Auburn football practice report, Day 6: QBs go live in first scrimmage

The Tigers held their first scrimmage of the fall on Wednesday.

By Chris Fuhrmeister@ccfuhr Aug 8, 2013, 8:00am CDT

Auburn scrimmaged inside Wednesday, moving away from Jordan-Hare Stadium when the rain came rolling into the Plains. Not surprisingly, the biggest development of the day involved the quarterbacks, as Nick Marshall, Jonathan Wallace, Kiehl Frazier and Jeremy Johnson traded in orange non-contact jerseys for blue contact jerseys. But other than that, not much news came out of Day 6.

Quarterbacks put on blue jerseys over their traditional, orange practice jerseys, ready to go in scrimmage.
— Ryan Wood (@AUBlog) August 7, 2013

Whitehead on QBs Nick Marshall, Jeremy Johnson: "They feel at home. They feel like it’s their time. They feel like they’ve got a chance."
— Ryan Wood (@AUBlog) August 7, 2013

Quarterbacks were playing "real, tackle football" today, Malzahn says.
— Joel A. Erickson (@JoelAEricksonAU) August 7, 2013

IMO, key quote from Malzahn on QBs in pocket: "Some .. took off running, some ... reacted differently, so it was good for us to see that."
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) August 7, 2013

Malzahn: "Hopefully we'll learn some information where we can start to narrow down" at QB, other positions
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) August 7, 2013

Not much has changed here, and still not a lot of information on the individual quarterbacks, but with the coaches getting a chance to evaluate tape from Wednesday's scrimmage, hopefully that will change soon. Auburn ran 107 plays, and all four QBs in the running for the starting job received work. Gus Malzahn's quote on reactions in the pocket indicates he's maybe getting a better idea on the situation.

Right now, it sounds like the defense is ahead of the offense ...

DB Jermaine Whitehead says offense didn't give up any deep TD passes. One INT by defense on a post pattern, he says.
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) August 7, 2013

There were 3 INTs in today's scrimmage. Jake Holland had one and returned it 70 yards, Jermaine Whitehead said no deep TD passes
— James Crepea (@JamesCrepea) August 7, 2013

So this tells us one of two things: the secondary and linebackers in pass coverage are playing well, or the quarterbacks are still struggling a bit. We'd like to believe the former, but if it's truly one or the other, the latter is more likely. Still, based on what coaches and players have been saying through the first several days of camp, it sounds like some defensive players really are performing well. After the last four years, that's a welcome development. (Also, JAKE HOLLAND DID A GOOD THING. How about that?)

Freshman DE Carl Lawson apparently had a good day in scrimmage. "Yeah," said RB Corey Grant, "he blew a play up."
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) August 7, 2013

We wouldn't want to be a part of any play that Lawson has blown up. Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved.

Whitehead yet another player impressed with freshman WR Tony Stevens: "Being long, he’s going to get the ball. He’s a great route runner."
— Ryan Wood (@AUBlog) August 7, 2013

In our preseason look at Auburn's true freshmen, we mentioned Stevens as a guy who could get playing time due to all the question marks at wide receiver. He has the size (6'4, 190 pounds) and speed (4.3-second 40-yard dash) to make an impact, and if he's running good routes, that makes him even more dangerous. Keep an eye on Stevens going forward. If Auburn's veteran pass catchers struggle, he should get a look.

Malzahn said J.B. Grimes "had a medical procedure" that forced him to miss today's practice. Said he will return tomorrow.
— WarEagleExtra (@wareagleextra) August 7, 2013

Get well soon, Grimey.