GAME DAY Oct. 1 vs. Louisiana-Monroe 2:30 p.m., SEC Network
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The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
Thursday, September 29, 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 4
PAGE 8
PAGE 6 Improvement on defense continues with win over LSU
PAGE 9
Depth charts for both teams
Malzahn says giving up playcalling is “what’s best for our team”
Stats finally starting to fall Carl Lawson’s way
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The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
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The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
Quarterback: Sean White - 13 John Franklin III - 5 Jeremy Johnson - 6 Running Back: Kerryon Johnson - 21 Kamryn Pettway - 36
Wide Receiver: Darius Slayton - 81 Kyle Davis - 11 Left Tackle: Austin Golson - 73 Darius James - 78
H-Back/Tight End: Chandler Cox - 27 Jalen Harris - 85
Left Guard: Alex Kozan - 63 Deon Mix - 75 OR Marquel Harrell - 77
Wide Receiver: Marcus Davis - 80 OR Ryan Davis - 83
Center: Xavier Dampeer - 52 Kaleb Kim - 54
Wide Receiver: Stanton Truitt - 10 OR Will Hastings - 33
Right Guard: Braden Smith - 71 Mike Horton - 64
Wide Receiver: Tony Stevens - 8 Nate Craig-Myers - 3
Right Tackle: Robert Leff - 70 Prince Tega Wanogho - 76
Defensive End: Marlon Davidson - 3 Byron Cowart - 9 OR Paul James III - 10 Defensive Tackle: Montravius Adams - 1 Derrick Brown - 5 OR Devaroe Lawrence - 94 Defensive Tackle: Dontavius Russell - 95 Maurice Swain - 90 OR Andrew Williams - 79
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Will Linebacker: Montavious Atkinson - 48 OR T.J. Neal - 17
Kicker: Daniel Carlson - 38 Ian Shannon - 43
Sam Linebacker: Darrell Williams - 49 Richard McBryde - 51
Punter: Kevin Phillips - 91 Ian Shannon - 43
Field Corner Carlton Davis - 6 Marshall Taylor - 26 Field Safety: Stephen Roberts - 14 OR Nick Ruffin - 19
Buck: Carl Lawson - 55 Jeff Holland - 4
Boundary Safety: Tray Matthews - 28 Markell Boston - 11
Middle Linebacker: Deshaun Davis - 57 OR Tre’ Williams - 30
Boundary Corner: Josh Holsey - 15 Javaris Davis - 31 Nickel: Jonathan Ford - 23 Josh Holsey - 15
Long Snapper: Ike Powell - 69 Zach Wade - 68 OR Clarke Smith - 53 Holder: Tyler Stovall - 29 John Franklin III - 5 Punt Returner: Marcus Davis - 80 Ryan Davis - 83 Kick Returner: Johnathan Ford - 23 AND Kerryon Johnson - 21
UL-MONROE DEPTH CHART Quarterback: Garrett Smith - 13 Will Collins - 9
Wide Receiver: D’Marius Gillespie - 10 Brennen Bradley - 80
Defensive End: Caleb Tucker - 8 Sam Miller - 98
Running Back: Ben Luckett - 24 Duke Carter - 26
Left Tackle: Rey Baltazar - 78 Sam Williams - 72
Nose Tackle: Jaylen Veasley - 90 Nate Link - 49
Tight End: Colin Jeter - 81 Foster Moreau - 84
Left Guard: Frank Sutton Jr. - 75 Brian Thlang - 70
Defensive Tackle: Colton Moorehead - 52 Derion Ford - 99
Wide Receiver: Xavier Brown - 17 R.J. Turner - 2
Center: Jeff Savage - 50 Bobby Reynolds - 56
H: Shaquille Warren - 45 Sterling Doss - 48
Wide Receiver: Ajalen Holley - 21 Marcus Green - 3
Right Guard: Devin Jackson - 73 Ben Moye - 66
Will Linebacker: David Griffith - 14 Cortez Sisco Jr. - 7
