2008 Auburn Tigers Preview

Tommy Tuberville isn’t afraid to shake up things, so the coach of the team that is tied for the most SEC wins this century has a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator and a new starting quarterback heading into his 10th season at Auburn.

Two Minute Drill

A Quick Look at the Tigers

The buzz in Auburn is all about straight-shooting offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, who raised the expectations of fans when he showed up last December and produced a season-best 423 yards and an eye-popping 90 plays in beating Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Franklin will have to follow through with a new quarterback, but the replacements for Brandon Cox’s old job seem to be more suited for his spread offense anyway. Franklin will choose from junior college transfer Chris Todd, whom he has tutored since the 10th grade, and last year’s backup, Kodi Burns, who can run and throw. Auburn will need lots of wide receivers to make Franklin’s offense go, and that’s something the Tigers have been short of the last few years. But Franklin and Tommy Tuberville are trying to dispel the misconception that the spread is mainly a throwing offense. Tuberville promises Running Back U. won’t be without a running game, and he can back it up with proven tailbacks Ben Tate and Brad Lester. The Tigers desperately want their offense to catch up with their defense. The fiery Will Muschamp became something of a YouTube celebrity as Auburn’s defensive coordinator before heading off to Texas. Don’t worry. New coordinator Paul Rhoads is just as intense, very much old school and doesn’t mind keeping his players after school.

Welcome to Tuberville’s world, where change is not to be feared. Tuberville is working on his fifth offensive coordinator and fifth defensive coordinator at Auburn. The newcomers are Paul Rhoads (defense) from Pittsburgh, who is replacing the popular Will Muschamp, and Tony Franklin, whose spread offense replaces Al Borges’ West Coast attack.

What we don’t know, though, is the name of the next starting quarterback. Auburn left spring practice like it began it with Kodi Burns and junior college transfer Chris Todd vying for the starting job. Todd has a better grasp of the spread offense, but Burns’ passing improved in the spring and his running ability makes him a dual threat. The race to replace three-year starter Brandon Cox may go to opening day, and perhaps beyond. It’s likely that both Burns and Todd will play.

What they can deliver is something Auburn fans may have forgotten. The Tigers ended the regular season ranked 102nd in total offense, but then Franklin came on board, and, after only nine practices, the Tigers turned in their best offensive game of the season in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. After rolling up 423 yards in the win over Clemson, the Tigers jumped up five spots and finished the year ranked 97th in total offense.

Did that raise the expectations of Auburn fans? Yes it did.

Quarterbacks

Franklin likes Todd, so much so that he gave his sometimes-sore-shouldered quarterback a free pass in spring practice. Todd enrolled at Auburn in January in order to go through spring workouts, but he missed the early stages of practice and never got beyond “65 percent” healthy. Still, he looked sharp enough when he played and showed why Franklin likes him so much. Franklin and Todd have a history; Franklin served as an offensive consultant to various high schools — including Todd’s Elizabethtown (Ky.) High — a few years back. After throwing for 3,180 yards as a prep senior, Todd signed on with pass-happy Texas Tech. But after two seasons — and only 35 attempted passes — in Lubbock, he left for a junior college. After one season at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, Todd reunited with Franklin, who arrived at Auburn in December after a two-year stay at Troy. Burns, on the other hand, was Cox’s backup last year, but he was nothing more than the designated running quarterback after the first few weeks. He threw one pass during a five-game stretch and didn’t even play in the last two regular-season games. Franklin gave Burns an opportunity to play in the bowl game, and the Arkansas native delivered, throwing a touchdown pass and running for the game-winning score in overtime. Burns also finished spring practice with a flourish. “Competition makes you better if you’re a great player. If you’re not a great player, you wither away from it. He’s answered the call,” Franklin says. “We’ve got a wonderful problem.”

