AUBURN, Ala. – Competition will still be part of the A-Day gameplan Saturday, even though Auburn’s traditional spring scrimmage has transitioned to a practice, aligning with a trend throughout college football.
“I don’t think it’s wise for us to go out there and beat each other up,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “We’re already kind of banged up. It’ll be a normal practice.”
After individual periods, Auburn’s younger players will compete 11 on 11, then the game within the practice begins.
“We’re going to end with what we call red zone lockout, which will be a live period,” Freeze said. “First one to 18 wins. Offense gets the ball on the 25, you score a touchdown with an extra point, that’s seven. The defense stops you and you kick a field goal, that’s three points for the offense and four points for the defense.
“Miss the field goal, the defense gets seven or a stop somehow or turnover, they get seven. The first one to 18 wins.”
Then the grand finale, an overtime period with single-play series from the 3-yard line, to approximate the do-or-die drama of the third period of OT.
“That’s what you can kind of expect,” Freeze said.
Auburn’s first eight padded practices have been productive, Freeze says, with one more remaining on Saturday.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the energy and effort that our kids have given us,” he said. “There’s been some back-and-forth for sure. Tuesday was pretty much dominated by the defense. Today, I thought the offense came back and did really well in every drill except for the last one.
“I thought their energy at the end was really fantastic. They’re playing hard. You’ve got to give credit to the leadership of the team, both the coaches and the players for that. I’ve kind of enjoyed the format. A lot of teaching, a lot of walkthroughs, and not as much on-the-field hitting.
“I am excited about the attitude I see, the accountability that I see. I think that shows up in a lot of different manners, whether that be the academic report or disciplinary things. To this point, our kids have bought into being accountable to a standard that we said we’d like to meet.”
The A-Day practice will be Auburn fans’ first opportunity to see the Tigers’ new quarterbacks, transfer Jackson Arnold and freshman Deuce Knight, at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I think he can make every throw,” Freeze said Thursday of Arnold, who arrived from Oklahoma this semester. “I think he needed a restart, for whatever reason, and that's not a knock on anybody else, those things just happen.
“He fit with me and our visits and with the culture that we want here. His skill set, I think, is really good, and he's throwing it at a high, high level right now to guys he believes in and trusts that they're going to make plays on the ball for him, and hopefully that confidence just continues to grow.”
Part of Auburn’s A-Day Weekend on the Plains presented by Golden Flake, the A-Day practice begins at noon Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, with Fan Day to follow at 1:30 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer