Everything we saw and heard on the penultimate day of Auburn fall camp
Before game prep truly begins next week, here's what we learned from a busy Friday of practice viewing and press conferences.
(Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)
Fall camp, as we know it, is coming to an end at Auburn.
The Tigers hit the practice field Friday morning for what would be the last of their usual fall camp schedule.
On Saturday night, they’ll return to Jordan-Hare Stadium for a scrimmage that will get them better prepared for the under-the-lights games they have in two of their first three weeks of the season. (Sadly, the media won’t be allowed at this scrimmage.)
By the time practice gets going next week, Auburn will be in extended game week mode for the opener. School will be back in session. It’ll truly be go time for the Tigers.
“Just getting into the routine of what a normal week is like for us,” head coach Hugh Freeze said before practice. “Mondays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays are pretty good work days, and you've got to lift two of those days and go through classes and tutoring and practice. We're going to do a normal game week and then, (next) Saturday, do a mock game.”
Freeze’s press conference came right before a 20-minute viewing window, where the Tigers went through individual drills in the hot August sun. The intensity seemed to be at a higher level, too, with just two weeks before the return of actual, competitive football on the Plains.
For the final time in what has been a loaded fall camp for access, here’s what we saw and heard from Freeze and his players on Friday at the Football Performance Center.
And we’ll start with an important topic that grabbed a lot of people’s attention Friday…
OL Dillon Wade (Austin Perryman/Auburn Tigers)
The OL has “a ways to go” — and it could get a shakeup
Freeze didn’t hold back when he was asked about Auburn’s offensive line on Friday morning, saying the Tigers “have a ways to go there” and also calling it his “biggest worry on the offense right now.”
“O-line-wise, just getting them to gel and get on the same page,” Freeze said. “Really happy with most of them up there, but there's a couple spots where we've got to bring it and come better. … We're not all on the same page. (Center) Connor Lew is very, very sharp. He's making the right calls, but somehow, it's not translating all the time to every position there.
“We've still got work to do. I'm optimistic. Tyler Johnson is now healthy, and he's got a chance to be really, really talented. I'll tell you: (Ronan) Chambers has been a very good late pickup to help us also. We're debating with D-Wade (Dillon Wade) where's best for him to play. We're still in the process of figuring that out. We do need to improve there.”
Let’s dive into some analysis of that quote, shall we?