Today's Practice

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I just got from today's practice. As I read some of the posts here I've been laughing out loud. It's always fun to read posts from a bunch of armchair QBs who don't know jack but would like to impress people that they do. I guess message boards give some that outlet. But I will be kind and leave it at that.

Practice was only about 1 1/2 hours but it was intense. Talked to Tubs a little it and he was very relaxed. Rhodes was really working with the defense. You would have thought they played poorly Saturday. But that's his style. He gets in and mixes it up with the players.

Franklin was pushing the offense and working on details but didn't seem like a coach in a panic.

The offense was running a lot of plays they didn't show Saturday so it's clear to me they didn't use anything near a full deck of plays against La-Monroe. The WRs were focused on running correct routes. Dunn stood out to me today. Todd and Caudle were 1-2 at QB and Burns didn't participate. Tubs said his knee is sore and he is questionable for this weekend. I don't expect to see him unless Todd and Caudle can't get the job done.

Lee Ziemba is a real stud. He just goes full speed all the time and likes to mix it up.

Overall it was a typical Monday practice, hot and humid but good for conditioning.

[wakeriderof87 31]

I don't like that news about Burns. I was hoping he would get alot of snaps this weekend and be the starter heading into Miss state.

[autigers1 0]

I just got from today's practice. As I read some of the posts here I've been laughing out loud. It's always fun to read posts from a bunch of armchair QBs who don't know jack but would like to impress people that they do. I guess message boards give some that outlet. But I will be kind and leave it at that.

Practice was only about 1 1/2 hours but it was intense. Talked to Tubs a little it and he was very relaxed. Rhodes was really working with the defense. You would have thought they played poorly Saturday. But that's his style. He gets in and mixes it up with the players.

Franklin was pushing the offense and working on details but didn't seem like a coach in a panic.

The offense was running a lot of plays they didn't show Saturday so it's clear to me they didn't use anything near a full deck of plays against La-Monroe. The WRs were focused on running correct routes. Dunn stood out to me today. Todd and Caudle were 1-2 at QB and Burns didn't participate. Tubs said his knee is sore and he is questionable for this weekend. I don't expect to see him unless Todd and Caudle can't get the job done.

Lee Ziemba is a real stud. He just goes full speed all the time and likes to mix it up.

Overall it was a typical Monday practice, hot and humid but good for conditioning.

What are your thoughts on what Todd looked like Saturday night as opposed to the A-day game. I thought he looked good in the spring game.

[Hoopie 6]

I just got from today's practice. As I read some of the posts here I've been laughing out loud. It's always fun to read posts from a bunch of armchair QBs who don't know jack but would like to impress people that they do. I guess message boards give some that outlet. But I will be kind and leave it at that.

Practice was only about 1 1/2 hours but it was intense. Talked to Tubs a little it and he was very relaxed. Rhodes was really working with the defense. You would have thought they played poorly Saturday. But that's his style. He gets in and mixes it up with the players.

Franklin was pushing the offense and working on details but didn't seem like a coach in a panic.

The offense was running a lot of plays they didn't show Saturday so it's clear to me they didn't use anything near a full deck of plays against La-Monroe. The WRs were focused on running correct routes. Dunn stood out to me today. Todd and Caudle were 1-2 at QB and Burns didn't participate. Tubs said his knee is sore and he is questionable for this weekend. I don't expect to see him unless Todd and Caudle can't get the job done.

Lee Ziemba is a real stud. He just goes full speed all the time and likes to mix it up.

Overall it was a typical Monday practice, hot and humid but good for conditioning.

Yeah armchair Qbs are awful....especially the ones that "follow the ball" during the game, never look at line play, don't go back and look at the game on DVR, in slo-mo and then blame the qb and coaches and play calling without having been in the team meetings or huddle.

I rarely criticize the coaches and I pound fans that criticize coaches based on speculation, but I am extremely upset with the receiver fundamentals. This is based on what I see on the game film, not speculation, not what I read, or heard from some 'insider"or ESPN. I see the problem every game. I saw minor progress in the spring game and have heard from AU fans and reporters that attend fall practices at how much better we are now.....well....what happened? I'm sure you have to sortof "toe the company line" in order to get to keep going to practices, but that doesn't mean you can't think for yourself or exress and opinion. If our receiver fundamentals are great the rest of the season and this game was an anomaly, then we are finally doing what we need. If not, then this problem will hurt us a lot more in the spread than it did in the Gulf Coast.

