AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn scrimmaged for approximately 100 plays Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium with the first-team offense competing against the No. 1 defense in the Tigers' eighth preseason practice.
"Plenty of things to clean up, plenty of work to do, there's always going to be things we can improve on," said Bryan Harsin, who will make his debut as Auburn's head coach in three weeks. "We had a good time out there playing and I think that's the most important thing."
Auburn's first three units each were on the field for roughly 35 plays, Harsin said.
Intending to start at 6 p.m. CT to equate the kickoff time of the season opener on Sept. 4 vs. Akron, the scrimmage started an hour later because of heavy rain and lightning in the area.
"Great night, even with the delay," he said. "Playing football. We love it."
Auburn's defense forced turnovers via fumbles and interceptions, Harsin said.
"Those are game-changing when we play for real," he said. "I thought the D-line played pretty well. Our linebackers were headed downhill. There were some negative plays that the defense created. I thought that front seven did well. The secondary, some good things back there."
Edge rusher Derick Hall works agaisnst Austin Troxell in Auburn's first preseason scrimmage
The offense enjoyed moments of success as well, Harsin said.
"The wide receivers tonight really made a lot of progress, and it showed up in the scrimmage," he said. "They caught the ball well. They were able to get some yards after catch. They had some good plays in critical moments on third down, they went up and got it.
"We need to build on that. Some really good things at the quarterback position. I thought all the guys ran the ball well."
Graduate transfer receiver Demetris Robertson wrapped up his first week on campus with a strong showing, Harsin said.
"He was good tonight," Harsin said. "He had several catches. He's picked things up well. He's been studying. He's excelled in the last few days especially."
Auburn will review the scrimmage in Sunday's practice before taking off Monday for the first day of fall semester classes.
"We're going to go back to work and focus on the task at hand and things we have to improve," Harsin said. "We'll sprinkle in a few things in that first game that we want to work on. We'll get back out there on the field and start preparing ourselves to have a great Tuesday practice."
The Tigers will hold their second preseason scrimmage Friday night at Jordan-Hare.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
