defensive line demonstrates it depth

[aubiefifty 18,231]

al.com

 

Auburn’s defensive line demonstrates it depth

By Giana Han

5-6 minutes

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For 30 long minutes Saturday, it looked like Kentucky’s experience on the offensive line was going to prevail over the untested talent on the Auburn defensive line. The Wildcats accumulated 120 yards on the ground and dominated on third down attempts through the first half.

But after the half ended with what could have been a momentum-stealing targeting call on Auburn, the defensive line came out and shut the Kentucky offense down, showing off defensive coordinator Kevin Steele’s coaching skill and defensive line coach Rodney Garner’s ability to develop depth.

On paper, Kentucky came in with the advantage up front. All of its offensive line starters were upperclassmen, and the SEC coaches named two of them preseason All-SEC players. Darian Kinnard made the first team while Landon Young made the second.

Meanwhile, Auburn’s only All-SEC player on the line, Big Kat Bryant, was out with an ankle injury to start the game. Bryant is also one of Auburn’s two returning starters on the defensive line, so Auburn had to play without one of its leaders. On top of that, four-star defensive tackle Jay Hardy and four-star defensive end Dre Butler were both injured. The defensive depth Auburn so proudly develops was put to test early on.

The difference between the levels of experience was evident at the start of the game. The Wildcats came out and rushed 82 yards on 13 carries, averaging 6.3 yards per carry in the first quarter. They converted on five of six third downs, and three of those third downs were picked up on the ground. The Wildcats were also the first to score with a 35-yard touchdown run.

Through it all, defensive tackle Daquan Newkirk, who earned the start when Bryant couldn’t go, was trying to keep his teammates' confidence up, especially since a number of them were young players. Freshman Zykeivous Walker, junior college transfer Marquis Burks both saw time, and sophomore Derick Hall got his second career start.

“I was just telling them to focus up and just take it snap-by-snap and key on all your assignments,” said Newkirk, who had six tackles and a sack Saturday. “Just focus. I told them ‘Coach G has coached us well. We’re well-coached and he puts us in situations and we know what to do. Just stay poised.’”

Auburn managed to tighten it up a little in the second quarter, bringing Kentucky’s average on runs down to 3.2 yards per carry. The Tigers stopped them on three out of five third down attempts, but two out of the three successful third downs were on the ground. Both of Auburn’s stops were on pass plays.

“The first half was pretty shaky,” Newkirk said.

The line may have been frustrated, but it didn’t lose its confidence in its ability or in its coaches. Whenever the Tigers face a challenge, they know to listen to Steele, the “mastermind to it all,” Newkirk said. Sure enough, Steele had corrections for them, and they started the second half looking a lot more like the Auburn defensive lines of old.

“It was more just guys being where they were supposed to be and doing all their assignments,” Newkirk said. “We made sure we keyed on our assignments and there were no more mistakes throughout the second half.”

As a result, the Wildcats only succeeded in rushing 25 yards, averaging 1.7 yards per carry in the second half. They went just 4-9 on third down and gave up a sack.

“We could see it on their face, they were tired,” Newkirk said. “They were actually shocked, honestly. I could say they were shocked because they thought we were going to be nothing. We definitely proved them wrong.”

While the Wildcats were getting tired, the Tigers were getting hype. Not only were they dominating, but they also got Bryant back in the second half. He made one tackle with his injured ankle.

“We all came together, man, and got real hyped when he came out there,” linebacker Owen Pappoe said. “We were having fun.”

While Auburn would have liked to have Bryant earlier and to have all its players healthy, it benefitted in some ways from having to adjust.

“The good thing is that a lot of guys got a chance to play,” coach Gus Malzahn said. “It was good to see that the guys out there — we’re always talking about developing depth and we got a chance to do that on Saturday.”

The win and the dominant second half gave the Auburn defensive line a lot of confidence moving forward, especially since the Kentucky offensive line was so highly touted. As it prepares to face No. 4 Georgia on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., it will carry the memory of its victory with it.

“It definitely will help us going on the road coming next week, give them some good feels,” Newkirk said.

[McLoofus 35,182]

I keep telling people... we don't have a couple 10s like last year... but we've got a LOT of 7s and 8s and maybe even a 9 in there. It makes a huge difference. Your DL is supposed to get tired before the other team's OL, but the opposite happened this past Saturday and it might happen again against uga. Not holding my breath for that, though. 

[Sani-Freeze 552]

That's the first I had heard about Hardy and Butler being injured. Anyone know their status this week? 

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

4 minutes ago, Sani-Freeze said:

That's the first I had heard about Hardy and Butler being injured. Anyone know their status this week? 

Last I heard was "hopeful". I also remember when Carl Lawson was a hopeful and a gametime decision for an entire season. 

[Swamp Eagle 5,269]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I keep telling people... we don't have a couple 10s like last year... but we've got a LOT of 7s and 8s and maybe even a 9 in there. It makes a huge difference. Your DL is supposed to get tired before the other team's OL, but the opposite happened this past Saturday and it might happen again against uga. Not holding my breath for that, though. 

Anyone holding their breath for Gus to beat Georgia should be on suicide watch...

[toddc 13,197]

15 minutes ago, Swamp Eagle said:

Anyone holding their breath for Gus to beat Georgia should be on suicide watch...

What about with “baited breath”? 😝 

Bated breath is a phrase that means to hold one’s breath due to suspense, trepidation or fear.

[Win4AU 4,182]

So does Hall have to sit out the first half against UGA?  I forget how these targeting penalties work.  Need Big Kat back this weekend.  Hopefully that's why he sat last week.  A pass rush against any of the qbs that UGA throws out there will play a huge part in how much improved they are on offense.  Auburn didn't really show one last week till later in the game.  Stopping Georgia's running game will be huge too.  Make Georgia one dimensional and let the DBs go to work.  

[AuburnNTexas 7,317]

36 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

So does Hall have to sit out the first half against UGA?  I forget how these targeting penalties work.  Need Big Kat back this weekend.  Hopefully that's why he sat last week.  A pass rush against any of the qbs that UGA throws out there will play a huge part in how much improved they are on offense.  Auburn didn't really show one last week till later in the game.  Stopping Georgia's running game will be huge too.  Make Georgia one dimensional and let the DBs go to work.  

Since it occurred in the 1st half and he sat out the second half he can play against Georgia in the 1st half.

[bigbird 60,939]

38 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

So does Hall have to sit out the first half against UGA?  I forget how these targeting penalties work.  Need Big Kat back this weekend.  Hopefully that's why he sat last week.  A pass rush against any of the qbs that UGA throws out there will play a huge part in how much improved they are on offense.  Auburn didn't really show one last week till later in the game.  Stopping Georgia's running game will be huge too.  Make Georgia one dimensional and let the DBs go to work.  

No, the 2nd half was his suspension