That's not something to laugh about.

[ProgRock 0]

Ok first this is football not rocket science.There's a lot of people that seem to think that this is some sort of genius sport, well it's not.If that were true Vandy would always be SEC champs.This is simple...run your route, get open and catch the dang ball.WR is one of the easier positions in football,yet this is our main problem and it has been for 2 or more years.

I'm watching a 3rd string back up at UCLA actually throw the ball vertically and the WR are catching it.Against Tenn none the less!!!!Go figure.Why,why why can't we do that?

Maybe it will come but we've been waiting a while and keep in mind that's the reason Borges was fired is it not.No big plays.Right now I would settle for 150 yards passing.

[mowegl 4]

Ok first this is football not rocket science.There's a lot of people that seem to think that this is some sort of genius sport, well it's not.If that were true Vandy would always be SEC champs.This is simple...run your route, get open and catch the dang ball.WR is one of the easier positions in football,yet this is our main problem and it has been for 2 or more years.

I'm watching a 3rd string back up at UCLA actually throw the ball vertically and the WR are catching it.Against Tenn none the less!!!!Go figure.Why,why why can't we do that?

Maybe it will come but we've been waiting a while and keep in mind that's the reason Borges was fired is it not.No big plays.Right now I would settle for 150 yards passing.

You're talking about a guy that had 4 interceptions and more than half his yards came in the last 5 minutes and 2 drives of the game.

If teams wanna drop 7 men in coverage and let Kodi run for 20 yards every play I'm all for it otherwise there will be big plays in the passing game.

I see several big plays in the game which is probably more than you could've said about any game last year (StatTiger could answer that). 49 yard rush by Ben Tate, 23 from KB, 19 from Eric Smith and Mario Fannin. A 33 yard pass to Rod Smith.

Negative plays? Just 3plays and 1 sack (only lost 3 yards). Aside from the drops and CT's odd desire to want to complete passes to the guys in white jersey's when he has way more time than he knows what to do with, I didn't think the passing game was too bad. Without the drops I guarantee the stats look a lot different. The important thing was our OL was dominant. Remember what happened going into the Florida game last year? We were forced to start 3 FR because the rest of the guys weren't taking care of business and it probably cost us a game or 2. There's some teams out there that are really shaking their heads wondering how we switch to the spread and put up 320 on the ground.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. That's the problem with armchair QBs. They know just enough to actually think they know something. Most of these people wouldn't be happy unless we gained 500 yards with 250 being on the ground and 250 through the air with 50 points. I'll take 320 on the ground everyday of the week and twice on Sunday cause it's gonna take one heck of an effort to beat that.

[Ranger12 46]

That is why we need to trust our coaches. They spend more time with these kids, on and off the field, then anybody else. If the choice was as obvious as some on the posters on this board claim it is, then would you not think CTT and CTF would have came to the same conclusion? It was one game, and the first game of the year at that. Neither QB stood out enough from the other one to make it a clear cut decision for the coaching staff. Burns getting hurt just made their decision even tougher.

As for the Burns injury, the news reports I heard tonight said that CTT expects Kodi to play Saturday, though he says it is questionable right now. His cut is still too fresh to take any chances for infection, which is why he did not practice today. I am guessing, which is pure speculation on my part, that Kodi will be taking snaps in practice again by at least Wednesday.

[AUesquire 1]

Folks, please stop wasting your time giving your armchair analysis. We have an insider who talked to Tubs. All is well and you're just embarrassing yourselves.

[LegalEagle 22]

Folks, please stop wasting your time giving your armchair analysis. We have an insuder who talked to Tubs. All is well and you're just embarrassing yourselves.

Do you think he really talked to Tubs?? I thought it was a closed practice. How did he sneak in? Is there a hole in the fence we should know about? Is he really Pat Dye??

That said, I agree with everything he said. But I not sure if the voice of reason has any place here.

[FootballFanatic 4]

Not everyone knows every detail of what leads to a successful football play, but everyone knows what one looks like.

What I saw on Saturday was far from my expectations. Recievers didn't get open or the QB's couldn't see the recievers routes.

