Paul James III

[aubiefifty 16,658]

Auburn wants defensive end Paul James III to 'turn it loose' with right knee as spring winds down

Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

Rodney Garner has at times been perplexed with Buck defensive end Paul James III this spring.

The 6-foot-4, 271-pounder has shown flashes here or there over the course of Auburn's first 11 practices, but other times he will look as though he isn't full recovered from a "freak" right injury he sustained six-plus months ago.

"At times, he's just a little gimpy with that knee, and I don't know if it's physical or if it's mental, I really don't know, but he's got to get well," said Garner, Auburn's defensive line coach. "There's not a premium on one-legged defensive ends; that's just not a high demand for that position with that skill set."

James injured his knee in late September leading up to Auburn's home game against LSU on Sept. 24. The injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season, and he finished the year with three total tackles in three games.

The former junior college transfer was limited early on during spring practice but has been progressing since the team returned from spring break last month. Although defensive end Marlon Davidson said James has been "actually balling" in practice, Garner has a different view on the former four-star recruit.

Paul James III, Nick Coe 'actually balling' despite not being 100 percent

"I just feel like he's not 100 percent," Garner said last week. "He'll show a flash that's there, but then he's back to being this one-legged guy."

Garner has discussed James' status with head athletic trainer Robbie Stewart, and the defensive line coach said he still isn't sure if it's just a mental hurdle -- which is common for anyone making a return from such an injury -- or if the knee is still physically limiting James this spring.

Whatever the issue may be, Garner wants to get it sorted out before the end of spring and help James, who is competing for playing time at Buck with Jeff Holland and Tre' Threat this spring, "get over the hump" and regain full confidence in his knee's stability.

"I think we need him to be able to turn it loose a little bit more, and if it's a psychological block, then we need to push past that," Garner said. "If it's a physical thing, then we got to figure out what we got to do during the offseason to rehab it and get him back close to 100 percent."

[damabama 15]

"At times, he's just a little gimpy with that knee, and I don't know if it's physical or if it's mental, I really don't know, but he's got to get well," said Garner, Auburn's defensive line coach. "There's not a premium on one-legged defensive ends; that's just not a high demand for that position with that skill set."

 

GREAT LINE CRG

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,287]

Why would he even say any of this? SMH

[mcgufcm 4,096]

Probably because he believes it's a mental thing, and he wants to use every avenue to kick the guy into gear?

[McLoofus 35,182]

56 minutes ago, mcgufcm said:

Probably because he believes it's a mental thing, and he wants to use every avenue to kick the guy into gear?

Always my first guess with Garner.