no surprise defense dominated first scrimmage

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Why it's no surprise defense dominated Auburn football's first scrimmage

Justin Ferguson @JFergusonAU

4-5 minutes

AUBURN, Ala. — Although Gus Malzahn and his players didn’t come right out and say it, the truth was obvious Saturday — Auburn football’s first scrimmage went to the defense, hands down.

Auburn’s offense committed five turnovers in the scrimmage. The first-team defense, led by an experienced front, forced “a lot of three-and-outs,” according to senior linebacker Darrell Williams.

None of this was a surprise to Malzahn.

“Usually, the first scrimmage, whether it’s spring or fall, the defense is usually a little ahead,” Malzahn said Saturday. “The great thing about our defense right now is we have a lot of veterans that have played. We’ve got a lot of guys that I consider to be really good football players.”

Auburn’s offense was down its starting quarterback in Jarrett Stidham. Experienced wide receiver Eli Stove was out with an ACL injury, and it lost Will Hastings to a knee injury during the scrimmage. The Tigers have two positions on the offensive line — center and right tackle — that feature players who will be first-time starters in 2018, no matter who wins the job.

On the other side, Auburn can go two-deep with experienced playmakers on the defensive line. Three of its top four linebackers are back. And while the Tigers have to find two new starting safeties, they have returning first-teamers in Javaris Davis, Jamel Dean and Jeremiah Dinson.

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All that experience created havoc for an offense that is reloading at several key positions.

“The defense really stood out to me. They won the line of scrimmage,” Malzahn said. “I think they forced five turnovers, which is good from a defensive standpoint. Offensively, they’ve got to do a better job of protecting the football.”

Auburn’s strong day on defense was led by its front four. The Tigers’ defensive line has three returning starters — Dontavius Russell, Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson — as well as several players who were key parts of the rotation in 2017.

A source told SEC Country on Saturday that Big Kat Bryant had a strong performance in the scrimmage. The Tigers generated a lot of pressure on young quarterbacks Malik Willis and Joey Gatewood throughout the day.

“Everybody played well, everybody made plays,” Davidson said Saturday. “It’s exactly what [defensive line coach Rodney Garner] wanted us to do — make plays, get off the field on third down, just have fun.”

Malzahn wants more out of his under-construction offensive line, but he knows the unit will get some of the best-possible experience in growing against Auburn’s defensive line.

“We do have one of the best defensive lines in college football,” Malzahn said. “There’s no doubt about that. But at the same time, we always strive to have one of the best offensive lines. That’s the goal. We’ll just see how things are moving forward.”

It wasn’t a perfect day for the defense, though. Williams highlighted one area for improvement after a scrimmage that featured a touchdown pass from Willis and a long touchdown run from JaTarvious Whitlow.

“We’ve just got to keep working on finishing better,” Williams said. “That’s a point of emphasis [defensive coordinator Kevin Steele] wants us to do, and just off last year, is something we can get better at.”

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Scrimmages, even this early in the football calendar, can be a delicate balancing act for teams. One half of the team doing well is obviously good, but it comes at the expense of the other side.

But Auburn’s defensive players know that what they’re doing to their teammates on offense will all pay off in the fall, when the results on the scoreboard actually count.

“That’s the only thing we’re doing — we’re trying to build our team the best way we can,” Davidson said. “Everything starts upfront no matter what. Every game starts upfront and it ends upfront.”