Auburn notes: Reserve corner Adams dismissed

AUBURN — The dismissal of reserve cornerback Harry Adams on Thursday struck another blow to Auburn’s already precarious depth on defense and special teams.

Adams, a sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was dismissed for an unspecified violation of team rules, an Auburn University official confirmed early Thursday.

The Tigers are down to just four scholarship cornerbacks, which includes sophomore D’Antoine Hood, who has battled an ankle injury and was just recently moved back to the position after a brief stint at safety.

Adams played mostly in nickel formations this season, picking up six tackles. He saw his most action against Arkansas, when starting cornerback Walt McFadden went down with an injury.

Asked how Adams played, coach Gene Chizik kept praise to a cryptic minimum.

“Average,” he said. “At best.“

Adams, though, will be missed on special teams, where he served a variety of roles. At times, the Tigers have played as many as seven walk-ons during a single special-teams formation.

Adams played in eight games last season, mostly on special teams, and picked up one tackle. He was recruited to play wide receiver, converted to cornerback, switched back to wide receiver during the spring before moving back to cornerback in August.

With the dismissal of Adams and the recent departures of Aubrey Phillips and Montez Billings, the Tigers are back down to 74 scholarship players — 11 below the NCAA maximum. 

Thirteen of Auburn’s 74 scholarship players have not seen the field this season. In the meantime, 15 walk-ons have played.

Adams was a member of Tommy Tuberville’s final signing class, which has lost 13 members in 20 months. The 16 who remain on the roster include a number of players who have yet to see, or will not see, the field for the remainder of the season, such as linebacker Spencer Pybus, defensive end Cameron Henderson and quarterback Barrett Trotter.

Onterio McCalebb was also a member of that class and failed to qualify for the 2008 season before signing again in 2009.

Back at work: Trotter, who tore his knee up during a spring practice, has been taking reps at practice, Chizik said Wednesday.

Chizik said Trotter is “back out there doing more than he did a month ago,” but there are no plans for him to see the field this season.

Homecoming: Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor has noticed some added energy from freshman DeAngelo Benton this week.

A trip back to his home state and the school that signed him twice — almost three times — will apparently do that.

“I told him if he’d been practicing like this the whole time he’d probably be starting,” Taylor said. “He is definitely excited. He has a lot of ties to a lot of guys, and plus he gets to see his family.”

Benton, a Bastrop, La. native, signed with LSU in 2007 and 2008 but failed to qualify both times. He was considered to be a lock with LSU for a third straight season before surprisingly signing with Auburn in February.

He’s yet to catch on with Auburn, falling behind Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery on the depth chart. Benton does not have a catch this season, and his playing time has been sparse.

With the Tigers still desperately seeking a third or fourth option at wide receiver, Benton has an opportunity to make an impact during the final third of the year, Chizik said.

“We’re just looking for guys that can step up,” Chizik said.

Todd added to Watch List: Chris Todd was one of 10 players added to the Manning Award Watch List on Thursday.

Todd has completed 106-of-190 passes for 1,443 yards and 12 touchdowns with just two interceptions this season. He ranks 17th nationally in yards per completion (13.61), tied for 21st in touchdown passes (12) and 37th in passing efficiency (149.45).

Created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in honor of the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning, the Manning Award is the only quarterback award that takes into consideration the candidates’ bowl performances.