"Sources say" offense got the best of defense in Auburn scrimmage

By Charles Bennett

AUBURN – Do the Auburn Tigers practice under a veil of secrecy?

Well, you’d have a hard time getting anyone to “comment” on that, but without fear of contradiction, the answer is yes.

Auburn’s practices, of course, are not open to the general public or the media. And even fairly mundane information is hard to confirm.

Auburn quarterback Barrett Trotter was asked to talk about players who had jumped out during Wednesday’ s scrimmage at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
His response?

“A lot of guys jumped out,” he said. “I’m not allowed to tell you who.”

Various internet sites reported that freshman tailback Tre Mason scored three
touchdowns in Wednesday’s scrimmage.

Mason was requested by the media for interviews. He was a no-show.

Quarterback Clint Moseley was asked if he had thrown any touchdown passes in the scrimmage.

He conferred with an Auburn sports information spokesman before saying, “no.”

The following notes from Wednesday’s scrimmage will deal with primarily what could be confirmed.

Timing is everything

Auburn scrimmaged from approximately 11 a.m. to noon. The Tigers’ first three games will kickoff at 11 a.m., 11:21 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Wednesday’s scrimmage time was not a coincidence.

“Pretty much all of our scrimmages are going to be around the 11 a.m. hour give or take,” said Auburn coach Gene Chizik. “When we got done scrimmaging, we were probably somewhere around the middle to late fourth quarter in the game, more than likely. We wanted to get used to where sun was for our returners on our return game. We wanted to get used to the heat, which our kids are already used to, but mainly the direction of the sun and some of the roles that that plays in our return game was the main reason, but we’ve got to get used to those first couple games with 11 a.m. starts.”

Many happy returns

Auburn spent a solid portion of Wednesday’s scrimmage working on the return game, using a mix of veterans and first-year players.

“We’re kind of in a good spot there simply because we have options,” Chizik said “Anytime you put a young guy in the return game you have a little bit of caution because when the lights come in front of 90,000 you don’t know what you’re going to get. We’ve got some young guys who have an opportunity to be our returners. We worked a lot of those guys today and we’ll continue to do that, but we’ve got a good mix in our return game with a couple guys who have done it and a couple guys who are pushing.”

A vote for the offense

The general consensus was that the offense outperformed the defense in Wednesday’s scrimmage

Defensive end Dee Ford confirmed it.

Ford said “offense” when asked who won the scrimmage.
“Our offense is an amazing offense,” he said, by way of explanation.

Youth movement moves on

Auburn has a rather astounding 51 freshmen on its 105-man roster. Chizik was asked Wednesday about how the “young guys” performed in Wednesday’s scrimmage.

“I’m really proud of those guys,” he said. “I’m really interested to see … you have one impression when you’re out there and you have another impression once you watch the tape. But I’m just really encouraged with a lot of our young guys. They’ve got to push through the mental part of the game right now, that’s becoming difficult for them just with new installations and getting used to the speed of the game and kind of everything being thrown at them at once. But eventually the game will slow down for a lot of these young guys. Nobody that I can say right now stands head and toes above the others but they’re all working well and I’m proud of them.”

"Won't know 'till we see the film" - competition continues for Auburn quarterback job

AUBURN – Auburn held its first scrimmage of fall practice Wednesday, and if it moved the Tigers any closer to sorting out the competition for the starting quarterback job, no one is saying.

“All of them did well today,” said Auburn coach Gene Chizik. “They did some good things, they did some bad things. Again, we’re not going to know more until we go back and evaluate it, but I thought all three of them moved the football team and again, I can’t say where this puts everybody in terms of position, but they all did some good things and obviously, they’ve all got some things they need to work on as well.”

The competition for the starting job between redshirt junior Barrett Trotter, redshirt sophomore Clint Moseley and freshman Kiehl Fraizer will likely continue for now.

All three felt positive about their performance in Wednesday’s scrimmage.

“I was pretty happy,” said Trotter. “There are always some things you can improve on. We’ve got a long way to go, but I think we’re definitely making strides in the right direction.”

(READ THE REST OF THE STORY IN THURSDAY'S ANNISTON STAR)

Chizik talks about first scrimmage

Auburn held it's first scrimmage of fall practice Wednesday morning at Samford Stadium.

