Two Defensive Ends And A Cup...Of Notes

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Tiger DEs could be a handful for Mississippi State


Credit: Opelika-Auburn News

Auburn defensive ends Dee Ford (95) and Corey Lemonier (55) gave the Tigers something to build around in the season opener against Clemson. 

By: Ryan Wood | Opelika-Auburn News
Published: September 05, 2012 Updated: September 05, 2012 - 11:34 PM
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AUBURN – Coaches have been stingy with their praise this week, as expected.

Compliments are rare after a loss, if they come at all. Nobody wants to look on a bright side. There are no smiles, only grump.

Inside Auburn’s athletic complex, it’s been no different. So while, by any reasonable stretch, Auburn defensive ends Corey Lemonier and Dee Ford were impressive in Saturday’s opener, the 26-19 defeat to Clemson quickly erased any back-slapping.

“They graded out average to above average,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said.

When it comes to Auburn’s defense, Chizik hasn’t used “above average” for anyone else. Still, after combining for three sacks and 13 tackles, it sounded harsh.

“It’s not always about what you see in terms of sacks,” Chizik said. “The effort was certainly there, but we look at execution in the defense, doing your job. And so you could have three sacks and, grade-wise, it’s not always what it looks like to the public eye.

“Those guys obviously have a lot of improvement to do with playing in the structure of the defense.”

Disgusted with his defense’s performance against Clemson, coordinator Brian VanGorder said no one’s job is secure this week when Auburn opens SEC play at Mississippi State. Graded above average, Lemonier and Ford are surely safer than anyone.

In a defensive effort that produced low points just about everywhere, Lemonier and Ford emerged as the Tigers’ strength. Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen certainly noticed.

“They’re explosive players,” Mullen said during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference. “Obviously, they have tremendous speed off the edge.”

Mullen doesn’t want to hear about how much Lemonier and Ford need to improve. Like Auburn, Mississippi State has young offensive tackles, immersed in learning experience since fall camp opened.

This week could provide an in-depth lesson.

Sophomore Blaine Clausell and junior-college transfer Charles Siddoway have combined for six starts. That includes the Bulldogs opener Saturday against Jackson State.

Mullen said he’s tried everything this week to limit the shock factor of going against a pass-rushing tandem that could evolve into one of the most explosive in the SEC, if not the country.

“One of the things we try to do is try to create matchups in pass rush in practice this week to simulate the speed we’re going to see on Saturday so our guys aren’t shocked by the explosiveness of their two starting ends,” Mullen said. “They can really rush the passer. They really get off the ball well.”

There are obvious differences separating Lemonier and Ford.

Lemonier is a mild-mannered star. His reputation was established after a breakout season in 2011. More than a year later, he’s just as unassuming.

After finishing with two sacks and eight tackles Saturday, the junior didn’t disagree with Chizik’s stern critique. Lemonier said he needed to have better technique and more production.

“That's always the key to football,” Lemonier said. “You can always work the technique, work for a different team we're playing. If it's proper footwork, you can do that with run technique or something like that.

“You can always work the technique."

While Lemonier seems oblivious to the spotlight, Ford may have been made for it. For sheer comedy, there’s not a funnier player on Auburn’s roster. With Ford’s improvisational skills, the junior can turn an interview into a five-minute standup routine.

On the field, he needs more polish. Ford’s potential breakout 2011 was put on hold after three games because of a back injury.

But together, the duo is a handful. They work well together, looking almost synchronized Saturday night.

Ford said that’s on accident.

“I wouldn't say its teamwork. We’re teammates,” said Ford, a junior. “At the end of the day, it’s still both of us doing our jobs, being technicians. I think we’re both depending on each other to get around those corners and just play.

“Before the season, we were telling each other that we don't need to do much thinking. We just need to go.”

Lemonier and Ford were some of the first defensive players to establish themselves during August camp, earning starting jobs midway through. Defensive line coach Mike Pelton said there’s nothing complicated about their success. It’s hard work mixed with natural talent.

If it continues, Pelton said, the duo could be special.

“They have God-given ability,” Pelton said. “There’s not a lot of coaching with those guys. You just try to refine their skills. They’ve been blessed with a lot of talent, but at the same time they still can develop their talent to be something special.

“Everybody expects a lot out of them. They expect a lot out of themselves. But at the same time, they’ve got to polish up on their skills and play well.”

 

NOTES

No decision on center:

Auburn coach Gene Chizik said he will decide after Thursday’s practice who will be the Tigers starting center Saturday.

Until then, he said sophomores Reese Dismukes and Tunde Fariyike have alternated with first-team reps in practice.

Dismukes had to do certain, unspecified tasks just to return to practice after being arrested for public intoxication Aug. 25, one week before Auburn’s opening game. Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes wouldn’t say what they were, but he hopes they made their point.

 â€œI wouldn’t go into that in any detail beyond what coach Chizik said,” Grimes said. “But I’ll just say he’s had to do a lot of things that will hopefully teach him a lesson.”

 

VanGorder not surprised by defense:

As bad as Auburn’s defense looked at times against Clemson, defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder said few things caught him off guard.

 â€œI can’t say that I was totally surprised at a lot of the events in the game,” VanGorder said. “I expected there to be good, bad and ugly, as I stated beforehand. That’s what I had seen on the field. The objective was to cut down on the ugly.

 â€œMaybe the one thing that surprised me a little bit was our tackling. I didn’t expect to be so poor in the area of tackling.”

Asked if the defense will work on tackling this week, VanGorder didn’t flinch.

 â€œWe always work on tackling,” VanGorder said. “You bet.”

 

Loeffler encouraged by Frazier’s first start:

Opinion through the week on quarterback Kiehl Frazier has been mostly positive, especially for his first start.

Offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler felt the same. While he’d like more consistency, Loeffler specifically liked Frazier’s poise and demeanor on the field.

“I was very encouraged by that,” Loeffler said. “First time being in there, I was very nervous at the beginning. As the game progressed, we thought that he settled in quite well. He made a lot of mistakes but did a lot of good things also.

 â€œOur goal next week is just to keep eliminating mistakes and continue the developmental process.”

 

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