Biggest difference could be seen at TE/H-back

[WFE12 8,862]

Auburn offense could see the 'biggest difference' at tight end/H-back

Updated on July 23, 2017 at 5:06 PMPosted on July 23

By James Crepea

jcrepea@al.com

AL.com will be previewing each of nine position groups leading up to the start of Auburn's fall camp on July 31. The second installment in the series reviews the H-backs and tight ends.

Chandler Cox is back for a third year as a starter in the backfield as Auburn's H-back.

Entering his junior season, Cox has become one of the vocal leaders on offense and now he might get more touches than his four carries for 15 yards with a touchdowns and four catches for 41 yards.

"I mean he's like a quarterback back there," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "He has great experience. You'll see (offensive coordinator) Chip (Lindsey) utilize those guys a little bit differently than we have in the past. That may be the biggest difference you see offensively than what we've been: Utilizing the tight end and the H-backs and getting those guys more involved."

Jalen Harris returns at tight end, where Sal Cannella brings a different skill set to the position than Auburn has had in a few years.

Departed: N/A

Returning starters: Chandler Cox, junior; Jalen Harris, junior

Other returning players: Keenan Sweeney, junior; Sal Cannella, sophomore

Summer arrivals: John Samuel Shenker

Outlook: Starting with H-back, Cox is the lock starter and will get nearly all the snaps, just as Jay Prosch did in 2013.

"He has his A-game every day," Malzahn said. "I don't know if I've ever seen anybody that can bring the energy consistently and it's not fake energy. He's got it. He's got that ability to effect everybody and he's earned that respect from his teammates."

Cox is a fine lead blocker for Auburn's run game but still has room to improve in pass protection, particularly with the Tigers preparing to do much more in the passing game with Jarrett Stidham.

If for any reason Auburn needed to play another H-back, Keenan Sweeney will be the backup on paper but Harris or freshman John Samuel Shenker might get the nod in a longer term scenario.

At tight end, Harris can only see his production in the passing game increase from his two catches for 16 yards and two touchdowns last season. At 228 pounds, Cannella is more in the mold of a receiver than an extra blocker and how he was lined up on A-Day indicates he'll be split out more.

It's a position Lindsey has a history of utilizing far more than Malzahn ever has and should see a spike in production compared to what Auburn tight ends have done in the past five years.

"Jalen Harris has really came on and Sal Cannella is a guy that very impressed us," Malzahn said. "So Chip's going to use a tight end more. We see so many more odd fronts and so running the football-wise you definitely need that. We feel very good."

Shenker has been compared to the late Philip Lutzenkirchen and if he displays those skills in fall camp it's possible he plays as a true freshman rather than redshirts.

Post-spring depth chart analysis: HB | TE

Battle to Watch: Whether tight end is a battle or a rotational situation based on play call will be interesting to gauge in fall camp. During spring practice Auburn used personnel packages that had Cox, Cannella and Harris, two of the three and just one. That's not unusual by any means, but it shows there won't be only one way for them all to see the field.

Keep an Eye on: Cannella is a far different mold than Auburn tight ends under Malzahn or most anywhere else for that matter. The junior college transfer is going to be used in the passing game and how quickly he proves capable in games could dictate how vast that position expands.

Projected two deep:

H-back:
Chandler Cox (6-foot-1, 239 pounds)
Keenan Sweeney (6-foot, 237 pounds)

Tight end:
Jalen Harris (6-foot-4, 252 pounds)
Sal Cannella (6-foot-5, 228 pounds)

[kd4au 1,145]

Looking forward to getting the ball to the TE more often. Harris two catches two TD's say's it all.

[ValleyTiger 2,894]

Cox is a key cog, let's use him as such.

[WarTim 3,346]

What is a TE??????

[WarEagle1983 2,133]

^^^This. The fact that we'll actually be targeting the TE/HB in passing will be a welcoming sight. 

[LKEEL75 2,558]

2 hours ago, WarEagle1983 said:

^^^This. The fact that we'll actually be targeting the TE/HB in passing will be a welcoming sight. 