Here's what Auburn coach Gene Chizik had to say following the scrimmage.

Opening statement.

“Went a little over 70 plays, went live as from the line of scrimmage plays. Thought we did some good things today both sides of the football. Did some good things offensively, had some explosive plays. Defensively, conversely, we did some good things, forced some turnovers, which is big. But overall, great effort back and forth, got a lot of things to clean up, think there’s going to be some learning moments from that. Had an opportunity to take some live kickoff returns and some live punt returns, so got an opportunity to look at a lot of the young guys both on return units and coverage units. So I think it was a very productive day. Like I said, I think it’s overall going to be a great teaching tape, so it’s really going to be our first good evaluation with good live reps to help us move forward with what we’ve got to do.”

Was the time of day based on first three games?

“No, not at all. I’m just kidding. Yes. Pretty much all of our scrimmages are going to be around the 11 a.m. hour give or take. When we got down to scrimmaging, we were probably somewhere around the middle to late fourth quarter in the game, more than likely. We wanted to get used to where the sun was for our returners on our return game. We wanted to get used to the heat, which our kids are already used to, but mainly the direction of the sun and some of the roles that that plays in our return game was the main reason, but we’ve got to get used to those first couple games with 11 a.m. starts.”

How did the the quarterbacks look?

“All of them did well today. They did some good things, they did some bad things. Again, we’re not going to know more until we go back and evaluate it, but I thought all three of them moved the football team and again, I can’t say where this puts everybody in terms of position, but they all did some good things and obviously, they’ve all got some things they need to work on as well.”

How about the return game?

“We’re kind of in a good spot there simply because we have options. Anytime you put a young guy in the return game you have a little bit of caution because when the lights come in front of 90,000 you don’t know what you’re going to get. But your try to as accurately as you can try to figure that out. We’ve got some young guys who have an opportunity to be our returners. We worked a lot of those guys today and we’ll continue to do that, but we’ve got a good mix in our return game with a couple guys who have done it and a couple guys who are pushing.”

How did they handle the heat?

“I thought they handled it well. This is practice eightish? The last few have been in pads, very physical, so today was fast and it was physical and it was hot, which was exactly what we needed, but I think they handled it well.”

How did the young guys do?

“I’m really proud of those guys. I’m really interested to see … you have one impression when you’re out there and you have another impression once you watch the tape. But I’m just really encouraged with a lot of our young guys. They’ve got to push through the mental part of the game right now, that’s becoming difficult for them just with new installations and getting used to the speed of the game and kind of everything being thrown at them at once. But eventually the game will slow down for a lot of these young guys. Nobody that I can say right stands head and toes above the others but they’re all working well and I’m proud of them.”

How did the defensive line look?

“Again, I thought there were some good moments there today. I thought there was some good pressure from our defensive ends a couple times. Our inside guys are still a work in progress. We’ve got so many young guys there. But we’ve got a long way to go, but they did some nice things today. We’ve got to go back, refine our technique, work on it every day, and these young guys will eventually come around because they have to.”

Did the wide receivers make some plays?

“As a whole, the receiving group … again we had some explosive plays on offense. Some of them were balls they should have caught because they were open, but again, for me to say anybody is head and tails above the rest, that is simply not the case.”

Trooper Taylor talks about evening practice

Auburn bounced back from a poor morning practice with something a little better in the evening. Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor met with the media following the second practice. Here's what he had to say:


Better practice this evening?

"They bounced back. They really did. And I could understand why he (Auburn head coach Gene Chizik) wasn’t happy this morning. This afternoon, I think the guys really tried to bounce back and that’s good to see. That means their leadership is coming through. That’s the things that we’re trying to get across to this team. We need guys to step up and there’s no excuse. Whatever it is, whether you’re a freshman or fifth year senior or a guy that walked on to the team. Whatever your role is, we need you to play that role. He’s going to get that out of them, I promise you."

What was the focus tonight?

