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Auburn Quarterback Race Could Get More Interesting

As spring football games go, Saturday's A-Day delivered on all fronts - almost. Auburn fans, shut out of spring practice this year by new coach Gene Chizik, made Jordan-Hare Stadium feel almost like a fall football Saturday with the nearly 50,000 people in attendance.

The only thing missing was the ability to get a grip on what kind of team Gene Chizik will put on the field in September. Playing its base offense and defense the entire scrimmage, there wasn't a whole lot of creativity shown by Auburn coaches.

For most fans it didn't seem to matter. 

So what if quarterback Neil Caudle's yardage came against a defensive secondary made up of guys who'll never touch the field come fall? After all, it's been a long year for this football team and its fans. Saturday was a day to let loose and Gene Chizik's guys delivered.

Chizik even sent a message himself, staying on the field for the entire game coaching each side of the ball like he was at Pop Warner. Was some of it theatrics? Sure. But most Auburn fans in attendance will tell you, it felt good.

The talk this Monday morning is about Caudle's performance and Kodi Burns lackluster passing numbers. Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn warns not to read too much into A-Day. "We're in the base stages of our offense," he says. "We're just trying to get the foundation so that in the summer they can actually work on things and improve without the coaches. We're not ready to make any decisions (on quarterback) right now. When we get to fall camp, we'll start that thing going."

For Caudle and Burns, this is not the news they wanted. Both Malzahn and Chizik hinted in recent weeks that a starter could be named by month's end. Now things are set to roll on through the summer and both can expect to see more competition in August. Look for more attention to be given now to incoming four-star recruit and Parade All-American Tyrik Rollison and possibly to last year's starter Chris Todd who continues to battle injury. 

Of all the candidates, Rollison is the most intriguing. He passed for nearly 5,000 yards and 51 touchdowns at Sulphur Springs (TX.) High School last season - no it's not a typo. He's a spread option quarterback with great movement.  He rushed for 1,094 as a senior and seems to matchup perfectly with Malzahn's offense. It shouldn't surprise anyone to see him in the lineup by the end of September.

Credit needs to be given to University officials for putting on a good show. Having the Auburn Marching Band play in the South end-zone was a nice touch and the grass at Jordan-Hare Stadium looked game day ready.  It would have been nice if the team had their game day jerseys to wear like they did at other schools. I'm sure Under Armour would have coughed up the cash if asked. If you were like me and sat on the east side of the stadium you were in for a surprise. Apparently the decision was made to only sell tickets on the West Side of the stadium.  There were literally hundreds of angry fans who made the trek to the other side just to get a $5 ticket - no big deal, but a little irritating. 

With recruiting and A-Day over, we now enter the dead period of college football. If you are a fan, the next big milestone comes in late May when Athlon and Lindy's come out with their preseason magazines. Even in the internet age there's still something special about getting your hands on that first issue. Sure the predictions rarely turn out, but is there anything better than sitting on the beach in June drinking a Corona and reading about college football? Of course, Track'em Tigers will be here everyday talking Auburn football. We hope you'll stick around.

 

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I knew it was gonna happen......

I had planned and strategized all spring for my first A-Day visit in many years. Then a family situation pops up at the last minute, and Bam!

I missed a great time. Next year I think I’ll just pretend to be sick…

WAR EAGLE!

by KoolBell777 on Apr 20, 2009 8:00 AM CDT reply actions  

It was good meeting you guys. We'll have to put a tailgate together in the fall sometime.

 Caudle sure did look a lot better than Burns. What year is Caudle?

Do you think they are stopping short of naming Caudle the starter just to keep Burns around longer because they think he’d transfer? Maybe they want one more look at him after summer drills? From the comments his father has made in the past it seems like that situation is about to pop. With Rollison coming in I doubt Burns would be missed anyway.

by LSU Jonno on Apr 20, 2009 8:16 AM CDT reply actions  

Don't know Jonno....

It may be that Burns just had a bad day or it could be that they think he will benefit from the summer drills. I don’t think that him transferring would be a concern for AU….I don’t think at this point he would benefit greatly from transferring either. He and Caudle are Juniors…..although Caudle is a redshirt Junior. It will be speculation until the fall unless the coaching staff decides to change the tight lipped stance. I still think that Rollison will be redshirted but that is just my belief. And I will withhold an opinion on who I think should be the starter because we have been kept in the dark about their progress this spring.

