Auburn Football: 10 Things to Work on over the Summer

Auburn has wrapped up its spring practices and will have the next few months off until August rolls around and the Tigers begin preparing for the regular season. Auburn returns the majority of last year's team and will try to build on an 8-5 season.

Spring practice provides opportunities to get better and for players to slowly make a name for themselves and slide up the depth chart. But not everything is figured out in the short amount of time that the spring provides, and some questions have to wait until the fall to be answered.

With spring practice over with, here are 10 things the Tigers have to ask themselves as they head into fall camp.

True Freshmen

Auburn returns many of last year’s team, but that doesn't mean that some of the talented players from the 2012 class won't see significant playing time this season. The Tigers once again put together a fantastic recruiting class in 2012, and many players will get their shot at playing time this fall.

With the issues along the offensive line, players such as Greg Robinson, Avery Young and Patrick Miller will get plenty of opportunities. Tight end Ricky Parks may get a look or two, as Auburn is searching for a few playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. Cassanova McKinzy may also provide depth at the linebacker position as well.

Fall camp is the time for freshmen to make a case as to why they should see the field; Auburn has plenty of talent that will be eager to do just that.

How Good Can This D-Line Be?

The Tigers defense wasn't exactly anything to brag about last year. This is a squad that was ranked 11th in the SEC in total defense and struggled to get after the quarterback, finishing the year with only 22 sacks. But while they return nearly every member of this defense, the defensive line is something that should have Auburn fans real excited heading into the year.

Nosa Eguae and Corey Lemonier should create one of the best defensive end combos in the entire country. They both return for their junior seasons and were two of the most consistent players on this line last year. Lemonier and his 9.5 sacks wasn't just the best on the team, it was tied for fourth in the SEC with Alabama's Courtney Upshaw.

Then you add some of the other pieces such as Dee Ford, Gabe Wright and Jeffrey Whitaker, and you have yourself one of the deepest units in the country. Expect those sack numbers to increase dramatically this year.

Where Are the Wide Receivers?

Auburn returns a solid wide receiver in Emory Blake and a good tight end in Philip Lutzenkirchen, but other than that, this team is struggling to find other weapons.

Redshirt sophomore Trovon Reed has big-play ability and could be one to have a big season. Speedy wideout Travante Stallworth was effective when he was actually able to stay on the field. Auburn does have a couple of 4-star recruits in Jaquay Williams and Ricardo Louis who could also make an impact in the fall.

The Tigers have talent at wide receiver; players just need to take that next step because two offensive weapons aren’t enough to win in a defensive-minded SEC.

Injuries

Auburn entered the spring with a lot of injuries to key players.

Former starters such as T'Sharvan Bell, Nosa Eguae, Jonathan Evans, Philip Lutzenkirchen and Kenneth Carer were all recovering from some type of surgery and didn't participate in the spring. Auburn defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said that his injured players will have to reclaim their starting roles when they're able to go in the fall.

"They're depth guys at this point," he said (via timeunison.com). "They offer us depth and they've got to come in and compete to earn that. They're obviously guys who have played, so there's obviously an advantage for all of us understanding that." 

Making it out of camp healthy is a victory in itself, but it's important that the Tigers have all of their players ready to go by the time September rolls around.

Offensive Line

Much like the linebacker position, the Auburn Tigers will lack experience along the offensive line. They lost three members of this unit during the offseason to graduation, and will enter the year with only one senior on the line.

The Tigers weren't exactly great at protecting the quarterback last season, allowing 32 sacks, which was tied with North Carolina State for 95th in the country. In order to improve on last season's numbers, there will need to be quite a few young players that step up in a big way.

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"We've got a lot of really, really talented young players. They're still learning to play the game," Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said (via The Daily Sentinel) . "We're lacking with a large number of upperclassmen so experience and depth is a big issue. You have to be awfully talented to win in this league."

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Is There Truly a No. 1 Back?

With Michael Dyer now a player in the Sun Belt Conference, Auburn will look elsewhere to get production from the running game. Onterio McCalebb will be the starter heading into the year, but at 5'10", 170 pounds, his small frame may not be able to take a full-time starters amount of carries. (He's only touched the ball 312 times in the last three years.)

Then you have Tre Mason, Corey Grant and Mike Blakely, all of whom are a bit bigger than McCalebb, but lack experience on the football field.

Will there be a main running back in Auburn this season, and is there somebody who can run between the tackles and pickup those tough yards?

Defense

Gene Chizik remains the head coach of this Auburn team, but there are new coordinators that are helping him run it. Offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler looks to bring a more pro-style offense to the team, while Brian VanGorder wants to play a more aggressive style of defense.

Learning a new system has to be difficult, especially for such a young team.

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"Very rarely do you see a new offensive and defensive coordinator the same year," Linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said (via al.com). "The verbiage, techniques and everything is totally different and challenging for the kids. The good thing is we've had some good practices and we don't have to play tomorrow." 

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Auburn will continue to get a few practices in, but with each passing day, we inch that much closer to the regular season kicking off.

Linebackers

We know this Auburn team is very young, but it's at the linebacker position that they feel the youth the most. Besides senior Daren Bates and junior Jake Holland, there isn't much experience at the position.

"We played with the youngest group in all of college football last season, and not only do we get these kids back for this season, we get them back their junior and seniors seasons and that's the key," Linebackers coach Tommy Thigpen said (via al.com)

That helps for the future, but getting so many young players that are expected to contribute right away, doesn't quite sound like a recipe for success. Redshirt freshman Kris Frost will have to show some of that playmaking ability right away. He's a former 4-star recruit, who has great ball skills, considering he played wide receiver as well in high school.

Quarterback Battle

Auburn entered the spring with three quarterback candidates, and the Tigers will enter the fall with the same amount. The three candidates in include junior Clint Moseley, sophomore Kiehl Frazier and true freshman Zeke Pike.

Moseley spent a good chunk of last year as the starter for the Tigers, and has the most experience of anyone else on the roster. In the spring game, he completed five of his six passes for 62 yards. During last year’s regular season, he completed 55 percent of his passes for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Frazier is a dual-threat quarterback, who has nearly the entire Auburn community excited. He's a fun player to watch and would add some flair to an offense that struggled mightily last year. During the spring game, he completed seven of nine passes for 92 yards and added an extra 21 yards with his feet.

Pike is a former 4-star recruit, who has terrific size at 6'6", 225 pounds and a very strong arm. He's the dark horse in this whole competition, but with his skill set, it shouldn't be long before he's running this Auburn offense.

Auburn coaches are not ready to make a decision on who will lead this team.

Getting Ready for the Year

While most top teams will open the season against cupcakes, Auburn is set to begin the season with a huge showdown against the Clemson Tigers.

Dabo Swinney's club returns seven starters on the offensive side of the ball, a unit that averaged over 33 points per contest. Clemson is also a team that beat the Tigers last season, producing over 600 yards of total offense.

Getting off to a quick start is very important in college football; Week 1 will be bigger than ever for this young Auburn team.