War Eagle Extra has moved!

You should be automatically redirected in 4 seconds. If not, visit
http://www.wareagleextra.com
and update your bookmarks.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Malzahn: Backup QB situation still unsettled

Another late one tonight (don't worry, tomorrow's practice starts at a much more reasonable 4:20 p.m.). So again, bypassing the fancy intro, here are some notes we gleaned from an evening's worth of interviews.

(But first, I'll insert a shameless Twitter plug here)
  • Auburn's search for a No. 2 quarterback continues, with Tyrik Rollison, Neil Caudle and Clint Moseley still getting reps. Kodi Burns still does some quarterback work after practice, but the majority of his time is spent at wide receiver.
  • There seems to be a lot of debate about whether or not to burn the redshirt year on Rollison. Here's what Malzahn had to say: "You’ve got to really ask yourself, 'Can he really help our team win?’ We’re still trying to figure that out. He’s extremely talented and performed well in scrimmages and seems to be catching on the offense at a pretty good pace. We’re asking a lot of him. We’re just trying to figure out who our No. 2 and No. 3 guy is. I think before the season. Coach (Gene) Chizik and I will sit down and figure out the order. We’ll just have to see how the season plays out. Obviously, you’ve got a talented guy, and if he’s going to play, you’re going to play him."
  • When prodded further is there's a plan to play Tyrik, Malzahn said this: "You don’t want to waste anybody, and especially if they’re talented. We’re not even close to that. Coach Chizik and I will sit down and figure that out."
  • Chris Todd is not the most fleet-footed quarterback on the roster, but Malzahn thinks he's mobile enough to be effective. "I think you have to have a quarterback who can make plays when things break down," he said. "That doesn’t always mean you have to have great mobility, but you have to be a good decision-maker. We have to put him situations where he can be successful, too."
  • WR Terrell Zachery (leg) is expected back soon. "We just want to make sure all of our guys are 100 percent when we get to the first game," Malzahn said.
  • Auburn went full pads Thursday, working on mostly situational work. "We had a lot of situations, which is really good for us, especially for our inexperienced guys, even our experienced guys," Malzahn said. "We put our guys in game-type situations that coach Chizik has been talking about, and it was really good for our team."
  • There's a scrimmage a-comin' on Saturday, possibly the team's last of the preseason. While the first two were primarily evaluation scrimmages, this one is a little different. "Now, we’ll turn the young guys loose, even the guys we feel like can help us this year, they need experience," Malzahn said. "There’s nothing better than getting that in real scrimmage situations in the stadium."
  • Contrary to popular opinion, Auburn DOES have some backup middle linebackers. Harris Gaston and walk-on Wade Christopher have been working there.
  • Defensive coordinator Ted Roof on Gaston: "You see the light come on, get a little bit brighter each day. It’s still not a bright light, but you see it get a little bit brighter every day."
  • Roof had a good quote about backups needing to be prepared to play. "As a coach you have to plan for every situation that could possibly happen," he said. "At the same time guys that are in backup roles need to understand they’re one ankle away from playing as far as a preparation standpoint. That’s just where we are right now."
  • We got a lot of good stuff from DE Nosa Eguae, who's a bright, well-spoken kid for a freshman. I'm planning on doing a feature on him for Saturday's paper so I don't want to spoil too much of it now. He did have this nugget on why a Texas boy would leave Big 12 country to play in the SEC: "Some people questioned it. Some people were like 'Go to (Texas) Tech, go to (Texas) Tech.' Some people were like, (Texas) A&M came in at the last second. When you come here and you see what's in the SEC, I keep telling the boys back home that are being recruited by Auburn right now, it just doesn't compare. I've been in those Big 12 schools, the SEC is the place to be."

1 comment:

john john said...

Hey anything about the guy from Tampa? Aycock?