Auburn football fall camp: Day four observations
In this story:
Not much has changed with the quarterback rotation. Rotations elsewhere, however, are starting to get interesting.
The media was allowed a 20-minute period to watch practice unfold on Tuesday morning. Here's what I gathered from Auburn's fourth day of fall camp.
- TJ Finley is still running solely with the ones. He was the first-team quarterback with Tank Bigsby in the backfield.
- Auburn's offensive line (from left to right) was as follows: Killian Zierer, Tate Johnson, Nick Brahms, Kam Stutts, Austin Troxell
- Zach Calzada and Robby Ashford were splitting time with the second-team, running with Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston at running back. Holden Geriner was on the third-team.
- During the first part of the viewing period, we watched Auburn run some plays. All of the pass plays I saw were on the right side of the field somewhere between the backfield and 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
- TJ Finley had a nice pass over the middle broken up on a diving attempt by DJ James.
- Finley missed a wheel/rail route (couldn't see which it was) to Jarquez Hunter, who had slight separation from linebacker Wesley Steiner. Had the ball been accurate, it could have been a touchdown.
- Zach Calzada had a really nice play against pressure. Auburn sent a blitz at Calzada, who didn't bail from the pocket or panic. He slowly drifted back, then found Jarquez Hunter across the middle of the field for a big gain. Love the poise from Calzada.
- All of Auburn's quarterbacks had accuracy issues. There were moments in drills where Ashford, Finley, and Calzada either completely whiffed on throws, or struggled to put the ball on the receiver. It wasn't the case all of the time, but it was too often, from the top down.
- Koy Moore looks really good on short and intermediate routes. He's fluid.
- Auburn's running backs and quarterbacks worked on toss drills with a trainer as a "lead blocker." Biggest takeaway I had outside of a Justin Jones fumble was Damari Alston's burst. He's not the fastest player, but his first cut and burst is impressive.
- I watched all of Auburn's running backs work through a drill where they had to make a cut outside of a pop-up dummy bag, and then cut back inside past a trainer. Running backs coach Cadillac Williams was very energetic and animated during this drill.
- Auburn's EDGE group has some size. Dylan Brooks and Marcus Bragg are two players I was impressed with running through drills.
- I took a lot of video of Auburn's receivers working through cone drills. Camden Brown, Ze'Vian Capers, and JJ Evans were three receivers that I noted did not have the most polished routes. However, considering their size (all 6-foot-2 or taller), I didn't expect them to be perfect.
- Omari Kelly, Jay Fair, Jake Kruse, Malcolm Johnson Jr, and Koy Moore all had some solid reps.
- At the end, there were several drills Auburn ran with quarterbacks and receivers only. While the QBs weren't perfect, there were several drops. Malcolm Johnson Jr. and Tar'Varish Dawson Jr. both had drops during the viewing window.
- Robby Ashford overthrew his receiver on back-to-back throws during the final drill I was able to watch. His mechanics are interesting. He winds up his throws and has a high release point, which I think is why the ball sails on him so often.
Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!
Follow Auburn Daily on Twitter