"Alignment and assignment. Getting the guys to do what they’re supposed to do. Matter of fact, we didn’t install anything new. It was mainly going back and fixing the things that the guys blew up this morning. Came back and made sure that they could execute them ‘cause like Coach Chizik said: You either practice to win, or you practice to lose. And if you practice things the wrong way or do them the wrong way, that’s what you’re going to get. We’re big on trying to make sure that they do it the right way. Because there is a right way to do something. Whatever you demand as a coach, what you accept as a coach, you tolerate. And we’re not going to tolerate anything but the best."

Was pacing the problem?

"No. The problem was they were getting hit in the mouth. When you get hit, somebody’s going to flinch. This game is physical, and we introduced them to what ‘Auburn Physical’ means. I think they got a good taste of what that’s like. It’s a good thing because when they step in that stadium tomorrow and scrimmage, we don’t want that to be the first time. Now they understand what physical means. They thought they had an idea of what physical meant, but when you put a guy right in front of you and there ain’t no jumping around, it’s mano e mano, you find out who is going to flinch. We were able to see who thinks he’s tough and who is really tough. It’ll be interesting to see how they carry that over. We’re going to watch a lot of tape, do a lot of film study. And it’s great to be able to show a kid: Why’d you turn your head? Why’d you duck your shoulder? There is no excuse when you can show them on tape when he did those things. Football is a man’s game and we’re going to make sure they understand that."

How is Quan Bray progressing?

"I tell you, I’m proud of that kid. I’m probably breaking some rule, but the kid threw out all of that and had a 3.5 GPA and has learned all his assignments and is out there busting his tail. You talk about life throwing you some curve balls. Obviously that was personal for me because I recruited him and know his family really well. That’s a chance and an opportunity for us to stand up on what family really means. See, you don’t have to have the same last name or be the same color to be part of the same family. He’s a part of our Auburn Family. What we did is we just took him in and we loved on him. And that’s what we’re going to continue to do. We’re glad to have him. Glad to have him. He’s going to be something special. To go through that type of an ordeal and to still come out with over 3.5 and to be able to do the things that he’s doing on that football field, obviously he’s got a lot of motivation. But it also tells you the type of character and the type of upbringing he had coming from that home."

How about DeAngelo Benton?

"Doing a lot better. The last time I bragged on him, the guy was in and he stayed hurt. He split his finger, broke his wrist, broke his ankle. So all of those freshmen are raggedy, just in case you want to know. Just letting you know, because the last time I patted one on the back he didn’t stay very healthy. But DeAngelo, he’s like a different kid out there. He’s making some plays, his leadership is good, he’s got a deep voice - he sounds like Barry White when he talks and when you hear him talking to a guy or hear him correcting somebody, it really comes out. It’s good to see him out there doing the things that he’s doing. Seeing him teach people where before it was always getting him lined up. And then again, he’s healthy. Knock on wood. Hopefully he can stay healthy and we can see some of the things that we potentially thought that he’d be able to bring to the table."

What are you looking for from receivers tomorrow in the scrimmage?

"Play-making ability. We’ve got to have guys make plays on the perimeter because everybody knows we’re going to run the football. And if they can stack the box and put 10 people in there and we can’t run the ball, we have to be able to make plays out there to make people respect the deep ball and not be able to sit on our running backs. We’re very talented at that running back position. Those guys are proving themselves. Where the question mark is at is at the wideouts. And they know that. They understand that. I feel like the amount of pressure that we’re putting on them in practice right now and the amount of things that we’re asking them to do really coincides with their ability. We’re not asking them to do things that they’re not capable of doing. We’re asking them to do things that they are capable of, but to do it well. And I think that’s the beauty of Gus’ offense. We can take the guy that runs the best corner route and we put him at that position. We take the guy that runs the best slant and put him in that spot so they’re not locked into I’m an X, I’m a Y I’m a Z. That means nothing to us. What happens when we put the best 11 for that current play and then we switch out. It’s a lot for them to handle because they have to get formations and they have to get signals and all that, but it does allow them to make plays. I want to see if guys can make plays in space. If they can’t do that, it’s going to be a very long season for the Auburn Tigers. That’s just the honest truth."

Know how many plays you'll go in the scrimmage?

"No. Coach hasn’t said and then probably after watching this morning’s tape, we’ll be there til midnight. So he’s going to get it out of them tomorrow. This little bounce back practice isn’t going to get it done. He’ll make up for it tomorrow. So I’m not sure how many play. We haven’t discussed that. We’ll discuss it tonight."

