Run D Concerns For AU

[ellitor 33,114]

Entering season opener, Auburn has 'a ways to go' in run defense

"The want-to is there. We've got a ways to go in tackling. ... We've got to stop the run somehow, some way in this league. And we've got a ways to go with that."

NATHAN KING

Hugh Freeze might have only been half-joking.

Last week, Freeze said Auburn ran for 493 yards in the team’s second preseason scrimmage. It sounded as if he might have been quipping, but then he immediately segued into some of the Tigers’ problems on defense.

Freeze continues to weigh the preseason question: Has Auburn’s running game been that good in practice? Or do the Tigers some issues in run defense heading into the season?

He expects to find out, at least start receiving some more data on the subject, Saturday afternoon.

“I don't know — I honestly don't,” Freeze said Monday. “We'll find out more Saturday. Are we effective running the ball against other opponents? Or has our defense made us look that good? Hopefully — I think when you start getting into a game week and you start game-planning, you figure out this is what we're going to try to do. Hopefully we'll be in the right spots and play well on both sides. That's the hope.”

Freeze was blunt last week, as he’s been with most aspects of his first-year team this preseason, about Auburn’s struggles tackling at the line of scrimmage and bottling up their ball-carriers in practice settings: "The want-to is there. We've got a ways to go in tackling. ... We've got to stop the run somehow, some way in this league. And we've got a ways to go with that."

Auburn retooled several pieces of its defensive front this offseason, after losing Colby Wooden, Derick Hall and Eku Leota to the NFL draft. Owen Pappoe is also gone from the linebacking corps. In all, Auburn added eight transfers from the portal on its defensive front seven — and most are positioned to play significant roles right away.

Like any other group with newcomers — there’s plenty of them, as Freeze and his staff overhauled the roster with more than 50 percent of its scholarship players entering only their first year with the program — the early returns from Auburn’s new-look defensive front will determine which of those pieces stay in place moving forward into the season, and which started to get shuffled.

“We're going to play all of those pieces that have earned that opportunity,” Freeze said. “And then what they do with that opportunity will determine how big a piece of the puzzle they are. It's pretty simple. If they go out there and they rush for 150 yards, there's probably going to be some more carries. If you go out there and you complete a high percentage of your passes, you're probably going to get more opportunities. The same thing with every position that we'll grade out.”

The other side of the equation is Auburn’s stable of running backs, which Cadillac Williams claims is his deepest group since he returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 2019. Gone is NFL draft pick Tank Bigsby, but Jarquez Hunter, Damari Alston, Brian Battie and even 4-star freshman Jeremiah Cobb have all been impressive for the Tigers this preseason. It’s a room with a blend of proven experience and young talent, and Auburn’s offensive staff came away pleased with how they’ve performed over the past month of practice.

But is that a sign of things to come for the run defense, or simply the results of a unit still working through its best lineups and rotations against an explosive and consistent group of ball-carriers?

“If you're able to run the ball, you can shorten the game, and I think that may be advantageous to us this year,” Freeze said. “Are we good enough in the O-line, tight ends and running back room to do that in a league that has tremendous defensive linemen? I don't know yet. But I do think that our running back room is very solid top to bottom, and we're going to lean on them heavily.”

While UMass likely isn’t going to be one of the bigger tests of the year for Auburn’s run defense, the Minutemen do have some dynamic pieces in their rushing attack — both taking handoffs and at quarterback.

UMass ran for 197 yards in its season-opening win over New Mexico State, 41-30, which marked the program’s first road victory since 2018. Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh, a former Clemson and Georgia Tech transfer, led the team with 96 yards on the ground, plus a touchdown. Running back Kay'Ron Lynch-Adams, a Rutgers transfer, added 79 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.

“I think the biggest thing with a running quarterback is gap integrity, everybody holding their gaps and being fundamentally sound in that standpoint,” linebacker Eugene Asante said Monday. “They do a lot of good things. We're not, in any sense, underestimating UMass and what they can do. They're a really good football team. I watched their game in its entirety on Saturday, and I saw a lot of good things out of their team.”

Kickoff in Jordan-Hare Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.

[maryland tiger 616]

Z Walker could really help on the interior. He should be in the middle; not on the edge. 

[W.E.D 11,070]

6 minutes ago, maryland tiger said:

Z Walker could really help on the interior. He should be in the middle; not on the edge. 

He's under 300#. At 290 he's the perfect size for a SDE in a 3 man front

[aucanucktiger 1,805]

Neither line is going to be in top half of sec this season but O line will be noticeably better than last year's. RBs are all good but this D line's still a work in progress.

[bigbird 60,580]

This is easily my biggest worry.  

[W.E.D 11,070]

I hope one scrimmage is really blowing things out of perspective.  I'm pretty sure we've been told a lot of those rushing yards came vs backups.

The top 2 at DT/SDE/NT are all average SEC players at worse, with a few better than that.  Rodgers being out of shape seems disappointing, but hopefully he can play himself into shape and be ready to go by A&M.

[TexasTiger 13,119]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

This is easily my biggest worry.  

The tackling concerns bring back bad memories.

[woodford 3,677]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

This is easily my biggest worry.  

Agreed, but I trust a veteran like CRR to fix the issues. He can’t fix the talent but he can absolutely love guys around and fix some mechanics. 
 

I think he knows how to play doctor with a defense. 

[bootskii 264]

493 yards rushing in one scrimmage?!? I don't think I ran for that many yards playing Tecmo Bowl with Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen.

[W.E.D 11,070]

Cole Pink is claiming Rodgers is fine and the media (Hoke) talking about him being out of shape is dumb and they don't know what they are talking about.

[icanthearyou 4,464]

Maybe our run game is just that good?  We haven't seen,,, what is it called?,,, blocking (IIRC),,, in years.

Not to mention, the big concept of the Freeze offense is,,, overloading the weakest part of the defense. 

IDK but,,, I can't wait to find out.  I still believe we win 8 this year and, we show improvement through the season. 

[AUStew87 326]

49 minutes ago, bootskii said:

493 yards rushing in one scrimmage?!? I don't think I ran for that many yards playing Tecmo Bowl with Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen.

I rushed for over a 1,000 yards in game in the old Montana game with Barry Sanders; only time I beat my dad in that series of games. I owned him in Madden and NCAA though.

[DAG 34,034]

Good gracious. Man crush will get them right.

[ellitor 33,114]

19 hours ago, aucanucktiger said:

Neither line is going to be in top half of sec this season

@aucanucktiger Care to make a friendly wager on the OL part of that statement?

[ellitor 33,114]

3 hours ago, bootskii said:

493 yards rushing in one scrimmage?!? I don't think I ran for that many yards playing Tecmo Bowl with Bo Jackson and Marcus Allen.

@bootskii So you never did thos?!?!?!

 

[johnnyAU 3,668]

On 8/28/2023 at 4:12 PM, ellitor said:

In all, Auburn added eight transfers from the portal on its defensive front seven

Dang it! We even snuck in another player in the front 7 and still can't get it done.

JK, I don't think we'll know how much work needs to be done 'till after this weekend...at least I hope we don't find out this weekend. 

[ellitor 33,114]

3 hours ago, W.E.D said:

Cole Pink is claiming Rodgers is fine and the media (Hoke) talking about him being out of shape is dumb and they don't know what they are talking about.

Not sure if it's out of shape or him not puttting in the work or having the attitude the coaches want but there's likely a reason he's not 1st string on the DL.

[Old fan 47 775]

7 hours ago, bigbird said:

This is easily my biggest worry.  

Agree. I also try not to read into HF’s concerns too much, but honestly, I’m not sure how good this team is. I never made a prediction, because, what good does that do. For all the great recruiting that has been done since HF  got here, I put no blame at the feet of the current coaching staff, for a sub par season. I think we have good but not great talent currently, but our prior coach really put us in a hole. A record of 6/6 and a bowl bid, is the ceiling I currently see, but I’m just a fan trying to remain under the over confidence radar. If HF continues his recruiting, I honestly believe 2025 could be a Great year. Trust me, I hope it all comes together well before, but we are digging out of a bad recruiting /coaching hole for about four years running. 

[aucanucktiger 1,805]

3 hours ago, ellitor said:

@aucanucktiger Care to make a friendly wager on the OL part of that statement?

First describe your criteria please. 😉

[Barnacle 9,064]

@ellitor didn’t Freeze say something to the media about him not really keeping depth charts? I know one was released, but recall him saying something to that effect earlier this week.

[toddc 13,194]

9 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

@ellitor didn’t Freeze say something to the media about him not really keeping depth charts? I know one was released, but recall him saying something to that effect earlier this week.

He didn’t make it nor release it he said.

[W.E.D 11,070]

3 hours ago, ellitor said:

Not sure if it's out of shape or him not puttting in the work or having the attitude the coaches want but there's likely a reason he's not 1st string on the DL.

Jones is a returning starter?  Jones is getting better (wasn't bad last year)? Depth Charts don't mean much per Hugh?

Has Nixon also not put in the work or have a bad attitude too?  He couldn't beat out a returning starter.

[ellitor 33,114]

58 minutes ago, Barnacle said:

@ellitor didn’t Freeze say something to the media about him not really keeping depth charts? I know one was released, but recall him saying something to that effect earlier this week.

@Barnacle He did but the depth chart is all we got to go one til we see otherwise.

[ellitor 33,114]

1 hour ago, aucanucktiger said:

First describe your criteria please. 😉

However you or an innocent mediator wants to define top half of the SEC.

[TeamZero77 1,786]

10 hours ago, W.E.D said:

Cole Pink is claiming Rodgers is fine and the media (Hoke) talking about him being out of shape is dumb and they don't know what they are talking about.

Have you heard anything about Rodgers being hurt most of this offseason and he wasn't able to train/workout and that's why he's out of shape? I've read this from Locked on Auburn podcast comments section.