Lot to watch Saturday

[aubiefifty 16,761]

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There’s more to watch at spring games than who’s scoring

By Staff Reports

By JOE MCADORY

When Auburn’s A-Day offense exceeded 700 yards in 2014, fans gushed over what might happen that fall. With Nick Marshall, Duke Williams, Cameron Artis-Payne, etc., this team was going to light up the scoreboard each Saturday, right?

But I’m a glass-half-empty kind of guy. Any defense that gives up more than 700 yards and 61 points in a glorified scrimmage will badly burn you once the games count for real. That said, I left Jordan-Hare Stadium that April afternoon shaking my head while other folks were buying up those AuburnFast T-shirts.

Scrimmage games are tough to watch. For every big offensive play worth cheering for is often a defensive breakdown worth bemoaning. You’ve got to take the good with the bad.

Auburn’s A-Day is Saturday and I look forward to watching from the comfort of my recliner this time. Steel bleachers hurt my butt.

What am I looking for? I’ll tell you:

• Like most college football enthusiasts, I want to see what the fuss is over Jarrett Stidham. How accurate is his arm? Does he check off receivers until he finds the open man? Does he have a rocket arm? How about the deep ball? And, oh yeah, can he run? I doubt coaches will allow the team’s future starting quarterback to run in a scrimmage, so we probably won’t witness his complete talent until Auburn visits Clemson in the second game of the season.

• How about the young receivers? Is Nate Craig-Myers ready for prime time? Will Jason Smith be part of the offense this year? There’s a lot of talk about Marquis McClain. So … I’d like to learn more about the redshirt freshman. Also, will Kyle Davis at least be on the sidelines?

• What about quarterback Woody Barrett? I’ve never seen him play, but I’m hearing a bunch about freshman Malik Willis.

• Can Daniel Carlson kick 70-yard field goals now? Just wondering.

• I hear that tight ends will be featured in Auburn’s offense again. Ok. Well, let’s see it happen.

• Running back is a great strength on this team, but depth was an issue down the stretch. Behind Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson, how much of a factor will Kam Martin really be? Is he the new end-around speed back, much like Corey Grant? Has Malik Miller recovered from last season’s injury?

• Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams are gone. How will the defensive line be without them? How effective can Byron Cowart be inside? Paul James was a heralded defensive line recruit in 2016 and should be 100 percent now. I have a feeling that he might be a wrecking ball. Is sophomore nose tackle Derrick Brown ready to assume the role as the new Montravius Adams?

• Depth might be a problem in the secondary. I wonder if redshirt freshman Marlon Character will make an impact at safety. I hear nothing but rave reviews about him. Then there’s sophomore cornerback Daniel Thomas. Some regarded him as a 2016 Signing Day risk and he didn’t crack the starting lineup until depth became a problem late in the season. He might be a regular until he graduates.

• Will this defense resemble the nasty bunch that played last year? Hope so. Just don’t get nasty with your own players.

It’s really hard to take much away from spring games other than individual performances, assuming they are not held in check to vanilla schemes. Sometimes that happens. Here’s hoping Saturday’s scrimmage offers a little tapioca.

Joe McAdory is communications editor at the Auburn University Harbert College of Business.

[AUwent 3,748]

Where are we deep at, if anywhere?

[Timeslider 6 269]

With the limitations on scholarships, depth is a problem every where. Coaches have to decide where to fill positions while recuiting, so pretty much everyone has some of the same problems. It would seem you just try to deal with it the best way you can, as a coach.