This article says all the things I think we've all been hoping were true. No way we suck as bad as it looked last year. The recruiting gurus couldn't have been wrong on all our guys and there really is a lot more talent than we've displayed. Not saying AU's defense is going to suddenly become Da' Bears. But, I think we can expect some serious improvement. Coppage de la Ellis pasta Johnson al.kum
A defense can rarely be rebuilt in only one year, but Ellis Johnson has done it before, back in his first season at South Carolina. Whether or not he can pull off the same type of turnaround in his first season at Auburn depends largely on whether or not a defense long on potential but short on prior SEC production can take a huge step forward collectively. For Johnson, the key is whether or not Auburn's experienced defenders can make that leap.
"I think we've got good, solid SEC players that when you play like they did last year, they’re going to have to play differently," Johnson said. "I don’t think we have to have different people, we have to have different performance."
When Johnson took over at South Carolina, the Gamecocks jumped from ninth in the SEC in 2007 to fourth in 2008 and promptly reeled off three top-15 finishes nationally in his four seasons on the job.
Steve Spurrier, Johnson's head coach at South Carolina, pointed out at SEC Media Days that his former assistant is perfectly capable of replicating the same success at Auburn, provided that he has the players to pull off his scheme.
Auburn's defense is full of depth, flush with players who were highly recruited and fought their way into playing time early on in their careers.
What Johnson needs is players at every position to take the next step and become All-SEC-caliber performers capable of making big plays.
Right now, still more than a week before Auburn opens the fall camp, the jury is still out.
"I don’t know that I can make that judgment in 15 practices," Johnson said. "We’re probably deeper than we were at South Carolina or Mississippi State but I don’t know our players well enough yet to know what we’ll accomplish."
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn saw plenty of reason for optimism during the spring.
For starters, a defensive tackle unit that has largely played below its recruiting hype impressed with both its depth and playmaking ability, led by Angelo Blackson, Jeffrey Whitaker and Gabe Wright.
At linebacker, both Kris Frost and Cassanova McKinzy started to come into their own, flashing potential, and the cornerbacks, led by Chris Davis, might have been the most consistent unit on the team.
And at the crucial "Star" position -- the hybrid safety-linebacker who provides most of the flexibility in Johnson's 4-2-5 defense -- Justin Garrett emerged as the star of spring practices.
"You know, the thing that stood out in spring, (Johnson)’s very fundamentally sound," Malzahn said. "He’s going to let our guys play. Line up and let ‘em play. We’ve worked very hard on identifying our top 11 guys, and we’re going to put them on the field."
More importantly, Auburn made big strides in open-field tackling, another of Johnson's area of emphasis during the spring, and ability to create turnovers out of the secondary.
Over the summer, the players have spent time watching film, trying to eliminate errors and pick up tendencies from the Tigers' first couple of opponents. And the Tigers defense, a unit that struggled under former head coach Gene Chizik, is starting to build some confidence. "I really feel like we're going to shock everybody with our new defense," Garrett said.
The task for Johnson and the rest of his staff is to iron out a few problem areas, namely the pass rush from the outside at defensive end opposite Dee Ford -- a problem that newcomers Carl Lawson and Elijah Daniel might help -- a few problems with calls at the line of scrimmage, inserting sub-packages and building depth at safety.
But the Tigers feel like they're ready to make the kind of leap Johnson needs to turn in another impressive single-season turnaround.
"We've played for years together," defensive end Nosa Eguae said. "I feel like, as a collective group, we feel like it's our time to go out there and be a force in the SEC."
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