With the Arkansas game on the schedule this weekend, it isn’t hard for the Auburn faithful to see the connection between Arkansas and their own team. Not only is the top assistant on the Auburn staff, Gus Malzahn, fromArkansas, but the future of the offense he coaches is as well. For whatever reason, Auburn has had luck stealing top players from Arkansas.

Tommy Tuberville got Kodi Burns and Lee Ziemba from Arkansas, while Gene Chizik has pulled Michael Dyer and Kiehl Frazier from there.

Though he didn’t excel at quarterback, Kodi Burns was the heart and soul of the Auburn team for the past two seasons. When he lost the starting job to Chris Todd, and was moved to wide receiver, he didn’t complain about it. He rallied the rest of the team around Todd. He had several teeth knocked out in the LSU game in 2009, and kept playing. He taught the rest of the team how to fight through adversity and be a champion.

Great things were also expected of Lee Ziemba, and he didn’t disappoint. After being thrown into the fire of an SEC schedule in his freshman season, he excelled at the position. Like most young players, he had some trouble with illegal procedures calls, but after he got that problem ironed out, he became the rock of the Auburn offensive line.

Michael Dyer has already proven in his short time on the Plains what a great back he is. Along with Marcus Lattimore, he was rated either the top running back in the nation out of high school, or the second best back, depending on who was doing the rating. In three head-to-head meetings between the two backs, Dyer has gotten the best of Lattimore each time.

Though Lattimore definitely gets the most praise and adulation from the talking heads, a case could be made for either of these players being the best. While Lattimore had 1197 yards in 2010 to Dyer’s 1093 yards, Lattimore also had 67 more carries. Dyer averaged 6.0 yards per carry in 2010, while Lattimore averaged 4.8 yards per carry.

In 2011, Lattimore is leading the SEC with 677 yards, while Dyer is third with 567 yards. They are both averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Marcus Lattimore deserves all the praise that is being directed his way, but if you compare the two runners, you can’t say one is better than the other.

Kiehl Frazier, playing mostly a play or two at a time, has shown that he is also going to be an exciting player to watch. His positive yardage with the football is an indication that he’s going to eventually be the spark that ignites this Auburn offense. It’s my firm belief that if he had enrolled early, as a few of the other freshmen did, he’d have been the starting quarterback for this team.

I don’t mean in any way to take anything away from Barrett Trotter. He’s a very good quarterback who was thrust into a very difficult situation, but Frazier has something that Trotter doesn’t, breakaway speed and an ability to make something out of nothing.

He’s very reminiscent of Cam Newton, and especially on the one long run against South Carolina. There is one difference. He’s not Newton. I know he’s just a freshman, but if he cuts to the outside of his blocker on that run, instead of to the inside, he scores easily. That’ll come with time.

It’s evident that Frazier is the future of this offense, though. Like Dyer in 2010, the coaching staff has been bringing him along slowly. I look for his role to become greater and greater as the weeks pass by.

Everyone is aware of Gus Malzahn, and how he started his career coaching high school football in Arkansas. His big break came when Houston Nutt hired him straight from the ranks of high school to be his offensive coordinator at Arkansas. It didn’t hurt Malzahn’s career opportunity that he had several blue chip players on his high school team that year, and the crown jewel was the top-rated QB in the land, Mitch Mustain.

Even though Malzahn’s first and only Arkansas offense created one of the best offenses in their history and helped propel them to the SEC Championship Game, Coach Nutt didn’t like the direction of the offense under Malzahn, preferring a more traditional ball control style offense. Malzahn left Arkansas after that lone season, and has gone on to be considered one of the top coordinators in college football, while Houston Nutt is probably now wishing he’d kept him on staff at Arkansas.

It’s not unusual for a team to have several key players from a neighboring state, or even one from a state that doesn’t border them, but it is unusual when a team can get this many difference makers and coaches away from a state school that doesn’t border their own.

Florida Atlantic was not a typical cupcake team. They were the cupcake of cupcakes. In their previous game against Michigan State, Florida Atlantic had managed a total of one first down and 48 yards of total offense for the entire game. Against Auburn they had 20 first downs and 307 total yards of offense.

There were drives the Owls were knocking off 9-10 yards per play. They made several first downs when Auburn had them in 3rd and long situations. If you can’t stop a weak offense like Florida Atlantic’s, how do you think you’re going to stop South Carolina? Marcus Lattimore may break the NCAA records for carries and yardage in a game against this Auburn defense.

Even the Gus Malzahn engineered offense failed to perform. It looked more like a Tony Franklin offense from Coach Tuberville’s final season. I know Auburn sat a good many key players out to rest them for South Carolina, but even the backups should be better prepared than this offense was Saturday night.

