Auburn Football: 10 Benchmarks for Spring Success

Auburn football will enter spring training with a list of benchmarks that will be used to gauge the success of the coming spring practice session.

Despite the return of 18 starters, this spring will bring a host of questions that the Tigers must answer. Offensive line and quarterback are two glaring concerns that new OC Scot Loeffler will need to address. New DC Brian VanGorder will attempt to temper expectations while trying to build a starting lineup.

The coordinators will have to learn their new players, and implement their new schemes consecutively. This will arguably be the most important spring session that the Gene Chizik staff has faced while at Auburn.

Quarterback Growth

Here we are again. I know this is an issue that I continue to harp on, but for the Tigers it continues to be a concern year after year. Having a quarterback quandary is never a positive problem, especially when a new coordinator is attempting to implement a new offense.

Auburn is in a better position than usual as both quarterbacks that are in the running for the start this fall have experience under their belts. Clint Moseley is the incumbent starter, but Kiehl Frazier saw a number of snaps last season as the Wildcat quarterback.

Between the two, the Tigers should be able to come away with a quality starter by the time fall rolls around. Having a definitive starter from the get-go would be a better situation. Loeffler will not only be charged with implementing an offense, but he will also have to coach up and evaluate guys that he has spent very little time with.

It is not a realistic expectation to have a starter named by the end of spring, but two guys showing a sign of growth is a must. 

Offensive Line Solidified

For all of the praise that Trooper Taylor and Curtis Luper receive for their recruiting efforts, Jeff Grimes goes about his business bringing in top-level talent. Coach Grimes has brought in a host of quality linemen in the past few years, now is the time to rebuild a SEC-worthy line from that talent.

Grimes will have some experience to pull from with Reese Dismukes, John Sullen and Chad Slade all earning starts a year ago. After those three, there isn’t much experience that remains.

The remaining positions are likely to be filled by Greg Robinson and Erick Mack, but there is no clear-cut answer at this point. Last season proved what offensive line questions will do to an offense. If the Tigers expect to have an edge leaving spring, they must form a starting rotation along the offensive front. 

Find Secondary Options at Receiver

Auburn has a lot of talent that is found on the outside of the offense, unfortunately that talent has yet to find production for the Tigers.

Last season the Tigers receivers had a host of problems that they couldn’t seem to find answers for. The Tigers quarterbacks struggled to survive a defensive rush, but they also couldn’t find an open receiver to save their life.

The receivers have to find a way to be productive this season. Emory Blake and Philip Lutzenkirchen have been great performers for Auburn, but two targets simply won’t cut it once conference play heats up this fall.

Auburn must find secondary options on the outside this spring or it will be another long season for the Auburn offense. 

Decide on Running Back Tandem

One area where the Tigers should feel very confident is the running back position. The Tigers have a wealth of options as they open spring with Onterio McCalebb being the de-facto starter.

Tre Mason, Mike Blakely and Corey Grant will all be battling behind and alongside McCalebb this spring, hoping to make the starting rotation for the Tigers. I would expect a running back by committee approach this season with so many talented guys filling the roster.

McCalebb has shown that he cannot be an every down type guy. He will be a consistent threat to break a big run from the backfield, or to turn a short dump-off pass into a huge gain. Tre Mason has shown great speed and athleticism, but also lacked production between the tackles when given the chance last season.

Corey Grant and Mike Blakely are two very talented transfers. Grant has the biggest frame of all of the backs that will be on roster this spring, likely giving him an edge above the rest. Don’t rule out Blakely, however, as he has earned rave reviews from his scout team showing last fall.

The Tigers have a good problem right now at running back, but they will need to narrow down the carries by spring's end. The less questions heading into summer workouts, the better. 

Define Starters in the Secondary

Another extremely deep position group for the Tigers is the secondary. Auburn returns a starter at all but one position in the defensive backfield, with an experienced backup ready to take over.

The secondary will have a new coach calling the shots this season as Willie Martinez enters his first year with the Tigers as the secondary coach. Martinez will have the task of learning his new players and building a secondary that produced some of the worst results in recent memory for three consecutive years.

Auburn has a wealth of talent in the secondary. Despite that talent, they have played terribly inconsistent. Coach Martinez will need to pick his starting rotation early to help build continuity so that the pass defense woes are a thing of the past. 

Build an Offensive Identity

The Tigers will embark on a new offensive journey for the first time during the Chizik era. With the departure of Gus Malzahn to Arkansas State, Auburn found itself in need of a new coordinator.

Coach Chizik went to Philadelphia, PA to pull in first-year Temple offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler. Loeffler has been a part of a number of successful offenses and schemes in the past.

Loeffler has seen success coaching under Lloyd Carr at Michigan and Urban Meyer at Florida. He has built an offensive identity that mixes a multitude of formations and sets, keeping opposing defenses on their heels throughout a game.

Loeffler will need to build an identity this spring for the offense. The Tigers will need strong direction following last season’s offensive issues. They have to have faith in the focus that Loeffler is bringing to campus, it starts with a defined identity. 

Build a Starting Lineup at Linebacker

Auburn enters the spring session with a lot of experience at the linebacker position. Despite the experience present, there isn’t a clear-cut starter that is imbedded in the group.

The one position in the rotation that I feel is definitely accounted for is the middle. Jake Holland will almost surely be the starter in the center of the pack. The outside linebacker position is where the questions begin to show.

Jonathan Evans returns for his senior season and is a favorite to win an outside position as a returning starter. Daren Bates is also a rising senior that has played outside and is currently listed as a starting outside linebacker.

While Evans isn’t going anywhere, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bates transition back to safety. Bates was a freshman All-SEC selection in 2009, and safety is a much better fit for his style of play. The Tigers were dreadfully thin at linebacker two years ago which forced the move.

Now, the Tigers have a multitude of options to fill the outside linebacker role. History shows that VanGorder favors bigger bodies in the box, and Bates’ 200-pound frame simply doesn’t cut it on an every-down basis.

Finding a starting lineup for the linebacker position will go a long way in solidifying this defense's future success.

Keep Trovon Reed Healthy

Trovon Reed came to Auburn as a very highly recognized skill talent. Unfortunately for Reed and the Tigers, he has not been able to stay healthy.

Reed could be a very explosive weapon for the Tigers, likely filling a primary receiver role if he could stay upright. Reed consistently receives high praise from Auburn receivers coach Trooper Taylor which leads to the obvious conclusion that the guy is as talented as advertised.

Auburn is in need of big plays on offense, Reed is a guy that can make them happen. Keeping him healthy should be a huge priority this spring and an obvious benchmark for future success for the Auburn offense.

Find a Consistent Punt Returner

Quan Bray showed a burst of excellence on the field last season as a true freshman. Bray saw time in the slot on offense and as a punt returner on special teams.

Auburn has not had a dangerous punt return threat in quite a while. Bray has the speed and shiftiness to be a difference maker in the return game, but he has to consistently field the punt well first.

Not that Bray did a bad job last season at catching the punt, but he muffed more than one punt that came his way. A lot of that is concentration and repetition.  

Bray is the answer at punt returner. If he and the Jugs machine can grow their friendship throughout spring, the Tigers will have reached a lofty benchmark. 

Return to Aggressive Defense

Only one Auburn player seemed to consistently play with an aggressive attitude last fall on defense. That player was Eltoro Freeman. Freeman has now embarked on what he hopes to be a professional football journey, leaving behind a host of good players that have unfortunately lacked consistent toughness on the field.

Auburn had a major shift that appeared to happen during the bowl game as HC Gene Chizik took over the defense. The Tigers played very aggressive and looked like an Auburn Tigers defense of old.

This spring the Tigers must work hard to carry over that tenacity from the bowl game if they hope to be in the SEC conference race by midseason.

With the addition of DC Brian VanGorder, I have a feeling these guys will step up their level of play. The Auburn defense needs to get back to the basics, just running and hitting with a lot of aggression. 

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