2014 Fall Practice - Day 3

[Guest jojo1515]

Auburn D-coordinator Ellis Johnson: "Going to be some musical chairs in next two weeks. I can foresee some position moves but not right now"

Is anybody else just a little concerned that in year 2 under EJ, we still dont know what position alot of guys are going to play? These guys only get 4-5 years...using 2 of them not even knowing what position they are seems to waste alot of proper practice time IYAM.. I understand things happen and guys can get shuffled a bit, but this seems to just be ongoing, not merely situational.

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

Position moves are just part of the game. With new recruits coming in and injuries, it is just necessary to move people around to get your best 11 on the field. I trust CEJ to get this defense to perform better this season than last. Hopefully a top 25 defense this season.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Auburn D-coordinator Ellis Johnson: "Going to be some musical chairs in next two weeks. I can foresee some position moves but not right now"

Is anybody else just a little concerned that in year 2 under EJ, we still dont know what position alot of guys are going to play? These guys only get 4-5 years...using 2 of them not even knowing what position they are seems to waste alot of proper practice time IYAM.. I understand things happen and guys can get shuffled a bit, but this seems to just be ongoing, not merely situational.

I haven't seen where CEJ said "alot" of players. Your post is the only place I've seen the word "alot" used.

Also, he didn't say who any of the guys who might be moving are. They might be 3rd string guys who aren't going to see the field at their current position, so he might be using them to bolster depth where needed.

Also, he's only been here 1 year, so no, he hasn't spent 2 years not knowing where any given player should be. And even if that were the case, a significant number of the guys who will get meaningful reps this season are guys that CEJ didn't recruit.

Finally, you can't underestimate how much the older guys regressed during the Chizik era. So no, it doesn't concern me that it's taking CEJ more than one season to completely un-fudge what the previous staff(s) fudged up.

[Auburn4Winners 0]

Has anybody heard anything about Dontavious Russell? I was really hoping he could come in and make an impact right away.

[chimesAU 89]

Have anybody heard anything about Dontavious Russell? I was really hoping he could come in and make an impact right away.

I could be wrong, but I'm not sure if he has the size to contribute in the interior just yet. The guy has a great frame but might need a year to bulk up.

[Auburn4Winners 0]

Have anybody heard anything about Dontavious Russell? I was really hoping he could come in and make an impact right away.

I could be wrong, but I'm not sure if he has the size to contribute in the interior just yet. The guy has a great frame but might need a year to bulk up.

Well crap.

[gravejd 3,270]

Plus we have like 27 senior DTs on the team this year...well maybe not quite that many.....but still.

[gravejd 3,270]

I'd have to see who all moves and where they move to before I could say I was worried about Johnson being able to place players in the right spots. Are the moves out of necessity because someone went down with injury? Are the moves just and attempt to get the best 11 on the field? Was someone playing out of position last year out of necessity and are now getting back to their original spot? Lots can go into it but right now, no I'm not worried about Johnson finding the best spots for everyone.

[AU80cruiser 1,102]

Have anybody heard anything about Dontavious Russell? I was really hoping he could come in and make an impact right away.

I could be wrong, but I'm not sure if he has the size to contribute in the interior just yet. The guy has a great frame but might need a year to bulk up.

Well crap.

I looked in his recruiting profile....he's 6'3 300. He should be good to go with that size.

[chimesAU 89]

Have anybody heard anything about Dontavious Russell? I was really hoping he could come in and make an impact right away.

I could be wrong, but I'm not sure if he has the size to contribute in the interior just yet. The guy has a great frame but might need a year to bulk up.

Well crap.

I looked in his recruiting profile....he's 6'3 300. He should be good to go with that size.

Thanks for checking. I thought he was around the 280 mark.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

Position moves happen all the time. I mean, just off the top of my head, they moved Holsey to Boundary CB (he started there but played Safety in his one season under this staff). That move likely means Mincy is shifting back to Field CB, which is where he played last year, but not where he played in spring (before Holsey was healthy). The feeling is, those are our best CB options, move guys around to get them on the field together.

Justin Garrett also moved back to Star. He finished the year at OLB, even though he was basically hurt the entire season. I think Ellis has been consistent in his desire to put Garrett there, but injuries got in the way.

He's moving Wright around to figure out what his best DL group may be. I suspect that will necessitate other moves. It could mean Adams starts beside Bradley. Or you could start Wright with Bradley and put Owens/Daniel on the outside.