[PChamp119 96]

I just got from today's practice. As I read some of the posts here I've been laughing out loud. It's always fun to read posts from a bunch of armchair QBs who don't know jack but would like to impress people that they do. I guess message boards give some that outlet. But I will be kind and leave it at that.

Practice was only about 1 1/2 hours but it was intense. Talked to Tubs a little it and he was very relaxed. Rhodes was really working with the defense. You would have thought they played poorly Saturday. But that's his style. He gets in and mixes it up with the players.

Franklin was pushing the offense and working on details but didn't seem like a coach in a panic.

The offense was running a lot of plays they didn't show Saturday so it's clear to me they didn't use anything near a full deck of plays against La-Monroe. The WRs were focused on running correct routes. Dunn stood out to me today. Todd and Caudle were 1-2 at QB and Burns didn't participate. Tubs said his knee is sore and he is questionable for this weekend. I don't expect to see him unless Todd and Caudle can't get the job done.

Lee Ziemba is a real stud. He just goes full speed all the time and likes to mix it up.

Overall it was a typical Monday practice, hot and humid but good for conditioning.

I was disappointed with the defense too, specifically the LBs and secondary. But not necessarily the play, but the coaching decisions. I do NOT like the DBs playing far off the receivers and LBs dropping 15 yards into coverage. Did you see how easily ULM moved the ball on us in the first half? They didn't score thanks to a couple missed FGs and a fumble I think? But they moved the ball VERY easily on us with 11-12 yard throws. No one is talking about this though because we won 34-0. The defense did it's job, but I am predicting that this will bite us in the butt eventually and people will be all over the defense. The offense will come around sooner than later, but at some point the defense will be taking some heat.

[aubiescottie 1]

I think we're going to be seeing a little softer Defensive backfield this season, more a bend/don't break attitude. I'm not saying thats a good or bad thing, just the way its going to be.

CTT doesn't want ANY big plays

As the saying goes, when you blitz, someone's band is going to play.

[ProgRock 0]

Folks, please stop wasting your time giving your armchair analysis. We have an insider who talked to Tubs. All is well and you're just embarrassing yourselves.

Does this hold true to every detail in life? I'm sure the Congress knows more than we do on the subjects and have way more ability to handle every situation than we do but that doesn't exclude "WE the People" does it?

If it wasn't for armchair QB's there would be no forum at all,or football.Remember this is simply a sport,and might I add a public affair which includes everyone,way too many people get upset over a simple opinion about this form of entertainment.

[ProgRock 0]

Ok first this is football not rocket science.There's a lot of people that seem to think that this is some sort of genius sport, well it's not.If that were true Vandy would always be SEC champs.This is simple...run your route, get open and catch the dang ball.WR is one of the easier positions in football,yet this is our main problem and it has been for 2 or more years.

I'm watching a 3rd string back up at UCLA actually throw the ball vertically and the WR are catching it.Against Tenn none the less!!!!Go figure.Why,why why can't we do that?

Maybe it will come but we've been waiting a while and keep in mind that's the reason Borges was fired is it not.No big plays.Right now I would settle for 150 yards passing.

You're talking about a guy that had 4 interceptions and more than half his yards came in the last 5 minutes and 2 drives of the game.

Hey at least they came and against good SEC talent.4 interceptions and STILL won the game against Tenn.I'll take a piece of that.

My hope is just to pass the ball decent and for a win.Mostly a win.

[FootballFanatic 4]

Folks, please stop wasting your time giving your armchair analysis. We have an insider who talked to Tubs. All is well and you're just embarrassing yourselves.

Does this hold true to every detail in life? I'm sure the Congress knows more than we do on the subjects and have way more ability to handle every situation than we do but that doesn't exclude "WE the People" does it?

If it wasn't for armchair QB's there would be no forum at all,or football.Remember this is simply a sport,and might I add a public affair which includes everyone,way too many people get upset over a simple opinion about this form of entertainment.

Exactly, we know what we want from the team. Its down to the coaches to supply it.

I really don't think the spread is going to change much around here if passes don't get completed. People comment on results, not preperation. Results are the final stage in a process. I don't want to hear excuses all the time. I have listened to excuses why our offense has looked bad since 2006 and its getting tired.

