Auburn Football Practice Info

[BleacherBull]

From the 8/16 Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, GA) . . .

Auburn coaches still upset with offense

BY CHRISTA TURNER - turnerc@ledger-enquirer.com --

AUBURN, Ala. ­ A day after Auburn's offense was called out by head coach Tommy Tuberville, offensive coordinator Al Borges wasn't in a mood to play ­and he told his group that in no uncertain terms.

The Tigers practiced twice on Wednesday, their final two-a-day of the fall. Classes begin today and the players will have their first off day since starting practices on Aug. 2. Borges used his time on Wednesday morning to hammer home some key plays. He also used it to make sure his team knows they're expected to do things right.

Tuberville specifically pointed out the lackluster performance of his receivers, which drew them extra work following Tuesday night's practice.

"The problem is we're not making some routine plays, whether it's the receivers or quarterbacks," Borges said. "It isn't just the receivers. It's both of them. When guys are open, we've got to hit them. When we've got pass protection, we're not completing as many balls as we should."

Last time

The Tigers practiced for about 90 minutes during the second practice of the day, then wrapped it up with the watermelon tradition.

Tuberville sat for a while and ate watermelon, as did his players and coaches as they finished post-practice drills. It's been a tradition for the last day of practice on the sun-baked intramural fields.

The Tigers will be off today, then scrimmage on Friday night.

Choosing three

Tuberville said he wanted to cut down from five quarterbacks to three, but he probably didn't want it to be because of attrition.

Redshirt freshman Neil Caudle separated his right shoulder in last Saturday's scrimmage, while fellow redshirt freshman Steven Ensminger has a sore shoulder. That leaves the Tigers with starter Brandon Cox, last year's backup Blake Field and true freshman Kodi Burns.

"I've got two quarterbacks on the shelf right now, so it is what it is," Borges said.

Field has also had problems with his soreness in his throwing shoulder. Borges said Field is making just enough throws to warm up, then throwing sparingly until team 11-on-11 drills.

"Blake's been throwing the ball pretty good. He's had some good practices," Borges said.

Borges said the Tigers are behind in the passing game, but he plans to change that immediately.

"We're going to keep working on it until we get it straight," Borges said. "We're going to reach a point where we can make those plays in our sleep. Right now, we're not there."

Shoemaker returns

Redshirt freshman Ryan Shoemaker returned to practice after missing several days with a groin injury.

Tuberville said he has some ground to make up and cited the play of freshman Wes Byrum, who added punting to his repertoire with Shoemaker out.

"Wesley Byrum passed them all up (Wednesday)," Tuberville said. "Punting, kicking ­ he's liable to do it all. He won't do it, but he's the type who just comes out and gets it done. He's been more consistent."

Shoemaker said he's focusing on consistency and not worrying about who will punt in Auburn's Sept. 1 opener against Kansas State. That's likely the right approach since Tuberville said he wouldn't name a starter until the week before the game.

"It's about what I'm doing now instead of what happened," Shoemaker said.

Receiver rotation

Receivers coach Greg Knox worked his inexperienced receiving corps until the point of dropping on Tuesday night.

He wasn't concerned about the fatigue factor, knowing it prompted Tuesday's lack of concentration.

"We've got to push through it," Knox said. "You've got to stay strong and push through it. The whole team has been through it, so one group can't buckle in and give in under it. We're all tired. We're all hurt. We're all sore. But you have to keep pushing."

Knox's mission will be finding six receivers for his rotation. Rod Smith, Robert Dunn and Prechae Rodriguez are closest to being locked in after working on the first team, while Tim Hawthorne and James Swinton are two other likely candidates. Montez Billings was working ahead of Rodriguez at the flanker position, but has missed more than a week with a hamstring injury.

He would be the most likely sixth person if he can return to form once he's back from the injury. Others vying for playing time include redshirt freshman Terrell Zachery and freshman Chris Slaughter.

"I know there are five that can help us right now," Knox said. "We're looking for that sixth one to emerge."