AU defensive end Clayton showing his worth

AUBURN — The offensive lineman never had a chance.

Zach Clayton feinted one way, then sprinted in the opposite direction, pushing the opposing guard away with a flick of his hands. Without breaking stride, he slashed inside, coming up with a handful of quarterback Neil Caudle’s jersey.

It was just another day in preseason practice for Clayton, an Auburn defensive tackle and Opelika native who is becoming one of the Tigers’ most impressive interior pass rushers.

Clayton’s pass-rushing technique is so textbook that defensive tackles coach Don Dunn told freshman Derrick Lykes to watch Clayton’s every move in drills.

The 6-foot-3, 290-pound Clayton will be a big part of AU’s playing rotation at defensive tackle, despite playing behind preseason all-conference pick Sen’Derrick Marks. But he hasn’t exactly let his early success get to his head.

In interviews, Clayton hardly ever breathes a word about his improvement, which led Dunn to declare him one of the four best pass-rushers on the team.

Instead, Clayton focuses on his shortcomings, real or imaginary. When asked for his goals for this season, he sounds more like a hopeful walk-on than a budding star.

“I just want to help out the best I can, give people breathers and help out,” he said Wednesday.

Clayton’s modesty gets an assist from Dunn, who won’t let the sophomore rest on his laurels. Sure, Dunn says, he’s outstanding in preseason practice, but will it transfer into games?

“Sometimes when we get in game situations, he doesn’t transfer what he does in 1-on-1 pass rush with … what he needs to do in the game,” Dunn said. “That’s experience, and because he hasn’t played a lot.”

Last season, Clayton played in 10 games and finished with eight tackles. As he continues to improve, he’s all but certain to surpass those numbers. But he won’t brag about his chances.

Wednesday, he told reporters, “I feel like it’s coming together.” It was as close as he got to giving himself a compliment.

Starting QBs, RBs get rest: Wednesday afternoon’s practice was especially uneventful for quarterbacks Kodi Burns and Chris Todd and tailbacks Brad Lester, Ben Tate and Tristan Davis. All five got the afternoon off.

Head coach Tommy Tuberville said none of the quintet was seriously injured, though he admitted Tate “got his bell rung” in Tuesday’s practice. Auburn’s goal is to have all five in the backfield Saturday morning, when AU holds its second scrimmage of the preseason.

Burns and Todd, especially, could use a break, according to Tuberville.

“They’ve thrown too many passes,” the coach said of Burns and Todd. “They’re fine — they could have thrown — but we needed to look at the other guys.”

“The other guys” are sophomore Neil Caudle and freshman Barrett Trotter, who are competing for the No. 3 quarterback job. The two took all the snaps with the first- and second-team offense Wednesday afternoon.

Caudle completed six of eight passes in 11-on-11 drills Wednesday, but threw an interception that linebacker Josh Bynes returned for a touchdown. Trotter finished 2-for-6 passing.

Tuberville liked what he saw from both young quarterbacks. Both are expected to get plenty of snaps Saturday, as AU tries to resolve the race for the No. 3 job.

“I thought they did well,” he said. “Barrett threw the ball well; Neil threw it well. They know what they are doing. It’s good to see both of them have a little success.”

Injury report: Cornerback Harry Adams returned to practice Wednesday. Adams wore a blue no-contact jersey in the morning session, but was back in a conventional orange jersey Wednesday afternoon.

Adams missed three practices after bruising his lung in a practice-field collision Sunday.

Wideout Mario Fannin sat out Wednesday’s practices with what Tuberville called a “tight” hamstring. Offensive lineman Bart Eddins left Wednesday afternoon’s session with a left shoulder injury.

RB Hunt still waiting: Running-back signee Reggie Hunt’s status hasn’t changed, Tuberville said. The Daphne grad is waiting for a go-ahead from the NCAA Clearinghouse, which has been reviewing his transcripts since July.

Tuberville seemed optimistic about Hunt’s chances of being cleared in time to enroll in fall-semester classes, which begin Monday.

“We think he has a great chance,” Tuberville said.