Auburn Football: Questions Surround Auburn as the Tigers Enter Spring Practice
By Keith Prater
The Auburn football team will take the field Tuesday as spring practice begins on the plains and will wrap up on April 8 with the annual Auburn family reunion known as A-Day.
It is becoming somewhat of a tradition for head coach Gus Malzahn and his Auburn Tigers to enter spring practice with a quarterback competition being the main topic of discussion. This year is no different, however, it is my opinion the position is Jarrett Stidham‘s to lose as he won’t face much competition from returning starter, Sean White, who will be limited in spring practices due to a broken arm he suffered in the first quarter of the Sugar Bowl this past January.
The quarterback position isn’t the only area Auburn fans have questions about. Will moving from defensive end to tackle help Byron Cowart finally have the break through season that Auburn fans have been waiting for? How will All-American Jacksonville State graduate transfer, Casey Dunn, fit into the equation with Austin Golson returning at center this season. Dunn is not expected on campus until summer, but with Auburn replacing two starters on the offensive line, either Dunn or Golson could take on a new role. Finally, who will attempt to fill the huge shoes of All-American, Carl Lawson?
As we take a look at a few questions surrounding the Auburn football team headed into spring practice, it’s important to remember that these questions won’t likely be answered in the spring, but they’ll provide plenty of headlines over the next few weeks heading into A-Day.
Will Jarrett Stidham face any unexpected competition this spring?
That depends on the development of redshirt freshman, Woody Barrett. There were plenty of Auburn fans calling for Barrett to have his redshirt removed late last year as injuries piled up on starter Sean White. Barrett has the size at 6-foot-2, 231 pounds, and speed, clocking in at 4.48 seconds in the 40 yard dash, but the questions that surrounded him last year was his knowledge of Malzahn’s system. Now with Chip Lindsey seemingly calling the shots (we’ll get to that later), it would appear that Barrett will have a legitimate shot to compete this spring.
Who is in line to take over the buck position left vacant by departing All-American, Carl Lawson?
Jeff Holland is the most logical pick here after backing up Carl Lawson last year. Holland has the speed to get in the face of the quarterback and has accounted for 17 tackles during his time as a backup on the plains. He was one of the few bright spots in the Sugar Bowl this past January with two tackles, one being a tackle for a loss. I would expect Paul James III to come out of camp as a starter at defensive end, but there could be some shifting around depending on how healthy James is entering A-Day.
Will Gus Malzahn truly turn over the offense to Chip Lindsey?
It is my opinion that Chip Lindsey was hired based on how he has been able to get quarterbacks to respond and excel at every level he has coached. Malzahn is entering the most important season of his career. He may not survive another eight win season, but with the arrival of Lindsey and Stidham, Malzahn might be safe for now.
Simply put, Lindsey runs a proven updated version of Malzahn’s old school hurry up no huddle that lit up scoreboards during his time at Tulsa and early in his Auburn career. He has a quarterback with high round NFL draft potential and a stable of capable wide receivers that can catch the ball all over the field. When you add the Auburn running backs, Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson into that equation, this has the potential to be an offense that averages more that 40 points per game.
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As stated earlier, we may not get answers to all of our questions during spring practice, but it sure is great to have football back on the plains for the next five weeks.
Auburn’s spring practice will run from Tuesday, February 28th, and will wrap up with the annual A-Day game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 8th. The game will be broadcast live on SEC Network.