The first week of fall camp for the Auburn Tigers is underway, and we talk competition, depth, and coaching.
On Monday, Gus Malzahn had his first press conference of the fall, answering a variety of questions. Here’s a few things that Auburn football fans want to know.
Jason Smith moving to safety
Jason Smith has a ton of athleticism, and hasn’t quite found his place at Auburn yet. He came in as a JUCO transfer before the 2015 season, and some thought he could even challenge Jeremy Johnson at quarterback. He quickly got moved to receiver where he has spent the last two seasons.
This move makes sense though. The receivers have a lot of young talent, namely, Kyle Davis, Nate Craig-Myers, and Eli Stove. These guys are likely going to see a lot of playing time this year. And with the departing of Rudy Ford and Josh Holsey from last year’s secondary, Jason Smith can add depth to the back end of the defense.
Depth
Malzahn stated that “the quality of depth has a chance to be one of our strengths.” In the last couple of years, the lack of depth has been an issue for Auburn football, specifically at the quarterback position.
This season, that shouldn’t be an issue. Aside from quarterback, the offensive line will be one of the most experienced in the country. The top 2 running backs return as well as solid backups, including Kam Martin. The receivers will only get better, and that’s just the offense.
The defense will be returning a lot of key players as well, despite losing big names such as Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams.
A big thing that frustrated a large portion of the Auburn faithful the last two seasons was Malzahn saying “We’re a young team”. While that may have been true, it was head-scratching that in his fourth year the team was still young. This year that is no excuse, and he knows it.
Quarterback Competition
Of course, how could this be left out? When asked what he is looking for in the starting quarterback, Gus simply stated “Whoever gives us the best chance to win.” Straightforward.
Must Read: Malzahn needs Stidham more than ever
Everyone expects Jarrett Stidham to stroll out with the first team on Sept. 2, but the coaching staff wants to take their time with naming the starter. He didn’t state specifically when he wanted to name a starter, but he did say, “These first two weeks there’s gonna be great competition,” possibly alluding to when he would like to make a decision.
What to look for
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The first few days of camp are mostly installing the playbook and making sure players are in the right position. On Saturday, the Tigers will strap up the chinstraps and be in full pads for the first time this fall. Malzahn made it clear that the quarterbacks won’t be live, but situations can still be mimicked. Typically, this first day in full pads is a scrimmage, so it would be interesting to see what the run/pass percentage is on offense. Hopefully it’s closer to 50/50 than 80/20.
The percentage of pass/run might seem trivial, but it could be a foreshadowing of the rest of the season, and who is really controlling the offense, Chip or Gus?
Next: How many miles left on the Gus Bus?
The starting 11 and depth charts are of course what everyone wants to know as soon as camp begins. But from the sound of it, competition is a good sign for the Auburn football program. There’s a long way to go, but we are getting closer and closer to football.