Tyrik Rollison

[gr82b4au 5,568]

I personally think we have to throw out 90% of what occurred last year at the QB position. Between the terrible O line play and The Worst Play Calling I have ever witnessed in my 34 years on this earth, I don't think we know what we have in Burns or Todd. Everyone is throwing Todd under the bus, but that kid's arm was nothing last year and he should not have played beyond his first half of football.

If Rollison hits the field, I think it translates into a dissapointing season. SEC defenses will crush a Freshman, no matter who it is.

Gus has his work cut out for him to find us a field general when practice starts next week...

I think SEC defenses are going to crush any Auburn QB unless the OL performance improves significantly. The OL looked better in the spring, but they are a long way from being dominating. Grimes has them headed in the right direction, but I'm not sure there is enough talent and depth there to keep the better SEC defenses at bay, particularly if a starter gets injured. This is probably the thinnest line (as in lack of depth and margin for injuries) Auburn has fielded in 10+ years.

I don't think a fair assessment of the QBs can be made with the current status of the OL. I don't care if you had Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Ben Rothlisberger taking the snaps last year, they only had 3 seconds to get a pass off before the defense was in the backfield. Fixing this situation is job #1, #2, & #3, then we can get into who is the better QB.

That said, let's look at the QB situation with a dose of reality.

1) Chris Todd-- long-term career-threatening injury, did not participate in spring drills

2) Kodi Burns-- great athlete and runner but has a difficult time hitting short passes, accuracy and consistency are big problems

3) Neil Caudle-- both knees have been operated on, has been on campus 3 years and has only taken about 20 snaps, mostly against Tenn-Martin and Western Kentucky

4) Barrett Trotter-- torn ACL, not available

5) Clint Moseley-- true freshman

6) Tyrik Rollison-- true freshman

Is Todd ever going to be able to throw the ball again? I hope so, but probably not.

Has Burns' passing improved? Didn't look like it in the spring game.

Will Caudle rise to the top? He has gotten to where he is now more from lack of competition than by execution.

Can a freshman like Moseley or Rollison win the job? Maybe, if they can run and throw with better accuracy and consistency than the upperclassmen.

I'm not ready to call this a train wreck because I think Gus is something close to a miracle worker, but it doesn't look very optimistic for 2009. As bad as the offense has been, not just last season, but the past 4 years, you cannot expect a night to day turnaround. I think the current coaching staff can get the job done and will bring Auburn back to prominence, but it will take 2-3 years. Anyone who saw the Texas or Oklahoma offenses last season knows Auburn is light years away from having a balanced, attacking offense.

If injuries do not devastate the OL and Grimes gets some decent performance from them, then maybe Gus can develop a QB, whether he be a senior or a true freshman or somewhere in between. Best case scenario is Gus gets enough out of Burns and Caudle to win 6-8 games, and Moseley and Rollison don't have to burn their redshirt. A more realistic scenario is Gus gets fed up with the performance of Burns and Caudle and starts grooming a new starting QB for 2010 by the 4th game of the season.

NICE... I agree with everything you said. Starts with the OL, the QBs are servicable but have not shown anything yet, and they only way the freshmen will play is if they are heads and shoulders above the upperclassmen or the season goes downhill. GREAT POST.