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Practice Observations:
-All information derived from tweets and recaps by beat writers. For full observations, you can check out AuburnUndercover and AL.com for excellent write-ups. James Crepea was especially thorough with his notes for AL.com, there.
-For video, Scout, Rivals, and AuburnUndercover all have videos in front of the pay-wall.
-The official site has some pictures and other notes, as well.
Probably the biggest thing of note is that Tray Matthews was not present during practice while the media was there. For more information on that, scroll down to the Gus press conference section. Matthews was the defensive MVP of A-Day and expected to be a starter at Safety. Sophomore Nick Ruffin took his place with the first team, today.
Jovon Robinson and Roc Thomas were the two backs splitting reps with the first team. I expect one of these two will end up being the feature back. I still hope they both get significant time, though. I want to see defenses demoralized by swapping them out and keeping them fresh. It's important to note that Ryan Black of AuburnUndercover says Roc was getting first team reps during the "pace" drills.
We know Dontavius Russell is supposed to be something special. I didn't expect to hear about him getting first team reps at defensive tackle, though. Or if he was going to get them, I figured it would be over Maurice Swain rather than Montravius Adams. Maybe the coaches are still not convinced Adams is giving it his all, and this is a message being sent to him. Or, maybe Russell just really is that good. If he is, then more power to him. I'd love to see the big redshirt freshman become a dominant force for us.
The offensive line is what we expected it to be. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen. I was a bit shocked to see James Crepea note that Jonathon Wallace was working first team WR over Melvin Ray. It would be a heart-warming story to see him do well in that position this season. I'll always have a soft spot for him because of the 2012 campaign.
COACH BOOM WAS YELLING AT PEOPLE (see the videos) AND IT WAS SO AWESOME BECAUSE HE'S BACK IN AUBURN AGAIN.
Gus Malzahn Press Conference Tweet Cap
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn: "Great to be back out on the practice field. ... Today was really about our standard of how to practice."</p>— Ryan Black (@RyanABlack) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanABlack/status/628696437161897984">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/CoachGusMalzahn">@CoachGusMalzahn</a> said they let the young guys watch early on in today's first practice to let them see how it should be done.</p>— Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) <a href="https://twitter.com/ITATJason/status/628696589188628480">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gus Malzahn says safety Tray Matthews missed practice for "personal reasons." Will be back tomorrow.</p>— John Zenor (@jzenor) <a href="https://twitter.com/jzenor/status/628696779987505153">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matthews not practicing today means he won't be in pads until next Monday (rest of the team Saturday). NCAA acclimation period applies.</p>— College & Magnolia (@CollegeAndMag) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollegeAndMag/status/628698424846753792">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn: "The fact that we got most of our guys in May...physically, they're getting stronger, they're getting faster."</p>— The Auburn Plainsman (@TheAUPlainsman) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAUPlainsman/status/628697075371405312">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn said Jeremy Johnson understands the hype that comes along with playing the position</p>— Jason Caldwell (@ITATJason) <a href="https://twitter.com/ITATJason/status/628697265662750720">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn mentions nothing will be handed to the team this season. "Preseason hype means absolutely nothing."</p>— Ryan Black (@RyanABlack) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanABlack/status/628697682056491008">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn on Lambert's return: "(Davonte Lambert) is a real positive energy guy. He's a leader."</p>— The Auburn Plainsman (@TheAUPlainsman) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAUPlainsman/status/628697783147622401">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn: "J.B. is probably the toughest coach in college football. ... Coach Grimes, he's a rock." Grimes had surgery for cancer last week.</p>— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesCrepea/status/628698014299914240">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Quick take from Auburn's first day of camp: Byron Cowart looks like a No. 1-ranked player should. He's physically impressive even w/o pads.</p>— Alex Scarborough (@AlexS_ESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/AlexS_ESPN/status/628668500643590145">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn says Auburn players don't need motivational slogan: "8-5 is enough to motivate our guys."</p>— John Zenor (@jzenor) <a href="https://twitter.com/jzenor/status/628698680455991296">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn on last season: "We didn't finish like we wanted to, our older guys have an edge... [they want] redemption."</p>— The Auburn Plainsman (@TheAUPlainsman) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAUPlainsman/status/628698735376244736">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Malzahn carries the theme of the 'standard', says the standard is "excellence."</p>— The Auburn Plainsman (@TheAUPlainsman) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheAUPlainsman/status/628699152399093760">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Auburn's Gus Malzahn said his players are in good shape academically as fall practice begins.</p>— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) <a href="https://twitter.com/AUGoldMine/status/628699257722269696">August 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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This is always excellent news. Especially after the news today that one of Notre Dame's key running backs will miss the season due to academic issues.
And that's all from Gus Malzahn's first press conference of the pre-season. As always, we'll cover everything we can like this so that you can have an easy-to-browse compilation of notes about all things Auburn. And during the season we'll keep up with Gus' press conferences in the same way.
Football season is just a little bit closer. One month from tomorrow morning, we'll be waking up to the first college football Saturday. For now enjoy the knowledge that the Tigers are on the field and getting ready. War Eagle!