There are still some areas that need work if this offense is going to excel. The biggest thing is catching the football. In this offense, the flare pass and screens are supposed to be big play opportunities that open up the rest of the game. Far too many times this simplest of passes isn’t completed. Pass, catch and run. It sounds so simple until you get players who can’t catch. If you can’t make the defense respect this facet of your offense, you’re sunk.

Another thing that needs considerable work is teaching the offensive players how to block for one another. Just as a defense works best as a unit, instead of eleven individuals, so does the offense. If the ball isn’t coming to you, your assignment is to block someone. Far too many times this season, a play that was setup beautifully failed because someone didn’t make the one block needed to free the runner or receiver.

On defense, you can’t keep ceding the sideline passes and screens. You’ve got to play this receiver tighter and force the QB to throw over you. If you make him throw deeper, there’s a greater chance for a mistake or a turnover.

If you have the play covered and it’s completed anyway, you have got to stop the play from becoming a big play. There have been many times this season when the play was stopped in the backfield, but ended up being a big play because one or two players failed to tackle. There’s a lot of things to learn when making the transition from high school to college, but basic tackling techniques shouldn’t be one of those things.

I know this is a young team, and they’re only going to get better, but it seems they took a step backwards from the first three games to this one. After four games, they’re still making many of the same mistakes. Facing possibly the toughest October ever faced by an Auburn team, with games at South Carolina, at Arkansas, at home against Florida, at LSU and a home game with Ole Miss, these mistakes have got to be overcome or Auburn’s hopes of a winning season may be gone before the leaves are off the trees.

Looking at the previous three years of recruiting under former coach Tommy Tuberville helps to answer the question.

Each of these three classes were full of signed players that never qualified, were dismissed from the team, never met academic standards or essentially never contributed much on the field. Nowhere was this more apparent than on the defensive side of the ball.

Make no mistake, there was enough talent for the current staff to assemble a national champion, with help from some key recruits from the Gene Chizik era, but there was little depth behind that Auburn starting lineup in 2010.

Perhaps the worst recruiting class of the bunch was the 2008 class. As bad as Tuberville’s 2008 team played on the field, his 2008 recruiting class was equally as bad. This class should be providing upperclassmen leadership during the 2011 season, but for reasons cited above, the holes are large. Making matters more difficult is the fact that Gene Chizik had less than a month to assemble his 2009 class.

Here’s an in-depth look at that 2008 class, and why Auburn is such a young team this year. Star ratings are provided from Rivals.com.

Darvin Adams (3-Star WR) – One of the best receivers in the conference last year, and is now with the Carolina Panthers.

Harry Adams (3-Star WR) – Played some as a reserve CB, and on special teams, before being dismissed from the team in 2009 for “unspecified rules violations”.

Ken Adams (2-Star TE/DE) – Failed to qualify and Coach Chizik and staff didn’t offer him a scholarship when he finally gained his eligibility.

Da’Shaun Barnes (2-Star LB) – never played a snap for Auburn, and was given a medical hardship .

T’Sharvin Bell (4-Star ATH) – Has developed into a leader in the Auburn secondary .

Drew Cole (3-Star DB) – Has seen very limited action for Auburn. As a senior this year, he is listed at third team on the depth chart.

Dax Dellenbach (2-Star Deep Snapper) – Never played a down for Auburn. He left the team in the Summer of 2008, before the start of football.

DeRon Furr (4-Star ATH) – He was recruited as a QB, but was given the opportunity to try DB when he was deep on the depth chart at QB. Although the details are sketchy, there seems to have been a brawl on the practice field, and he was the target because of his lack of intensity during practice. He left school shortly after this incident and transferred to Memphis. This incident also cost Auburn several other players from his high school, Carver High in Columbus, Georgia. Once a hotbed of talent for the Tigers, Auburn had been pretty much shut out of this area recently until the signing of Gabe Wright this year.

Raven Gray (5-Star DE) – Struggled with injuries and never played a down for Auburn. He transferred to Division II Delta State, with the hopes of getting more playing time.

Cameron Henderson (4-Star DE) – Was suspended for the entire 2009 season, and left the team before the 2010 season.

D’Antoine Hood (3-Star DB) – D’Antoine saw very little playing time in his backup role at CB, and transferred to Alabama State just weeks before the 2010 season.

Reggie Hunt (3-Star RB) – Failed to qualify academically, and began his career at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi. He was not offered by Auburn after JUCO, and signed with Southern Miss.

Marcus Jemison (3-Star ATH) – Was being worked as possible DB or LB before being dismissed from the team in June of 2009.

Jermaine Johnson (5-Star OL) – Jermaine was supposed to be a building block for future Auburn offensive lines. He never qualified and ended up at Miami.

