Auburn loses four offensive starters, Todd, Tate, Trott and McCain while returning a veteran offensive line. And three players who got plenty of touches in 2009 are returning for their senior seasons, Kodi Burns, Mario Fannin and Terrell Zachery. Gus Malzahn's run/play-action spread could also be getting a fresh new look with the addition of Cameron Newton and Michael Dyer among the speediest group I can ever recall preparing to sign a LOI.
Malzahn is faced with problem that any OC should welcome with the exception of the number of quarterbacks lined up without SEC experience. True it is reasonable to expect that Ben Tate's tough running style will be the hardest to replace. Malzahn wants 80 plays of counter, zone read, bubble screens and power with plenty of motion as we have witnessed.
But one option is to borrow a little from Urban Meyer and morph it into the style of spread Malzahn authored at Arkansas with more traps, QB power and isolation. Employing such only requires some imagination and the ability to plug in certain players to fill the roles of McFadden, Jones and Hillis with Dyer or prospect Lattimore, Burns and Fannin.
I also look for Tyrik Rollison to assume a role (possibly wildcat) in order to utilize his es-capability. Mix in the outside threat of Ontarrio McCalleb, the reverse threat of Zachery and the underated pass catching skills of Darvin Adams and we have the makings for a strong brew. Still it is also possible to use a Leak (Caudle) Newton combo to some varying degree of success although most of us cringe at the idea.
It is safe to say that our returning personnel are not any of those former players from Arkansas and Florida, but it is reasonable to assume that Malzahn will answer as he does each season with whatever talent he has available. So Auburn will pound opposing defenses with 6 athletes every play. Given the success that Chris Todd had with an average arm and without a true deep threat, I am encouraged that our returning players along with the aid of some help at wide receiver will do the trick.
Kodi Burns- 5 REC /46 YDS. 9.2 AV. 23 long 1 TD RUSH. 56-175 YDS. 3.1 AV. 19 long 5 TDS. NO FUMBLES
Mario Fannin- 42 REC.-413 YDS. 9.8 AV. 82 long 3 TDS RUSH. 34-285 YDS. 8.4 AV. 32 long 0 TDS.
Terrell Zachery- 26 REC.-477 YDS. 18.3 AV. 93 long 5 TDS. RUSH. 9-214 YDS. 23.8 AV. 67 long 1 TD.
Without knowing the full capabilities of our next signal caller nor his ability to adjust to SEC game speed let alone to read defenses, my question is this:
Do you see Malzahn adopting some of Arkansas' version of the spread or borrowing some from the style of Florida to fit the incoming personnel and current players or do you expect to see little change if any from last seasons offense?
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