Eltoro Freeman standing out among Auburn linebackers

AUBURN — As far as excitability and energy are concerned, Eltoro Freeman brings enough for an entire conference’s worth of linebackers.

If only it made up for Auburn’s drastic lack of depth at his position.

Freeman, and the spunk and pizzazz he brings from the practice field to the interview room and everywhere in between, has solidified a spot among Auburn’s first-team linebackers. It’s a veteran-led group that defensive coordinator Ted Roof has been largely pleased with since the beginning of spring practice.

Juniors Josh Bynes (middle) and Craig Stevens (strongside) got plenty of snaps and starts last season, combining for 107 tackles. Freeman was a four-star recruit in 2007 before failing to qualify and has drawn constant praise from Roof and Gene Chizik since he signed again in 2009.

It’s what’s behind, or not behind, the starting trio that’s had him concerned.

“We’re pretty low on depth right now, but that’s what it is,” Roof said. “That’s what we’re doing, and it’s not going to change.”

Somehow, it changed for the worse at Sunday’s practice.

Joining Adam Herring, who has been out since the spring with an unspecified injury, on the sidelines were Spencer Pybus and freshman Harris Gaston. The unknown injuries left freshman Jonathan Evans as the only healthy backup scholarship linebacker.

“If someone goes down, it hurts,” Stevens said. “We’ve got to just find a way to keep moving.”

Following Freeman to practice might not be the most glorious task.

Just ask junior Demond Washington, a former teammate of Freeman at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, who gets an ear-full of rapper Lil Wayne anytime he’s unable to match Freeman’s pre-practice energy.

“I play that and turn it to the max and get my mind right and I’m ready to go,” Freeman said. “I’m ready every practice.”

Though the praise has been constant, Freeman is the only true question mark among Auburn’s 11 starters on defense. His passion and excitement certainly haven’t been a problem, but he has no experience at the SEC level.

The process of adapting has been gradual.

During the spring, talk centered on bottling up Freeman’s excitability enough so he could process Roof’s schemes. He proved his worth about as soon as could be possibly imagined, as he seized the starting weakside spot from Pybus before A-Day.

Now, it’s clear Freeman understands what he’s doing. It’s just a matter of not letting it take over his brain if he happens to make a mistake.

“When he’s out there, he likes to be perfect so much that it gets out of hand sometime,” Bynes said. “But you’ve got to talk to him, make sure you calm him down a little bit.”

There’s a fine line, though. Roof doesn’t want a placid Freeman.

“I don’t want to slow him down,” Roof said. “I love that enthusiasm. I love that about him. I don’t ever want him to lose that.”

It’s a good thing, because there really isn’t a way to slow down Freeman — even during conversation.

That’s the way he likes it.

“I gotta go full speed,” Freeman said. “That’s how I practice. That’s how you got to play the game — full speed. You never know. The ball may come out and you may be able to scoop it and score or make a big play.”

The Tigers will need a number of those from Freeman because, well, there aren’t many players behind him to pick up the slack.

“I know every time I go out there, every time I wake up, I’m one day closer,” Freeman said. “So that’s real exciting.”