|
QB
Brandon Cox |
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2006
Statistics |
Coach:
Tommy Tuberville
71-29,
8 years |
2006
Record: 11-2 |
|
WASHINGTON
STATE |
WON
40-14 |
at
Mississippi State |
WON
34-0 |
LOUISIANA
STATE |
WON
7-3 |
BUFFALO |
WON
38-7 |
at
South Carolina |
WON
24-17 |
ARKANSAS |
LOST
10-27 |
FLORIDA |
WON
27-17 |
TULANE |
WON
38-13 |
at
Mississippi |
WON
23-17 |
ARKANSAS
STATE |
WON
27-0 |
GEORGIA |
LOST
15-37 |
at
Alabama |
WON
22-15 |
COTTON
BOWL |
Nebraska |
WON
17-14 |
|
2006
Final Rankings
AP-9, Coaches-8, BCS-9
|
2007
Outlook |
Head
coach Tommy Tuberville seems to produce
a winner every time the critics say
his Tigers have too much turnover
to be serious contenders. Losing both
your top rusher and pass catcher along
with most of your offensive line could
easily dictate struggles, but look
for Tuberville and OC Al Borges to
easily procure another offense that
excites with results more than with
glamour and glitz. The one all-important
constant is Brandon Cox, now a three-year
starter who manages big games well.
Accordingly with Tiger recent tradition,
the new tailbacks have success written
all over them, and the experience
at both receiver and especially at
TE mean Cox & Co. just have to
wait for the line to catch up before
they can truly do some damage. On
defense, only the new, lighter LBs
and depth at corner can keep AU from
again fielding one of the best defenses
in all of I-A. Needless to say, Auburn
recruits at the highest level, exemplified
by the fact that last year saw only
10 returning starters on both sides
and – voila – an 11-win
campaign. Like usual, the Tigers have
a daunting slate of games. Opening
act non-cons Kansas State and South
Florida at home are not “gimme’s”,
and going to Gainesville, Fayetteville
and Baton Rouge in a four week span
will most assuredly define Auburn’s
2007 efforts. Any team not from Mississippi
has a shot at the West division’s
crown, so AU can again have double-digit
wins and still not play for the SEC
title. As long as they keep their
five-year winning streak going against
the Crimson Tide, such transgressions
can be forgiven. They don’t
win pretty, but you can bet Auburn
is back in the top 10 by October…but
can they stay there is the big question.
Projected
2007 record: 9-3
|
|
AUBURN
*POWER RATINGS |
Offense |
Defense |
QB
- 3.5 |
DL
- 4 |
RB
- 3.5 |
LB
- 3.5 |
WR
- 3.5 |
DB
- 4 |
OL
- 3 |
.. |
|
RETURNING
LEADERS |
Passing:
Brandon Cox, 163-271-9, 2198 yds.,
14 TD
Rushing: Brad Lester, 104 att.,
510 yds., 9 TD
Receiving: Rodgeriqus Smith,
26 rec., 452 yds., 4 TD
Scoring: Brad Lester, 10 TD,
60 pts.
Punting: None
Kicking: None
Tackles: Eric Brock, 50 tot.,
32 solo
Sacks: Quentin Groves, 9.5
sacks
Interceptions: Eric Brock,
2 for 26 yds.
Kickoff Returns: Tristan Davis,
28 ret., 27.0 avg., 0 TD
Punt Returns: Robert Dunn,
22 ret., 5.5 avg., 0 TD
|
|
|
DB
Eric Brock |
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|
AUBURN |
|
|
OFFENSE
- 6 |
----RETURNING
STARTERS---- |
DEFENSE
- 7 |
|
KEY
LOSSES |
OFFENSE:
Tre Smith-FB, Kenny Irons-TB, Courtney
Taylor-WR, Lee Guess-WR, Ben Grubbs-OG,
Joe Cope-C, Tim Duckworth-OG, Jonathan
Palmer-OT, John Vaughn-K |
DEFENSE:
Marquies
Gunn-DE, Chris Browder-DE, Karibi Dede-LB,
Will Herring-LB, David Irons-CB, Kody
Bliss-P |
|
|
2007
OFFENSE |
In
a year when we will see new starters amongst
most of the team’s units, solid senior
QB Brandon Cox will provide needed grounding
for the Tigers no-frills offense. The Trussville
native, though a dropback passer, will have
more mobility after struggling toward the
end of ’06 with a leg injury. Cox
looked great in spring ball, but unfortunately
there doesn’t seem to be a legitimate
backup in case of injury. Couple that with
an almost totally new line and you get a
nervous coaching staff. There are no problems
where many will assume there are –
the backfield has two candidates to replace
Kenny Irons, both of whom have seen the
field on game day and performed admirably.
Junior Brad Lester and soph Ben Tate will
likely share the rock (ala Williams/Brown)
for optimal effect. Foes need to be aware
that fullback Carl Stewart doesn’t
just block – his 13 catches (T-4th
on team) at a team leading 18.4 ypc clip
(for players with more than 10 catches)
mean he will go downfield when least expected.
The trio of tight ends available for Cox
has both size and speed, so two-TE sets
will continue to confound defenses when
employed. Prechae Rodriguez and senior Rodgeriqus
Smith lead their deep group of receivers,
all of whom are at least six feet tall.
Montez Billings has a huge upside that has
yet to be realized, and the entire corps
looked tight in the spring scrimmage (A-Day).
Senior starter King Dunlap returning at
left tackle alleviates much anxiety concerning
the new linemen, as does classmate Leon
Hart at right guard. Converted-DT Tyronne
Green at left guard saw action in all of
last year’s games there, while two-year
backup Antwoin Daniels knows the right tackle
spot well enough to assure quality results.