I hope with a few weeks of practice and 2 games until LSU the team gets a lot better, but IMHO they shouldn't be working out the basics of a passing game on the second game of the season.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Folks, please stop wasting your time giving your armchair analysis. We have an insuder who talked to Tubs. All is well and you're just embarrassing yourselves.

Do you think he really talked to Tubs?? I thought it was a closed practice. How did he sneak in? Is there a hole in the fence we should know about? Is he really Pat Dye??

Back to your old sarcastic self I see. I could not care less if you think I was at practice or not. I only posted it because a few friends knew I was going and asked me to comment if I would. I don't claim to be an insider but I do have a standing invitation to practice except when it is closed even to reporters. I did have a brief chat with Tubs. Oddly enough we didn't even discuss football (I'm not smart enough to discuss football with him). We talked about his recent visit to Huntsville, the hurricane, etc. Also had a nice chat with Quentin Riggins. He looks like he could still suit up and play. While talking about Kodi's cut on his knee, Quentin showed me a couple of bad scars where he had been cut by a helment while making a tackle.

[aubie316 76]

I heard Tubs say on the radio that Burns would miss practice on Monday and maybe Tuesday but should

be good to go on Wed. And Franklin had said they would continue rotating the qbs this weekend until

somebody stepped up and took the position. I have not heard anything that Burns may miss Saturday.

[WarTim 3,463]

I just got from today's practice. As I read some of the posts here I've been laughing out loud. It's always fun to read posts from a bunch of armchair QBs who don't know jack but would like to impress people that they do. I guess message boards give some that outlet. But I will be kind and leave it at that.

Practice was only about 1 1/2 hours but it was intense. Talked to Tubs a little it and he was very relaxed. Rhodes was really working with the defense. You would have thought they played poorly Saturday. But that's his style. He gets in and mixes it up with the players.

Franklin was pushing the offense and working on details but didn't seem like a coach in a panic.

The offense was running a lot of plays they didn't show Saturday so it's clear to me they didn't use anything near a full deck of plays against La-Monroe. The WRs were focused on running correct routes. Dunn stood out to me today. Todd and Caudle were 1-2 at QB and Burns didn't participate. Tubs said his knee is sore and he is questionable for this weekend. I don't expect to see him unless Todd and Caudle can't get the job done.

Lee Ziemba is a real stud. He just goes full speed all the time and likes to mix it up.

Overall it was a typical Monday practice, hot and humid but good for conditioning.

I was disappointed with the defense too, specifically the LBs and secondary. But not necessarily the play, but the coaching decisions. I do NOT like the DBs playing far off the receivers and LBs dropping 15 yards into coverage. Did you see how easily ULM moved the ball on us in the first half? They didn't score thanks to a couple missed FGs and a fumble I think? But they moved the ball VERY easily on us with 11-12 yard throws. No one is talking about this though because we won 34-0. The defense did it's job, but I am predicting that this will bite us in the butt eventually and people will be all over the defense. The offense will come around sooner than later, but at some point the defense will be taking some heat.

Hmmm...Let's see.....The Defense gave up ZERO points and scored a TD.

You are right...We are in big time trouble!

p.s. It's okay pchump. We have come to expect nothing less from you.

[IslandTiger 0]

Ok first this is football not rocket science.There's a lot of people that seem to think that this is some sort of genius sport, well it's not.If that were true Vandy would always be SEC champs....

[PChamp119 96]

I just got from today's practice. As I read some of the posts here I've been laughing out loud. It's always fun to read posts from a bunch of armchair QBs who don't know jack but would like to impress people that they do. I guess message boards give some that outlet. But I will be kind and leave it at that.

Practice was only about 1 1/2 hours but it was intense. Talked to Tubs a little it and he was very relaxed. Rhodes was really working with the defense. You would have thought they played poorly Saturday. But that's his style. He gets in and mixes it up with the players.

Franklin was pushing the offense and working on details but didn't seem like a coach in a panic.

The offense was running a lot of plays they didn't show Saturday so it's clear to me they didn't use anything near a full deck of plays against La-Monroe. The WRs were focused on running correct routes. Dunn stood out to me today. Todd and Caudle were 1-2 at QB and Burns didn't participate. Tubs said his knee is sore and he is questionable for this weekend. I don't expect to see him unless Todd and Caudle can't get the job done.