I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU

by Todd92 on Apr 20, 2009 8:58 AM CDT up reply actions  

He is a junior

I thought Caudle was a senior. He was an Elite 11 QB at one point, in the same class as Stafford, Tebow, etc. I guess that redshirt got by me. Well, that’s good. I think we can look forward to two years of Neil f’ing Caudle baby!

Tyrik Rollison won’t play this fall. He won’t have enough time to get used to the speed of the college game or understand the playbook, IMO. If he comes in, it will likely be like what we saw out of Kodi in 2007. Base, base, base. Maybe five or ten plays. I hope he redshirts, personally.

The artist formerly known as...
Mr Redbird @ Viva El Birdos
PowerOfDixieland @ Track Em Tigers, other SEC blogs

by jd is legend on Apr 20, 2009 11:21 AM CDT up reply actions  

Burns hasn't redshirtted.

He won’t be a Junior Until Fall 2009.

He could still transfer to a 1-A school, sit out a year, burn his redshirt and have two years of eligibility left.

Or he could transfer to to a 1-AA school and not have to sit out a year and have 2 years of eligibility left.

by LSU Jonno on Apr 20, 2009 1:01 PM CDT up reply actions  

That is what I meant by saying he is a junior.....

meaning that he is a junior for this coming season. And yes you’re correct he would have 2 years of eligibility if he transferred now. But if it is that close of a race I have a hard time seeing him transfer before the season starts……..and saying that I also believe that he will have some roll in the offense even if he doesn’t start. If this holds to be true he would transfer with one year of eligibility left not two. At this point it is all speculation……I just don’t think he transfers unless Caudle is named the starter early in fall practice and Burns sees he has no chance of beating him or regaining the job.

I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU

by Todd92 on Apr 21, 2009 12:11 PM CDT up reply actions  

Jonno

I think you are correct about Caudle looking better, although I would think that the staff would name a “starter” if Caudle would have won the job outright. We as fans are missing something. It could be the experience factor that Kodi has. Who knows.

If you are a War Damn Eagle, you can War Damn anything.

by WarDamnZach on Apr 20, 2009 9:06 AM CDT reply actions  

Well I think that's it...

Caudle looked waaaaay better from the little bits of the game that I was paying attention to.

So there must be something that we aren’t seeing behind closed doors. Maybe Caudle “appeared” better because the offense was so vanilla in the spring game, but in practices they are more evenly matched or perhaps Kodi is even ahead.

But if that is not the case, and the coaches KNOW that Caudle is their starter already, they may be deferring the decision to try to keep Kodi in practices as long as possible, at least until they see what they have in Rollison. It sucks that Trotter went down for the year, because now if Caudle wins the job, and Kodi’s dad gets pissed and makes him transfer, AU’s backup QB is going to be a true freshman.

by LSU Jonno on Apr 20, 2009 12:51 PM CDT up reply actions  

Don't forget Chris Todd, the one-armed man

Don’t ever forget Chris Todd

I've got one foot on the platform, the other foot on the train
I'm going back to New Orleans, to wear that ball and chain

by jd is legend on Apr 20, 2009 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions  

Sorry I missed it

I had some other stuff come up myself on that Saturday. I hated that I missed the game. I was wanting to know about the injury recovery time for all of these injuries Auburn apparently has. I would really like to know how many of them are supposed to be back and ready to play in the fall and how many are actually out for this season. If most of them are coming back, this depth issue everyone keeps refering to may be blown out of proportion. I’m hoping that’s the case.

by Sparkey on Apr 20, 2009 10:08 AM CDT reply actions  

I don't believe "interesting" best describes the QB situation at AU

“Desperate” maybe.

If Tyrik Rollison qualifies there may be hope for the future at the position.

by xotus on Apr 20, 2009 10:32 AM CDT reply actions  

I also think desperate is the right word

This is shaping up to be last year all over again. I see Burns and Caudle splitting time to start the season just like Burns and Todd last year. It’ll be more who loses the job than who wins it.

With no experienced safeties in the A day game I expected to see some more airing it out from our QB’s

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Apr 20, 2009 11:44 AM CDT up reply actions  

Auburn's QB situation isn't ideal, but who's is? I would take AU's QB situation over Bama's...

McElroy looked legit, but holy crap if he goes down, Bama may not win a single game. And yes I’m aware they play North Texas. Star Jackson would not start for North Texas.

by LSU Jonno on Apr 20, 2009 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions  

I agree with your assessment about Bama's QB.....

situation being worse than AU’s. And McElroy did nothing to impress me, his arm strength was not impressive and his completion percentage wasn’t great although he was facing a very good defensive unit. I think AU is in pretty decent shape QB wise at this point. Remember Malzahn has had limited time working with them at this point and ditto for Trooper and the WR’s. Patience Tiger faithful, patience.

I would have gone to bammer if my grades hadn't been good enough to go to AU

by Todd92 on Apr 21, 2009 12:18 PM CDT up reply actions  

Desperate may be accurate...

Good gosh, if Auburn can’t pick one out yet, it’s not the end of the world. If by some chance they can’t by say, Aug. 15th, then we may be in trouble.

Does any one know when Chris Todd will be able to start throwing again? That question seems to me, never got asked by the media. Coaches should be able to narrow down some sort of time frame on his return.

If, by some chance, Auburn goes into the season with two QB’s, we will see more of a base offense with the exception of the “Power Eagle” ( see Wild Hog) formation. That would mean that it would be used more than
CGC or CGM wants to. IMO

WAR EAGLE!

by KoolBell777 on Apr 20, 2009 8:44 PM CDT reply actions  

I'm leery...

…..of the Wildcat thing. Defensive coaches have had a chance to scheme against it for a few years, and I think its effectiveness will wane. You load the box (at least 7) against that thing, and play gap control. Rotate coverages, some cover two, some cover one, and even some cover zero! Yes, the tight end will be wide open against cover zero… You show that, and hope to bait the running “QB” into lobbing one that way, and hopefully break on it. Most OCs will not risk having a running back try to force one in on an SEC corner, so the tight end is the main throwing option. With cover zero, nine in the box, the running game isn’t going anywhere.

……On QBs, I figure the coaches are looking at the whole spring. But at A-Day, from what I saw… man, if you can’t hit a wide receiver/h-back screen, it’s REALLY not good. That, and your two deep throws: one appeared to bounce off two defenders before the receiver caught it… Caudle WAS way better throwing.

……I still haven’t had time to watch the game on TV. Maybe tomorrow afternoon…

by Acid Reign on Apr 20, 2009 8:58 PM CDT up reply actions  

Desperate is not how I see it....

I was there and although I’ll admit I was not that impressed, with so many injuries…it is really hard to tell what we have to work with.
Why is it so great an idea to name someone now anyway? Better to keep the competition going…it makes everyone play harder, compete for the job, and keeps the guys head in the playbook trying to memorize and learn as much as they can to get the edge. If one goes down with an injury we will need the other one ready to go.

It was great to see the head coach actually COACHING for a change!

Cheryl Smith RN OCN

by rn4au on Apr 20, 2009 8:56 PM CDT reply actions  

Yea!

Like on-the-field, changing-shirts-at-halftime kinda coaching!

by War Eagle Atlanta on Apr 20, 2009 8:59 PM CDT up reply actions  

Why is it so great an idea to name someone now anyway?

I will refer you to last season.

And WHAT WAS THE DEAL with Cheezy changing shirts? IS the pressure of ADAY so great he sweated through one? God, I hope that isn’t the case.

"Jay Jacobs can't go to the bathroom without Bobby Lowder's permission" - Paul Finebaum

by GumptownTiger on Apr 21, 2009 9:21 AM CDT up reply actions  

It's a good idea now to name someone as starting QB

So that he can get most of the reps with the first team offense. You have to get a rhythm going.

I've got one foot on the platform, the other foot on the train
I'm going back to New Orleans, to wear that ball and chain

by jd is legend on Apr 21, 2009 10:20 AM CDT up reply actions  

Shirts?

Why does anyone care about him changing shirts? I am sure they did it for the photos after the game.

If you are a War Damn Eagle, you can War Damn anything.

by WarDamnZach on Apr 21, 2009 10:47 AM CDT reply actions  

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