Observations: Final viewing window of Auburn football camp
A full look at an 11-on-11 drill, important injury updates, special teams standouts and a few stock risers late in camp highlight Tuesday's action.
AUBURN — Tuesday felt like a natural transition point for Auburn football as it goes from preseason camp to game prep for a big-time season opener at Baylor.
The Tigers held a morning practice, with media members getting to watch nearly a full hour of the action. This was the last media viewing window of preseason camp, as the next availability is set to be Hugh Freeze’s weekly press conference Monday.
There was plenty to watch in this last viewing window of preseason ball, from a full and interesting 11-on-11 drill to more passing game action and special teams work.
We also highlighted some standout performers, including a starter returning to 100% after an injury issue.
So, for the final time before game week, let’s break down everything we saw from a busy viewing period of Auburn football preseason practices.
Several important injury updates
Cornerback Kayin Lee was in a non-contact jersey Tuesday and didn’t participate much during the viewing window. He had heavy wrap around one of his ankles.
Wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. was in a non-contact jersey but participated in most drills. He still has his knee wrapped from the “deep thigh bruise” that he suffered last week in practice.
Wide receiver Cam Coleman was out of a non-contact jersey and was a full participant in this practice. That’s a great sign for the Tigers. He made some highlight-reel catches, per usual, on Tuesday.
Wide receiver Perry Thompson is still practicing with a brace on his knee. It doesn’t look like his issue is going to keep him from being available at the start of the season.
Wide receivers Malcolm Simmons and Bryce Cain were full participants after getting “banged up” last week, per Freeze.
Kicker Alex McPherson didn’t do much work during the viewing window. That’s been the norm for him this preseason, as Auburn doesn’t want to overload him as he returns from the ulcerative colitis and subsequent surgeries that cost him almost all of last season.
Freshman defensive lineman Antonio Coleman was not at practice Tuesday. Freeze said on Monday that he had been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules.
One more look at offense and defense before game week
During the viewing window, Auburn went through a period of good-on-good with a couple of notable twists.
The first was that center Connor Lew was standing on the sidelines. Lew didn’t appear to be dealing with any sort of injury, though. Instead, Auburn gave Dillon Wade an opportunity to work at center, with Izavion “Too Tall” Miller checking in from his sixth man role to right guard. Jeremiah Wright flipped to the left side.
The second was that this period didn’t look like a traditional pace drill or the red-zone work that we’ve seen throughout preseason camp. It looked more like what Hugh Freeze described Monday as a “choice” drill, where Auburn’s defense mimicked what it expects to see from Baylor in the season opener.
“We're still going good-on-good, so it's not like we haven't broken up and gone scout teams yet,” Freeze said Monday. “Today, we did one period of offense/defense choice, where we tell them what we want, and they make it look as close as we can, and they do the same for 10 plays.”
As you might expect at this point, the defense featured more rotation among the first team than the offense. Here’s how those individual units looked in the drill: