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It's rare to see QBs wearing anything but "non-contact jerseys" outside of actual game time. Today, in Auburn's first scrimmage of the Spring, those jerseys were pulled and the QBs went live.
Early reports seem to be positive. I know one pay site said a source told them the QBs were mixing up between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd team, and that John Franklin III had a few impressive runs.
Gus saying "that was by design" on John Franklin getting a lot of work isn't surprising. He IS the newcomer, and they need to see more of him to judge him against the other two. It also dampens any "Franklin got a lot of work, he's definitely the starter!" talk that you know will come up. I think Gus is going to be very happy with his decision to make the QBs live, too. He basically said as much in the press conference.
It's not rare to bring in SEC officials for scrimmages, but I am thrilled to hear that one of the focuses was working on pace with those officials. Pace is absolutely essential to Malzahn's offense. It's not letting the defense have time to really look to the sideline and make adjustments.
Boy, I hope Cowart's motor is revved and ready to go by Fall. I can't wait to see him and Lawson as bookends on the Defensive Line with any combination of Adams, Russell, and Lawrence in the middle.
Not a whole lot, but there're some good things to know about there. If you have a 247Sports account you can see what a former player told Phillip Marshall. I'll just say that what's in there is very nice to hear.
I believe a few players spoke, as well, but I've got to get to Atlanta and can't wait for those. I'll either update later, or link to beat writers' articles throughout the week (which is what I normally do for player meetings with the press, anyway).
Pictures
There aren't many since the scrimmage wasn't open to the beat writers, but here's some from Charles Goldberg, who works for the official site.
Auburn started Saturday's scrimmage in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Finishing up in indoor facility pic.twitter.com/xcpqQOo2su
— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) March 26, 2016
They're coaching 'em up in Auburn's scrimmage Saturday pic.twitter.com/YdfhJBeL61
— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) March 26, 2016
The Tweets
Gus Malzahn is here. "We had a 100-play scrimmage today... we primarily gave the 1s and 2s the majority of the reps."
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonBR) March 26, 2016
Malzahn said the offense scored a few times in the scrimmage, and the defense forced some turnovers.
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonBR) March 26, 2016
The quarterbacks went live today in the scrimmage. "John Franklin got quite a bit of work, but that was by design."
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonBR) March 26, 2016
JF3 "got quite a bit of work" because they didn't know much about him. 1 ball on ground, 1 good run, overthrew balls https://t.co/Ms1HRXhypa
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) March 26, 2016
Kamryn Pettway didn't scrimmage today because of a hamstring issue.
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonBR) March 26, 2016
Auburn brought in SEC officials today for the scrimmage, and the offense put a focus on pacing with them out there.
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonBR) March 26, 2016
Malzahn on any newcomers standing out in the scrimmage: "Malik [Miller] got a lot of carries.... he really ran hard."
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonBR) March 26, 2016
Malzahn: "We learned more today from a QB standpoint than the first seven practices... all three took pretty good licks and responded well."
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonBR) March 26, 2016
Gus Malzahn on making quarterbacks live in scrimmage: 'It was good for them, good for the offense, and good for the defense, too.'
— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) March 26, 2016
Malzahn on DE Byron Cowart: "You can tell he's more experienced. He's more confident."
— Justin Ferguson (@JFergusonBR) March 26, 2016