Auburn Daily Weekly Roundtable: The Offseason
With spring football in the rearview mirror, it officially can be called the offseason for football. Baseball is in the heat of SEC play and gymnastics and equestrian are competing for a national title. Spring is fun.
This week's roundtable discussion breaks down the A-Day game as well as a few other questions we were left wondering after spring practices. The staff is also joined this week by Señor Cinco himself, Auburn message board legend Charlie5.
What is your favorite and least favorite Easter candy?
Charlie5: Reese Eggs are the goat - Peeps are Satanic
Zac Blackerby: My favorite are robins eggs. They slap.
Least favorite is the candy that must not be named due to being disgusting - the marshmallow egg things.
Lindsay Crosby: I love the Sweet Tarts "Chicks, Ducks & Bunnies". Reese's Eggs are a close second. Don't bring a Peep anywhere near me. They're evil.
Lance Dawe: Reese’s eggs. Peeps are a close second. Least favorite would probably be the Cadbury eggs, they’re just too sweet.
Gray Oldenburg: By far my favorite easter candy are those Starburst Jellybeans! You know its a great seasonal candy when you get very excited when you see them and very sad when they aren't on the shelf anymore. It's hard to pick and easter candy that I dislike but if I had to pick one it would be "Bunny corn." Yes, its the exact same thing as candy corn during halloween so strictly based off the fact it's a run off of another seasonal candy and not its own, Ill say it's my least favorite.
Andrew Stefaniak: Favorite is Peeps. Least favorite is jelly beans.
Trey Lee: Reeces Eggs. The absolute GOAT. Peeps are the worst though.
If you had to reposition the quarterbacks currently in Auburn's QB room (Calzada, Finley, Ashford, & Geriner) to a different position other than QB, what position would you change them to and why?
C5: Calzada - Placekicker/Holder - Only place I think
TJ - Left Tackle - can’t be any worse than what we have currently and he’s 6’7
Ashford - Outside WR - 6’4 and can fly
Geriner - Placekicker/holder - too handsome to get dirty anywhere else
ZB: Longsnapper. I don’t think this unit, outside of Ashford, would be good at another position.
LLC: Ashford moves to receiver - he's the fastest of the four and, judging from how well he throws on the run, I believe he probably has the best hand-eye coordination. Calzada moves to linebacker, and becomes one of those downhill "neck roll" run-stopping linebackers. There's a 100% chance he'd blow up a fullback in the A gap on a goal to go scenario. Geriner moves to defensive back - he has great field vision and anticipation, so I could see him making plays on the ball and shutting down deep threats over the top. Finley moves to TE, I guess, because he's tall? He doesn't move super well, but I don't think he's heavy and strong enough to be a lineman, so I guess that's the best place to put him.
LD: I’d put Finley at outside linebacker, because he’d be a menace on the edge at his size. I’d put Calzada at fullback because he’s the grittiest of the group. Ashford would play at tight end because I like the size and athleticism there. And then finally Geriner would play safety because Auburn needs depth there.
GO: TJ is the easiest answer with his height and big hands, he would be moved to Tight End. Ashford, I could see being that one cut type of running back with not a huge burst but great athletic ability and good running threats. The other two with Calzada and Geriner, it's really hard to look at them and their talents and give them a reason to be any other position other than quarterback, so for Auburn's sake and for the sake of safety of Holden Geriner and Zach Calzada, they would both be great QB coaches.
AS: I would make Finley the jump ball tight end. He is very athletic and I think he could go get 50/50 balls over someone. I would have Ashford change to a wide out. He is 6’4 and sneaky athletic. He would be very shifty and at his hight he could still go get the 50/50 balls. I would have Geriner play inside linebacker because he is 6’3 210. He is athletic and could stop the run game and cover running backs out of the back field. Geriner would definitely deliver the boom to a ball carrier headed his way. I would have Calzada play safety because he is quick at his 6’4 210 frame. He sees the game very well as a quarterback so I believe that he could do the same as the last resort of the defense at safety. I wouldn’t be surprised one bit to find out Calzada is a ball hawk.
TL: Calzada - TE
Finley - EDGE
Ashford - WR
Geriner - RB
I think Calzada would do well as a tight end with his 6'3 frame and deceptive speed. Finley's size would make him a major threat on the defensive side of the ball. Ashford is an athletic freak so getting him the ball in space would be fun. Geriner isn't the fastest athlete in the world, but he scored a few rushing TDs in high school so I think he could be a fun option in the backfield.
Who was your Breakout Player from the A-Day game?
C5: Cam Riley - Hulking Super Teen
ZB: Tar’varish Dawson really impressed me. He has a chance to play a key role in this offense.
LLC: Sean Jackson. He started spring as a walk-on that had a career 12 carries for 60 yards (mostly against Alabama State in garbage time), he ended spring practice as a scholarship player as a guy that fans are legitimately asking to see on the field this fall. Feels like that's essentially the definition of a breakout.
LD: I really liked what we saw out of Ashford, but I’ll say Brandon Frazier. He’s been buried on the right end depth chart for quite some time and Im glad he was able to make some plays.