Running backs

Auburn knows it has four top-flight runners in Brad Lester, Ben Tate, Mario Fannin and Tristan Davis. That knowledge served the Tigers well in the spring, since most of them were hurt. It was something of a wasted spring for those four, especially if you consider that they weren’t on the field to learn the intricacies of the passing game in the spread. The real question this fall may not be their running ability, but Tuberville’s promise to let the spread offense do its thing. The Riverboat Gambler has become more conservative over the years, so it will be a test for him to allow Franklin to line up in the shotgun on 3rd-and-1 in the fourth quarter in a key SEC game, as the Tigers did on every play in the spring game. Tate rushed for a team-leading 903 yards and eight touchdowns. He only topped the 100-yard mark once (111 in a win vs. New Mexico State) but rushed for at least 70 yards in five of the Tigers’ eight SEC games. The speedy Lester went for 530 and three TDs last season despite missing the first five games with an academic suspension. They’ll play the traditional running back roles. But perhaps the most compelling jobs may go to Fannin and Davis, athletic backs who may excel in the spread whether in the backfield or lining up as a slot receiver. Fannin was third on the team in rushing as a redshirt freshman with 448 yards but had some ball-security issues early in the season.

Receivers

Auburn went into last season looking for six good wide receivers. Franklin has other ideas. “You want to have 10 guys, and we should have that when the freshmen get here,” he says. Auburn’s leading receiver last year was former walk-on Rod Smith, who caught 52 passes for 705 yards. Franklin’s offense should be a godsend to the other wide receivers, who will have a chance to pad their stats in the spread.  A veteran receiving corps of Montez Billings, Robert Dunn, Tim Hawthorne, Terrell Zachery, James Swinton and Chris Slaughter will be given plenty of chances. Of that group, only Billings had more than 20 catches last season. That no doubt will change. Tight end Tommy Trott was a pass-catching machine in the spring, and that was certainly a change from last fall, when he caught only four passes.

Offensive linemen

Auburn started three true freshmen on the offensive line at Florida Field in the fifth game of the season last year and lived to tell about it. Now, sophomores Lee Ziemba, Chaz Ramsey and Ryan Pugh are grizzled veterans and will join emerging star Tyronne Green, a senior guard, and senior center Jason Bosley on what should be one of the SEC’s better offensive lines. Word of warning: This group must learn how to operate in the spread.

Defensive linemen

Auburn has to replace three key defensive line contributors, including the bubbly Quentin Groves and blue-collar Josh Thompson. But every one of the replacements received plenty of work last season at what was the team’s deepest position. Antonio Coleman, who had 18 tackles for a loss in 2007, will take over for Groves at defensive end. He is a potential star. A name to remember is Sen’Derrick Marks, who moves from end to tackle. His 43 tackles are tops among returning defensive linemen. Junior college transfer Raven Gray also figures to play a key role.

Linebackers

Tray Blackmon enters his third season of a career that has been sidetracked by suspensions and injuries, not that many have noticed. He’d still be voted the No. 1 impact defensive player in a poll of fans. He played on a bad ankle and missed three games last year and still managed 45 tackles. A healthy Blackmon would make everybody’s job a lot easier. Merrill Johnson, Chris Evans and Craig Stevens will all see significant action on the outside. Stevens started eight games as a redshirt freshman in 2007. Last year, Muschamp often went with an extra defensive back or two at the expense of having three linebackers on the field. Rhoads may have a different, more traditional, approach.

Defensive backs

This is the position that Rhoads coaches, so the defensive backs will be under scrutiny. If Rhoads’ no-nonsense practices are any indication, that’s a lot of scrutiny. He has already made one change, moving Aairon Savage from safety to cornerback. Safety Zac Etheridge had 65 tackles and cornerback Jerraud Powers had 63 last year, each just missing the team lead. Powers added four interceptions. The other projected starter in the secondary is free safety Mike McNeil, a sophomore who played in 13 games and recorded 35 tackles in 2007.

Specialists

Wes Byrum kicked 17 field goals as a true freshman last season, including a memorable last-second do-over that beat Florida in the Swamp, proving Tuberville’s contention that nothing rattles his kicker. He’ll be back for more cold-blooded kicks, as will punter Ryan Shoemaker, who averaged 42.4 yards per punt. Robert Dunn is back to return punts. Davis, who will have to fight for carries in the backfield, will have plenty of opportunities to touch the ball as a return specialist.

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