Lee Ziemba is a real stud. He just goes full speed all the time and likes to mix it up.

Overall it was a typical Monday practice, hot and humid but good for conditioning.

I was disappointed with the defense too, specifically the LBs and secondary. But not necessarily the play, but the coaching decisions. I do NOT like the DBs playing far off the receivers and LBs dropping 15 yards into coverage. Did you see how easily ULM moved the ball on us in the first half? They didn't score thanks to a couple missed FGs and a fumble I think? But they moved the ball VERY easily on us with 11-12 yard throws. No one is talking about this though because we won 34-0. The defense did it's job, but I am predicting that this will bite us in the butt eventually and people will be all over the defense. The offense will come around sooner than later, but at some point the defense will be taking some heat.

Hmmm...Let's see.....The Defense gave up ZERO points and scored a TD.

You are right...We are in big time trouble!

p.s. It's okay pchump. We have come to expect nothing less from you.

Again, did you read what I wrote. Wow...

All I claimed was that I was disappointed in the COACHING of having the secondary play off the receivers. From what I have heard that is what should be expected with Paul Rhoads. That is fine - I just don't like that style of play and I predict it will bite us. This defense looks strikingly similar to the 2005 defense. I am not dogging our defense at all. But did you not see how easily ULM went down the field on our defense in that first half?

One (major) aspect of the game. That's it. I didn't say the defense stunk or anything like that. It is not all that different from people pointing out that the offense was not impressive, even though the team scored 34 points. We had two offensive touchdowns and a led to a couple of FGs (and one missed)? Ooooh, but make sure you put me down for doubting the defense even though they pitched a shutout. But we can put down the offense, even though they led to what should've been at least 23 points? Bama's offense didn't do that well against ULM last year.

[LegalEagle 22]

Folks, please stop wasting your time giving your armchair analysis. We have an insuder who talked to Tubs. All is well and you're just embarrassing yourselves.

Do you think he really talked to Tubs?? I thought it was a closed practice. How did he sneak in? Is there a hole in the fence we should know about? Is he really Pat Dye??

Back to your old sarcastic self I see. I could not care less if you think I was at practice or not. I only posted it because a few friends knew I was going and asked me to comment if I would. I don't claim to be an insider but I do have a standing invitation to practice except when it is closed even to reporters. I did have a brief chat with Tubs. Oddly enough we didn't even discuss football (I'm not smart enough to discuss football with him). We talked about his recent visit to Huntsville, the hurricane, etc. Also had a nice chat with Quentin Riggins. He looks like he could still suit up and play. While talking about Kodi's cut on his knee, Quentin showed me a couple of bad scars where he had been cut by a helment while making a tackle.

Geez PT. I never doubted you. I was just funnin' with ya. I did agree with everything you said. Doesn't that count for anything?

[autigeremt 6,970]

Todd was nervous on Sat. His feet were like the fire was lit under them for most of the game. He looked a bit better on the TD drive. I think he will be ok.

[LegalEagle 22]

Todd was nervous on Sat. His feet were like the fire was lit under them for most of the game. He looked a bit better on the TD drive. I think he will be ok.

Burns was the same way. I wonder if they are taught that since they both did it in the game.

[Ranger12 46]

Press conference info previewing this weeks game:

AUBURN - The No. 9/10 Auburn football team continued to prepare for Saturday's game against Southern Miss with a practice in full pads that lasted almost two hours Tuesday morning at the practice fields behind the Athletics Complex.

The Tigers opened with special teams work before moving to individual and position drills. The team also worked extensively against the scout teams.

During his weekly press conference following practice, head coach Tommy Tuberville said the team is anxious to get back on the field following a season-opening 34-0 victory over Louisiana-Monroe.

"It's good that we're getting in a routine now and we're ready to play another game," said Tuberville. "It's been fun watching practice for the last couple of days. Of course, it's always fun when everybody is disappointed in winning 34-0, but we're not, as coaches or players, the least bit disappointed in how we played in a couple of areas. We'll win plenty of games if we keep improving and understanding what we're trying to do. I think the big thing in anything that you're trying to do is trying to get better and understand where you're going."

Although he was not satisfied with the performance of the passing game, Tuberville said he was pleased with the running game, as well as the defense and special teams.

"Defensively, we're off to an excellent start," said Tuberville. "Anytime you've got a shutout, you've done a pretty good job. We're a little bit disappointed that we missed some tackles and we were lined up wrong, but our guys attacked the ball well. We played a lot of players. The second half, we played basically the second-team defense and I thought that they competed well."

The Tigers will host Southern Miss Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT in a game that will be televised by Raycom. The Golden Eagles are also 1-0 after opening their season last Saturday with a 51-21 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Tommy Tuberville Press Conference Quotes

Opening statement...

"It's good that we're getting in a routine now and we're ready to play another game. It's been fun watching practice for the last couple of days. Of course, it's always fun when everybody is disappointed in winning 34-0, but we're not, as coaches or players, the least bit disappointed in how we played in a couple of areas. We'll win plenty of games if we keep improving and understanding what we're trying to do. I think the big thing in anything that you're trying to do is trying to get better and understand where you're going.

"About the offense: everybody looks at this offense and thinks that we are going to throw for 500 yards each game. And we look up going into the fourth quarter and I think we had about 30 yards. The great thing about that is how right under it, we had rushed for about 300 yards. That's what is going to win games for you in the long run. Looking at our offense and the reaction of our players, they're disappointed that we didn't put more yards up, but as I told them, the biggest thing is execution and fulfilling a purpose. Don't turn the ball over and give your defense a chance to survive, especially early in the season.

"It all starts with the approach you take. We took a very different approach last week and we were going to alternate quarterbacks and do those things. Obviously you can't do that and get any kind of rhythm. In the future, we are going to find a quarterback and someone who is going to get the job done on a long leash. Of course, we will have someone standing by who can go in and play some plays. We haven't come up with that person yet.

"This week, Chris Todd will start and we'll have the same game plan as last week. The thing that we want to do is coach better and get us in the right frame of mind in terms of what we want to do; try to be a little more balanced and if we can do that, then we'll be successful.

"Defensively, we're off to an excellent start. Anytime you've got a shutout, you've done a pretty good job. They missed a few field goals and they did move the ball on us a couple of times. We're a little bit disappointed that we missed some tackles and we were lined up wrong, but our guys attacked the ball well. We played a lot of players. The second half, we played basically the second team defense and I thought that they competed well.

"It was a good game for us. Louisiana Monroe will win some games this year. They've got some good players and a defensive unit that runs well. I thought it was a good game for us to start out with. When you open up the game on defense and cause a sack, a fumble, and a touchdown, it gives you a shot in the arm. But we've got to put it all together in a group. This is not an individual sport, a defensive team or an offensive team, or a kicking team. We need to get everybody together and I told them that going into this game. We've got to play better as a team and we've got to start understanding more about what each group is trying to get done. It was a good first game and we hope to perform better this week and we'll need to.

"Southern Miss is coming in off of a very big win for their coach, first game as the head coach. They're excited and they scored 51 points. It looked like a track meet. They're a little similar to us; they run a fast-paced, no huddle offense. They take the ball from underneath the center more than we do. They've got two good running backs, one rushes for more than 200 yards. You've got to give that a lot of respect. They've got a red-shirt freshman quarterback who threw some very good passes in his first college football game and they'll have some of the better receivers that we'll see this year. Some very good receivers at tight end, wide receivers who will be hard to cover and they're very physical. It's going to be a challenge.

"Their defense is impressive. They've got a four-man front. They look like us speed-wise. Southern Miss has always played well against SEC teams. This is going to be a good challenge for us. It's an 11:30 start so it's going to be pretty humid, and it's going to be one of those where we'll have a lot of people prepared to play. We're looking forward to it.

"I will say something about special teams. That's probably the best overall effort that we've had over the past few years and we had a lot of young guys making plays. We will need to improve a little bit more. Clinton Durst will be our starter (at punter) with Ryan Shoemaker still working very hard and the competition there will make them both better. I'm disappointed that Wes Byrum missed a short field goal. We let Morgan Hull do most of the kicking and I thought that he did a great job on kickoffs."

Talk about what we're doing offensively and how Auburn's defense will play against Southern Miss' offense?

"We've gone against ourselves now for spring practice and thirty fall practices, and it's pretty difficult to mentally get prepared for the next play. You have to get back and get set and you don't have time to rest. Mentally you get gassed as much as you do physically. We ran 79 plays on Saturday and that's a lot of plays and I know we got tired on offense. It's not just your defense that gets tired, it the guys running all the plays that get tired and we're expecting a lot of guys to play this week, offensively and defensively. An 11:30 game is brutal and hopefully the hurricane will turn and go the other way and we don't have a wet day, but there could be possibilities there so we'll just have to wait and see."

Was it a good practice today?

"Yes, good practice. It was a quick turnaround because yesterday we practiced till about six and we don't usually practice on Monday because of Labor Day, but we gave them Sunday off. They were a little tired this morning and we got their attention fairly quick. The breeze was blowing very well from the hurricane and so we're very lucky for that because it was awfully humid. We got their attention, though, because the guys want to get better. They understand how much better they've got to get to going into these next couple of games, so there's a sense of urgency with everybody on downs. We've got to get ready to go and play the downs."

Talk about some of the changes that we'll see at receiver?

"The first couple of plays of the season threw us into a tailspin, but we don't make any excuses on offense. We didn't get it done throwing the ball, we got it done running the ball. We're going to go in this week and move some guys around to where they can play. Mario Fannin will be at a set position. We've got to get more consistency from guys in set positions instead of moving them around. I think that's going to be a key for us going into this week. When you get into the game, you've got to execute. When you throw the ball, it's not just throwing, but you've got to catch it and we've been working very hard on that as we always do in crucial situations.

Has Tony Franklin come up with any ideas of how he'll rotate the quarterbacks?

"Chris Todd will be our starter this week and he may play the whole game. We're not going to alternate them every series and if we think we need somebody else to go in and give us a shot in the arm, then that's what we're going to do. We've still got two quarterbacks and until we get into the conference, we'll keep it like that. Kodi Burns started last week and Chris Todd will start this week and we'll look for the right combination. But you've got to have a guy who you know can go out there and be your starter and I've said that all along, someone who the players can look up to. There's going to be a battle all year long and hopefully they'll stay close because it'll make them and the team better."

Is Chris Todd starting this week because of his performance last week?

"We were going to give Kodi (Burns) the start last week and Chris (Todd) the start this week going in because they've both done pretty well. There wasn't a lot of separation between them during two-a-days. You give one of them the chance to think that they'll be the starter and have them figure out what they're going to do, but then you've got Chris on the other side thinking that he's going to be the starter."

What do you watch when Chris Todd is on the field?

"Both the quarterbacks are running the offense and they're going to be a little different, but you've got to have a sense of urgency in this offense. If there's one thing that we did last week, we held the ball too long. You've got to get rid of the ball. I think that comes from knowing that you've got to take your reps and you've got to do it precisely and not make mistakes. Quarterbacks have to have the freedom like any other player; if they go out there and make a mistake, they get back in the huddle and get a chance to redeem themselves. We don't want quarterbacks always looking over their shoulders because that's the worst thing you can do. Two non-conference games gives you an opportunity to let them go out and compete and see how much more they can improve, but when we get into the long run, we're going to have a guy who will be out there with some relief help."

On running the ball out of the shotgun...

"We went back and looked at the running game the last couple of years and our best running game have come out of one-back; whether it's underneath the center or in shotgun. So, really the best thing that we do with our offensive line is that we're very athletic. We run laterally, which is zone-blocking. We have not ever been a power team where everybody blocks down and one guy kicks out. We do have a few power plays and we run them and we ran them last week. We have been a more finesse running team; creating running lanes with zone blocking, handing off and let the running back use his ability in the running lane. That's what we did Saturday and after going back and evaluating what we've done in our running game for the past four or five years, that's been our bread and butter. Last week was fun to watch. We looked like a heck of a running team. That was about as good as we run the ball and against a team that really had an idea of what we were doing. Louisiana-Monroe slanted, blitzed, and stunted and we were still able to make a lot of plays."

On studying LSU's defense vs. Troy's spread offense...

"I'd rather someone have played against an offense like we run before we play them. We will have some kind of idea to see what their first thoughts were; did it work, did it not work. It just gives you an idea. If we're going to play a team in the future that doesn't play anything we run, it doesn't give you a lot to work on."

