aubiefifty 16,695 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Auburn hones in on 4 candidates for punt return James Crepea | jcrepea@al.com With one spring scrimmage in the books and two still to go, Auburn has identified its top options to return punts this fall. It comes as no surprise that Stephen Roberts, who took over the job from Marcus Davis late last season, is the leading candidate to keep the role. He faces some legitimate competition though, with Ryan Davis leading a group of three receivers vying for the spot. "I think right now Ryan Davis and Stephen Roberts have kind of separated themselves," special teams coach Tim Horton said. "I feel very comfortable with either one of those back there. ... Ryan had a nice punt return Saturday. Then of course Stephen Roberts finished the season as our punt returner and did a great job, had the long return against Alabama." Roberts returned six punts for 100 yards, with most of it coming in the final three games of the season for the Tigers, who ranked 5th in the SEC and 24th nationally in punt returns last season (10.69 yards per return). Knowing what Roberts brings, Auburn had Davis, Eli Stove and John Franklin III each take one rep of a live punt return during last week's scrimmage. "This is the one opportunity that our guys can really show what they can do," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "We really got some good information off of that." John Franklin III catches TD during Auburn's first spring scrimmage Auburn quarterback-turned-receiver John Franklin III made multiple plays, including a touchdown, during the Tigers' first spring scrimmage on Saturday. Stove, who had 10.4 all-purpose yards per play last season, and Franklin, who has also spent time as a gunner on punt coverage teams during spring practice, offer a lot by way of explosive ability but lack the experience in the return game as of now. "They're just not as far along as the other two in punt return game," Horton said. "That's probably a little more difficult skill to master than a kickoff returner. ... Those are guys that you want the ball in your hands, but it takes a special guy to be back there because they test your courage on that." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WFE12 9,191 Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Would definitely want to see Eli return and not jfIII. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidiAU 1,270 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I better start taking my xanax now if JF3 is a candidate. He's fast, but one hard hit and we've got a loose football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger 8,817 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 7 minutes ago, AidiAU said: I better start taking my xanax now if JF3 is a candidate. He's fast, but one hard hit and we've got a loose football. Can we use that same magnet we put in O-Mac's pads that kept pulling him towards the sideline? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarEagle1983 2,185 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Punt returns..No. Kick offs...i could deal with but I'm hoping for Ryan Davis to be the main guy. Personally at this point i have a feeling all the JF3 talk/hype will only led to maybe 2-3 touches a game...if that. Seems like another player who ends up being "Flavor of the Spring" then not to be seen once the season starts. No fault to their own in may cases. For whatever reason we've ignored what some guys have done in spring. I've always liked JF3's speed and the kid puts in serious work off the field to get better. I just think if some of our other younger WRs step up to the talent we know they're capable of, JF3 will not be seeing many touches and if he does it will have to come from punt or kick off returns. Using him a decoy in motion or the slot a couple times a game could be useful but we're still going to be mostly a run team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarEagle1983 2,185 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 12 minutes ago, Tiger said: Can we use that same magnet we put in O-Mac's pads that kept pulling him towards the sideline? That kid can find the sidelines in a sandstorm. Loved O-mac. It was the smart thing to do and he was fully aware of it too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger 8,817 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 3 minutes ago, WarEagle1983 said: That kid can find the sidelines in a sandstorm. Loved O-mac. It was the smart thing to do and he was fully aware of it too! Yep! I don't blame him. He was a great weapon for us and was able to be that by getting to the sideline and avoiding big hits (for the most part) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oracle79 3,569 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 1 hour ago, Tiger said: Yep! I don't blame him. He was a great weapon for us and was able to be that by getting to the sideline and avoiding big hits (for the most part) Watch the 2010 Bama game again and focus on O-Mac. Dude straight up ran over some Bammers in that game and played tough as hell. Not sure where it came from, but he sucked it up and got tough that game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUld fAUx@ 2,584 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 2 hours ago, WarEagle1983 said: Punt returns..No. Kick offs...i could deal with but I'm hoping for Ryan Davis to be the main guy. Personally at this point i have a feeling all the JF3 talk/hype will only led to maybe 2-3 touches a game...if that. Seems like another player who ends up being "Flavor of the Spring" then not to be seen once the season starts. No fault to their own in may cases. For whatever reason we've ignored what some guys have done in spring. I've always liked JF3's speed and the kid puts in serious work off the field to get better. I just think if some of our other younger WRs step up to the talent we know they're capable of, JF3 will not be seeing many touches and if he does it will have to come from punt or kick off returns. Using him a decoy in motion or the slot a couple times a game could be useful but we're still going to be mostly a run team. though our last (press-generated) depth chart (different thread) still has Mr. Franklin in the 2-deep at holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kd4au 1,145 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I don't care who returns punts we just need to get someone that can produce,we have not had a good punt return game since Chris Davis graduated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AidiAU 1,270 Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 15 hours ago, kd4au said: I don't care who returns punts we just need to get someone that can produce,we have not had a good punt return game since Chris Davis graduated. He was pretttu good. ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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