Notebook: The best of the rest from Harsin and players in preparation for Akron
AUBURN | We all know Tank Bigsby is supremely talented. Now, Harsin sees Bigsby taking the next step in his development.
“I like that he’s become more of a student of the game,” Harsin said. “He understands what defenses are trying to do. That’s early, but we’ve seen some flashes of his ability to prepare himself each day and throughout the fall camp.
“The biggest thing for him is taking that work, the consistency he’s been practicing with, and carry that over into the game on Saturday. I expect Tank to be physical and to play that way running the ball and in pass protection. That maturity and experience will show up. Ultimately, it’s be the best player he can be each and every day, and let the consistency carry over into the game.”
Freshman Jarquez Hunter has been taking third team reps since nearly the start of camp, while transfer Jordon Ingram and freshman walk-on Sean Jackson competing hard as well.
“All three of those guys are going to be good players,” Harsin said. “Jarquez has had a really good camp. He’s physical and he’s improved on his understanding of the offense. Jordon had some experience when he got here, but same as Jarquez. Learning and developing. He’s done a good job of being a guy who can contribute. Sean Jackson has been a great surprise. He’s been very good in scrimmages, one of our most productive guys. He runs very hard and physical. You know what you’re getting with him. He shows up every day and brings it.”
[Auburn Live Podcast: Episode 18 with Aaron Torres from Fox Sports]
The lone true freshman
There is exactly one true freshman on Auburn’s two-deep depth chart released on Monday.
That one is the speedy wide receiver that Auburn Live told you to watch out for before fall camp began. Tar’Varish Dawson will back up Ja’Varrius Johnson at the inside receiver position.
“I think he’s, he’s been pretty consistent out of practice,” Bryan Harsin said. “As far as just his effort, and then understanding of what he needs to do. We have some good young players that the way they’re going to get themselves in the mix here is the consistency piece and the effort piece.”
(Side note: Sources tell Auburn Live that Dawson has missed some practice recently due to health and safety protocols, but should likely be in action on Saturday.)
Harsin praises Council’s resilience
Senior Brandon Council has worked himself back from injury to earn a starting role in Auburn’s offense. Council will start at left guard, with senior Alec Jackson working behind him. Both should see significant playing time in week one.
“It’s been good to have Brandon Council practicing. He’s now got himself in football shape that he needs to be in,” Harsin said. “He’s smart and has experience. I like his approach and mentality. It’s going to be a matter of getting himself reps. All the training and practice is critical. He’s worked very hard to overcome his injuries.”
Starting center Nick Brahms said that Council, who used to play at Akron, has been filling the Tigers in on the defensive line personnel and provided valuable insight into the opponent.
Nix hopes for less scrambling this season
Junior quarterback Bo Nix has found himself running for his life more times than he’d like during the last two seasons. With an experienced offensive line returning and a new offense under Harsin and Mike Bobo that should feature more quarterback-friendly routes, that problem shouldn’t continue.
“It just allows you more check downs and maybe just a few different route combinations that are a little bit different that allow different places to go with the ball,” Nix said. “This year, we’re excited to have these new guys at receiver. A lot of inexperienced guys who eventually continue to get experience the more games they play, and they’ll continue to get better and better. Then obviously having a returning offensive line — it’s gonna be awesome.”
Quick Hitters
- Starting sophomore defensive tackle Colby Wooden had a very simple answer as to why he likes playing inside in Derek Mason’s 3-4 defense: “Being in a 3-4 — for me, I feel like it’s a quicker way to the quarterback. The inside is always a faster rush lane. I can use my quickness and speed over the guard.”
- Auburn has seven reliable offensive linemen. Expect them all to play quality snaps the first two weeks, Brahms said: “I think they’re going to get a certain amount of drives in, every couple of drives. I’m not sure how they’re going to handle it. We can play with anyone. I can play with any of those guys. We gel really well.”
- Senior Anders Carlson will is unquestionably in the discussion as the nation’s best place kicker, and he’s been working on his range: “I’m always trying to stretch my range. We’ve backed it up a decent bit in practice recently, I think we’ve been back to 55 (yards) a couple times, but that’s something I like to work on my own. See if I can test my boundaries, get up to 60 (yards) sometimes.”
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