Wide Receiver: Tre’ Perrier - 87 Jared Mapps - 7
Right Tackle: Eastwood Thomas - 64 T.J. Fiailoa - 68
Middle Linebacker: Chase Day - 32 Jarred Dunn - 5
Boundary Corner: Justin Backus - 20 Aaron Townsend - 31 Weakside Safety: Tre’ Hunter - 4 Wesley Thompson - 6 Buck: Stephen Amoako - 3 Alex Johnson - 19 Free Safety: Marcus Hubbard - 9 Nick Ingram - 23 Free Safety: Juwan Offray - 1 Terry Ausborne - 13
Kicker: Craig Ford - 16 Dayton Balvanz - 81 Punter: Dayton Balvanz - 81 Alex Prince - 63 Long Snapper: Walter Easton - 74 Punt Returner: Marcus Green - 3 Tre’ Perrier - 87 Kick Returner 1: Markis McCray - 12 Tre’ Perrier - 87 Kick Returner 2: Marcus Green - 3 Duke Carter - 26
Thursday, September 29, 2016
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The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
SECONDARY
Nick Ruffin reflects on “physical” 18-13 win over LSU Nathan Deal SPORTS REPORTER
Of the SEC’s many storied rivalries, few have been as hardnosed and physical as the Auburn-LSU series has been for much of the century. That was no different this time around in Auburn's 18-13 win. Just ask Auburn safety Nick Ruffin. “I'm definitely sore,” Ruffin said. “I’m a little sore and a lot of us are definitely a little sore, but we’re sore in the best way possible.” Ruffin started against LSU and recorded two tackles. One year after a humiliating 45-21 defeat in Baton Rouge, Ruffin and the Tigers knew how physical their opponent would be. “For us, it’s kind of a gauge to see where we are physically as a defense and even mentally,” Ruffin said. “Just stepping on the field with obviously Leonard Fournette, and they’re very, very big in size, so obviously very physical.” This time, Auburn’s defense stepped up to the challenge. The Tigers not only held their own against a talented, physical offense, but they frustrated quarterback Danny Etling all night. If this game was supposed to serve as a gauge for the defense,
they like the result. “For us to play as well as we did as a defense, it kind of gives us a good gauge going forward,” Ruffin said. “Like, ‘Hey, we can play in that kind of game.’” Ruffin believes the defense's tenacious attitude starts at the top with defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. Steele’s aggressive game plan made life miserable for LSU’s struggling offense, and even on their final drive, they felt the heat. “He’s not afraid, and for us that gives us confidence too,” Ruffin said. “As a defense you feel kind of more concerned when you have a coach that’s very, very conservative and you kind of feel like they don’t really have confidence in you, but as a secondary, more specifically, when your coach is dialing up full blitzes and leaving you man to man, he’s saying ‘I have full confidence that you can cover any receiver in the country.’” After such a physical and emotional game, surely Auburn's players would get Sunday off to rest, right? Well, not exactly. “We still had practice,” Ruffin said. “All of us are still out there, still flying around. Maybe the soreness hasn’t fully set in for us yet.” That’s just the way things go in the rough and tumble SEC.
FILE PHOTO
Nick Ruffin celebrates in Auburn’s loss to Clemson.