On Tez Doolittle's first game back...

"You know what I liked about Tez, is that he had fun. The young man hasn't had a lot of fun in the past 12 months. He had fun and attacked the line of scrimmage. He hasn't been a surprise in terms of using his hands well; however, he has been a surprise in the fact that he has come back so quickly with that type of an injury. Four weeks ago, I'd never thought he would have played in the first game at the start of two-a-days. His leg wasn't strong enough to push off and we were a little afraid of putting him in harms way. He worked hard and got better and he is one of our leaders. It's great to see guys turn a positive in a negative as he has."

On reassuring Coach Franklin...

"We had a full stadium that came out to look at our offense and everyone was expecting us to throw for 500 yards and run for 75. It didn't work like that. There are going to be games that we are going to have to struggle on offense. If you play against a defense no matter what level, the team still has to execute. Tony has been in this long enough, he knows that there were some good plays called in terms of the passing game that we didn't execute and then there were some bad plays called that had no chance of execution. We all have got to back and look over it numerous times and make adjustments to the play called. He knows that running the football in major college football is very important.

"We knew that we could have run in the first half, we just wanted to throw the football to see how these guys react. We went into the second half telling the running backs and offensive line, it's your turn. They just took the game over in terms of running it. There will be a lot of adjustments with the game plan. It is going to be fun to watch. This offense is going to get better. Each week we play, the defense is also going to get better. It may not look like we're improving a lot, but we are going to improve. These guys on offense want to make it work. They're having fun and they're working hard, so it's going to pay off in the long run."

On running for over 300 yards with a spread offense...

"I was very satisfied with the way we ran the ball. Running the football will set up everything that will make a game successful. There may be one or two games this season where the opposing defense will be able to shut our running game down, and that is when our passing game will come into play. If you're balanced on defense then you better be pretty good and that's what we try to do. We try to take away the running game as well as the passing game. We need to have enough speed on the field to overcome and get them off the field. Now that teams have seen how we run the ball, they will line up and be able to stop the run, which will open other doors for our offense. That's the beauty of this offense and that is the reason we went to it; to give us the option to run and pass. After one game, we're not going to panic. We do, however, have to get better at throwing the ball because we didn't do that well. It will get better."

On Robert Dunn's challenge in the wide receiver position...

"Robert is one of those happy-go-lucky guys; he comes and practices hard every day. We just have to get him on the right path. In this offense, the way we're running it you have to be an everyday player, not just a Saturday player. It was good to see him have success. Robert's done some good things for us. That's the first touchdown he's had (returning punts). He made a very good run and made people miss. He had good coverage and blocks. His confidence is going to be a lot better."

On Neil Caudle's capability...

"Neil has done well. He ran this offense in high school his last two years. The only problem was that he got hurt and didn't really have much of an opportunity to play. He's got an excellent arm and he knows the offense. He practiced yesterday, as Kodi Burns did not; he did all of the reps with the back-ups and I feel very comfortable with him playing. He's been around, he's an older guy so he understands the speed of the game. If Kodi doesn't go, he'll be our back-up. He's taken a lot of reps the past month."

Link

So, the plan was for Todd to start this week because Kodi started last week. CTT does not come out and say if Kodi is playing or not. He did hint the Todd could play the whole game, but I don't know if that is a clue to the extent of Kodi's injury or if that has more to do depending on how well Todd plays as a starter. He did say Caudle would be #2 only if Kodi could not go. So, seems to me that CTT is not wanting Southern Miss to know if Kodi will be playing or not.

He did not mention if Kodi practiced this morning or not. Anybody have any info about that?

[Ranger12 46]

ESPN says Kodi did practice some today.

AUBURN, Ala. -- Chris Todd will start at quarterback for No. 9 Auburn on Saturday against Southern Mississippi.

Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville said Tuesday that he had planned to start Todd even before Kodi Burns was injured in the opener.

Burns, who started Auburn's 34-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe, was cut on his left leg in the third quarter. He practiced Tuesday on a limited basis and Tuberville said Burns wouldn't play unless he's fully recovered. Makes sense.

Tuberville also said receiver James Swinton won't play unless he can return to practice by Wednesday from a hamstring injury. Running back and returner Tristan Davis is expected to play after missing the opener with an ankle injury.

ESPN