top notch SEC competition I think he could have gotten it done that day against State. The super-exciting new guy is not always the right option. Sometimes the old boring "waiting for his chance" backup QB is the best option for winning football games.
Also worth noting is that Kodi Burns still doesn't appear to be going gently into that good night. According to this article by Woodberry, Burns is a little frustrated at WR and is still working at QB after practice. We also have Malzahn saying yesterday that he is still a QB at heart. It sure doesn't sound like this situation is wrapped up as neatly as everyone tried to make it sound last week...
INJURY UPDATE: Well well well, according to Bitter maybe mean Gene is giving out actual injury info to ESPN. According to ESPN's Chris Low's blog, Hawthorne will be out at least 4 weeks. Nice to hear but what the heck? The guy won't give the Auburn beat guys and the loyal fans jack on injuries but ESPN sends somebody in and we get actual injury info? Also in the article Low says that Savage is out for the season and McNeil will be out till midseason. WHAT IS THE HARM TO THE TEAM ABOUT DISCLOSING THIS INFORMATION? I think our opponents have already figured it out. Like Bitter says, this is not particularly surprising but nobody down this way had "seen or heard anything definitive until now about how long they might be out."
DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART: Unlike the control freak to the West, I like working from a depth chart. I still don't understand the problem with knowing where you stand and giving the player a goal of moving up. As for the starters I don't think many players at this level ever have the mindset "well I am a starter and I can slack off". Anyway, Tate took his shot at the defensive depth chart and he looks right on to me for the most part. Here it is with my comments below...
SDE: Mike Goggans, (Antoine Carter), Dee Ford
DT: Mike Blanc, Zach Clayton, Derrick Lykes
DT: Jake Ricks, Nick Fairley
WDE: Antonio Coleman, Nosa Eguae, Zach Clayton/Cam Henderson
SLB: Craig Stevens, Jonathan Evans, Ashton Richardson
MLB: Joshua Bynes, Harris Gaston, Wade Christopher
WLB: (Eltoro Freeman), (Spencer Pybus), Jonathan Evans, Ashton Richardson
CB: Neiko Thorpe, Demond Washington
CB: Walt McFadden, Harry Adams
FS: (Mike McNeil), Daren Bates/Mike Slade, T'Sharvan Bell
SS: Zac Etheridge, Drew Cole/Slade, (D'Antoine Hood)
Well the SDE looks good with a solid two-deep there. Goggans appears to me to be a better option on first and second down against the run and then we can bring in Antoine Carter for pass-rush situations ala Groves early in his career. At the other end as long as Coleman is healthy we are good. Hopefully whoever is sent in to give him a rest can at least be adequate.
At defensive tackle, compared to other positions on the team we are good, but I would not call us strong. Jake Ricks is solid and experienced and probably the best we have. Mike Blanc has been continually hyped but has still not really proven anything on the field or been able to stay healthy. Zach Clayton is a gamer but I still don't consider him a true DT. I still think he is more of a DE no matter how much they bloat him up or what they list his weight as. Derrick Lykes, NickFairley and Nosa Eguae have not played one down in a real college game so no matter how hyped they may be, you have to be a little bit suspect. Hopefully at least one will be the real deal. I really hope my man Tracy Rocker can coach them up.
At the much talked about LB position we will at least be solid unless we have an injury. We might even have a shot to finally improve this position if Ted Roof can coach up his position. No bitter swings at James Willis because he went to the enemy but the LB position simply has not seemed strong for a while. I am ready to see one of our LBs really stand out in a game. I have taken to calling Craig Stevens "The Invisible Man". He may be doing something good but most of the time you never see him or hear his name called. It is going to be about as ugly as it gets if any of these guys get hurt. I mean look at the list of young no-names we have behind these guys! You simply are not going to win many football games if we have to play any of those guys much.
Secondary... wow. I mean we go from having Savage and McNeil in the spring and feeling pretty good about these positions to hanging by a thread. Neiko Thorpe looks to be a SD Marks-type breakout player. McFadden and Etheridge are hopefully solid. Etheridge has a ton of experience and I was really high on him but like the rest of our defense really seemed to fade at the end of last season especially against West Virginia. But hey at least he helped set Deron Furr straight last year, we just don't need guys like him around about now...
All in all this is a solid-to-good first string defensive unit with absolutely no depth whatsoever. Considering a tough schedule and having to play 11 weeks in a row it is hard not to imagine things going south. It will be miracle if the defense that starts against Bama resembles this one. However hopefully we will at least get Mike McNeil back something during theseason. All-in-all though this defense is not championship caliber. Hopefully they will be winning-season caliber.
That is where I come down. When I have analyzed an Auburn football this past decade I have been comparing us against the standard of an SEC West champ. I have always asked do we have the talent and what it takes to be a championship football team. I have been holding us to a high standard because pretty much every year of this decade we have had the talent and a realistic chance of winning the West. This is the first year since 1999 that I would say we do not have a realistic chance of winning the West. Unfortunately the most important season for these coaches this year is going to be recruiting season...
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