newcomers looked good in first scrimmage

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Auburn’s newcomers looked good in first scrimmage

By Giana Han

4-5 minutes

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Tank Bigsby (4) Auburn football practice in shells on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020 in Auburn, Ala. Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Auburn’s first game is in five weeks, which means Gus Malzahn has just five weeks to figure out which of his newcomers are ready to contribute immediately and what areas they need to improve on.

Normally, Auburn wouldn’t start scrimmaging in its first week of fall camp, but Auburn didn’t have the benefit of spring ball to work with transfers and early enrollees. The coaches felt like it was a priority to get the ball in their players hands. Malzahn said that they do have plenty of time, but they needed to see their players in game situations.

“It was more of… ‘Alright, here’s where we’re at, and we’ve got five weeks to get to where we want to be,’ " Malzahn said.

The choice turned out to be a good one. They were able to evaluate their players, and Malzahn was pleased with what he saw. Despite the lack of spring ball for the early enrollees and the social distancing restrictions on workouts, the new players were very well-prepared.

The NCAA allowed walk-throughs at the end of the summer to make up for the long break away from sports, and it allowed them to put in almost all of the base of both the offense and defense.

“So it was just really unique from that standpoint,” Malzahn said. “They’ve got a better understanding than any other young group has before this early in practice.”

The newcomers still showed the usual need to adjust to the speed of the game. When everyone’s “flying around” in the first scrimmage, “obviously that’s a shock to most all the freshmen’s system the first time,” Malzahn said. However, there weren’t many “busts” or missed assignments, which was a positive for Auburn to work with.

The coaching staff now has a better idea of its working pieces. Running back Tank Bigsby, who was the highest-rated signee of the class of 2020, was given an equal number of carries to the older running backs. Malzahn said he saw some good runs out of that group.

The offensive line, which features six new faces — three freshmen, two junior college transfers and one transfer — had a “solid” first week and is learning to work together. Malzahn said no decisions have been made, but they have a lot of players battling for the top positions.

Auburn’s new offensive coordinator Chad Morris is known for using his tight ends in the receiving game, and Malzahn said he sees a lot of talent in the two freshmen. All of the new quarterbacks got reps at the scrimmage, and the new defensive linemen got an extra set. Additionally, the new linebackers are “what we thought” they were and just need more experience.

Overall, the evaluation from Malzahn was that a lot of the new players just need more experience, and Malzahn has scrimmages scheduled for the next three Saturdays to get them that experience. With the need for a deeper roster, their readiness is essential for Auburn’s success.

For now, Auburn has a starting set of information to work off of, and on top of that, it came away from the scrimmage, which included 92 plays, without any major injuries.

“That’s always good, too,” Malzahn said.