Auburn Tigers Football 2011: Depth Chart Update Week 1

Through the first week of camp, the depth chart is beginning to take shape for the Tigers. There are a number of obvious questions that have lingered for the Tigers into fall camp but some separation is appearing to occur.

Auburn walked in with a number of questions at their feet and may have walked away with a few more now that fall camp has started and the coaches are getting their first look at some of the freshmen in action.

There are some positions that the Tiger coaches would like to have hammered out before the game preparation begins but there may not be enough space between some of these players to keep freshmen off the field.

Auburn has recruited extremely well in the past two seasons and given the overall youth of the team, it would not be a surprise to see a number of freshmen play frequently as early as possible. With that being said, let’s take a look at what the depth chart looks like if today was game day. 

Quarterback

The quarterback race is one that will surely go down to the wire. There has been zero separation in the race so far which has been a blessing and a curse for the Tigers. Wednesday’s scrimmage may lead to some separation, but as of now there appears to be no change.

Having no separation thus far shows that Trotter, Moseley and Frazier are working their tails off and are pushing each other hard. Trotter is the heir apparent as the returning backup but Moseley has pushed hard this offseason to catch up. Frazier is in no way ready to start, but his physical tools and mental maturity are sure to keep him in the mix.

In a perfect world, the starter would be Trotter and Auburn would go about their business. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened. The understanding is that Malzahn would like to name a starter as soon as possible but there obviously is not enough separation to make that choice.

Before fall practice started, I didn’t see the value in burning Frazier’s opportunity at a redshirt if he was going to just be a time-filler. At this point, his role looks like it will be much larger than that. The longer the competition drags out, the better it looks for Frazier to see the field this season.

Running Back

The obvious choices for the starting rotation for the Tigers are Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb. Behind the proven veterans there are some lingering questions.

Running backs coach Curtis Luper stated quite plainly earlier this week that the goal would be to have four able-bodied backs ready to go at any time on game day. He hasn’t quite had that luxury since arriving at Auburn but he may have that scenario this season.

With Tre Mason making it in before fall camp and the shift of Anthony Morgan from defensive back to running back, the Tigers will have four backs in the stable at the start of 2011. Mason has a long way to go mentally but physically he will be ready to play.

Anthony Morgan will definitely carry a portion of the load this season for the Tigers as he returns to his most natural role at running back. He will be the third back off of the bench for the Tigers and will likely be a common sight on the field for the Tigers in 2011.

Receivers

Auburn has recruited very well at the receiver position in the past two seasons. Despite losing Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery, the Tigers still are looking to be very productive in 2011.

Emory Blake earned a wealth of catches last season and he returns as a starter this year. Philip Lutzenkirchen will look to provide some leadership as well. Opposite of Blake, Quindarius Carr is the likely starter. The second inside slot is likely to be filled by Trovon Reed.

DeAngelo Benton is a player that has made the rounds through two years of expectations to produce minimally. Benton is a playmaker and has the skills; it just appears that his on-field decision-making has been lacking and Benton needs to pick it up to earn snaps.

Travante Stallworth is another player that is likely to earn some quality snaps. Stallworth is coming off of a knee injury and is looking to make it into the rotation early. Sammie Coates is a true freshman to keep an eye on.

Offensive Line

The offensive line has raised the most questions so far in the preseason. The Tigers lost four starters from the line last season and will look to rebuild with a severe lack of experience this season.

Brandon Mosley and A.J. Greene are returning seniors with experience as they were both starters at some point a year ago. Jared Cooper and John Sullen are expected to be the guards and have been in the Tigers system for the past three years.

The center position is still up for grabs but at this point I would expect Blake Burgess to earn the start. Reese Dismukes will still likely earn time. After those linemen is where the questions really start to form for the Tigers.

The youth really becomes apparent in the second-team ranks. Auburn will look to true freshmen and redshirts to provide depth on the line and that lack of experience is what concerns most onlookers. Greg Robinson and Christian Westerman have both received rave reviews and will likely be a part of the rotation at some point this season.

The Tigers have already faced some adversity on the line as A.J. Greene was being held out of practice on Tuesday with injury. The most likely stand-in would be Chad Slade or true freshman Greg Robinson at this point.

Defensive Line

Losing Nick Fairley was a huge loss. Losing four other major contributors looks to cause concern. Jeffrey Whitaker and Kenneth Carter are returning sophomores with experience but after that there is no experience on the interior.

Despite the youth, guys like Angelo Blackson and Gabe Wright are likely to push for time on the interior line behind Whitaker and Carter.

On the outside, there are numerous playmakers that will look to make an impact this season. Corey Lemonier and Nosa Eguae are the expected starters on the outside but players like Craig Sanders and Joel Bonomolo will be pushing for time.

Dee Ford and Justin Delaine are other names to watch this coming season. Ford is pushing Lemonier hard for the starting position.

Expect some different looks this season on the defensive front. The Tigers are likely to use a multitude of defensive looks and fronts to cause confusion and utilize the talent that is on the roster. Don’t be surprised to see Sanders and Eguae line up on the inside from time to time. 

Linebackers

Auburn loses two of its top tacklers for the past two seasons at linebacker in 2011. There is an obvious void that will have to be filled for Tigers to be effective defensively. Jake Holland and Daren Bates appear to be solid in their positions while the final outside spot remains open.

The battle for the third spot in the rotation has come down to Eltoro Freeman and Jonathan Evans. Both players have starts under their belts and have earned their fare of snaps in the past. The likelihood is that they will both earn time but that Freeman gets the starting nod.

Behind the starting rotation looks to be Evans, Harris Gaston and Jawara White. There will be a number of freshmen like Chris Landrum and Justin Garrett that will have a chance to make an impact.

Defensive Secondary

Auburn looks pretty solid at the safety position this fall. With the shift of Neiko Thorpe to safety and Demetruce McNeal seeing his share of time a year ago, the Tigers should be set. There will be an opportunity for Ikeem Means and Erique Florence to play this season as well as both look to be on track to earn time.

On the outside is where some youth is sure to show through. T’Sharvan Bell will undoubtedly be one of the starting corners but opposite of Bell there are questions. Chris Davis is the penciled starter after receiving playing time a year ago but he is being pushed by Jonathon Mincy and Robinson Therezie.

Auburn is likely to involve a lot of nickel coverage in this year’s defensive schemes and they look to finally have the talent to cover the ground needed. Look for Jonathan Rose, Therezie and Jermaine Whitehead to be possibilities this fall as well.

Special Teams

The specialists may be one of the most important cogs in the machine for the Tigers as last year Auburn used Wes Byrum to win a number of games.

Replacing Byrum will be Cody Parkey. Parkey has had his mix of inconsistency but he earned some much-needed time last season. Behind Parkey is Chandler Brooks. Brooks is a rising walk-on senior and is pushing to earn some kicks.

The starting punter is going to be Steven Clark. Despite his struggles last year he is really the only viable option the Tigers have. The hope has to be that he turns it on by the time the season arrives.