Huntsville Times: Impressions after two weeks of (Auburn) practice

[Jim Johnson]

Impressions after two weeks of practice

Posted by Phillip Marshall, The Huntsville Times August 15, 2007 11:30 PM

Some thoughts after watching two weeks of Auburn football practices in the cruel August heat:

* The defense has a chance to be something special, maybe even the best at Auburn since the 1988 unit led the nation in almost every meaningful statistic.

* The offense, to this point, is suspect. Is there a big-play guy at wide receiver? Will the offensive line come together? Those are the questions that must be answered before anyone will really know what Auburn's offense can do.

* One thing is certain: Auburn's offense is not as good as Auburn's defense. At this point, that's not a bad thing.

* Jerraud Powers is bound for stardom at cornerback.

* He might have to wait until next season to show it in a game, but freshman wide receiver Chris Slaughter is every bit as talented as advertised.

* Tray Blackmon could leave Auburn as one of the more productive linebackers in school history. He has the look of a great football player.

* The youngsters competing to be Auburn's kicker, kickoff man and punter are strong and talented, but there is no way they'll be able to fill the shoes of last season's trio. The question is if they can be consistent.

* It's only a guess, but I expect Wesley Byrum to emerge as the place-kicker and Patrick Tatum as the punter. It's hard to say what special teams coordinator Eddie Gran will decide to do on kickoffs.

* Defensive players love playing for coordinator Will Muschamp, a fiery and emotional coach who is as quick or quicker with a compliment than with a complaint.

* Freshman defensive end Antoine Carter needs to get bigger and stronger, but his quickness is going to give a lot of offensive tackles fits when his time to play comes. It's already given Auburn offensive tackles fits.

* Standing beside offensive tackle King Dunlap can make even a big guy feel like a midget.

* Even when it seemed he had been written off, junior quarterback Blake Field kept his mouth shut and kept on working. Now it looks like he'll be Brandon Cox's backup.

* Freshman quarterback Kodi Burns reminds me of a bigger, stronger Dameyune Craig at the same age. If he still reminds me of Craig when he's a senior, that will mean he's a great quarterback.

* Despite his immense talent, Burns will be better off if he's redshirted.

* Look for sophomore Ben Tate to go into the season ahead of redshirt freshman Mario Fannin on the running back depth chart. Fannin is more explosive, but Tate is, at this point, a better all-around player. Fannin must improve the parts of his game that don't involve running or catching.

* It is very important that Carl Stewart, who has missed all but one day of preseason practice with a hamstring injury, return to full-speed.

* Considering the heat, the lack of cramping and heat exhaustion has been remarkable. Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall, trainer Arnold Gamber and team doctor Michael Goodlett deserve a lot of credit.

Link

[Griggsy]

Auburn OL, meet George Selvie

[crambone]

I wish they could've met Josh Julmiste (if only for his on-field antics, NOT off-field troubles).

[puc86]

I too wish they would meet Julmiste, that way maybe he can help them get suspended by sharing his hippie lettuce with them.