Auburn fulfills physical promise

[DKW 86 6,345]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/p.../608280333/1002

AUBURN REPORT: Auburn fulfills physical promise

By Jay G. Tate

Montgomery Advertiser

AUBURN -- Coach Tommy Tuberville was strolling through practice the other day and didn't like the offensive line's pace.

The hits weren't as hard. The blasts off the line lacked rage.

So Tuberville approached line coach Hugh Nall about the situation, expecting to get a promise for better performance.

Nall, his offensive front depleted by injury, instead offered an alibi.

"I said, 'Coach, they're four-deep at D-line. (My) guys are taking every rep,'" Nall said. "It's been rough on them. I think that's great now that we're through it."

Auburn hasn't been an easy place for football players lately.

Tuberville and his coaching staff decided months ago that this preseason practice was going to be a proving ground. Gone are the days when a few full-speed collisions per day would suffice.

The Tigers needed to be tougher, Tuberville surmised, and that meant more contact.

Suddenly, even veteran players didn't know what to expect.

"I felt a huge difference. I was like: Wow, this is a lot more tired than we were before," tailback Kenny Irons said. "You get a lot of guys on the same page."

The method was subtle but straightforward. Emphasis was going to placed on a series of scrimmages, which would allow younger players to prove their value in the open.

Then something changed.

A string of injuries during the first week compromised the team's depth at some key positions. Nall and his offensive line lost players by the day at one point, going without center Joe Cope, tackles King Dunlap, Leon Hart and Oscar Gonzalez are various times.

Without two full complements of offensive linemen, Auburn didn't have the option of scrimmages.

Tuberville then demanded more aggressive situational drills.

Those lacked the spectacle of the scrimmage, but satisfied Tuberville's request for more rigorous activity.

"In the past, we might have gone four plays, four plays, four plays. This year we went six or eight plays in a row," he said Sunday. "We pushed them a lot harder. It was tougher on the offense because the offense doesn't have as much depth, especially on the offensive line. So they've struggled."

Guard Tim Duckworth agrees with that assessment.

When the first-team offense begins a series of full-contact drills, he often sees familiar faces across the line. After a few plays, though, the scene changes.

New defensive linemen come in.

Auburn is stacked along the defensive front. It's injury-free.

Duckworth just nods his head.

"We kinda get mad about that. We wish they'd leave the same guys in there," Duckworth said with a grin. "When they bring a fresh guy in there, I have to start all the way back over again. I have to come off the ball harder. It makes us better."

Tuberville said he's been happy with the results.

Injuries will heal. A bad attitude won't.

"We're going to be a physical football team from the beginning to the end," Tuberville said. "The only way you can do it is do it in practice. I think our guys understand now what we expect."

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Up, down, all around: Auburn still is hashing out how its coaches will staff the season-opening game against Washington State.

Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said he wants to coach along the sideline. Auburn's previous two coordinators, David Gibbs and Gene Chizik, coached from the press box.

Auburn's other usual press-box coaches are Terry Price (defensive ends), Steve Ensminger (tight ends) and Greg Knox, who coaches wideouts.

Muschamp said on Sunday that new linebackers coach James Willis will coach upstairs as well. Former linebackers coach Joe Whitt coached on the field.

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Rose arrives: Wideout Alex Rose now is on campus and already anticipating his first practice.

Since Auburn is off on Mondays, Rose must wait one more day.

"It just makes me focus on my grades and the rest will fall in place," he said. "I still have four more years to play."

Rose was delayed by the NCAA, which closely investigated a 10th-grade math class Rose took in 2004. Once the NCAA concluded that the class passed muster, Rose was given clearance to play on the Plains.

He will redshirt this season.

[TigerOne 890]

I think this new approach is a direct result of the Wisconsin game.

It was an eye opener, also a sign that the team believed the media hype last year

right or wrong.

This sounds like the early Dye years.

CTT has an intense focus this year, I think he's po'd and is hungry which has been passed on to the coaching staff and team. Muschamp has brought a lot of that intensity as well.

[DKW 86 6,345]

I think this new approach is a direct result of the Wisconsin game.

It was an eye opener, also a sign that the team believed the media hype last year

right or wrong.

This sounds like the early Dye years.

CTT has an intense focus this year, I think he's po'd and is hungry which has been passed on to the coaching staff and team. Muschamp has brought a lot of that intensity as well.

I read that piece the exact smae way...

[eagle76 1]

Wisconsin had a lot to do with it. I also think that preparing for 12 straight weeks of competition also weighs in.

[kingfish 53]

I think this new approach is a direct result of the Wisconsin game.

It was an eye opener, also a sign that the team believed the media hype last year

right or wrong.

This sounds like the early Dye years.

CTT has an intense focus this year, I think he's po'd and is hungry which has been passed on to the coaching staff and team. Muschamp has brought a lot of that intensity as well.

I read that piece the exact smae way...

It is possible that the Wisconsin loss will have a far greater positive influence on this year's team than a Wisconsin win would have had. A victory in that bowl game would not have brought us back down to earth. I am very eager to see how we look have Saturday night, but it sure is taking a long time getting here.

[Jenny AU-92 0]

Having CWM anywhere BUT the sidelines would be a travesty.

[TigerOne 890]

Having CWM anywhere BUT the sidelines would be a travesty.

no worries

"Back at work: After taking Saturday off, the Tigers returned to the field for a two-hour practice Sunday. Coach Tommy Tuberville said they worked for an hour on fundamentals, 40 minutes on the kicking game and 40 minutes on Washington State.

Part of Wednesday's practice, Tuberville said, will be a rehearsal of game situations under the lights at Jordan-Hare.

On the sideline: First-year defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said he will coach from the sideline, as he did as defensive coordinator at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins.

"I like to be down there," Muschamp said. "It's important for the kids to see you and your demeanor and how you are going to handle situations. As far as making adjustments and things, I don't want to be telling somebody on the headset what we need to do. I want to make sure I'm down there to do it."

Offensive coordinator Al Borges, heading into his third Auburn season, also coaches from the sideline. "

http://www.al.com/sports/huntsvilletimes/i....xml&coll=1

[vatz22au 104]

Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said he wants to coach along the sideline. Auburn's previous two coordinators, David Gibbs and Gene Chizik, coached from the press box.

I could've sworn that Gibbs coached on the sideline as well. Dont know about Chizik, but I want to say he also coached on the sidelines... Didn't Chizik receive quite the speech by Tuberville during the SECCG?