But will we?  How many passes went toward a TE during A-day?  I am sure we will target more than we have in years past, but from A-day I don't feel like we are going to be targeting TE more than 1-2 times a game.  Hoping I am wrong on that, but only time will tell

[WarEagle1983 2,133]

5 minutes ago, lkeel75 said:

But will we?  How many passes went toward a TE during A-day?  I am sure we will target more than we have in years past, but from A-day I don't feel like we are going to be targeting TE more than 1-2 times a game.  Hoping I am wrong on that, but only time will tell

I don't expect it to be anything over 2-3 times a game but it would be more than in previous years since having CJ. We simply didn't even acknowledge the position at all. To be honest i'm surprised we get the attention we do with TE recruits considering we've shown nothing to make them think they'll be a factor in our offense. I thought we could've certainly used the TE more last year considering SW was very accurate and efficient with intermediate passing. Gives the defense something else to think about. 

[boomstick 1,315]

I think the biggest offensive difference we will see this year is more consistent success with the deep ball. This is no knock on Sean because I think he's a very good QB, but I think his one limitation is deep down field throws. I don't think Stidham is as limited in that regard. 

 

[johnnyAU 3,581]

I say we pass it to the TE at least 3 times in the first game, eclipsing all of last season.

[DAG 32,737]

Went out on the limb there haha. If we see 5 pass attempts to the TE in a game, this would be a gross difference. I cannot see why we wouldn't utilize this more as both our QBs tend to use the immediate pass as their bread and butter.

[AUGoo 2,444]

We have TE's?

Who knew?

Surprised to see Gus comment on them.  Didn't think he knew.

[WarEagle1983 2,133]

2 hours ago, boomstick said:

I think the biggest offensive difference we will see this year is more consistent success with the deep ball. This is no knock on Sean because I think he's a very good QB, but I think his one limitation is deep down field throws. I don't think Stidham is as limited in that regard. 

 

I've gone back and watched the 3 games Stidham started at Baylor. He's certainly very efficient with the deep pass. He looked like an upper classman in how he took control of the offense.

[CR 2,248]

These are the Gus comments that drive me crazy. If using the H-backs and Tight-ends is such a good idea(and it surely is), why didn't he design HIS offense to utilize them more?

[lionheartkc 6,150]

21 minutes ago, CR said:

These are the Gus comments that drive me crazy. If using the H-backs and Tight-ends is such a good idea(and it surely is), why didn't he design HIS offense to utilize them more?

He did... he just hasn't had much in the way of talent to fill those roles lately. People will say Uzomah was underutilized, and they would be correct, but when Uzomah was at Auburn, we weren't truly running Gus's standard offense, we were running nearly a pure zone read that focused almost entirely on the H-back. Look back at the 2010 offense and you will see how Gus's standard offense utilizes both positions.

[CR 2,248]

In 2010 Lutz had 15 receptions for 185 yds. And that was playing with a once in a lifetime QB.
I'm not trying to bash Gus, but Lutz, Uzomah and to this point Jalen Harris have been poorly utilized in relation to their talent. Hopefully Lindsey changes that trend.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

15 hours ago, CR said:

In 2010 Lutz had 15 receptions for 185 yds. And that was playing with a once in a lifetime QB.
I'm not trying to bash Gus, but Lutz, Uzomah and to this point Jalen Harris have been poorly utilized in relation to their talent. Hopefully Lindsey changes that trend.

15 receptions for 185 yards and 5 touchdowns.  That's a touchdown for every 3 touches. That is utilizing a tight end. Tight ends aren't general like receivers, racking up hundreds of yards in a season, unless they are exceptional. Oh, and Cam was more a detriment than a help to Lutz's numbers, because more often than not, Cam just did it himself. Lutz's number went up the next year when our QB play was mediocre at best.

For the record, OJ Howard, arguably one of the best tight ends in recent years if not ever, had 7 touchdowns in his entire 4 year career. Had OJ decided to go to Auburn, I would be willing to bet that no one would be complaining about how Gus uses tight ends.

If you have read anything the coaches say about Harris, he's not really a receiving type tight end. That's why they wanted Cannella so badly.