I Went To Auburn's A-Day Game and All I Got Was This Sunburn

so, last weekend was a busy one for me. i took a trip to Auburn with my old man to check out Auburn's 2008 squad during their spring A-Day game. unfortunately i'd gone out to a show in Athens the night before, drank way too much, and got home way to late...so i forgot to take my camera, my notepad, or put on any damn sunscreen. so i have no pictures, very bad recollections of the actual game, and a nice pink sunburn on my arms and neck. this is what happens when you leave Athens at 8:45am to go watch some football and have had enough to time to shake your hangover off. all that said, it was a great day and i had fun.

BLACK LIPS+BEER+HAVING TO GO TO A FOOTBALL GAME THE NEXT DAY=FORGETTING YOUR SHIT


it was a beautiful spring day out on the Plains. clear skies (which resulted in the sunburn), lots of hot college girls (cowboy boots+dresses=War Fucking Eagle), and a good crowd. somewhere around 40 thousand people were reported to have been there...but honestly i couldn't tell. the lower decks on both sides were full as well as one of the endzones...but other than that it was empty. before the game we hung around outside the stadium and watched the players go in. saw Tommy Trott, Lee Ziemba, Bo Harris, Sen'Derrick Marks (that's a big motherfucker) and Ben Tate. we also saw Quentin Groves and Pat Sims hanging out and signing autographs and generally getting ready to be rich as shit after the draft. i'd really love it if the Falcons ended up with one of those guys. quiet a few former Tigers currently taking up NFL roster spots were in attendance including Ronnie Brown, Cadillac Williams, Carlos Rogers, Ben Obomanu, Will Herring, Courtney Taylor, and many more.

as far as the actual game goes, the defense looked a little sloppy, but they were basically playing with one hand behind their back. not much production came out of the running game as Brad Lester saw zero action, Ben Tate and Tristan Davis got very few carries, and Mario Fannin was hurt and didn't play. mostly we got a look at a bunch of walkons who will never see the field and so i have zero impressions of what the running game will be like...but that's not really a spot i'm ever super concerned with. no the real reason we made this trip was to get a good luck at the QB situation. and we saw a whole lot of fucking passing from all four guys.

here are my impressions of each player:


Kodi Burns- Kodi looked the most comfortable of any of the quarterbacks we saw. he had some great throws. he was 14-20 for 142 yards with a touchdown. he looked comfortable in the pocket and scrambled when the preasure was on. he was "sacked" a few times only because the QBs were down as soon as they were touched. i highly doubt he would actually have been sacked any of those times and more than likely he'd have gained 6 or 7 yards on the ground. he's a strong runner and i wouldn't be surprised if he leads Auburn in rushing this year. i feel the stongest about him as Auburn's starter. and honestly he's got that "it" factor. he just looks like a winner and if Auburn really wants to win any SEC titles in the next few years go ahead and turn the team over to this kid now.

Neal Caudle- i was really surprised at what a good arm this kid has. i remember being really excited when Auburn recruited Neal as he was a 4 star on Rivals and part of EA's elite 11 QB recruits. unfortunately injury and youth and a little player named Kodi Burns got him lost in the shuffle. Caudle showed off his legs during the game with a couple of good runs. he's got some speed and i'd like to see the Tigers hold onto this kid and not let him transfer away. granted he threw some bad passes, including a pick six, but he also had a really great touchdown pass and i think he could develop into a good quarterback in another year. do i want to see him on the field this season? no, not unless it's a blowout. but i really think he could be a good solid backup for Kodi the next 3 years and eventually if it was needed he could play and produce.

Chris Todd- so here was everyone's first look at Todd, the JC transfer that Tony Franklin is so in love with and is apparently Burns only competition for the starting spot. looks like another fucking rag armed QB who can't move around much in the pocket that won't be winning any championships in the SEC. honestly i could give two shits about this guy. he's got no arm (granted he's been injured but still...) and he's not gonna be able to make any plays with his feet. the spread offense is always most effective with a dual threat QB and he barely looks like a passing threat. dude should have just gone to Troy. if he ends up being the starter then i'm gonna go ahead and pencil Auburn as 8-4 again and 3rd place in the West.

Deron Furr- finally we got to see the Freshman Furr play. oh man this kid looks like a stud as far as being athletic goes. 6-foot-3, 212-pound 4.52 in the 40. when this kid takes the field he just looks like the kind of player that can make a big impact in a game....i'm just not convinced his impact will be at the Quarterback position. he's got that weird Vince Young sidearm throw and i'm not sure if he could hit water if he fell out of a fucking boat, but damn he looks good running and he had the best hit of the entire spring game when he laid out a lineman with a punishing block on a reverse play. i see this kid either being moved to wide receiver or maybe even safety with the way he can hit. it'd be great if he can develop as a passer...but honestly i think it's a waste...get this kid on the field as soon as you can to take advantage of his obvious athletic ability. some of Auburn's best players have been converted QBs in the past...including Wideout Courtney Taylor...and there's no reason Furr couldn't be in that same mold.

other thoughts from the game

-Robert Dunn looks ready to finally step up and become the player i'd hoped he'd be. two touchdowns...both really great catches and some good route running.
-Tommy Trott is gonna lead this team in receiving at the TE/Inside Receiver postion. he's totally gonna be Burns security blanket...and it's a good thing cuz the kid can catch and he can take a hit. i'm gonna go ahead and call it now...he'll be ALL SEC at tight end this year.
-Josh Bynes is really good.
-Mike Slade is really fast.
and finally the Blue team crushed the White 30-14. which tells me nothing other than that the 2nd team defense is a lot better than the 2nd team offense.

The Tigers look like they've found a solid group of young players to build around the next few years and i really like their chances to win the SEC in the next few years. this season might be a bit tricky with the new offense and a new QB...but there are enough studs on defense and enough skill players who should step up that it doesn't seem unreasonable for a 10 win season and possibly the SEC West crown if LSU falters. and if we meet Florida in the title game in Atlanta, well we know we can take care of them.

War Eagle.