Auburn Football 2011: Tigers' Spring Training Offensive Preview

Looking at a decent approximation of the spring depth chart for the Auburn offense, a few things seemed to come into focus. The following observations are made from the history of Gus Malzahn as an offensive coordinator and the talent available at each position. No inside knowledge was used to come to these conclusions and this should be considered as speculative analysis.

The Auburn offense is extremely deep at offensive center, offensive guard, wide receiver and tight end/h-back. Depth is not as good at running back as has been the case traditionally.

Athletic playmakers are in great supply on the depth chart. These are the kinds of players that can get the ball in space and make plays happen.

There are only two inside running backs on the roster. Mike Dyer and Tre Mason will be the only two real inside threats. Players like Onterio McCalebb, Quan Bray and Anthony Gully-Morgan are great threats to the outside.

With the exceptional depth at guard and center the offensive line should be able to avoid pocket collapsing pressure from up the middle. This should allow for a short passing strategy to be used to get athletes the ball in space.

These factors point to a very potent short-passing attack to take the place of some of the inside running from 2010. This should open up the running game and allow some medium- and long-range passing plays as well.

Expect many of these plays to be short high percentage passes that are very hard to defend. They are also a particularly effective way to attack a 3-4 defensive scheme which Auburn will face in at least three games in 2011.

The Auburn offense had 3002 yards passing in 2010 and 3987 yards rushing. Expect these numbers to flip in favor of passing yards in 2011.

The Auburn offense will look very different in 2011. Expect Gus Malzahn to utilize the abundance of talent available to turn out another stellar offensive performance. In 2007 the Gus Malzahn-led Tulsa offense had almost two passing yards for every rushing yard. The 2011 Auburn offense might not see such a drastic change, but change it likely will.  

Early predictions for the Auburn spring offensive depth chart are:

Quarterback

Barrett Trotter, junior, 6’2” 211 pounds

Clint Moseley, sophomore, 6’3” 223 pounds

Summer Addition

Keihl Frazier, freshman, 6’3” 212 pounds

H Back

Philip Lutzenkirchen, junior, 6’4” 246 pounds

Ladarious Phillips, freshman, 6’0” 291 pounds

Summer Additions

CJ Uzomah, freshman, 6’5” 230 pounds

Brandon Fulse, freshman, 6’4” 247 pounds

Running Back

Michael Dyer, sophomore, 5’9” 215 pounds

Summer Additions

Tre Mason, freshman, 5’10” 190 pounds

Scat Back

Onterio McCalebb, 5’10” 171 pounds

Anthony Gully-Morgan, junior, 5’8” 185 pounds

Summer Additions

Quan Bray, freshman, 5’11” 180 pounds

Wide Receiver

Emory Blake, junior, 6’1” 192 pounds

DeAngelo Benton, junior, 6’2” 201 pounds

Quindarius Carr, senior, 6’1” 196 pounds

Trovon Reed, freshman, 6’0” 181 pounds

Antonio Goodwin, sophomore, 6’1” 173 pounds

Shaun Kitchens, sophomore, 6’3” 217 pounds

Derek Winter, senior, 6’0” 208 pounds

Travante Stallworth, sophomore, 5’9” 180 pounds

Philip Pierre-Louis, junior, 5’8” 150 pounds

Summer Additions

Jaylen Denson, freshman, 6’3” 190 pounds

Sammie Coats, freshman, 6’3” 170 pounds

Center

Blake Burgess, sophomore, 6’2” 280 pounds

Tunde Fariyike, freshman, 6’2” 320 pounds

Reese Dismukes, freshman, 6’4” 295 pounds

Guard

Eric Mack, freshman, 6’3” 345 pounds

John Sullen, junior 6’6” 312 pounds

Gregory Robinson, freshman, 6’5” 300 pounds

Thomas O’Reilly, freshman, 6’3” 330 pounds

Jared Cooper, senior, 6’4” 300 pounds

Ed Christian, freshman, 6’4” 280 pounds

Andre Harris, sophomore, 6’3” 318 pounds

Summer Additions

Christian Westerman, freshman, 6’5” 290 pounds

Tackle

Brandon Mosley, senior, 6’6” 300 pounds

A.J. Greene, senior, 6’5” 290 pounds

Chad Slade, freshman, 6’5” 316 pounds

Aubre Phillips, freshman, 6’6” 310 pounds

Dakota Mosley, freshman, 6’4” 259 pounds (Heavy Tight End)

Shon Coleman, freshman, 6’7” 285 pounds (not expected to play in 2011)

Heights and weights are approximations based on the latest information available; hopefully more current information will become available during spring practice.

Expect to hear names like Trovon Reed, CJ Uzomah and Quan Bray along with the wildcat formation this year. Auburn has the right talent to get a lot of mileage out of this formation in 2011.