Philip Pierre-Louis (3-Star ATH) – Often injured during his time at Auburn, he never caught a pass in three seasons. He left the team this Spring.

Spencer Pybus (2-Star LB) – Spencer made Feshman All-American in his first season at Auburn, but a recurring issue with concussions caused him to give up football.

Derrick Lykes (2-Star DE) – Redshirted in 2008, and played sparingly in 2009 and 2010. He was dismissed from the team in August for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

Onterio McCalebb (4-Star RB) – Onterio is an integral part of the Auburn offense. He has breakaway speed to the outside, but has not shown the ability to run inside.

Jamorcus Savage (3-Star DT) – Was redshirted in 2008 and dismissed from the team June, 2009 for classroom disruptions, and missing some workouts.

Brandon Smith (2-Star ATH) – Brandon was a sign and place player for Auburn. He was never offered another scholarship from Auburn after JUCO.

Eric Smith (3-Star RB) – Was a contrinutor on the 2010 national championship squad, but was dismissed this Spring for an unspecified violation of team rules. Whether it was part of the reason he was dismissed or not, he settled an assault lawsuit out of court in May of this year.

Vance Smith (3-Star TE) – Moved to tackle but eventually quit football because of injuries.

Freddie Smooth (3-Star OL) – Never qualified. He was charged with 1st degree murder in December, 2010.

Christian Thompson (3-Star S) – Played sparingly as a freshman, and received a lot of playing time during the Spring practice of 2009. Thompson had a good deal of potential, but was off the team by June of 2009.

Nieko Thorpe (3-Star CB) – Currently a starting safety for Auburn.

Chris Todd (3-Star QB) – After joining the team as a JUCO transfer, his junior year was a disaster. However, he excelled under the tutelage of Gus malzahn in 2009, breaking several Auburn records.

Barrett Trotter (3-Star QB) – Auburn’s current starting QB, he’s battled back from a torn ACL, which has limited his experience before taking the reins this season.

Andre Wadley (3-Star DE) – Moved to OL, but never played before ending his career in July, 2009 for health problems.

Derrick Winter (2-Star WR) – A success story off the field, though he didn’t contribute much on the field. he got his degree early and left the team in Spring, 2011 to pursue a career in accounting.

This class was mediocre at best, with very few star players, but the attrition from the players that were signed made this essentially a lost class. Though Chizik signed a better class in 2009, it was nowhere near good enough to replace the players lost from Tuberville’s last few recruiting classes.

If you look at the defense for Auburn in 2011, you’ll see very few upperclassmen, rather many freshmen and sophomores. This was not by design, but out of necessity. There is very little senior leadership, and this causes Auburn to miss a lot of assignments or get caught in the wrong coverage.

Clemson is probably not the last of the embarrassing losses for Auburn in 2011, but they have to overcome a class that should be there, but isn’t. This problem should work itself out as these young players mature, and could actually make Auburn a much stronger team in 2012 and beyond.

As Auburn fans, we can only hope for the best each week, and accept what happens on the field. It’s like a virus, and we’re suffering through the final stages of the poor decisions and recruiting that plagued the last few years of the Tuberville era.

Auburn’s 17-game winning streak didn’t end with a bang, even though the game was filled with offensive fireworks. It ended with Clemson mercifully taking a knee deep in Auburn territory. This game was eerily similar to the 2010 Outback Bowl against Northwestern, and the 2010 Arkansas game.

In each of those games, the Auburn defense was as equally inept as in the Clemson game. The difference in those two games and Saturday’s game, other than both of them being Auburn wins, was the defense made some key defensive stops and helped themselves with turnovers converted into scores. There were no such plays against Clemson.

I’m not going to start pointing fingers at any particular coach, but even Ray Charles could see this Auburn defense has played terrible through the first three games. You’re not going to win many games when your defense is giving up over 36 points a game, regardless of how good your offense is.

Though Auburn has a stellar record since Coach Chizik returned to the Plains, the defense has not been good in either season. A championship caliber program has great recruiting AND great coaching on both sides of the ball. The 2010 championship team overcame the play of it’s defense with a great offense. That’s a luxury this Auburn team does not have.

Auburn actually had control of the game early with a 14-0 lead, and had the Clemson defense on it’s heels, but a key punt return mistake swung field position and momentum. Trovon Reed fielded a punt inside his own goalline and attempted a return. He was stopped at the 4-yardline. After punting the ball, and giving Clemson a short field to work with, Clemson responed with a touchdown to cut the lead to 14-7.

This mistake may have allowed Clemson to grab the momentum and get back in the game, but anyone watching the game would realize the outcome would have been the same. Though Auburn’s offense also failed to make some plays they’re going to have to make later on in the season, they’re light years ahead of the defense. When you set up flare passes and screens that are designed to get good yardage, you have got to catch the ball.

