Aug. 9, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Stephen Roberts says Auburn's offense kept him and his defensive buddies on the go in Tuesday's scrimmage in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
He's OK with that.
The defensive back said the trio of Jeremy Johnson, Sean White and John Franklin III had the offense on the go in the first scrimmage of preseason work.
"All of them were working together to try to pace the offense, so that was pretty good to have all three of them in the backfield knowing they can make plays and execute the way they were supposed to," Roberts said.
Auburn used the scrimmage to judge the quarterbacks as Gus Malzahn moves to naming a starter. He didn't after the scrimmage that featured Johnson, White and Franklin sharing time with the first and second-team offense, and freshman Woody Barrett getting extensive time with the third team.
Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said before the scrimmage that he was looking for quicker pace than last season. Roberts said the pace was good Tuesday. Malzahn made it happen by running the ball 60-65 percent of the time, and giving the third team plenty of looks, too. White, Johnson and Franklin each led the offense to a touchdown.
"We weren't real fancy on either side. But overall, solid day," Malzahn said.
Auburn was to practice again Tuesday afternoon with the quarterback race still undecided. Malzahn said Auburn would scrimmage again this weekend, looking again to see how they'd react.
"In this league, things are going to break down because of the defenses. You've got to protect the football. You need to make a play when things break down. We're watching all those things from above while all three are getting equal reps with the ones and twos. I want to see how they react with both groups. I want to see how the players in the groups react to them as far as their leadership, as far as their energy and their belief. So we're evaluating that right now."
Quarterback rotation: Gus Malzahn put his guys in action in Tuesday's scrimmage. Video pic.twitter.com/75YcZaefSO
- Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) August 9, 2016
Malzahn also saidÃÆ'¢Ãƒ¢'¬¦
**"It was a big special teams day" which included tackling on punts and kickoffs.
"We were looking for effort. We were looking for intensity, guys who can make plays and guys who can be coachable. I think we've got some really good information."
**The scrimmage got off to a fast start.
"They weren't sleepwalking. Sometimes it takes them a while to get going. I didn't feel that way from anybody. I felt the urgency. They wanted to come out here and play together. It was positive energy."
**"It looked to me like we tackled pretty well. We're pretty basic on defense, and that was to be able to evaluate. We want the guys to have to think a lot to see what they can do physically. That was good."
**The running backs did well.
"I think for the most part, they protected the football. I think we did have one ball on the ground from the running back position. There was a lot of guys that touched the ball. Out of the probably 65 runs, I think there was only one ball on the ground."
**Freshman receiver Eli Stove won praise.
"He made one good catch that really stood out. We were trying to give those young guys chances right there to show what they can do. All those receivers will have a chance to help us this year. We do know that, just from a talent standpoint.
"Today's really good just to see them in a big picture and how they're going to react. I think some of those young guys played with the twos also, just to try to give them a better chance within the offense and some with the three quarterbacks also."
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine