So, to piggyback the hype wes started, here is some day 1 notes.
http://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/auburn-football/notes-auburns-first-day-practice/Gus Malzahn spoke to the media following Auburn’s first day of fall practice today. Here are a few tidbits and notes from the day:
New Auburn safety Tray Matthews missed the opening day of practice. Malzahn said it was for “personal reasons†and that he will be back tomorrow (Wednesday).
Assistant coach J.B. Grimes attended practice today despite having cancer surgery just last week. Malzahn said that “J.B. is probably the toughest coach in college football.â€
DE Carl Lawson had his first “full-go†practice with the team since tearing his ACL during the spring of 2014.
On the topic of Jeremy Johnson and the hype that has surrounded him this offseason, Malzahn emphasized that the team and players “have to earn everything we get. Preseason hype means absolutely nothing.â€
Malzahn noted that the team doesn’t need extra locker room material for motivation entering the season. He added that “8-5 is enough to motivate our guys.â€
No captains have been selected yet for Auburn. Selections will be made closer to the week 1 game.
New Auburn DE Byron Cowart looked the part of the nation’s top recruit during his first practice.
http://auburn.247sports.com/Bolt/Preseason-camp-observations-Day-1-38558299AUBURN - Auburn returned to the practice field Tuesday for its first practice of preseason camp. Here's some observations from the 20 minutes (give or take) the media
Offensive line coach J.B. Grimes was out at practice with a cloth bandage around the right side of his neck. Grimes had surgery last week to remove a cancerous spot on his tongue and lymph nodes on the right side of his neck. Grimes told the athletics department website he's "cancer-free" and "good to go" for the coming season.
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Safety Tray Matthews was not seen practicing Tuesday. No word why the defensive MVP of the A-Day was absent.
With Matthews out, Nick Ruffin took his place. The rest of the first-team defense consisted of safety ]b\Rudy[/b] Ford, corners Joshua Holsey and Jonathan Jones, linebackers Kris Frost and Cassanova McKinzy and a defensive line of Carl Lawson and DaVonte Lambert at end while Maurice Swain and Dontavius Russell were at tackle. Blake Countess and Cameron Toney switched off at the Sam/Nickel.
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Roc Thomas and Jovon Robinson split the reps with the first-team offense during drills, receiving the handoffs from Jeremy Johnson. That left Peyton Barber to work with the second-team and backup quarterback Sean White.
When the Tigers began their "pace" drills -- with them lining up and running a play as quickly as possible -- Thomas was the only one to receive first-team reps before media members were asked to leave.
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No news to report on special teams, as the Tigers didn't hold any drills with kick or punt return in the first 20 minutes of Tuesday's session.