Observations: Day 13 of Auburn football spring practices

Here's everything we saw and heard Thursday as the Tigers ramp up towards Saturday's A-Day Game inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

AUBURN — Spring practices aren’t supposed to be this hot.

It’s almost as if the weather knew Alex Golesh and his staff wanted to give their new Auburn football team as much of a challenge as possible in their first set of practices together.

Auburn went hard Tuesday, going with a scrimmage that stretched over 100 plays inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers got right back at it over at the football performance center Thursday morning, where the temperature crept into the 80s.

No spring breeze. No early April cold snap. Auburn has spent its final week of practice — one that will culminate with a Friday session, then the Saturday A-Day Game — in warmer weather that is closer to what it will experience when it has fall camp.

“I ain't gonna lie,” LSU transfer defensive tackle Walter “Buddy” Mathis Jr. said after practice Thursday. “It’s hot.”

Auburn did bring a snow cone truck out at the end of practice, though, and it was quickly swarmed by Tigers of all position groups. It’s a little something that will help them push through the final days of some high-energy and high-intensity spring ball.

The A-Day Game on Saturday afternoon inside Jordan-Hare Stadium will be the official end of the first set of practices in this new era, and you could tell from the post-practice interviews that so many new players are looking forward to making a strong first impression on the fans.

“We need to show that we're connected,” Miami transfer offensive guard Deryc Plazz said. “Five guys on the same page, attacking, playing hard, playing fast, being physical from snap to whistle. And, as an offense, that's the same thing: Showing that we're gonna have 11 guys on the field at all times committed to doing their job.”

Thursday marked the final open viewing window of spring practices for media members. One more time this spring, here’s what we saw and heard during several periods of drills Thursday morning, along with takeaways from our player interviews.

• In a positive injury development, safety Champ Anthony was back in action. This was the most we’ve seen the veteran defensive back participate in practices this spring, although he obviously wasn’t at 100%. He got some work as the second-team nickel in an 11-man pace drill. While Anthony likely will get held out of the A-Day Game on Saturday, it’s good to see him going again — he’s a vocal leader.