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The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
Thursday, September 29, 2016
DEFENSE
Improvement on defense continues in win against LSU Sam Butler
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
His unit was on the field, backed up inside the red zone and clinging to a five-point lead with only a handful of ticks left on the clock. But even when LSU quarterback Danny Etling found a wide-open D.J. Chark in the back of the end zone for what looked like the game-winning touchdown, Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele knew it didn’t matter. “When you've done it a while, with one second, they've got to be lined up, they've got to be set, everything’s got to be exact on point,” Steele said. “They were still moving and going around and those things. I really never thought that they got it off. … I was pretty confident they didn’t get it off.” He was right, and Auburn pulled out a nail-biting win over LSU Saturday night. His defense held the Bayou Bengals to 338 yards, a far cry from the 485 they racked up a year ago, when Steele was the defensive coordinator at LSU. Saturday, his Auburn defense limited LSU to just four of 13 conversions on third down. The Tigers have held opponents
to a paltry 27.87 third-down conversion percentage, good for 18th in the country. “I think there’s two things: I think players have done a good job on the back end conceptually, understanding what we're going to do on third down,” Steele said. “I think Coach McGriff has done a really good job of when we do our third-down presentation and we present to them what we're going to see, I think our guys have really done a good job of understanding the concepts we’re playing versus the concepts they're running.” The defense did a much better job of containing LSU running back Leonard Fournette, who only received four carries in the fourth quarter. He finished with 101 yards on 16 carries, less than half of what he accumulated in 2015. Stopping him was among the highest priorities for the defense, and bringing down someone who is considered one of, if not the best running back in college football makes a mark in some of their minds. “I can remember at Under Armour All-American things and
he was in the game and I was at the camp or whatever, stuff like that,” said linebacker Darrell Williams. “I've just been seeing him play for a long time and this is my first year getting to play a lot. I've seen him play in college and since I’ve been here, so I knew he was a good player. You respect his game. It’s just good to be able to play against guys with talent like that and playing my best.” Williams and the other linebackers were forced to play without Tre’ Williams, who was ejected in the second quarter after officials ruled his hit on Etling fell under the criteria for targeting. Even with the increased likelihood of targeting being called, defenders aren’t taught to alter how they’d normally hit on the off chance they run into a targeting-like situation. “No, we really don’t [think about it,]” Darrell Williams said. “It's just one of those things that’s unfortunate sometimes, because that's really just football. If you think about the way you’re trying to hit somebody, then it kind of hinders how you play and the physicality, so we don't really think about it.”
ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Carl Lawson celebrates with Aubie after Auburn’s 18-13 win over LSU.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
7
PHOTOS BY CATHERINE WOFFORD / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
LEFT: Kyle Davis (11) reaches up high to try and snag a pass. RIGHT: Kerryon Johnson (21) dives forward to escape a pile of Tigers. BOTTOM: Carlton Davis (6) deflects a pass intended for an LSU receiver.
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The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
Thursday, September 29, 2016
COACHING
Malzahn: Giving up playcalling “what’s best for our team”
Sam Butler
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The impetus for head coach Gus Malzahn to relinquish playcalling duties to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee was both gradual and sudden. It started after Auburn’s season-opening loss to Clemson. Malzahn realized that as the head coach, shouldering the entire offensive load himself was “unrealistic.” He was so preoccupied with making sure the next call was perfect that he wasn’t fully able to evaluate the whole team during the game. So, he slowly let Lashlee and offensive line coach Herb Hand assume control over the next few games, until Malzahn had given full discretion to call plays in Auburn’s win over LSU last Saturday. “My plan in the offseason was to be more involved, but sometimes reality hits you,” Malzahn said. “In this day and time, to be a head coach and call an offense is not realistic, at least for me. It hit me after that first game and it’s what’s best for our team.” Without the burden of being responsible for Auburn’s en-
tire offensive gameplan, Malzahn was able to step back and evaluate the team as a whole, something he said was “refreshing.” He had become so preoccupied with each individual playcall that it sometimes clouded Malzahn’s subsequent calls. “I felt like I was too negative the first couple of games,” Malzahn said. “... It was really refreshing for me to be on the opposite end of that. When you don’t live and die by every play, you can look ahead and see the big picture. That’s probably the best way to put that.” By all accounts, Lashlee’s gameplan was a success. The offense accumulated 388 yards, the most LSU had allowed all season. Sean White had a quarterback rating of 148.7, a career-high against an SEC opponent, and Kerryon Johnson combined with Kamryn Pettway to rush for 154 yards. The issues in the red zone that have plagued Auburn for over a year now still reared their ugly head, though. In six trips inside the 20-yard line, the Tigers managed five field goals, and the other time Johnson was stopped short of the goal line on fourth down.
ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn argues a call with the referee during Auburn’s win over LSU.
“Before the last two years, we were one of the best teams in the country, year-in and year-out [in the red zone,]” Malzahn said. “Beginning last year and the start of this year, it’s been the exact opposite. I think it’s just an overall evaluation of all of the above: an evaluation of the scheme, what fits our players, the playcalling, all of the above. “That’s our number one concern from the offensive standpoint. That’s the number one thing we have to solve. We’re going to focus on that like crazy. Let’s put it this way, you will see some different things in the red zone moving forward.” With a Louisiana-Monroe team coming up that ranks 112th in the nation in yards allowed per game at 477, there’s a prime opportunity to work out those pesky kinks in those last 20 yards. “We just have to solve our red zone issues,” Malzahn said. “That’s our number one focus right now. We are going to spend more time in practice. We are going to evaluate the whole deal in the red zone. If we can solve that, I think we can be a pretty good offense.”
Thursday, September 29, 2016
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The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
DEFENSIVE LINE
Stats finally starting to fall Carl Lawson’s way Sam Butler
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
The numbers weren’t there yet, but Carl Lawson’s impact on the opposing offense was always readily apparent. Well, on Saturday against LSU, the box score started filling up. Lawson registered four tackles — two for loss — three quarterback hurries and a pair of sacks against the other Tigers, anchoring a deep defensive line that kept LSU quarterback Danny Etling flustered and running back Leonard Fournette bottled up. His second sack, which came with 24 seconds left in the game and Auburn clutching an 18-13 lead, forced LSU to burn their final timeout and it led Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele to call it one of the two plays of the game. Seeing Lawson be rewarded with quantifiable stats, which are good to have but aren’t always indicative of a
player’s impact, was enjoyable for his teammates and coaches to see. “Carl is a very high-energy, high-octane guy,” said safety Nick Ruffin. “He’s a vocal leader on this defense, so for him to step up in a major, major way for us was, I guess clutch is the best way to describe it. He’s that kind of guy that if they throw the ball 20 times, he wants 20 sacks. So to see him get after the quarterback really all night, it was huge for us as a secondary. It helped us shut them down.” Along with Lawson, the rest of the defensive line swarmed LSU’s front five all night. And although they all didn’t get the stats like he did, it was clear their presence mattered. “The defensive line — 1, 3, 95 and 55 — really, really, played a very, very solid, good football game,” Steele said. “They affected the line of scrimmage on most every snap. Most every snap. That was a good core group in there. The unit was credited with 11 “quarterback affects” —
four sacks and seven hurries — out of LSU’s 31 pass plays, efficient by Steele’s standards. Lawson led the charge for a dominant performance, but he didn’t do quite enough to please his harshest critic — himself. “We’ve still got a lot of things we need to clean up, especially myself,” Lawson said after the game. “I had a long run. That was my fault. I’ve got to step it up and be more physical in the run game. So, as a team, we still have a lot things to improve on.” He wasn’t quite happy enough with how they played, but Lawson was able to step back and savor the moment after helping his team snap a six-game home losing streak to SEC teams. “You know, Auburn is such a special place, and coming from me having injuries and last season, just to get a win for these fans, to get a win at home,” Lawson said. “It’s a great feeling. A beautiful moment.”
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ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Carl Lawson (55) sacks LSU quarterback Danny Etling in Auburn’s win over LSU.
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The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
Thursday, September 29, 2016
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CATHERINE WOFFORD / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Daniel Carlson kicks one of his six field goals against LSU, which tied a school record.
