AuburnUndercover
by Bryan Matthews
AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn won the SEC Championship and came within 13 seconds of winning the BCS national championship last season. Can the Tigers make another championship run in 2014?
Below are five reasons why this year’s Tigers are poised for another championship season.
1. The passing game
There’s no doubt that Auburn emerged from spring practice as a better passing team. Those 15 practices were huge for Nick Marshall as he became more consistent throwing the ball and more confident running the offense.
It’s also clear that Auburn’s receiving corps came out of spring better, and is perhaps the deepest and most talented position on the team. Sammie Coates and D’haquille Williams look like legit No. 1 SEC receivers and there’s plenty of good players behind them.
2. Quarterbacks are MIA
At least eight SEC teams will be breaking in new quarterbacks this season including five of the eight on Auburn’s schedule. Gone are LSU’s Zach Mettenberger, South Carolina’s Connor Shaw, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, Georgia’s Aaron Murray and Alabama’s A.J. McCarron. That’s a lot of very talented and very successful quarterbacks Auburn won’t be facing this season.
Now, some of their replacements will be very good, some will be average, and some probably won’t be starters by the second half of the season. Regardless, it’s an advantage for Auburn to be facing so many inexperienced signal callers.
3. The line of scrimmage
Lawson is Auburn's top pass rusher.
It’s long been said and still rings true, you can’t win in the SEC without winning at the line of scrimmage. That bodes well for Auburn in 2014. The Tigers return four of five starters on the offensive line and come out of spring practice with at least six players that the coaches are confident can be SEC starters.
On the other side of the ball, Auburn has five senior defensive linemen plus an exciting group of second-year players including Carl Lawson, Elijah Daniel and Montravius Adams. With six more defensive line signees reporting this summer, this will be a very deep and talented group.
4. Gus Malzahn and his staff
Gus Malzahn has been successful in all eight years at the college level and enters this season with a 21-5 record in two years as a head coach with two conference championships. He knows how to win, and he and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee have proven they can put up yards and points against the best defenses.
Auburn has a veteran coaching staff that includes defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson, and his side of the ball looks like it’s ready to take a step forward in year two. Malzahn’s staff also includes strength and condition coach Ryan Russell, who was integral in molding last year’s team and is pushing this year’s players to be even better.
5. Power football
There’s a lot of opposing fans that just don’t get it when it comes to Malzahn and his offense. You still hear works like spread and gimmicky when they describe it. I wonder if these people have ever sat down and actually watched Auburn’s offense and if they were paying attention when this team rushed for an SEC-record 4,596 yards last season. This is power football and teams that don’t understand that or can’t prepare for it, usually get knocked five or more yards off the ball.
With an improved passing game and an experienced offensive line, Auburn’s running game should be just as powerful in 2014. The Tigers may not average 320 rushing yards per game, but there’s a good chance it tops last year’s average of 39.5 points per game with a more diversified attack.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Saturday, April 19, 2014
A-Day
The "game" is on ESPN starting at 2. First of all, it's great that it's on ESPN. Secondly, the renewed excitement in Auburn football is something to behold. We know that what we see today will not allow us to make any predictions about what kind of team we will have in the fall. The biggest thing is that we get to see Auburn football now before August 30th.
Before the start I see that the baseball team beat South Carolina 4 to 2 in the first game of a double header. That's a good start to the day.
The game starts without the ESPN telecast.
Marshall is incomplete on a long pass attempt to Ricardo Louis on the first play. We may see Nick Marshall throw alot.
The first several plays are passes.
We find the game finally on ESPN News as a stupid basketball game is ending on ESPN.
The Blue team drives for a TD on the first possession of the game. CAP runs it in. 12 plays. 70 yards. A 14-yd. run for the score by CAP.
Nick Marshall's passing so far is on the money. CAP finishes the drive on the ground.
Dampier is playing center and doing a good job our announcers say.
With the White team Peyton Barber hits the hole for a nice gain before fumbling but is hit as he makes a cut and he is on the ground. The Blue team recovers the loose ball. Barber gets up but is not putting alot of weight on one foot. Hopefully it's a minor injury.
Barber sure hits the hole in a hurry based on that play.
Corey Grant runs for 34 yards on the statue of liberty.
After 3 incomplete passes Daniel Carlson kicks the 27-yd. FG.
Blue 10 White 0
Our announcers say that it looks like an ankle injury for Barber. He sure looked great hitting the hole on that carry.
