Notable and quotable: The best of from the position coach roundtable

Notable and quotable: The best of from the position coach roundtableNotable and quotable: The best of from the position coach roundtable

AUBURN, Ala. – After zooming through Picture Day in record time, Auburn's position coaches met with reporters Thursday, providing updates as the Tigers reach the midpoint of preseason.
 
Here are excerpts from the coaches' 60-minute session:
 
Greg Brown, safeties
 
On Jeremiah Dinson: "It's a joy working with him. Outstanding human being. Outstanding both on and off the field. Love being around Jeremiah. He's a proven veteran. He's got experience. He's made plays in big games for us. And he is a very fast thinker. He sees things, processes very fast, gets us into the right call. He's a joy to be around."
 
On freshman DBs: "Here's what it is. We are a work in progress. Until we actually play a game and somebody does something, we're just trying to get better every day, trying to fit guys in and see if the chemistry is right, trying to incorporate the guys into what we do at an Auburn level and see if we can play the type of defense that Coach [Kevin] Steele has instilled here."
 
Kodi Burns, wide receivers
 
On Noah Igbinoghene moving to CB: "I was heartbroken. For one, because I love Noah. He really improved right there towards the end at receiver last year. What transpired was before Eli got hurt. Once Eli got hurt, then I was borderline depressed because I'm like 'Man, I lost Noah, but Noah is doing a heck of a job on defense.' He's an extremely talented DB. I know Coach Woodson is extremely happy to have him, and he's going to help our team."
 
On freshman WRs: "These four guys, as far as just pure receivers, I'm excited to see what they can do. I think the sky is the limit with the talent. The ability is out the roof. These guys are natural. Great ball skills, can really run routes, and they've got some toughness about them already. So just to watch these guys grow over the years is going to be something special."
 
Rodney Garner, defensive line
 
On Marlon Davidson: "He loves football. He's a throwback when it comes to that part of it. He's such a competitor that he thinks Marlon is the best player on every team. He thinks he's the best player in America. That's good. That's how he's wired. I know he has that burning desire inside of him to want to be a special player. And he wants to be a leader. We're constantly reminding them that we have so much room for growth. I always say, 'The worst thing people can say about us is that we've got potential.' That is not a compliment. We've got to make sure that we show up and we execute a high level."
 
Tim Horton, running backs
 
On coaching thousand-yard rushers: "There are three things you're looking for. No.1, does the kid have the talent? Of all the different thousand-yard SEC rushers I've had the chance to coach, all of them were good players. They were talented. They were big. They were strong. They were fast. They could make you miss. They had ball skills. No. 2, is the character component. Do they have the character? No. 3, does he have the toughness because that thousand-yard rusher has to have the toughness."
 
J.B. Grimes, offensive line:
 
"If we had to play today, I know who I would want to jog out there for that first play. It would be Tega at left tackle, Harrell at left guard, Kim at center, Horton at right guard and Driscoll at right tackle, if we had to play today. We're still a work in progress."
 
"No. 70, Calvin Ashley, immensely talented. We've got to continue to develop him and grow him. He's still a young guy. You don't just throw an offensive lineman into the grease and pull him out like you do a piece of fried catfish. You've got to put him in the oven. You've got to bake him awhile. And then you pull him out. He's making strides. And Austin Troxell, he's an SEC caliber player, but we've just got to get him better stronger and fundamentally. And that's what we're doing right now."
 
Larry Porter, H-Back, tight ends, special teams
 
On Chandler Cox: "To know him is to love him. He's solid as a person. He's solid as a student. He's solid as a football player. He's a coach's dream. I love him. There's nothing I wouldn't do for him, and I'm just happy to be his coach."
 
On freshman punter Arryn Siposs: "When I took this role, I hadn't met him. There was just a lot of conversation on the phone. You get him here and the first thing you want to do is just get him settled and comfortable, and I didn't know how long that process would take. I knew he had leg talent and leg strength. He's handled it quite well. But more importantly, our guys have kind of rallied around him and embraced him, and that's been probably the No. 1 thing that has allowed to become comfortable and get settled as quickly as he's done."
 
Travis Williams, linebackers
 
"I think one of the biggest reasons why our room is like that is because we have a room of competition. I don't know who's going to play. Who practiced the best? That's who's going to play. So you come in every day and you create that culture of competition, and I think the guys have bought into that. They respect that to where coach is not giving the position to someone. If you're out there, you earned it. If you're going to be out there and you're going to represent Auburn linebackers and all the linebackers that came before you, you're going to earn it."
 
On freshman Zakoby McClain: "South Georgia, Valdosta tough. He'll fight a chain saw. That joker, he's tough. He really is a tough football player. He just has natural instincts as a linebacker. He can unlock his hips as a linebacker. He's explosive. He loves football from what I've seen in the two weeks of practice. So I'm excited about seeing his growth, seeing his progress."
 
Marcus Woodson, cornerbacks
 
"Being relative to where I'm at, this group by far has the most potential of any I've been around. And they're working every day to meet that potential. I'm excited to have a guy like Jamel Dean, Javaris Davis, Noah Iggy, Jeremiah Dinson, Daniel Thomas – those guys are fun to coach. With the young guys in Smoke Monday, Jamien Sherwood, Christian Tutt, the future is bright. I like where we're at right now personnel-wise. We've got to go out and just play up to the level that we're capable of and continue to bring difference makers in the future classes."