The annual Auburn football A-Day will be held on the Plains this Saturday, but this year's event is set to look a little different than the event of years past.
Following a current trend in the world of college football, the Tigers elected to do away with a formal, televised scrimmage for this year's A-Day. Instead, the team will host a 90-minute open practice in Jordan-Hare Stadium that the public is encouraged to watch free of charge.
Although there will not be a formal scrimmage, there will still be a competition element to the practice, according to head coach Hugh Freeze, who explained the format in an article from AuburnTigers.com.
The Tigers will hold a normal practice, and after the individual groups the younger players will compete 11 on 11. Then, the "game" format begins.
“We’re going to end with what we call red zone lockout, which will be a live period,” Freeze said. “First one to 18 wins. Offense gets the ball on the 25, you score a touchdown with an extra point, that’s seven. The defense stops you and you kick a field goal, that’s three points for the offense and four points for the defense.
“Miss the field goal, the defense gets seven or a stop somehow or turnover, they get seven. The first one to 18 wins.”
The practice will end with a mock overtime period to simulate the third OT in a game with single-play series from the 3-yard line.
Freeze's main priority with spring training is to emphasize the learning portion ahead of the season and to keep everyone healthy, something that is not always easy to do in a full, padded scrimmage. The 2025 Auburn football season is set to begin on Friday, August 29 when the Tigers face the Baylor Bears in Waco.