Jeremy Johnson is incomplete on 3 straight passes.
Cameron Artis-Payne looks quicker than last year.
Marshall hits a wide-open Quan Bray for a 59-yd. TD pass. Marshall is throwing very accurately.
Carlson misses the point after. He has to work on his consistency as he hooks that one badly left.
The White team drives to the Blue 33 where Carlson hits a 50-yd. field goal! He misses the PAT but hits big here. Big leg! Just needs to be more consistent.
Blue 13 White 3
The Blue team is the first string.
Big pass to "Duke" Williams.
The Blue team drives on the second team defense again.
The score comes on a 3 yd. pass to the corner of the end zone to Duke Williams. This guy is the real deal.
Nick Marshall is crisp with his throws. The first team Blues are having their way. Carlson hits this point after.
Blue 23 White 3
The quarter ends with the White team trying to drive after three straight passes to Stanton Truitt. He looks quick and elusive.
Nick Marshall looks good with good throwing mechanics. Duke Williams will make some big plays this fall. The Blue defensive front can be dominant.
The White team stalls at midfield.
The Blue team drives again. CAP runs strong and quick. The score comes on a one-handed catch in the end zone by Coates from the 20. Nick Marshall looks like an All-American with his crisp passes.
Blue 30 White 3
NM is 9 of 15 for 153 yards. Cameron Artis-Payne shows great vision and elusiveness running the football.
The White team has to punt again.
Corey Grant runs 54 yards for the touchdown. What speed!
Blue 37 White 3
The White cannot move the ball. The first team Blue defense is dominating.
Bruce Pearl is on the radio during the second quarter. Boy, does he talk a good game!!! It sounds like we will play a challenging schedule and the program will have to grow into it.
The Blue rolls again the score coming on a 27-yd. pass to Quan Bray. Our announcers keep praising Nick Marshall. The ones are clearly dominant.
Blue 44 White 3
The Blue gets the ball back as the long half ends. I have the feeling that the second half will go faster.
At the half the players get their SEC championship rings. Highlights of last season are shown in the stadium. Our announcers talk about it. I can hear roars from the fans in the background. Last year's Aabama game may have been the greatest college football game of all time. It WAS the greatest Auburn game I witnessed. We will NEVER get tired of talking about it. Our announcers say that the players are watching the highlights also.
We expect to see alot of new names on the field in the second half.
On the first possession Carlson misses a 51 yard FG attempt. JJ runs the Blue offense.
JJ hits Tony Stevens for 37 yards and a score as the third quarter ends.
Blue 51 White 3
The Blue scores again on a 20-yd. inside screen to Tony Stevens on the pass from Jonathan Wallace.
Blue 58 White 3
That's all the scoring.
I am impressed with Nick Marshall. He looks great throwing the football. Duke Williams will make some big plays this year. Cameron Artis-Payne will be the starting running back. The defense will be interesting with our defensive lineman sometimes playing defensive end. Moncrief will start at safety. I can't help but be excited about the prospects for this team in 2014.
Before the start I see that the baseball team beat South Carolina 4 to 2 in the first game of a double header. That's a good start to the day.
The game starts without the ESPN telecast.
Marshall is incomplete on a long pass attempt to Ricardo Louis on the first play. We may see Nick Marshall throw alot.
The first several plays are passes.
We find the game finally on ESPN News as a stupid basketball game is ending on ESPN.
The Blue team drives for a TD on the first possession of the game. CAP runs it in. 12 plays. 70 yards. A 14-yd. run for the score by CAP.
Nick Marshall's passing so far is on the money. CAP finishes the drive on the ground.
Dampier is playing center and doing a good job our announcers say.
With the White team Peyton Barber hits the hole for a nice gain before fumbling but is hit as he makes a cut and he is on the ground. The Blue team recovers the loose ball. Barber gets up but is not putting alot of weight on one foot. Hopefully it's a minor injury.
Barber sure hits the hole in a hurry based on that play.
Corey Grant runs for 34 yards on the statue of liberty.
After 3 incomplete passes Daniel Carlson kicks the 27-yd. FG.
Blue 10 White 0
Our announcers say that it looks like an ankle injury for Barber. He sure looked great hitting the hole on that carry.
Jeremy Johnson is incomplete on 3 straight passes.
Cameron Artis-Payne looks quicker than last year.
Marshall hits a wide-open Quan Bray for a 59-yd. TD pass. Marshall is throwing very accurately.
