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Friday, August 7, 2009

Todd back in mix at quarterback

I wrote a story in today's newspaper about quarterback Chris Todd as he gets back on the field and into the quarterback mix after months of rehab following offseason shoulder surgery. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Chris Todd walked into the interview room at Auburn’s athletic complex with his right arm encased in ice packs, from his shoulder all the way down to his forearm.

It’s a daily post-practice precaution for the senior quarterback’s surgically repaired shoulder. Nothing to be alarmed about.

“We’re trying to be proactive,” Todd said, amused that it was brought up. “It’s getting a lot stronger now. I’m trying to keep it up there so it doesn’t fall off during camp."

All jokes aside, early indications are that Todd’s right shoulder — the one that was never healthy during his first and only season at Auburn — is getting near full strength.

“It’s coming out pretty good,” Todd said. “As far as where it was before, I haven’t been throwing a ton of deep balls yet. But as far as the medium-range stuff, it’s coming out pretty good and I’m pretty happy.”

Read the rest here.

A lot of people wrote off Todd last spring when Neil Caudle and Kodi Burns were vying for the top quarterback spot. But I think it's telling that neither one of them seized control of it, and it wouldn't surprise me if Todd, whose shoulder is apparently doing well, could be the starter come Sept. 5.

Feel free to post any thoughts you have on who will win the quarterback competition and why. Let's see if we can't generate a little debate on here.

6 comments:

Ryan said...

I went to Thursday's practice and watched through the fence. Throwing wise, there is not much on display, and what little short throws there were seem pretty even. But in the little drills like footwork, ball-fakes, handoffs, etc., Chris Todd REALLY sets himself apart from Caudle and Burns. Like Todd says, we have yet to see the deep balls, but he looks way more confident and graceful with the ball in his hands than any of the other quarterbacks, at least when it comes to taking snaps and handing the ball off...

Andy Bitter said...

I'd agree. There's something to be said about experience, and Todd, who was a 2005 signee with Texas Tech, has certainly been around for a while.

In the absence of a true No. 1 guy, it wouldn't shock me if Auburn went with the guy who has the best mechanics and has been through it all before. We'll see.

Acid Reign said...

....."If the arm holds up..." That's the key thing.

.....I attended the A-Day game, and was not happy with the quarterbacks. Yeah, Neil Caudle made a few sweet throws, but he also stuffed a couple into coverage. Reminded me of Daniel Cobb. He might throw 4 touchdowns, but it might come with 4 interceptions.

.....Burns threw 8 balls, and 6 of them landed nowhere near the target. His first throw was right into the chest of a safety, and bounced off to Mario Fannin. He couldn't even hit guys on the bubble screens.

.....I remember Todd from the Southern Mississippi game last year, the one with the crowd-soaking 3rd quarter storm. Todd was sharp. We could have put 40 on the Golden Eagles, if we hadn't had such a fumble-fest. It was shocking the next week, watching the 3-2 rugby game in Starkville on TV. Todd's arm was gone. He had a few moments in the LSU game, but that was about it.

.....I like the "Pivotal game" poll in the sidebar. To me, that game is the Kentucky game. I see us losing early to Arkansas, and possibly to West Virginia and Tennessee. That would put us in the Kentucky game at 4-2. Furman's a likely win, but if not against Kentucky, where would that 6th win come from? The other remaining opponents are LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia, and Bama. If we can't beat Kentucky, we won't beat any of those "Amen Corner" teams. Kentucky determines whether we will be Pizza Bowlin', or home for the holidays.

War Eagle AC-47 said...

Acid, I understand your thinking on the poll question. But I think you're being a little too pessimistic. We should handle Kentucky. They seem to be in trouble this year.

Arkansas is the tricky one because they have a lot of experienced power on offense.

We should beat Tennessee because I think our offense has good ball carriers and also because our QB "fiasco" may not be as bad as the pundits are making it out to be.

Heck, plenty of teams do okay just running the ball, so if we can just pass enough to keep the suspicion alive on defense, we will be fine. Clever play calling can go a long way to fixing what was wrong last year.

That's why I picked Arkansas as the pivotal game. It's the one I can't predict with as much certainty.

rossinalabama said...

Todd will be the starter. I have no doubt about that.

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