I haven’t lost faith in this Auburn team. I still believe they’ll be bowl eligible at the end of the season. I know there are probably going to be more games like Clemson, but I also believe that there are going to be times where Auburn wins games they’re not supposed to win. Auburn still has a lot of talent on both sides of the football, and with maturity and better preparation, I see bright times ahead for this program.

For video highlights of the Auburn-Clemson game, click here.

Auburn’s young team is 2-0 on the season, but they have played both games in the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium. Regardless of what you may think about the better team always rising to the top to win close games, having a large crowd on your side can often make a difference in winning or losing these games. Auburn has won two nail-biters on their home turf, but this week they’re venturing out into enemy territory. The crowd that has cheered them to victory in the first two contests, will be cheering for the other team this week.

One thing a veteran team can call on in a hostile environment is the experience of having been there before and overcoming the crowd. That’s a luxury this Auburn team does not have yet. Perhaps this will the first road win they can call on later in the season, when the cards are on the table and the crowd is against them. With a daunting schedule staring them in the face in October, this game would seem to be a must win. If they win this game, beat Florida Atlantic next week and can steal a win or two in October, this could be a very successful season, especially considering the low expectations heading into the season.

Clemson is a slight favorite in this game, though the line has dropped a bit with most of the early betting action on Auburn. Perhaps that’s because Clemson has looked less than impressive in their first two wins over Troy (43-19) and Wofford (35-27), but there’s really not much you can take from those two wins, other than the fact that this Clemson team is untested and a virtual unknown. Sometimes a team will stay very vanilla in games they know they can win, and really open up the playbook against a team they may struggle with later on. Has Clemson been hiding anything to this point?

One thing is certain. Clemson has had this game circled on their calendars since their close loss at Auburn in 2010. Clemson had a large lead in that game and felt they should have won the game. The game went into overtime, and Wes Byrum kicked a FG for the first points. If Clemson scores a TD, it’s game over and Clemson wins. Auburn’s defense stiffened to keep the visiting Tigers out of the end zone, and Clemson had to settle for the FG to tie the game, and send it to the second overtime. The kick was good, but the snapper was flagged for illegal procedure for moving the football before the snap to try and draw Auburn offsides. Clemson missed the second attempt, and Auburn had dodged the first of many bullets on the season. Clemson went on to lose several other close games, while Auburn found a way to win close game after close game, all the way through the BCS Championship game. Clemson still wonders, what if?

Like Auburn, Clemson also has a new quarterback in sophomore Tajh Boyd who has filled in nicely, averaging 262.5 yards passing per game, a completion percentage of 64.4% and a lofty QB rating of 169.3. You have to think he’s licking his chops looking at the young Auburn secondary on film, but I’m not sold on him being called on to throw the ball that much in this game. Though young, this Auburn secondary is much improved from the one that took the field against this Clemson team in 2010.

What I anticipate is a healthy dose of Andre Ellington. Ellington is the go-to back for Clemson, with a 6.4 yard average on 40 carries. You can be sure that Auburn’s weakness against the run has been noted by the Clemson coaching staff, and if Auburn hasn’t shored up their run defense, it could be another long afternoon for them.

On the plus side for Auburn, Clemson has put up these numbers against less than stellar competition, and their defense has looked even worse than Auburn’s. Clemson is allowing 23 points per game and 411 yards of offense to the competition, which has been very suspect. Even FCS member Wofford gained 272 yards rushing on 57 carries, along with 127 yards passing. Michael Dyer has to be licking his chops on the Auburn side.

All in all, this looks to be two very evenly matched football teams. I would give Auburn a definite advantage in the kicking game, but the home field advantage would go to Clemson, and it might be a little bigger advantage than usual because of Auburn’s youth. I can see why oddsmakers would make Clemson a slight favorite. However, If I go with the intangibles, I can understand why the people actually betting on this game are choosing Auburn. Auburn finds a way to win, regardless of the opponent or circumstances.

I feel Auburn will find a way to win this game, and come close to their average of 41.5 points per game. My fearless predicition?

AUBURN 41 Clemson 38

Another pleasant surprise is the leg of Cody Parkey. He was consistently sending his kickoffs through the endzone. If you can take away another team’s kick return game, you’re one step ahead of the game. He managed to do that yesterday on the majority of his kicks.

True freshmen Quan Bray and Tre Mason were impressive in their kick return game debuts. Though Mason stole the headlines with his 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and a 44 yard average, Bray averaged 27 yards, and Onterio McCalebb’s lone return went for 25. Either one of these three kick returners are capable of taking it to the house. The kicking game should be a huge plus for Auburn in most of the games they play this season.

