Ad Disclosure
Auburn showcases young QBs during Saturday’s first spring scrimmage
By Will Ogburn
Published:
Auburn showcased its young quarterbacks during Saturday’s live scrimmage.
With Sean White limited with an injury and the staff already somewhat knowing what Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham brings to the table, young signal callers Woody Barrett and Malik Willis got the bulk of the work during the live portion.
According to AL.com’s post-practice interview with Malzahn, Saturday’s scrimmage was about 40 percent pass and 60 percent run – a somewhat welcomed change from the Tigers’ usual flow around this time of the year, which hovers around 80 run/20 pass.
Another related tidbit was that the Tigers took a few more shots downfield this spring. There were 8-10 in the scrimmage or “a handful of deep shots downfield in the vertical passing game,” as coach Malzahn called them.
Outside of Saturday’s action, Malzahn said that both quarterbacks — White and Stidham — are right on track. On White, the head coach said that “he’s progressing well” in his return from a fractured forearm suffered in last year’s Sugar Bowl loss, as well as a shoulder injury. With regards to Stidham, Malzahn said “they’re splitting time on 7-on-7” but added that “he’s getting a lot of reps with the ones.” He was then quick to dispel any assumptions that this gave Stidham an edge to land the starting job, and he reiterated that he would not be naming a starter this spring.
That’s not really a surprise.
Though the top two quarterback spots are more in focus, Malzahn did say he was proud of what he saw from Barrett and Willis, the two who saw action in Saturday’s scrimmage. He noted that he was pleased with “just how they react to certain situations when they got to think trough the process.” Malzahn said his offensive coordinator also got some good information off those guys.
Though Auburn has been known as possibly the best rushing attack in the SEC during Malzahn’s tenure, it appears from spring that he plans to add a more steady diet of passing under new OC Chip Lindsey in an attempt to stay balanced on offense.
A former resident of both Baton Rouge and the heart of Crimson Tide country, Will Ogburn handles multimedia content and news coverage for Saturday Down South.