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Daniel Carlson reflects on record performance Nathan Deal SPORTS REPORTER
If Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson seems more talkative and positive on campus this week, it shouldn’t take much imagination to figure out why. After all, it’s not every Saturday you score all of your team's points in a perfect performance that results in a huge conference win and the firing of your opponent's national-title-winning coach. Carlson, who is 12-for-12 on field goal tries this season, made six field goals against then-No. 18 LSU, tying the school record set by Al Del Greco against Kentucky in 1982. He also delivered Auburn its first win without a touchdown since a 3-2 win at Mississippi State in 2008. In the aftermath of Saturday’s game, the kicker from Colorado is now the big man on campus on The
Plains. “I was talking to someone this morning about what it’s like being on Cloud 9,” Carlson said. “Eventually, I’ve got to come down. I’ve got some tests this week in school so I’m sure those will bring me down, but it’s been a lot of fun with the team.” After the game, Carlson was hoisted upon his teammates’ shoulders and carried off the field in classic “Rudy” fashion. Carlson was so lost in the moment, he wasn't sure what to make of the free ride at the time. “I didn’t really—I don’t know, I think we were just so excited with just how the end of the game kind of happened that it was all just so surreal,” Carlson said. “It was really exciting just to celebrate with the team because I feel like we’d been waiting for that, so to finally be able to
do that and have that work pay off, it was really fun.” After Carlson’s brilliant performance earned him his second SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honor in three weeks, head coach Gus Malzahn didn't hesitate to express confidence in his kicker. “I would trust him from 60,” Malzahn said. “You may see that moving forward.” Carlson didn’t shy away when asked about his range. While his prowess from 50 yards and longer is well-known, he says he can top that by some distance. “I made (70-yard tries) a couple of times back in Colorado and here, but 65 and in I can do pretty easily without trying to swing any harder or anything,” Carlson said. “But 65 and in? If we needed it in a game, we could try that.”
Thursday, September 29, 2016
The Auburn Plainsman: Game Day
11
RECEIVERS
Ryan Davis discusses growth in second year, coaching decisions Nathan Deal SPORTS REPORTER
Auburn sophomore receiver Ryan Davis wasn’t utilized much during his freshman season. He didn’t record a catch all season and didn’t even touch the ball until a 28-yard run in Auburn's 26-10 win at Texas A&M. However, Davis has been huge for the Tigers so far this season, as three of his 12 catches came on Auburn’s final offensive drive against LSU. His first went for nine yards on 3rd-and-4, keeping the drive alive. He would catch back-to-back passes just two plays later, gaining eight and six yards, respectively. Davis’ catches helped Auburn move into position to score the game’s final points and ultimately win, which has boosted his confidence. “It’s getting the feel of college football; touching the ball in big games like LSU,
Clemson, Texas A&M, those types of SEC games,” Davis said. “Just being more comfortable and confident in myself. Those touches every week are giving me more confidence doing it in practice and the reps, stuff like that.” Davis had a career-high 5 catches for 31 yards in Auburn’s 18-13 win over LSU, and a large part of that might have to do with who was calling plays, or rather, who wasn’t. Head coach Gus Malzahn relinquished his play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee so that he could oversee the whole team and the offense could find its identity. However, Davis doesn’t think the change in play-caller actually made much of a change in the play-calling. “I feel like he and Coach Malzahn think just alike, so you can't really tell the difference because they’re just so similar,” Davis
said. “They've been with each other so long. We understand both coaches.” Lashlee will continue to call plays for Auburn moving forward, and the receivers are excited about the prospects of that. “We know coach Lashlee; he’s a great mind,” Davis said. “He’s been under Coach Malzahn. He’s been very well prepared. We have confidence in him.” Despite the offense showing improvement against LSU, Davis believed their red zone issues made the game closer than it should have been. Once those red zone issues are cleared up, though, Davis thinks the Tigers offense could become one of the nation's best. “I feel like once we get through that wall — I feel like we keep crashing into a wall right now — but, once we break through it, there's so many points,” Davis said. “Once we get through that wall, I think our offense will take off to a whole other level.”
ADAM SPARKS / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Ryan Davis (83) follows his blocker, Marcus Davis, against LSU.
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