Caleb Suggs

Hartselle Enquirer

As spring football ended on the Plains of Auburn, thousands of the Tiger faithful made the trek to Jordan Hare stadium for the annual spring game or A Day game. The Tiger fans were eager to see the future of Auburn and try to forget the disappointing 2015 campaign. The Tigers came into 2015 under a mountain of hype thanks to the playmaker like glimpses of Jeremy Johnson, the returns of Carl Lawson and Duke Williams, the signing of top Juco back Jovon Robinson and the arrival of Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator. What happened? Williams was kicked off the team mid season, Lawson and Robinson suffered injuries in the first game and Johnson buckled under the pressure, which resulted in his benching after 3 games. Meanwhile, Muschamp made changes to the defense that put them in the right direction but he didn’t make the immediate impact everyone thought he would.

It was a season of disappointments but head coach Gus Malzahn is already moving to put them back in the right direction, starting with the top 10 recruiting class he got earlier this season.

It was hard to tell what the Tigers might be like from the spring game as they went with a very basic spring game, but fans were able to see some things.

The defense was the biggest story of the game. New defensive coordinator Kevin Steele looked to have the Tigers heading in the same direction that they ended last season on. Auburn received a huge boost when defensive lineman Carl Lawson and Montravious Adams decided to return for one more year on the Plains. Thanks to that the Tigers are set to boast one of the strongest and deepest fronts in the entire country that will feature a rotation of around 10 players, 4 of which are former 5 star recruits. The secondary has been the biggest punch line of the Tiger defense for years but Saturday showed they are finally turning a corner and getting the quality depth that they have been missing for years. The Tigers played without 4 players who played on the Tiger’s first string last season. The linebacker corp is the biggest question mark for the Auburn defense going into the season. The Tigers lost 3 seniors to graduation and only return 1 player with any experience so depth is razor thin. Auburn will get the boost from graduate transfer T.J. Neal but they will still need young players to step up and until then their unit will remain a question mark.

If fans hoped they could see what the 2016 offense might look like after the disappointment of 2015 they left unsatisfied. Unfortunately, Malzahn decided to go with a very “vanilla” game plan and only showed about 20% of their offense. The bright spots were the offensive line and the running backs. The offensive line has to replace both starting tackles and is working with a new coach, but the new guys didn’t seem to miss a beat. The line’s depth and ability to maneuver different players to different positions will pay dividends this fall. Meanwhile, Jovon Robinson proved that he will be the clear number 1 back this fall while Roc Thomas showed his versatility as he moved back and forth from running back to slot receiver and even caught a touchdown pass during the game. Fullbacks Chandler Cox and Kamryn Pettway also proved they will be able to carry the load if called upon as they both secured big runs with the former getting a 71 yard carry. Youngster Malik Miller showed he will be a star for the Tigers in years to come and Auburn still has the return of Kerryon Johnson to look forward to. Johnson missed this spring due to injury.

The question of Auburn’s offense lies in their wide receiver corp and their quarterbacks. Much like their linebacker corp, the wide receivers lack experience at the position as they graduated their top 2 receivers from last year.  Marcus Davis, Jason Smith and Tony Stevens all saw action for the Tigers last season but none of them were really the go to guy so the Tigers will definitely need someone to step up. Davis had a huge game during A day as he caught 3 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown but his size comes into question as his small body is built more for a slot receiver. Luckily, the Tigers signed maybe the best receiver class in 2016 with 3 of the top players in the class committing to the Tigers. They will all be primed for early playing times this season.

The quarterbacks were the biggest question coming into the spring after their lackluster play last year, and the spring game didn’t do much to establish which one will be the new starter. Much of that was due to their no contact jerseys and basic play calling but it was still a tad concerning. Newcomer John Franklin iii can be given the benefit of the doubt as he just arrived on the plains from Juco and is still getting used to the pace and learning the offense. Plus he wasn’t live during the scrimmage which didn’t allow him to showcase his best attribute which is his running ability. However, Sean White and Jeremy Johnson didn’t look much better than they did last season. White had an fair game passing but he fumbled in the red zone and couldn’t finish drives. Johnson looked like he still lacked the confidence he lacked last season. White and Johnson have had their chance now it is time to move aside and give way to either Franklin iii or highly touted true freshmen Woody Barrett who will arrive on the plains this summer. Auburn needs the true dual threat playmaker at quarterback for their offense to truly thrive and that’s ok. People say that Malzahn’s offense can only work with a duel threat at quarterback like it is a bad thing. Nic Marshall may not have been the best passer but he still helped Auburn light up the scoreboard week in and week out which included a 630-yard performance against Alabama, the most ever, in 2014. Yards are yards and points are points so Auburn just needs to find the guy who helps Auburn gain the edge they had in 2013 and 2014 no matter how he does it.

The 2016 outlook is still unclear. The Tigers have one of the most talented rosters in the SEC thanks to their 3 straight top 10 recruiting classes but if they cant pull that talent together then it is really pointless. The Tigers open against the national championship runner up and probable number 1 team Clemson Tigers and end with the defending national champions Alabama Crimson Tide and have a tough SEC slate in between so if they don’t pull it together it could be another disappointing season on the plains.