Auburn ready for first scrimmage of spring

AUBURN — Forgive Gene Chizik for the lack of clarity he provided for today’s first scrimmage of the spring, a late morning tilt at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The first-year coach had a tough time nailing down specifics when he spoke with reporters Thursday. Perhaps it was a result of wanting today’s closed event to be as realistic as possible — minus the fans and media, of course.

“What we plan on doing right now is playing it as much like a game-like situation as we can,” Chizik said. “We’ve been doing so much situational in practice right now, so now we’d like to see them without coaches on the field, down and distance situationally, and execute our offense and defense situationally.”

The Tigers will run anywhere between 90 and 110 plays, not including special teams, Chizik said.

The NCAA limits teams to just three full-fledged scrimmages during spring practice, which includes April 18’s A-Day.

Expectations among Auburn’s assistants varied Thursday, but there was one binding thread. Even though he ran down a list of things he wanted to see,
defensive line coach Tracy Rocker — along with the rest of Auburn’s coaches — kept coming back to effort.

“I hope to see consistency. Two, is great effort and guys that are trying to fight and take a stand,” Rocker said. “You know you’re going to have missed
assignments. You’re going to have some things maybe break down. But the substitute of that is effort. And that’s the biggest thing you’ve had to work for.”

A number of position battles are fluid, at quarterback particularly, heading into today’s scrimmage. They will likely stay that way afterward, but some clarity
should emerge.

“We’ll find out more,” wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said, “when we turn them loose.”

Taking it slow: Cornerbacks coach Phillip Lolley knows Aairon Savage can handle more than what he’s been allowed to do in practice so far this spring.

He’s just too nervous to let it happen just yet.

“I’m not putting him up there pressing right now because I know he’s going to compete and he’s going to bust his tail,” Lolley said. “The thing is, when one of
those guys makes those quick moves on him, he’s not going to want to take it easy on it. That quick movement scares me at this point.”

Savage, who missed all of 2008 with a torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in fall practice, has worn an orange, non-contact jersey in all six of Auburn’s
spring practices. He’s lined up in basic coverage drills, Lolley said, but has been limited during high-speed drills.

Lolley said he plans to increase Savage’s workload in the future, but, for now, “it’s like why at this point.”

“I know he’s really anxious to get on the field,” defensive back Walt McFadden said. “He’s getting to backpedal on the field and stuff. It’s not that crazy if you see it, but I can tell he really wants it.”

The Bell tolls: T’Sharvan Bell received plenty of praise from Lolley on Thursday, as the redshirt freshman cornerback has solidified a spot on Auburn’s second team.

“He’s really progressing,” Lolley said. “He’s made some really good plays the last few days and showing great quickness and awareness.”

Bell, a former high school quarterback, missed all of 2008 with an injured knee. He’s currently behind first-teamers McFadden and Neiko Thorpe on the cornerback depth chart. D’Antoine Hood and Harry Adams have been rotating in on the second-team, Lolley said.

Six deep: Rocker said Thursday that he had six players gunning for four spots on the defensive line.

Jake Ricks, Mike Blanc and Zach Clayton are vying for the two tackle positions. Michael Goggans, Antoine Carter and Antonio Coleman are rotating at the ends.

“We’re trying to create a little competition there,” Rocker said, “and see who wants those spots.”