Carlson misses the point after. He has to work on his consistency as he hooks that one badly left.
The White team drives to the Blue 33 where Carlson hits a 50-yd. field goal! He misses the PAT but hits big here. Big leg! Just needs to be more consistent.
Blue 13 White 3
The Blue team is the first string.
Big pass to "Duke" Williams.
The Blue team drives on the second team defense again.
The score comes on a 3 yd. pass to the corner of the end zone to Duke Williams. This guy is the real deal.
Nick Marshall is crisp with his throws. The first team Blues are having their way. Carlson hits this point after.
Blue 23 White 3
The quarter ends with the White team trying to drive after three straight passes to Stanton Truitt. He looks quick and elusive.
Nick Marshall looks good with good throwing mechanics. Duke Williams will make some big plays this fall. The Blue defensive front can be dominant.
The White team stalls at midfield.
The Blue team drives again. CAP runs strong and quick. The score comes on a one-handed catch in the end zone by Coates from the 20. Nick Marshall looks like an All-American with his crisp passes.
Blue 30 White 3
NM is 9 of 15 for 153 yards. Cameron Artis-Payne shows great vision and elusiveness running the football.
The White team has to punt again.
Corey Grant runs 54 yards for the touchdown. What speed!
Blue 37 White 3
The White cannot move the ball. The first team Blue defense is dominating.
Bruce Pearl is on the radio during the second quarter. Boy, does he talk a good game!!! It sounds like we will play a challenging schedule and the program will have to grow into it.
The Blue rolls again the score coming on a 27-yd. pass to Quan Bray. Our announcers keep praising Nick Marshall. The ones are clearly dominant.
Blue 44 White 3
The Blue gets the ball back as the long half ends. I have the feeling that the second half will go faster.
At the half the players get their SEC championship rings. Highlights of last season are shown in the stadium. Our announcers talk about it. I can hear roars from the fans in the background. Last year's Aabama game may have been the greatest college football game of all time. It WAS the greatest Auburn game I witnessed. We will NEVER get tired of talking about it. Our announcers say that the players are watching the highlights also.
We expect to see alot of new names on the field in the second half.
On the first possession Carlson misses a 51 yard FG attempt. JJ runs the Blue offense.
JJ hits Tony Stevens for 37 yards and a score as the third quarter ends.
Blue 51 White 3
The Blue scores again on a 20-yd. inside screen to Tony Stevens on the pass from Jonathan Wallace.
Blue 58 White 3
That's all the scoring.
I am impressed with Nick Marshall. He looks great throwing the football. Duke Williams will make some big plays this year. Cameron Artis-Payne will be the starting running back. The defense will be interesting with our defensive lineman sometimes playing defensive end. Moncrief will start at safety. I can't help but be excited about the prospects for this team in 2014.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Before A-Day
We know from years of watching this "game" that you can't tell anything about what kind of team Auburn is going to have next year from what happens tomorrow. As always I just hope there are no injuries.
I want to see Peyton Barber run the football. I expect we will see more Jeremy Johnson than Nick Marshall. We won't be able to tell if our passing game will be improved. I want to see DaQuille (sp) Williams catch a pass. I want to see a big crowd in the stands.
We are on ESPN. That is big in itself.
I want to see Peyton Barber run the football. I expect we will see more Jeremy Johnson than Nick Marshall. We won't be able to tell if our passing game will be improved. I want to see DaQuille (sp) Williams catch a pass. I want to see a big crowd in the stands.
We are on ESPN. That is big in itself.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Hiring Chuck Person the Best Move Bruce Pearl's Made at Auburn so far
By Kevin Scarbinsky
7 April 2014
Graduate assistant? Volunteer assistant?
Please.
Some of the suggestions of Chuck Person's potential role on Bruce Pearl's first Auburn basketball staff were as insulting as they were wrong.
As much as he loves his old school, as much as he burns to make Auburn basketball matter again, Person is too proud a man and too keen a basketball mind to consider any of those positions.
He didn't leave the South Korean professional team he was coaching during the playoffs to be a graduate assistant. He didn't turn his career path down a different road from professional basketball to the college game to be a volunteer assistant.
From the moment he was spotted on the Auburn campus the day Pearl was introduced, it was clear to anyone who knows Person that he was there for one reason. To join the staff as a full-time, on-court assistant.
Auburn made Person's hire in that capacity official Monday. Of all the positive things Pearl has done for the program since taking over and taking the campus by storm, this was his best move yet.