Though he didn’t have gaudy numbers at quarterback, Barrett Trotter showed why he was chosen to lead this team. He led two touchdown drives in the last three and a half minutes of the game, got the ball to the playmakers and didn’t make any of the mistakes that cost you ball games. Even one turnover in this game could have been the difference between celebrating a victory, and trying to rebound from a loss. Even though they looked sluggish for most of the game, this team scored 42 points.

Auburn also made one thing apparent to those paying close attention. True freshman Kiehl Frazier will not be redshirted in 2011. They brought him and Clint Moseley in for one play in the third quarter. By using him on this one play, it’s apparent the decision had already been made not to redshirt him. I would fully expect Coach Malzahn to find more and more ways to incorporate him into the offense as the season progresses. In my opinion, this was a no-brainer. You can’t risk going through an entire SEC schedule with only two quarterbacks. It’s better to go ahead and bring him into the system early in the season, instead of possibly having to throw him into the fire late in the season.

That’s the good. Now for the bad.

Auburn appeared lost on defense on many occasions throughout the game. Utah State scored one of their short yardage touchdowns while Auburn’s defense was still adjusting. One has to wonder if this had anything to do with Eltoro Freeman’s one game suspension. He had practiced as a starter the entire Fall, and up until Friday night, when he was told he wouldn’t be able to play. With or without Freeman, the Aggies took it to the heart of the Auburn defense many times, and almost always came out with positive yardage. Auburn has got to shore up the defensive line before Saturday’s game with Mississippi State.

Though they gave up some big plays in the passing game, I was impressed with the young secondary. A lot of the passing success was with the short screens that Auburn was pretty much ceding them throughout the game, and a great performance by Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton. Keeton didn’t play like a true freshman, and I think along with their veteran offensive line and strong running game, Utah State will score a lot of points in 2011.

I said it last year, and it bears repeating this year – close games like this build character. What this team takes from this comeback win, and what they can learn from all of their mistakes will tell how successful this team can be this year. I’m not going to pretend to have all the answers after just one game. I’m sure that as I sit here critiquing the game, the Auburn coaches are breaking down game film, play by play. Auburn showed flashes of brilliance at times in this game, but to win in this league, you need to show that on every play.

If history is a lesson, I would expect to see a far better effort in Auburn’s next game. After giving up 26 points to Arkansas State in their home opener in 2010, the Tigers held Mississippi State to 14 points in Starkville the following week. Will this team also rise to the occasion? Will we see that much improvement from this team from week one to week two? Only time will tell. This much I can say. Harry Houdini would be proud of the improbable escape Auburn pulled this week.

Auburn is a heavy favorite tomorrow in their home opener against Utah State, but sometimes thinking of an opponent as a rent-a-win can get you in a lot of trouble . How many of us will soon forget Appalachian State going to the Big House to be opening day fodder for Michigan in 2007, only to leave 100,000+ fans sitting stunned as Appalachian State walked away with a 34-32 victory? What many Auburn fans have forgotten is that Appalachian State almost pulled this same shocker in 1999… on the Plains of Auburn. Tommy Tuberville’s first game as the Tigers head coach was almost a disaster, as Auburn survived a nailbiter, 22-15.

If nothing else, I hope that history can be used as a lesson here, and that Coach Chizik has his team prepared for a real test. I have seen many predictions for this game, and most have Auburn winning by 2-3 touchdowns, or even more. If you look merely at the stats from last year, you can make a pretty good case for this game being a mismatch. However, you can never measure the heart in an opponent. This same Utah State team opened the season on the road in Norman, Oklahoma last year and played their best game of the season, eventually succumbing to the Sooners, 31-24.

The youth and inexperience of this Auburn team has been written about so much, it’s almost legendary; so, I won’t bother you with the same tired numbers of freshmen and sophomores starting on this team, or in the two deep rotation. Suffice it to say that Auburn is an unknown going into this game. If you look at the players strictly from a recruiting viewpoint, or how they’ve performed in practice, Auburn has the makings of a young champion. But you can never fully trust recruiting hype and practice performances. Two things are clear. Rating recruits is as exact a science as rating football teams in polls, and many players have looked great in practice, only to be a bust on gameday.

One thing about this team is certain. They have as good a running back duo as any team in the country. The combination of Onterio McCalebb and Mike Dyer can be lethal for most defenses. Add in a scat back like Tre Mason, and bruising H-Back like Ladarious Phillips and most teams would be tempted to run the ball 75-80% of the time. With Coach Malzahn calling the shots of offense, I doubt we’ll see that in 2011.

After a long battle, Barrett Trotter has been tabbed to replace Cam Newton. Many people assume that losing Newton would spell doom for Auburn, when in actuality, Barrett Trotter is more of a fit for the Malzahn offense than Cam Newton was. I’m not suggesting Trotter is anywhere near the talent that Newton was, but he won’t be asked to be. Trotter’s main focus is on keeping mistakes to a minimum, which he has been very good at in practice, and getting the ball in the hands of the playmakers. These playmakers were here last year, but didn’t get that many opportunities because of Newton’s ability to make things happen.

Even though the Utah State game would be an excellent opportunity to give the Aggies a lethal dose of McCalebb-Dyer, I don’t see that happening. What I do see is opening the game with the run to soften up the defense, and then going to the air… a lot. Practices are great but they’re not the same as real game situations. As close as so many of Auburn’s games were in 2010, Trotter didn’t get much time to gain game experience, so this game will be critical for him before the Mississippi State game.

Auburn’s defense has also gotten an overhaul in 2011. Nick Fairley is the name most mentioned when talking about Auburn losses on the defense, but the talent level is much higher in 2011 than in 2010. Most of the new starters got plenty of playing time in 2010, and I think the defense will be better than last year.

Auburn is also implementing a nickel back into their defensive schemes. The biggest Achille’s Heel for Auburn’s defense in 2010 was giving up the big plays. Every team gives up an occasional big play, and I’d be fantasizing if I said Auburn won’t give up some big plays in 2011, especially with so many young players, but I think this will be an area that has been much improved on since 2010.

All in all, I feel good about this team, though I’m sure a lot of it has to do with my allegiance to the school, but most of it has to do with faith in this coaching staff, and the amount of talent they’ve ammssed since arriving in Auburn. If I’m making a prediction for this game, I’d say that Auburn starts out shaky in the first quarter and a half, and may even trail before halftime, but wins it going away in the second half. My fearless prognostication? Auburn 42 – Utah State 24

But no star shone brighter than Cam Newton in 2010. He had the ability to beat you any number of ways. He could throw over defenses that crowded the line to try and stop him from running, or run through defenses that tried to play him more honest.

He was also the most dependable 4th down converter in college football. Even when it was obvious who was going to get the carry on 4th and short, and what the play was going to be, opposing defenses found it very hard to stop him from getting his yardage. That talent will be behind center for the Carolina Panthers this Fall.

Even though Auburn has finally named Barrett Trotter as the starting quarterback for 2011, no one is expecting him to do everything that Cam Newton did for this team in 2010. Coach Gus Malzahn has proven year after year that he can get the most out of the position, but regardless of how good a body man you have working in your garage, you’re not going to make a Cadillac out of a Chevrolet.

What Auburn needs Trotter to do is not make mistakes, and get the ball to his playmakers.

Of all of his playmakers, which player will step up and be this year’s Cam Newton?

Most people are expecting Mike Dyer to be the star of the team, as he is the returning offensive player with the best numbers from last season, and the star that emerged in the BCS Championship game. It would be hard to argue their reasoning.

Though brought along slowly in 2010, Dyer seemed to peak in the bigger games. His four games rushing for over 100 yards were against LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Oregon. Perhaps the Oregon game, where he rushed for 143 yards was the performance that made the biggest statement.

The one area that he would need to work on to become the next Newton would be catching the football. After recording one catch in the opening game against Arkansas State, he didn’t have another reception the entire season.

Onterio McCalebb is another player that could become the offensive star of this team. Though he was mostly an outside threat in his previous two seasons at Auburn, he has added some muscle to his frame this year, and could bust it up the middle in 2011. With Gus Malzahn calling the plays, if he can prove capable of running inside, you can bet there will be plays designed for him to do that very thing.

McCalebb didn’t get the ball as much as Dyer last year, but when he did, he delivered. He had a 7.8 average yards per carry, and nine touchdowns, though he only had 95 carries. He also showed he could catch the football with 7 catches for a 12.3 yard per catch average and one touchdown. With his big play potential, look for McCalebb to be more involved in the offense than he was in 2010.

Auburn will also need that clutch reception potential that they lost with Darvin Adams. The one play that sticks out most to me from the 2010 season was his catch of the Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half of the SEC Championship game. He had his body in the perfect position, put his hands out to cradle the ball and his gaze was on nothing but the football.

Philip Lutzenkirchen also repeatedly demonstrated the concentration and ability to make big plays in 2010. Though not thrown to that often, he made the most of the catches that were thrown his way. From his tight end H-Back position, and with the loss af Adams, he should see a lot more balls coming his way in 2011. He definitely would be my favorite to be Auburn’s go-to receiver in 2011.

However, the most exciting offensive player on the team, and the one most likely to be the next offensive star for this team would have to be Trovon Reed.

Reed is another in a line of exceptional talents. Before Newton became his own Wildcat quarterback in 2010, Trovon Reed was seen as the most likely candidate for the position. I’m sure he’ll get some time behind center in 2011.

He is the best on the team in open space, with the ability to leave even the best defender clutching for air. Though lost for 2010 because of a knee injury, he is back at 100% for 2011, and the biggest question may be how many ways can you get the ball in his hands.

His only drawback at this time seems to be his downfield blocking.

Replacing Cam Newton is impossible, but if one guy has the talent and star power potential to come close, it is going to be Trovon Reed.

The question everyone at Auburn seems to be asking this Fall is who will replace Cam Newton as quarterback. What seemed like a lock for Barrett Trotter before the beginning of Spring football suddenly turned into a two-man battle, with Clint Moseley battling tooth and nail with Trotter for the starting nod. It’s now presumed by many that incoming freshman Kiehl Frazier is also in the mix. Is the QB play at Auburn that bad, that they can’t find a quarterback to run the team, or is their play that good, that neither quarterback shines more than the others?

My educated guess would be that it falls somewhere between the two extremes, and and with Gus Malzahn’s record of producing results from the position, I would weight it heaviest towards the latter being more the case. What’s funny in all of this is that Malzahn, who is definitely one of the best offensive coordinators in the college ranks, actually got his start as a defensive coordinator in the high school ranks before becoming a championship winning head coach. It’s worth noting here that Malzahn has been named National Offensive Coordinator of the Year twice in his five years as a college assistant!

Malzahn began his college coaching career in 2006 as the offensive coordinator at Arkansas. It was assumed by many at the time that Malzahn was only offered the job because he had so many blue chip atheletes on his team that year.

Even though Arkansas had one of the nation’s most productive offenses in 2006, and won the SEC West in his only season there, there was conflict between Houston Nutt and Malzahn about the offensive direction of the team. While Nutt wanted to stay with the more traditional ball control offense, Malzahn wanted to implement the offense he wrote the book on, the no-huddle spread offense. After winning the National Offensive Coordinator Of the Year by Rivals, Malzahn was offered the offensive coordinator position at Tulsa, which he accepted.

At Tulsa, where he was allowed to finally fully implement his offense, his first Tulsa team in 2007 actually ranked first in the nation in total yards per game. It was also a balanced attack. In that year Tulsa became the first team in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer, three 1,000-yard receivers and a 1,000-yard rusher in the same season. Under his first and only year under Gus Malzahn’s tutelage, Tulsa QB Paul Smith passed for 5,065 yards, had an NCAA record 14 consecutive games with over 300 yards passing, threw for 47 TDs and rushed for another 13 TDs.

How do you replace a quarterback with that kind of numbers? In 2008, Malzahn would be called upon to do that very thing. Malzahn settled on David Johnson to run his offense. In his previous two seasons, Johnson had attempted only 22 passes, completing 13 of them for one TD. After becoming the starter in 2008, Johnson completed 258 passes of 400 thrown, for 4,059 yards and 46 TDs. Tulsa lead the nation in total offense in 2008, again with a balanced attack. They finished 9th in the nation in passing, 3rd in passing efficiency and 5th in rushing. In Malzhn’s last game for Tulsa, the Golden Hurricanes routed the undefeated, 12-0 Ball State Cardinals 45-13.

It was now time to see if he could work the magic in the SEC. Many at Auburn were leery of the spread offense because they had tried to run it in 2008 in Tommy Tuberville’s last season, with disastrous results. In 2008, Auburn’s offense sank to 110th in the nation in scoring offense. The epitome of how low this offense had sunk came in two early season games, a 3-2 win over Mississippi State, and the loss to Vanderbilt where they scored on their first two possessions but couldn’t muster another point the entire game in the 14-13 loss.

As is natural in this game, Auburn QB Chris Todd took his share of the abuse from the fans for the offensive woes in 2008. He was replaced in the middle of the season by Kodi Burns. Everyone expected Kodi Burns to be the quarterback that would start the 2009 season for Auburn, but Malzahn chose Chris Todd in the first weeks of fall practice. After the train wreck that was Auburn’s offense in 2008, Malzahn took these same players and finished 16th nationally in offense, 17th in scoring nationally and 2nd in the SEC in total offense. Auburn broke the Auburn record for total offense for a season set by the 2004 13-0 team. For his part, Chris Todd set a new Auburn record for TDs passing in a season with 22, and had a QB rating of 145.73, making him the 18th ranked passer in the country.

Everyone knows what Auburn did in 2010, and what production they got from the quarterback position. Many people are discounting Auburn in 2011 because of the loss of Cam Newton, but regardless of who is under center for the Tigers in 2011, you can count on them having a highly productive season. Producing great QBs and offenses is second nature for the Wizard of the Plains.

