Sept. 15, 2016
By Charles Goldberg
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- The veterans and the young guys have already impressed in Auburn's increasingly deep defensive line, and that playing rotation could come in handy again Saturday when the Tigers meet Texas A&M in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said Wednesday that Carl Lawson's demanding nature and the rise of freshmen such as Derrick Brown and the starting ability of freshman Marlon Davidson should be a benefit over the long haul of an SEC season.
The first stop of conference play is Saturday at 6 p.m. against the Aggies in what has become a shootout series.
"This is a monumental challenge because it's in the SEC," Steele said.
The average score in the four Auburn-A&M games since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012? A healthy 44-28. The winning team has scored as many as 61. The losing team as many as 41.
Steele can find solace this time in the steady play of his defense, a 19-13 loss to Clemson and a 51-14 win over Arkansas State. His mix of experience, freshmen and transfers has allowed him to use a lot of players, and that has been particularly true in the defensive line.
"We've talked before about the number of guys we've got and the number of guys we're going to play," Steele said. "They played well. Are they perfect? We still have to refine our skill sets. But the thing it is allowing us to do is to keep them fresh, and in this day of hurry-up no-huddle offenses to keep the defensive line fresh and to have enough to do it without the talent level dropping is a huge advantage."
The starters in the defensive line have been Lawson, Davidson, Montravius Adams and Dontavius Russell. And then the fresh players come in.
"They're all becoming about equal. They can go at any point in time. And they go early," Steele said. "I don't know that we really, with that group, would say this is first, second or third. It's just next man up and keep and fresh."
Brown is a freshman who is fitting in. He recovered a fumble in the opener.
And he wasn't letting go.
"We teach them if you're in traffic, get on it, curl it up, don't get up until you hear the whistle. He followed that to the T," Steele said. "They had to go back and get him off the ground. He was curled up like a little baby."
But don't be fooled by that baby talk.
"He's so emotionally mature and mentally mature, and he's physically mature. That's the trifecta," Steele said. "It's rare, as a freshman, to have all three of those. He's improved and improved and improved. He does some things sometimes. He's a very gifted young man."
Lawson, recognized as a team leader, doesn't have big stats, yet. But his impact is felt.
"Carl is obsessive/compulsive about the game of football, and that's a great thing," Steele said. "He's harder on himself than any of us could ever be. He thinks if they throw it 10 times he ought to have six sacks. That's a good thing.
"He's been very productive. His numbers will come. He's been very productive and he's done his job."
Charles Goldberg is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @AUGoldMine