He did more than bring the best player in Auburn history back into the fold. He added one of the best available basketball minds to his inner circle. That's a powerful combination.
How well-respected is Person? When Phil Jackson was the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, he added Person to his staff. That was just one of Person's NBA stops, but it speaks volumes about the respect he earned in that league.
Four years ago, when Auburn was looking for a head coach to replace Jeff Lebo, Person was interested and interviewed. I spoke to some NBA coaches and executives who'd worked with Person, and
Donnie Walsh, former Indiana Pacers president who's now a consultant with the team, told me he'd recommended Person for head coaching jobs in the NBA.
Mitch Kupchak, the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, captured Person's essence when I asked about his ability to recruit as a college coach, something he's never done.
"He's not a PR guy," Kupchak said. "It's not smoke and mirrors with him. He's got substance. I can envision him in front of a family (on a recruiting visit) being very sincere and honest."
Who's better-qualified to sit in a recruit's living room and explain the possibilities of Auburn basketball? Person and Charles Barkley led Auburn to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1984. After Barkley left for the NBA, Person pushed the Tigers to the Sweet 16 in 1985 and the Elite Eight in 1986.
Despite finishing his career the year before college basketball adopted the 3-point shot, Person remains Auburn's all-time leading scorer, and he's still No. 4 on the SEC's all-time scoring list.
More importantly for his new role at Auburn, he's rare among former stars in that he can teach the game as well as he played it. How good a teacher is he? No less a perfectionist than Kobe Bryant is just one of the pros who's valued his advice.
Four years ago, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said Person "would be great at cultivating young men out of high school and turning them into terrific people and terrific players."
Carlisle meant as a college head coach, but Auburn mistakenly chose Tony Barbee instead. This time around, Pearl was smart not to let Person get away from Auburn again.
7 April 2014
Graduate assistant? Volunteer assistant?
Please.
Some of the suggestions of Chuck Person's potential role on Bruce Pearl's first Auburn basketball staff were as insulting as they were wrong.
As much as he loves his old school, as much as he burns to make Auburn basketball matter again, Person is too proud a man and too keen a basketball mind to consider any of those positions.
He didn't leave the South Korean professional team he was coaching during the playoffs to be a graduate assistant. He didn't turn his career path down a different road from professional basketball to the college game to be a volunteer assistant.
From the moment he was spotted on the Auburn campus the day Pearl was introduced, it was clear to anyone who knows Person that he was there for one reason. To join the staff as a full-time, on-court assistant.
Auburn made Person's hire in that capacity official Monday. Of all the positive things Pearl has done for the program since taking over and taking the campus by storm, this was his best move yet.
He did more than bring the best player in Auburn history back into the fold. He added one of the best available basketball minds to his inner circle. That's a powerful combination.
How well-respected is Person? When Phil Jackson was the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, he added Person to his staff. That was just one of Person's NBA stops, but it speaks volumes about the respect he earned in that league.
Four years ago, when Auburn was looking for a head coach to replace Jeff Lebo, Person was interested and interviewed. I spoke to some NBA coaches and executives who'd worked with Person, and
Donnie Walsh, former Indiana Pacers president who's now a consultant with the team, told me he'd recommended Person for head coaching jobs in the NBA.
Mitch Kupchak, the general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, captured Person's essence when I asked about his ability to recruit as a college coach, something he's never done.
"He's not a PR guy," Kupchak said. "It's not smoke and mirrors with him. He's got substance. I can envision him in front of a family (on a recruiting visit) being very sincere and honest."
Who's better-qualified to sit in a recruit's living room and explain the possibilities of Auburn basketball? Person and Charles Barkley led Auburn to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1984. After Barkley left for the NBA, Person pushed the Tigers to the Sweet 16 in 1985 and the Elite Eight in 1986.
Despite finishing his career the year before college basketball adopted the 3-point shot, Person remains Auburn's all-time leading scorer, and he's still No. 4 on the SEC's all-time scoring list.
More importantly for his new role at Auburn, he's rare among former stars in that he can teach the game as well as he played it. How good a teacher is he? No less a perfectionist than Kobe Bryant is just one of the pros who's valued his advice.
Four years ago, Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said Person "would be great at cultivating young men out of high school and turning them into terrific people and terrific players."
Carlisle meant as a college head coach, but Auburn mistakenly chose Tony Barbee instead. This time around, Pearl was smart not to let Person get away from Auburn again.
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