Similarly, we're shuffling guys around at MLB and OLB, trying to find the best groupings. He's not keeping that a secret.

All of those things fit in the "musical chairs" overview, but none of them are substantial position changes for particular players. I took his point to be, we don't know exactly who the best groups are, but once we slot one guy, the others will fall in place... like musical chairs.

[cole256 17,084]

Only thing that made me sort of say well hope for the best is gabe being the best pass rusher comment

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

Two things to remember about these moves is injuries and depth forced some moves last year, also these are young men who's bodies are growing and changing. An 18 year old last year at LB might have grown into a DE now, and an overweight DT may now have firmed up his body, lost the baby fat and gained a step. and now is suitable at DE. We should be glad that we have good coaches that are experimenting to give us the best options. I also agree that there was a big improvement in the defense last year over the previous two or three. If you missed it Ellis alluded to it that the defense for the most part was doing it's job, but gave up some long and untimely yardage at times. Try and remember this is not your old SEC anymore, even defensive teams like uat are giving up more yards and points. With the new offenses this will continue. The new SEC defensive objective will be to give up less points than our offense scores. If you haven't figured that out yet you are going to be in a bad mode for a long time. WDE

[chimesAU 89]

Stole this just for y'all---

AUBURN, Alabama -- Austin Golson, the offensive tackle who transferred in from Ole Miss and has to sit out this season, was not in pads or taking part in practice during the open viewing period of today's practice.

He was still dressed out in shorts and jersey, but no "shells," the shoulder pads and helmets Auburn is wearing today.

Golson, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound sophomore who started at right tackle for the Rebels last season at times, had been working with Auburn's second team in early practices.

An injury to Golson doesn't affect Auburn's depth chart for the season due to his status as a transfer this season.

Auburn had a big group of punt returners back during practice: Marcus Davis, Robenson Therezie, Jonathon Mincy, Quan Bray, Markell Boston, Stephen Roberts, Gray King and Rudy Ford all took punts back there.

Corey Grant and Ricardo Louis were the only return men back on kickoffs.

Josh Holsey is Auburn's answer at boundary cornerback, but it looks like he'll also move inside and play some safety in sub-packages.

Auburn was working on a few defensive-back heavy formations -- possibly the dime -- at the beginning of practice.

Representatives from the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills were present at Auburn's practice today.

[Dom1ni0n 51]

I wonder if the Steelers were scouting one, perhaps two future WRs?

[aujeff11 6,243]

I read on twitter that Lashlee said Nick Marshall was 15 for 17 in 7-7 work. No way he did that last year. WDE

[WarEagle84 0]

Auburn had a big group of punt returners back during practice: Marcus Davis, Robenson Therezie, Jonathon Mincy, Quan Bray, Markell Boston, Stephen Roberts, Gray King and Rudy Ford all took punts back there.

Corey Grant and Ricardo Louis were the only return men back on kickoffs.

Kinda surprised Roc is not getting a chance at returning kicks.

Representatives from the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills were present at Auburn's practice today.

Am I just ignorant, or is this a bit unusual? I didn't think NFL scouts spent a lot of time at preseason practices.

[aucanucktiger 1,798]

I'm surprised Ford isn't in the kickoff return pool. A Brent Fullwood kickoff return type.

[N2AUtigers 5]

Cass is listed at 6'3 249. Lawson is listed at 6'2 261, and Dee Ford is listed at 6'2 252. I'm seeing his 40 time at 4.65-4.70, which is about a tenth of a second slower than Ford and about on par with Lawson.

Just thought I'd share those numbers here, in case anybody else was curious. None of that suggests what kind of pass rusher he'll be compared to those guys, but it's at least worth noting that he's very much in their realm metrics-wise.

Not sure about arm length, but it's possible that he would have an advantage getting his arms up to bat down passes, since he's a bit taller.

I guess the question is, what does the front 7 alignment look like if he's playing 3 technique? Does that just mean he's one of 2 DLs and somebody else is playing MLB? I know I'm making a big deal out of a couple comments from CEJ, but it's early August, sooooo...