Personnel decisions may hinge on Auburn scrimmage

AUBURN – Auburn holds its first scrimmage of fall camp today, and coach Gene Chizik said it will prove critical in the Tigers’ upcoming personnel decisions.

“What we’d like to do is have a scrimmage that’s long enough and covers enough range of things within the scrimmage, meaning situationally, that we can go back and try to narrow who are our top two to three players are at each position,” Chizik said Tuesday. “Because the name of the game at this point, after a week of practice, is to try and zero in on the guys you really believe can help you. That’s what that will be. It will be a huge evaluation. Our first big evaluation.”

That evaluation includes the quarterbacks, where the Tigers have a three-way battle ongoing between redshirt junior Barrett Trotter, redshirt sophomore Clint Moseley and freshman Kiehl Frazier.

Trotter and Moseley battled on even terms throughout the spring. Frazier joined the fray in the fall.

“We're all still alive,” Trotter said, when asked how the quarterbacks are doing. “We're doing well. We've got a long way to go still, all of us do. We're making strides every day. We're trying to learn everything we need to do. It's going well.”

(FOR MORE, READ WEDNESDAY'S ANNISTON STAR)

Auburn has lousy practice

AUBURN – Auburn coach Gene Chizik was displeased with the first of two practices on Tuesday.

“I thought today, the morning practice was not good,” he said. “As a matter of fact, I thought they were trying to pace themselves to try to get through and to the next one, which is very discouraging. But I thought their focus was not there, the way we expected. I thought they tried to be physical. I thought they tried to do some things when it came to playing with effort. The mental part of it was definitely not there. We’ve got to get better at that this afternoon.”

Auburn cornerback T’Sharvan Bell said it was easy to pick up on Chizik’s displeasure.

“It was clear it wasn't a good practice,” Bell said. “I think as far as physicality, we're heading in the right direction. But when we're going there, we're losing the little things - alignment, technique. And that can't happen. Not in this league.

Bell said he did his best to provide motivation.

“I brought it up in practice,” He said. “Don't just try to survive out here. If you're able to walk off the field and you're breathing, you ain't doing enough. I tell guys: ‘Pass out. We'll carry you in.’ Definitely, I’ve seen some guys just trying to survive. That goes for the whole team. That's on defense as well.”

Better at night

Auburn followed up the disappointing morning practice with a better practice in the evening.

“They bounced back,” said Auburn wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor. “That’s good to see. It shows some leadership is coming through and that’s what we’re trying to get across to this team. We need guys to step together.

Taylor said the focus in the afternoon practice was “alignment and assignment.”

“Just getting the guys to do what they’re supposed to do,” Taylor said. “In fact, we didn’t install anything new. It was mainly going back and fixing things the guys blew up this morning.”

Frost out for year

Chizik confirmed Tuesday that freshman linebacker Kris Frost is out for the year.
Frost had shoulder surgery in July.

“It’s not going to be this season,” Chizik said when asked when Frost would be able to return. “No way. He’s in a very thorough rehab process. He’s doing very well, but it’s going to be a window of a few months.”

Frost, a five-star recruit, would likely have played for the Tigers this season.

“Oh, there’s no question,” Chizik said. “We were counting on him to help us. I hate to see it. All these young guys come in and they’re excited and they know they have the chance to help and play and he had that opportunity. But he’ll rebound and he’ll be great.”

Chizik lukewarm on Phillips

Chizik would like to see more out of Ladarious Phillips, a redshirt freshman fullback out of Handley High School.

“It depends on which day you ask me,” Chizik said when asked about Phillips’ progress. “Some days he looks like he has made some progress. Some days he takes two steps back. I certainly have not bought any stock in his development yet, but he has shown flashes that he can do some things we’re asking him to do, but he’s got a long way to go.”

Chizik was also asked about Phillips’ conditioning. He’s listed as 6-0, 293 pounds on the roster.

“In that regard he’s got a long way to go as well,” Chizik said.

Walk-on QB returns

Walk-on quarterback Logan Paul is back on the roster. A spot for Paul opened up after walk-on wide receiver Codey Frederick decided to leave the team.

Denson making his mark

Auburn quarterback Barrett Trotter singled out Jaylon Denson when asked which of the Tigers’ freshmen wide receivers looked good.

“He's been doing good, stepping up and making plays,” Trotter said. “For him, it's just one of those things where he's one of those guys who has the talent to step up and play some for us this year. He has to make sure he knows exactly what to do. That's something they're doing a good job of.”

Tigers getting more physical in practice

AUBURN – Auburn practiced in full pads Monday as the Tigers begin to ramp up contact.
“For our first day in full pads I think we did some nice things,” said Auburn coach Gene Chizik. “I thought the kids were trying to be physical, trying to come off the football and play physical. What I don’t think we did, I don’t think we focused on the little things that are going to make a difference. Alignments. Techniques. We got lost in there somewhere when the pads came on, which sometimes is natural, but we’ve got to get locked back in and focused back in on job responsibilities, which again, I don’t think we did a good job of today. But happy with the effort, happy with them trying to be physical and not happy with the focus of the details of the game.”

The Tigers will begin two-a-days today, with the first scrimmage of the fall scheduled for Wednesday.

Chizik said the next week, as contact work escalates, will be extremely important, particularly for both the offensive and defensive lines.

“This week is very critical simply because down there on both sides of the line there is no substitute for just getting down in there and doing it,” he said. “You’ve got to do it. You can work all the drills and all that, but from that tackle to tackle box, that game is a different game. The only way to do it is to get down and play in there on both sides of the ball. It’s very physical. Guys are learning a lot, there are a lot of moving parts. This week is invaluable because you have to have a lot of contact to get used to playing down there.”

Greene, Phillips out

Offensive linemen A.J. Greene and Aubrey Phillips have both been limited because of injury.

Chizik said it’s uncertain when either will return.
“Both guys are beat up and both are under evaluation,” Chizik said. “They’re both out right now until we continue to evaluate both of them and see where they are. I don’t want to go into specifics of it but on both sides of the line we’re kind of beat up right now.”

Dismukes making progress

Auburn freshman center Reese Dismukes, who is battling Blake Burgess for the starting job, has impressed Chizik thus far in practice.
“I’m really proud of Reese,” Chizik said. “He’s got the right mentality. He’s got the mentality you like to have at that position. He’s got a great feel for the game. His knowledge of the game is outstanding. He’s one of the smartest players in the entire offensive line when it comes to making calls, which we all know the center has to do. It’s part of his job. He is really well-schooled and well-versed in football and identifying things. That’s a huge part, and he’ll continue to get better and better. His part is going to be the physicality of the game, playing against those 300-plus pounders.”

Finding depth at tailback
Running backs coach Curtis Luper says he’d like to two more tailbacks ready to play behind Mike Dyer and Onterio McCalebb.
There’s plenty of completion behind those two. Luper had praise for freshman Tre Mason and junior Anthony Morgan on Monday.
“Mason’s going to be better than people think,” Luper said. “He'll help us. He'll have a role. I don't know exactly what that role will be, but it will be
defined as camp unwinds. He's going to play.”

Luper said Morgan would be a good fill in for the speedy McCalebb.

“He had a good spring,” Luper said. “He got banged up a little. He's a guy who can play the Onterio McCalebb role. He also can get out on the perimeter and catch swings and bubbles and screens and stuff. He's a very versatile guy. For this
year, we need him for sure in the backfield. We're a little slim. I'm
expecting things out of him as well.”

Competition stout on D-line

While Jeffrey Whitaker and Kenneth Carter are the Tigers’ most experienced defensive tackles and likely to earn starting positions, it’s not coming easy.

First-year defensive line coach Mike Pelton says Whitaker and Carter are being pushed by freshmen Angelo Blackson, Gabe Wright and Jabrian Niles.

“From a knowledge standpoint, I'd say yeah, they’re ahead,” Pelton said of Whitaker and Carter. “But from a physical standpoint, they're fighting for their jobs. Those guys are pushing them. That's a good thing. These freshmen have really put some heat on them. It gives the freshmen some light that hey, they can play. And it gives those guys, hey, I've got to hold my position. They're asking a lot more questions. They're putting in extra time in the meetings. They've got to earn their position.”