Seven four-star recruits along this line
in the past two classes give Tuberville
quality depth. This offense has sleeper
potential, for consistency and gritty determination
combined with this much talent should quietly
succeed and should even keep Auburn viable
for the win in higher scoring contests.
|
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WR
Rodgeriqus Smith
|
|
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AUBURN
2007 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters/Key
Players |
OFFENSE |
QB |
Brandon
Cox-Sr (6-2, 209) |
Blake
Field-Jr (6-2, 203) |
FB |
Carl
Stewart-Sr (6-2, 232) |
Danny
Perry-Sr (6-2, 244) |
TB |
Brad
Lester-Jr (5-11, 191) |
Ben
Tate-So (5-11, 215) |
WR |
Rodgeriqus
Smith-Jr (6-0, 184) |
Tim
Hawthorne-Fr (6-3, 207) |
WR |
Montez
Billings-So (6-2, 184) |
Prechae
Rodriguez-Sr (6-4, 204) |
TE |
Cole
Bennett-Sr (6-5, 261) |
Tommy
Trott-So (6-5, 254)
Gabe McKenzie-So (6-4, 253) |
OT |
King
Dunlap-Sr (6-8, 321) |
Oscar
Gonzalez-So (6-7, 294) |
OG |
Tyronne
Green-Jr (6-2, 307) |
Byron
Isom-Fr (6-3, 282) |
C |
Jason
Bosley-Jr (6-4, 280) |
Mike
Berry-Fr (6-4, 296) |
OG |
Leon
Hart-Sr (6-4, 297) |
Nathan
Farrow-Jr (6-3, 296) |
OT |
Andrew
McCain-So (6-6, 301) |
Antwoin
Daniels-Jr (6-5, 286) |
K |
Ross
Gornall-Fr (5-10, 191) |
Zach
Kutch-So (5-9, 175) |
|
|
2007
DEFENSE |
The
only two teams to beat Auburn last season
scored more than 20 points, making the Tiger’s
defensive legacy the single most important
element that needs to carry over if this
team is to repeat its recent success(es).
It patently applies when they say it all
starts up front – all-conference monster
end Quentin Graves cannot be contained when
guys like fellow senior Josh Thompson and
super sophomore Sen’Derrick Marks
have so much speed inside. All three were
amongst the team’s top eight tacklers,
and developed depth means we will likely
see improvements to the Tiger’s No.45
run stopping efforts (only five teams allowed
less rushing TDs than AU’s eight).
Critical to stopping foes on the ground
will also be the new-look linebacking corps,
which loses the team’s top two tacklers.
Junior Merrill Johnson, the unit’s
lone returning starter, leads a talented,
svelte group that relies on gang tackling
and will again be excellent in underneath
coverage. Size issues here didn’t
detract from results the past few years,
but since ’07 began with the Tiger
offense running roughshod over the first-team
D on A-Day, the LBs have to play to their
maximum potential for this side of the ball
to have the teeth needed for Auburn to stay
near the top of this physical conference.
Starting corners Jonathan Wilhite and Patrick
Lee are complimented by fellow senior Zach
Gilbert for a strong nickel presence, but
thin pickings after these three outside
reveal a marginal area if injuries occur.
Safety Aairon Savage, like Marks, was a
freshman All-American, and, with the rest
of their two-deep back at both deep slots,
Auburn’s No.14 pass defense looks
like it can return to that same form. Only
10 INTs means there is room for improvement.
Though struggles in early practices have
some worried, we feel the Tiger D will be
close to what it was in ’06 by October
(look out for USF and Florida early).
|
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DE
Quentin Groves
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AUBURN
2007 DEPTH CHART
Returning Starters/Key
Players |
DEFENSE |
DE |
Antonio
Coleman-So (6-2, 258) |
Zach
Clayton-Fr (6-3, 272) |
NG |
Josh
Thompson-Sr (6-0, 295) |
Pat
Sims-Jr (6-4, 304) |
DT |
Sen'Derrick
Marks-So (6-1, 287) |
Mike
Blanc-Fr (6-4, 274) |
DE |
Quentin
Groves-Sr (6-3, 254) |
Michael
Goggans-Fr (6-3, 258) |
LB |
Steve
Gandy-Jr (6-1, 201) |
Craig
Stevens-Fr (6-2, 210) |
LB |
Patrick
Trahan-So (6-2, 220) |
Courtney
Harden-Jr (6-0, 230) |
LB |
Merrill
Johnson-Jr (6-0, 208) |
Tray
Blackmon-So (6-0, 205) |
CB |
Patrick
Lee-Sr (6-0, 195) |
Zach
Gilbert-Sr (5-10, 183) |
CB |
Jonathan
Wilhite-Sr (5-11, 182) |
Walter
McFadden-So (6-0, 179) |
SS |
Eric
Brock-Sr (6-1, 204) |
Zac
Etheridge-Fr (5-11, 191) |
FS |
Aairon
Savage-So (5-11, 191) |
Lorenzo
Ferguson-Jr (6-2, 204) |
P |
Ryan
Shoemaker-Fr (6-0, 187) |
.. |
|
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2007
SPECIAL TEAMS |
Zach
Kutch is the new kicker, and his big leg will
be needed in those close SEC contests. He and
Ryan Shoemaker will be looked at for punts, but
Shoemaker has the inside track. A new face at
punt returner (backup RB Mario Fannin) will help,
while Tristan Davis as KR meant AU finished ranked
4th as a team in that area.
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