We were shut out from watching Saturday's practice, and thank goodness, since the weather didn't look so pleasant out there and I had no intention of standing in the rain.We found out afterward that Auburn was in pads for the first time and did some physical drills, although not nearly physical enough if you asked the coaches.
“I thought at times, we showed signs of being physical, but we certainly didn’t make a habit of it today, which was obviously what we have to get back to,” head coach Gene Chizik said.
The Tigers did some 11-on-11 work and made a game of it. If the offense got four yards or more, it won the play. If the defense held the offense to three yards or less, it won the play. (I guess there was a tie if it was 3 1/2 yards). The defense apparently ruled the day.
“We actually did some good things and got past the chains, then we kind of lost the momentum,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. "When you’re rotating that many people, there’s going to be some bad. The good thing from a coach’s standpoint is we get to evaluate our guys. We get to see where they’re at. When you’re in evaluation stages, you’ve got to be patient. I’m not very patient, but I’ve got to be.”
On to some notes and quotes ...
- Kodi Burns and Neil Caudle worked with the ones at quarterback Saturday. Barrett Trotter worked with the twos. Chris Todd continued to watch because of his shoulder. The coaches say it's a wide-open race, but it appears there are at least two early frontrunners.
- Malzahn liked going up against a defense for the first time. "It's great when you're out there in helmets to evaluate, but there's nothing like when those live bullets are coming at you and the speed," he said. "That's when you see some separation sometimes. I'm not saying anything specific, but now we can start really evaluating a little more than we can in just helmets."
- Despite the fact that they are installing a new offense, the coaches aren't very forgiving for mistakes, which have been plentiful this spring. "We’re not where we should be yet," Caudle said. "Coach Malzahn said we made a lot of mistakes today. We’ve got to get that better and get in the film room and get in the playbooks. We’ve got to be perfect – especially in 7-on-7s when there’s no line rush or anything. We’ve got to make perfect throws."
- Burns said running back Ben Tate had a good day in the 11-on-11. A few days back, running backs coach Curtis Luper said Tate will be a 1,000-yard back.
- Hargrave Military Academy transfer Onterio McCalebb has impressed coaches with his speed. Sounds like he and Mario Fannin will be the Tigers' Swiss Army knives next year, doing a bit of everything. "We're moving him around," Chizik said. "He's such a skillful guy in the open field right now, he's a tailback some, he's a wideout some, he's a reverse guy some. He's going to wear a lot of different hats."
- Spoke to Philip Pierre-Louis for the first time this spring and wideout said he's feeling as good as he's felt after missing last year because of an ACL tear. He's still limited in practice, wearing an orange jersey, meaning he's not allowed to take any contact. He's wearing a brace on his right knee but said he isn't restricted by it. "Sometimes I forget I'm even wearing the brace," he said.
- Malzahn doesn't seem put off by Pierre-Louis' size (5-8, 157): "A lot of people say little guys can't be receivers, but I always look at it, 'What's their range?' I've seen some little guys in the past that had great range and they played like a big receiver. He's been a little banged up, so it's really hard to evaluate completely. He's got some quickness and some miss-ability."
- Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said linebackers Josh Bynes, Spencer Pybus and Craig Stevens are working with the first team. Eltoro Freeman, Wade Christopher and Da’Shaun Barnes are with the second group.
- Some guys Roof was impressed with early: Stevens, defensive tackle Mike Blanc and safeties Zac Etheridge and Mike McNeil.
- Left tackle Lee Ziemba isn’t the only offensive lineman who has packed on the pounds. Center Ryan Pugh is up to 290 pounds after playing last year at 270. “Carrying it is a lot more heavy," he said. "Using it helps out a lot because the guy across from you is going to be 300-plus everywhere you go. You'll catch a guy that's a little smaller but he's going to be pretty quick. But putting that weight on definitely helps as far as being able to get leverage, especially because I'm short already so I need a little more weight, put a little more lead in my pencil, but as far as putting on weight, I think it's helped us across the board."
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