GO: Malcolm Johnson Jr played a great A-Day game. I feel like if I told myself last week that a Wide receiver would be my breakout player I would be super pumped. But he was great, The TD catch was good even though there were questions about would that be overturned to incomplete in a game but also had a good end around run and showed some of that world class speed we need from him.
AS: The breakout player for A-Day for me was Tar’Variash Dawson. I know he had that bad drop that would have been a touchdown but that is one and a million for him. We know that he will have a big role in this offense based off of his A-Day usage. I think he will thrive in the role that he will be given since he is such a gifted receiver.
TL: This may be a different answer than most, but I will go Ze'Vian Capers. Capers played a decent amount his freshman year, but seemed to fall off the radar during the 2021 season. Capers caught two passes for 47 yards during the spring game, and he will look to build upon a positive spring in a wide-open wide receiver room this fall.
Does Shedrick Jackson go over or under 500 receiving yards this season?
C5: Under
ZB: He did it last year but I don’t know if its likely to happen again or now. My guy says no but he could exceed his production from last year if he’s given a chance.
LLC: He had 527 last year, so that's a good number. Between Auburn having even more tight ends they feel comfortable using in the passing game and the (seemingly obvious) incoming transfers to the wide receiver room during the summer, I'm going to go with under.
LD: Over. I think he’s able to improve on last years totals, which included a few drops. Auburn works him over the middle of the field more this season and it ends up paying off.
GO: Under. This Wide receiver room is full of a bunch of WR2's and WR3"s so I do not think there is enough of other threats to draw away from Jackson or Javarrius Johnson or a guy like Malcolm Johnson or even TaVarish Dawson. I also think the tight ends will take away a lot of those passing yards being heavily involved in the passing game this year. But it all depends on who is Auburn's quarterback at the time and how they are playing.
AS: I’m going to say under 500 yards for Shedrick Jackson. I think the receiving by this team will be spread out through so many different people including the tight ends and even Tank. There will be so many mouths to feed to make this offense successful that I don’t see Auburn being able to sustain a receiver for more than 500 yards.
TL: I will go with under. There is a slight question mark in the receiver room for Auburn, but that comes from a lack of experience. I think guys like Landen King, Ja'Varrius Johnson, and potentially even Malcom Johnson Jr. will have more receiving yards than the Hoover native.
Start, Bench, Cut: Samir Doughty, KT Harrell, or Wendell Green
C5: Start - KT
Bench - Samir
Cut - Wendell (but I still love him)
ZB: Start KT, bench Samir, cut Wendell.
LLC: Start KT Harrell, Bench Samir Doughty, Cut Wendell Green (please don't read this, Wendell. I love you bby)
LD: Start KT Harrell, bench Samir Doughty, cut Wendell Green. Harrell was a bucket getter who could shoot the three, as was Doughty. Wendell has his moments, but he wasn’t as consistent as the other two.
GO: Start KT Harrell, Bench Samir Doughty, Cut Wendell Green. Harrell is one of the guys that made me fall in love with Auburn basketball, all four years he was at Auburn you just saw him ad this entire program get better and better. Samir is a guy that transferred in and had to sit out a year, then came back and played a great bench role on the final four team, and then came back for his senior year and was outstanding especially toward the end of the year before the tourney got cancelled. And I just think Green has a lot more to prove that those other two guys already have, do I think he can do it? No doubt in my mind!
AS: I would start Samir Doughty, bench KT Harrell, and cut Wendell Green. If you ask me this question this time next year there is a very good chance my answer is different. But both Harrell and Doughty had two very successful years at Auburn and I would need to see more from Green next year to put him ahead of one of these two guys.
TL: Start - KT Harrell
Bench - Samir Doughty
Cut - Wendell Green
This one is tough because these three players are very streaky from deep. I'll start KT here because he was more consistent than the others. Samir plays better defense than Green, so that will land him the bench role.
Who was your Winner of the Week?
C5: Sonny Dichara
ZB: Robby Ashford. The backup quarterback has won over the fan base after his A-Day performance.
LC: THICC KING Sonny DiChiara: SEC co-player of the week honors, two homeruns and six RBIs over the weekend, and now he has an NIL deal for his own shirt! aushirts.com/products/thicc-king
LD: Robby Ashford, for solidifying his spot in the quarterback race. He’s got a long way to go, but he performed well during A-Day.
GO: I said my MVP for the A-Day game was Malcolm Johnson Jr and will stick by that but I think he was gonna have a role this year no matter what. But I think Robby Ashford is my winner of the week, Ashford showed in the A-Day game that he did not come here to sit behind anyone in the quarterback race. He was incredibly efficient in the A-day game going 12-16 for 132 yards with some great throws and showed his threat to get outta the pocket and run.
AS: My winner of the week is Joseph Gonzales. He pitched a magical game and was able to carry Auburn to victory over Vanderbilt in the series deciding game three. Auburn will need him to continue dominating on the mound for their success in SEC play to continue.
TL: Landen King. He had an excellent spring capped off by an insane touchdown catch from Holden Geriner at A-Day.
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