AUBLOG MAILBAG

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Auburn University Football AU BLOG MAILBAG: Has the door been opened for John Franklin III to get more playing time?

Shanna Lockwood

Posted: Friday, October 7, 2016 11:55 am | Updated: 11:55 am, Fri Oct 7, 2016.

Josh Vitale | AU Writer
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In anticipation of Saturday’s game at Mississippi State, a number of fellow Auburn beat writers have suggest to me that I buy myself a pair of earplugs to prepare for the cowbells of Davis Wade Stadium.

I’m sure they have my best interests at heart. But, perhaps stupidly, I’m not going to listen. I’m going into Starkville ears wide open.

I’ve covered 14 regular-season college football games in my young career. Eleven of those have been home games — five at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium and six a Maryland’s Byrd (now Maryland) Stadium.

The only three road games I’ve covered (all on the Terps beat in 2012) were at Temple, which played at noon in a tepid, half-filled Lincoln Financial Field; at West Virginia, which was a fantastic, if not SEC-level, atmosphere; and regular Virginia, which to this day leaves me thoroughly unimpressed.

So I’m excited for my first taste of Mississippi State’s cowbells. And if, as some people have warned me, the constant clanging permeates my brain and settles into my consciousness like a tapeworm, at least I’ll have all of Auburn’s bye week to get the ringing out of my head.

So with that, we get to this week’s mailbag. As always, you can tweet, Facebook or email me your questions every week. I will answer the best ones on Friday.

Here we go:

It looks like offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee thinks pace is critical to maxing out with this group. Is that a new opinion for him, or did he and Gus Malzahn disagree?

— Playcaller (@badnocall)

I don’t know if there was ever a disagreement on this topic. Malzahn and Lashlee have been steadfast since the fall that they wanted to see the trademark pace return to the Auburn offense this season after it had admittedly slowed down last year, and it’s clear the Tigers are at their best when they’re going fast. Six of Auburn’s eight touchdown drives against Louisiana-Monroe needed seven or more plays to complete, but none of them took longer than 3:53 off the clock and four lasted less than three minutes.

How does Sean White move from game manager to playmaker?

— John (@elcarg)

In this offense, on this team, I don’t think he does. And that’s not a bad thing. He doesn’t need to throw for 350 yards and three touchdowns every week for Auburn to be successful. The Tigers need him to execute the game plan, which calls for a heavy dose of Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway in the run game and White throwing downfield just enough to keep the defense honest. And in the two games since Lashlee took over play calling duties, White has done a great job of that. In wins over LSU and ULM, the sophomore completed 77 percent of his passes for 473 yards, three total touchdowns and zero interceptions. If White keeps completing 70-plus percent of passes, avoids turnovers and helps the offense find a little more success in the red zone than it did against LSU, Auburn is going to win more games than it loses the rest of the way.

Do you think Darius James has a chance to start? Watching him in the big package, he absolutely dominates in run blocking?

— FightinFriars (@fightinfriars)

James, who started at left tackle against Louisiana-Monroe after regular starter Austin Golson slid back to center to fill in for the injured Xavier Dampeer, did look good in the run game, and White said he never felt any pressure from that side in the pass game. But you have to take the performance with a grain of salt. The Warhawks defensive line group was smaller than some SEC linebacking corps, featuring no player in the two-deep rotation weighing more than 290 pounds and having five who weigh 250 pounds or less. James starting has given the Tigers another option on the offensive line should they need it, but Lashlee and Malzahn have made it seem like their intent is to move Golson back to left tackle and put Dampeer back at center once he’s healthy.

Who is the most undervalued player on Auburn’s defense?

— Zac (@zblackerby)

This question comes from friend of the Opelika-Auburn News Zac Blackerby, who (shameless plug) hosts The Lunch Break on ESPN 106.7 along with my fearless editor Dana Sulonen weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. And I feel a little strange answering it this way, but I’m going to say Rudy Ford has been the most undervalued player on Auburn’s defense this season. Linebackers Deshaun Davis, Tre’ Williams and Darrell Williams have become breakout stars; defensive lineman Carl Lawson, Montravius Adams and Marlon Davidson have gotten the credit they deserve; and Carlton Davis and Josh Holsey have locked things down for the most part at the cornerback position. But Ford, who has led Auburn in tackling in each of the past two seasons from the nickel corner spot, is excelling again. The senior leads the team with 31 tackles and five pass breakups, and he ranks third with 3 ½ tackles for loss. According to the film studies done by SEC Country’s Justin Ferguson, Ford has been targeted 13 times over Auburn’s past three games and has surrendered just six catches for 37 yards. He’s given the Tigers exactly what they expected, but everyone else has played so well that he’s almost taken a backseat.

Has the door been opened for John Franklin III to get more playing time?

— WAR_EAGLE! (@War__Eagle)

The official answer from Malzahn and Lashlee remained relatively unchanged on this topic, even after Auburn’s backup quarterback rushed for an 80-yard touchdown and threw a 39-yarder against ULM. Franklin is still “getting better each week” and is “more comfortable” in the offense, and Auburn coaches taking it “week to week” as they evaluate his readiness to contribute. But I think there’s a chance Franklin gets more opportunities to play soon in more ways than just as White’s backup in the tail end of blowouts. Malzahn hinted Thursday that there were “two or three” players other than Kerryon Johnson that he felt comfortable with running the speed sweep out of the slot, and when asked this past Sunday if Franklin could get a shot at doing that, Lashlee said it was a possibility. Malzahn also said that Auburn’s bread and butter in the red zone will continue to be running the ball, and if the Tigers struggle doing that with White the way they did against LSU, I could potentially see Franklin coming in near the goal line to run the zone read and give the defense another threat to worry about, especially now that he’s flashed more ability in the passing game.