April 1, 2017
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Auburn scrimmaged for 55 plays Saturday - ones against ones, twos against twos ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" the Tigers' final practice at Jordan-Hare Stadium before A-Day.
"In all three phases, I really like where we're at," coach Gus Malzahn said. "Our guys are competing. They've got a good attitude. A 'Coach me, coach' attitude, so I feel good about where we're at overall."
Malzahn estimated that the scrimmage featured a 60-40 run/pass ratio, similar to Auburn's first scrimmage last week.
"I like the way that both sides are competing," Malzahn said. "That's really what's standing out to me. One side is not giving in to the other. They both brought great energy. They both were very competitive. It's good this late in the spring that you have that."
C.J. Tolbert scored a rushing touchdown while linebacker Tre' Williams returned an interception for a touchdown, said players who spoke with reporters after the scrimmage.
"We had a couple takeaways," said defensive back Nick Ruffin. "We had an interception and a fumble. We had a couple tackles for loss. It was a good day for us."
A-Day, unlike Auburn's first two scrimmages, will feature the first-team offense against the second-team defense, and the No. 1 defense against the No. 2 offense.
"The good thing is I feel like we have more depth now," Malzahn said. "The twos, it could be more competitive than it has been in the past, which is always good.
"The challenge we have this year is, we have quite a few who feel like are ones, even though you have two, I know in one case, three at the one position. I look for it to be a really competitive game."
The Tigers will practice twice more before returning to the stadium Saturday, April 8 at 1 p.m. for A-Day presented by Golden Flake.
"It's like a payoff," said defensive lineman Dontavius Russell. "Because you get tired of hitting your own teammates. You get to play in front of somebody. We're still hitting each other, but you're playing in front of a real crowd, a live game situation, no coaches on the field except Coach Malazhn. It's more fun because you can't script those situations and what's going to happen."
"It should be fun," Ruffin said. "It's always a great day to have Jordan-Hare packed with nothing but 85,000 screaming Auburn fans, so it's going to be a lot of fun."
🏈Opening statement from @CoachGusMalzahn after @AuburnFootball scrimmage No. 2. A-Day next Saturday. pic.twitter.com/ifFlxlL9QB
- Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) April 1, 2017
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer