Auburn Football: Defensive Line Injuries Are a Cause for Concern at Auburn

The Auburn Tigers entered the spring down a couple of defensive linemen, as Ken Carter and Nosa Eguae both are unable to participate in the 15 practices. Monday, the Tigers' rebuilding effort took another blow when Gabe Wright went down with a foot injury. While this is not the type of news anyone wants to hear about a kid in the spring, the news is incredibly detrimental to Auburn's cause.

None of the injuries are devastating to the respective players' careers, so that is a positive. All three are expected to be back into the rotation come fall camp. However, with what is going on at Auburn right now, there is an incredible need for bodies in practice. New defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder is looking to build a defense rooted in toughness and physicality—and that starts up front. That means rep after rep of hitting and winning the one-on-one battles in the trenches, starting in the spring.

When your team doesn't have the bodies, your team can't go full speed all the time, and that's not good for Auburn. These players need the reps to digest the fundamentals, and they need the contact so VanGorder can find the types of players he needs to turn this defense around. 

Missing spring ball is never a good thing. True, there are some who need it less than others, but Carter, Eguae and Wright are that not type, and defensive line is not that type of position. Add to the mix that not only is VanGorder looking to improve toughness, but he is installing a new system, and the amount of guys sidelined now becomes problematic. So, not only are these players not getting the toughness that the new defensive coordinator hopes to impart, they are also missing out on valuable reps in the scheme.

Taking mental reps through film, meetings, chalk talk and watching other players on the field is great; they are a fantastic supplement to the learning process. But, simply stated, there is no substitute for live reps in practice. Coaches can't correct problems if the players are not on film. Coaches can't tweak schemes to a players' strengths if they are not on film. Players can't see their technical mistakes if they are not on film. Players miss out on fixing the inevitable missed assignments and alignments that come with the learning process.

So, while this is not something that is going to damn the Tigers for 12 games, what it does do is push a lot of the teaching into the fall. That means, instead of coming out of spring with the defensive unit having mastered the base defense, Auburn will be spending parts of fall camp retooling things that needed to be done in the spring. Injuries happen, but when you're installing a new system—a system where your defensive line is supposed to set the tone for the linebackers and secondary behind them—it is a definite cause for concern.

Keep in mind that concern is not panic, folks. The sky isn't falling, and Brian VanGorder should get his able-bodied players on the same page as spring proceeds. The major task come offseason and fall will be getting everybody up to speed. The installation of a defense is a step-by-step process. Teams can't get from A to C without B, and players who miss out on a step have to complete that step before they can move on in the process. For Eguae, Carter and Wright, they'll fall behind in the process.