My guess would be in the dime package, bring in both Therezie and Garrett as star/safeties shifting Cass into a rush end position and Frost into the middle where we know he is capable especially when bracketed by two studs allowing either Gabe or Owens,if the light comes on the other side. If Owens does play then Gabe can move inside with Adams and we have tons of speed talent and violence running wild on 3rd and long or pass heavy downs

He wouldn't necessarily have to play with his hand in the dirt either. If I remember correctly, CEJ likes to use DE's who play standing up (or at least I think he did at SCAR)

Yes almost like the enigma package Rob Ryan runs. Every one but maybe the tackles are standing up... And moving around.

[N2AUtigers 5]

Auburn had a big group of punt returners back during practice: Marcus Davis, Robenson Therezie, Jonathon Mincy, Quan Bray, Markell Boston, Stephen Roberts, Gray King and Rudy Ford all took punts back there.

Corey Grant and Ricardo Louis were the only return men back on kickoffs.

Kinda surprised Roc is not getting a chance at returning kicks.

Representatives from the New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills were present at Auburn's practice today.

Am I just ignorant, or is this a bit unusual? I didn't think NFL scouts spent a lot of time at preseason practices.

I think I remember that the Pro reps started showing up to a lot of Chip Kelly's practices. So don't really know if that's a good sign or not. ..

[AUEngineer2016 407]

Auburn had a big group of punt returners back during practice: Marcus Davis, Robenson Therezie, Jonathon Mincy, Quan Bray, Markell Boston, Stephen Roberts, Gray King and Rudy Ford all took punts back there.

Corey Grant and Ricardo Louis were the only return men back on kickoffs.

Kinda surprised Roc is not getting a chance at returning kicks.

It may just be that they want Roc to focus on the offensive playbook first so that he has everything down by the time the season starts. That way, we could put him in and see what he can do immediately. IMO he'll be more of a factor at RB than KR anyway.

[trout54 55]

I wonder if the scouts are there for the on-field talent, or to see what Gus' playbook and what it can do for the pro-level.

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

Auburn had a big group of punt returners back during practice: Marcus Davis, Robenson Therezie, Jonathon Mincy, Quan Bray, Markell Boston, Stephen Roberts, Gray King and Rudy Ford all took punts back there.

Corey Grant and Ricardo Louis were the only return men back on kickoffs.

Kinda surprised Roc is not getting a chance at returning kicks.

It may just be that they want Roc to focus on the offensive playbook first so that he has everything down by the time the season starts. That way, we could put him in and see what he can do immediately. IMO he'll be more of a factor at RB than KR anyway.

Kamryn Pettway is a very good back. He could easily be a factor just like Roc, but probably a couple of years down the road. Go watch his highlights.

[AUEngineer2016 407]

Just found a quote from Lashlee that was pretty interesting concerning QB size:

"Lashlee said that both Marshall and Johnson added weight over the summer as prescribed by strength coach Ryan Russell. Lashlee estimated that Marshall gained about 10 to 12 pounds and was in the vicinity of 212 to 215 pounds. Johnson was up to approximately 228 pounds, 10 pounds more than he was during spring practice." -SaturdayDownSouth

Link: http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/auburn-football/johnson-development-lashlee/

[McLoofus 35,182]

Cass is listed at 6'3 249. Lawson is listed at 6'2 261, and Dee Ford is listed at 6'2 252. I'm seeing his 40 time at 4.65-4.70, which is about a tenth of a second slower than Ford and about on par with Lawson.

Just thought I'd share those numbers here, in case anybody else was curious. None of that suggests what kind of pass rusher he'll be compared to those guys, but it's at least worth noting that he's very much in their realm metrics-wise.

Not sure about arm length, but it's possible that he would have an advantage getting his arms up to bat down passes, since he's a bit taller.

I guess the question is, what does the front 7 alignment look like if he's playing 3 technique? Does that just mean he's one of 2 DLs and somebody else is playing MLB? I know I'm making a big deal out of a couple comments from CEJ, but it's early August, sooooo...

My guess would be in the dime package, bring in both Therezie and Garrett as star/safeties shifting Cass into a rush end position and Frost into the middle where we know he is capable especially when bracketed by two studs allowing either Gabe or Owens,if the light comes on the other side. If Owens does play then Gabe can move inside with Adams and we have tons of speed talent and violence running wild on 3rd and long or pass heavy downs

He wouldn't necessarily have to play with his hand in the dirt either. If I remember correctly, CEJ likes to use DE's who play standing up (or at least I think he did at SCAR)

Yes almost like the enigma package Rob Ryan runs. Every one but maybe the tackles are standing up... And moving around.

My goodness, this actual football talk has me giddy.