After the wild 2020 season, we now know anything is possible. Many are expecting Vanderbilt to once again dominate the conference in 2021. Since his arrival in 2011, Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin has built a dominant force not seen in the modern-day Southeastern Conference. Vandy will be competing for their 5th consecutive SEC Championship. Sadly, Vanderbilt did end the SEC’s 14 year run of BCS Championships when they had to forfeit the game because finals were the same day as the bowl game.

Down on the Plains, Auburn is still awaiting word from the NCAA whether the investigation into the recruitment of Cam Newton is over or not. Meanwhile, Coach Chizik has just assembled his 12th consecutive top five recruiting class, and the team is looking to contend for the title again this year, narrowly losing to the Commodores in the inaugural SEC Championship Game played in Orlando in 2020.

Alabama head coach Les Miles is looking to improve on Alabama’s lackluster 12-3 record. Alabama will feature one of the premiere backs in the nation this year, when 2020 signee Mercury Watkins takes the field. Watkins, 6-8, 345 lbs. and with 4.1 speed is expected to contend immediately for playing time at the tailback position.

At Georgia, Head Coach Gus Malzahn is trying to take that next step with the Dogs, and knock off Vanderbilt for the SEC East. Since Malzahn took over the team in 2012, Georgia has been a contender every year, especially once they broke their Gator jinx. Amazingly, this will be the first year since becoming a college coach that Coach Malzahn will have a starter returning at the quarterback position.

Speaking of Florida, everyone is anxiously awaiting the return of former, and new Head Coach Steve Spurrier. After seeing their fortunes decline over the past decade, Spurrier is coming back to try and rekindle the old flame. Everyone is hoping for the return of fun and gun, but some are expecting fade and fizzle.

South Carolina replaced Spurrier with one of his disciples, and a Gamecock legend. After finally living up to his potential in the 2011 season, taking South Carolina to their first ever SEC Championship and BCS Championship, and a short stint with the NFL expansion Birmingham Boll Weevils, Stephen Garcia was added to Coach Spurriers staff in 2016. Pleasing many alumni, he was formally named the new head coach when Spurrier returned to his alma mater.

At Tennessee, fans are anxious for Coach Dooley to finally end their nine game skid to the cross-state Commodores. They’ll be counting heavily on senior quarterback Bucky Prichard to provide the offense to push them to the top of the SEC East. After a stellar season where he passed for 5,436 yards and 63 TDs, the Vols are expecting even more from him this year.

At Ole Miss, the Rebel Black Bears will be looking to finally break out of the SEC cellar. With third year coach Mark Richt calling the shots, the fans finally have something to be excited about. The new Mark Richt era shocked many in this laid back community in 2019 when Colonel Reb ran to midfield before the Mississippi State game, and urinated on the Mississippi State emblem. The Bulldogs have had this game circled ever since.

At Mississippi State, Dan Mullen is once again hoping to live up to the expectations of following up another 9-6 season. A heartbreaking loss to LSU late in the season was soothed somewhat by a bowl win over Penn State. By winning this game, they ascertained that Coach Joe Paterno would be back on the sidelines in his Hoveround for the 2021 season, still seeking that elusive 500th win.

LSU Head Coach Chris Petersen will be looking to rebound from a disappointing 2020 season. After losing four games in 2020, Petersen was heard to say he’d eat the Tiger Stadium grass if he knew that would help his team win more games. Expect LSU to concentrate a lot of their offense behind their twin towers on the offensive line; Samson O’Neal 7-1, 425 lbs. and Stanley Robertson, 6-11, 412 lbs.

At Arkansas, Hog fans are hoping to finally remove the tag of “Only SEC Team Without a Conference Championship”. Their throwback to the golden years of Woody Hayes, known then as “Three yards and a Cloud of Dust” has now been dubbed “Slop and Wallow” in Fayetteville. Though not a very glamorous name, this ball control offense has proven effective in holding many high-scoring offenses to a fraction of their average.

With Joker Phillips surprisingly successful presidential run in 2020, Kentucky was left scrambling for a new coach. Returning to Kentucky as head coach, Andre Woodson is expected to call upon his many years of experience as a journeyman professional player. When accepting the job, Woodson stated that there isn’t much he hasn’t seen, and he has a few things that he thinks will work in this league. We shall see.

In closing, let me say that it’s hard not to pick Vanderbilt to win it all again this year. It has even been suggested that the BCS would reschedule their game if Vanderbilt wins a bid again, and there is once again a conflict between school exams and the bowl.

Go ahead and call in your bets now. Nostradamus ain’t got nothing on me.