Auburn Football: Complete 2015 Spring Practice Primer
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn enters his third year as the head coach of the Tigers in 2015, and this spring practice is all about getting Auburn back to the promised land.
Malzahn's Tigers orchestrated one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college football history when he took over a 3-9 program and brought it to within 13 seconds of a national title in 2013.
The encore, though, was a bit of a struggle. The Tigers danced around the College Football Playoff for the first two months of the season, but three losses over the last four games sent the Tigers to the Outback Bowl, which they lost in overtime to Wisconsin.
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Will Muschamp was brought in to fix the defense, which hasn't finished in the top half of the SEC since 2007.
What must Malzahn and Muschamp see this spring? Our spring primer for the Auburn Tigers will let you know.
What to Watch on Offense
Malzahn made waves with a multidimensional, power-rushing attack that featured dual-threat quarterback Nick Marshall as its trigger man. With Marshall gone, junior Jeremy Johnson will likely inherit the starting job and usher in a more pass-happy approach in the process.
Johnson has filled in well for Marshall over the last two seasons, particularly in last season's opener when he threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns in one half of play against Arkansas. He has a big arm, is accurate when he takes something off and can push the ball from sideline to sideline.
| 2013 | 29-for-41 | 70.7 | 422 | 6 | 2 |
| 2014 | 28-for-37 | 75.7 | 436 | 3 | 0 |
The biggest question for Johnson this spring is who will be his second option.
D'haquille "Duke" Williams is a known freak, but alongside him, Ricardo Louis, Melvin Ray, Marcus Davis, Tony Stevens and a talented and deep pool of receivers are vying for playing time this spring. If Louis becomes more of an edge-rusher—which is a role he settled into during the latter half of the 2015 season—it could open the door for some lesser-known receivers to step up.
Running back isn't an issue.
"Roc" Thomas will return along with junior college transfer Jovon Robinson and sophomore Peyton Barber, with 2015 signee Kerryon Johnson coming this summer. All four have the talent to be the No. 1 running back, and it's up to the staff to have a pretty good idea of how that depth chart will shake out when spring practice ends.
As Cole Cubelic of SEC Network and WUMP 730 in Huntsville, Alabama, notes, eventually, Malzahn must get to one by the end of fall camp.
Up front, Auburn returns a loaded offensive line that includes tackle Shon Coleman, versatile Ole Miss transfer Austin Golson, veteran guard/tackle Avery Young, monster Braden Smith and guard Alex Kozan, who missed all of last season with a back injury. The experience and talent up front is undeniable, and it's up to the coaching staff to find out in the spring where these players will line up this fall.
What to Watch on Defense
Muschamp's task looks tough on paper considering the Tigers finished ninth in the SEC in total defense (398.8 yards per game). It really isn't, though.
Auburn has some quality pieces in place, including defensive end Carl Lawson, who's healthy after missing last season with an ACL injury, defensive tackle Montravius Adams, cornerback Jonathan Jones and linebackers Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost. Muschamp's primary goal is to get all of those players on the same page at the same time, which will go a long way toward Auburn boasting an adequate defense.
Let's be honest, that's all Auburn has to be.
It's not like Muschamp has to be a miracle worker and get the Auburn defense to a point where it's holding teams under 300 yards per game on a consistent basis. With an offense like Auburn boasts, 375 yards and 22 points per game is more than adequate.
Auburn only had 21 sacks last year (11th in the SEC), and developing Lawson into a Dante Fowler clone is something Muschamp needs to do this spring. If he does, that will take pressure off of Adams and other defensive linemen in the rotation and let a talented yet underachieving secondary feast on mistakes.
Freshman to Keep an Eye On
Defensive end Byron Cowart won't arrive on campus until the summer, so for the time being, focus on 4-star athlete Tim Irvin.
The Miami, Florida, native enrolled early as part of the class of 2015, and he will compete for playing time at cornerback in the new-look defense headed by Muschamp and defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson. Irvin, who is former Dallas Cowboy wide receiver Michael Irvin's nephew, has a relationship with the new defensive staff dating back for nearly a half-decade.
Irvin told Charles Goldberg of AuburnTigers.com:
"They had been recruiting me since my freshman year and I had wanted to play for those guys. He's one of the great defensive coordinators in college football and I felt like I wanted to be a part of that.
He asked me what I wanted to do, I said I wanted to come play for you guys. I had built the bond early with those guys and I felt like there was a brotherhood and fatherhood to me.
"
That's important, because everybody has a clean slate on Auburn's defense, and being one of "Muschamp's guys" will give Irvin even more of a chance to compete for playing time right away.
Coach Malzahn's Toughest Task
Finding a pass rush.
Auburn was all over the place last year, to a point where hybrid safety/linebacker Brandon King moved down to defensive end in pass-rushing situations in an effort to find some kind of spark and generate a little bit of pressure.
It didn't work: Quarterbacks had all day in the pocket and routinely picked apart a Tiger defensive backfield that finished 12th in the SEC in pass defense (230.1 YPG) despite tying for the conference lead with 22 interceptions.
Lawson should be the guy who steps up, but it doesn't really matter who it is as long as somebody finds a way to collapse the pocket and get quarterbacks on the move.
If Malzahn can find a pass rush this spring, he might find himself in the College Football Playoff next winter.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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