Observations: What we saw on Day 7 of Auburn football camp
Jackson Arnold's big day, plenty of offense vs. defense work and a spotlight on a popular name headline a full practice of takeaways.
AUBURN — Before Auburn goes behind closed doors for its first scrimmage of the preseason, it was wide-open for the seventh practice session of camp.
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze let media members take in the entirety of Thursday’s practice, which almost lasted two hours at the football performance center. Afterwards, several Tigers came off the field for interviews, including a potential starter and multiple newcomers.
“I think this team right here is special,” transfer edge rusher Chris Murray said. “Like, it can't get no better than what we're doing out here — what we just did today.”
There’s a lot to get to in these practice Observations, ranging from Jackson Arnold shining at quarterback to a full breakdown of what happened when the offense squared off with the defense in red-zone drills.
We’ve also got an injury report, another look at the always popular wide receiver versus defensive back action, some No-Huddle Notes and a look at a particular player who got a lot of attention — for multiple reasons — at practice Thursday.
Injury Report
Linebacker Demarcus Riddick is still in a yellow non-contact jersey and is limited in practices. He is the only major player still in yellow.
Cornerbacks Rayshawn Pleasant and Blake Woodby have both returned to full-speed practice.
Freshman tight end Ryan Ghea remains out with a shoulder injury.
Defensive end Amaris Williams had his wrist taped instead of braced and went through practice fully Thursday.
Kicker Alex McPherson was a full participant and even hit a field goal that was around 50 yards in distance Thursday.
Wide receiver Malcolm Simmons was not at practice Thursday. We were told his absence was due to a recent health scare involving his child.
Jackson Arnold had a standout day
While media members haven’t been able to see everything from every single practice so far in camp, we’ve been able to see a lot. Case in point: Thursday was the second time we got to watch all of practice.
And Thursday felt like the best we’ve seen from Arnold since he got to Auburn.