Auburn practice report:

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Auburn Football

Auburn practice report: Reserve WR returns, reserve LB held out, Wildcat debuts

Updated Aug 13, 8:41 PM; Posted Aug 13, 3:26 PM

By Tom Green

tgreen@al.com

Auburn returned to the field on Monday for its ninth practice of fall camp, and with it came the return of reserve wide receiver Marquis McClain, who was last seen in an orange non-contact jersey last week.

McClain was back in pads and a blue jersey as a full participant Monday afternoon, though the Tigers did have another player held out due to injury. Reserve linebacker Richard McBryde was in an orange non-contact jersey and no pads as he was being held out due to an undisclosed injury.

Other notes and observations from Monday's open viewing window for the media:

-- Along with McBryde, receivers Will Hastings (ACL) and Eli Stove (ACL), safety Jeremiah Dinson (shoulder), offensive linemen Brodarious Hamm (knee) and Nick Brahms (leg) and defensive lineman Daquan Newkirk (Achilles) were all in orange non-contact jerseys.

-- Cornerback Noah Igbinoghene was also in an orange non-contact jersey, but had pads on and is expected to be close to full-go in practices after being limited with an undisclosed injury last week.

-- Running backs coach Tim Horton again worked with the backs on a short-passing drill at the start of practice. The order was slightly altered this time, with Kam Martin first, followed by JaTarvious Whitlow, Malik Miller, Asa Martin, Shaun Shivers and C.J. Tolbert. Miller moved up in the order from last time out, when he was fifth; H-back Chandler Cox did not participate in the drill today.

-- Auburn worked on its unbalanced Wildcat offensive line during the viewing window. From left to right, the first team looked like this: Tucker Brown, Marquel Harrell, Kaleb Kim, Mike Horton, Jack Driscoll and Prince Tega Wanogho Jr.

-- The second-team unbalanced line for the Wildcat did not have anyone repping on the far left side, but the rest of the line looked like this, from left to right: Tashawn Manning, Nick Brahms, Calvin Ashley, Austin Troxell and Bailey Sharp.

-- Both Whitlow and Cox were seen taking direct snaps during practice, a potential early look at Auburn's Wildcat options this season.

Cox has not run the Wildcat since an ill-fated interception in the 2016 Iron Bowl. The following spring, Cox was asked about him taking snaps at Wildcat and had this to say: "That's definitely a thing of the past. It was fun while it lasted. We may run it again, I don't know. It'd be cool to do it again, we'll see."

-- During 7-on-7 drills, Auburn fielded a first-team defense that featured Markaviest "Big Kat" Bryant at Buck, Marlon Davidson and Derrick Brown on the interior of the line, with Dontavius Russell on the end. Montavious Atkinson and Deshaun Davis were at linebacker, with Quindarious "Smoke" Monday as the lone defensive back. Nick Coe rotated in with Bryant, while Andrew Williams rotated in with Derrick Brown, and Darrell Williams rotated in with Atkinson.

-- The first-team offense during 7-on-7 drills saw Whitlow get reps at running back and taking handoffs from Jarrett Stidham.

-- The offensive line during 7-on-7, from left to right, had Wanogho at LT, Harrell at LG, Kim at C, Horton at RG and Driscoll at RT. The second-team line had Sharp at LT, Manning at LG, Tucker Brown at C, Ashley at RG and Troxell at RT.

-- Auburn added a new walk-on quarterback to the team, Jake Norwood, a pro-style quarterback from Aledo, Texas. Norwood will wear No. 4.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

 

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Auburn Football

Mike Horton comfortable at center if Auburn needs

Updated Aug 13, 8:10 PM; Posted Aug 13, 8:10 PM

Auburn redshirt-junior Mike Horton is contending to start at either center or right guard.  (Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics)

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By James Crepea

jcrepea@al.com

Mike Horton is in uncharted territory.

The redshirt-junior has never played center in a competitive football game, but with less than three weeks until Auburn opens the season against Washington he is splitting time snapping the ball as the starting center and at right guard.

"(Center is) a new position so of course I had to get used to it, but right now I feel comfortable enough to where if I had to in a game I could play it," Horton said. "Practice was good. I liked that they made me do that because it put me in a position where I had to adjust."

Horton said his snaps have been "great" and he's comfortable making the offensive line's calls at center if need be.

While he'll play wherever the coaching staff needs him to, Horton made it sound as though he's going to end up at guard and Kaleb Kim will start at center.

They split time at center during Auburn's first fall scrimmage last Thursday and could do so again during the second scrimmage on Wednesday. Gus Malzahn indicated Horton could still see time at center, but the 6-foot-4, 324-pound lineman made it sound as though he's seen less of that position so far this week.

"I ain't really repped (center) too much, but they gave me a couple of reps in the scrimmage and it's been going good. We'll see how it goes," Horton said. "More recently I've just been playing guard, but we'll see how it goes later this week."

RELATED: Has a favorite emerged in Auburn's right tackle competition?

Kim worked with the first-team during pre-practice drills on Monday, as has been the case for all of Auburn nine practices of fall camp.

"He's actually grown a lot," left tackle Prince Tega Wanogho Jr. said. "I believe like with him, too, we've actually got a way to grow and move forward. He's been good, too."

The 6-foot-4, 300-pound Kim has appeared in 10 games as a backup during his career, but has ample practice experience.

As one of five redshirt-juniors on the offensive line, Kim's part of the same core group with Horton, Wanogho and left guard Marquel Harrell.

"Very smart guy; he's very technically sound and I think that that's his biggest asset," Horton said. "That's what will get him the farthest. ... Even though he hasn't played with us in a game, he has before (in practice). We've already worked with him. So it's not going to be a problem. He knows what he's doing; he's good."

James Crepea is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @JamesCrepea.