Spring has arrived on the Plains.
Auburn held its first day of spring practice on Monday afternoon, with the Tigers taking the field at the new Woltosz Football Center. It marked the first full performance for the team under new coach Hugh Freeze and his staff, as a new chapter for the Tigers continues.
Read more Auburn football: Highlights from Day 1 of Auburn’s summer practice
Augmenting Auburn’s depth chart early in spring practice
Five positional battles to keep an eye on this summer
Freeze met with reporters shortly after 6 p.m. to recap Day 1 of work and discuss what he hopes to accomplish with the program in the next six weeks before A-Day on April 8. Below is a quick review of Freeze’s review:
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– “A wonderful atmosphere, an exciting time, at least for me and the coaches – and I think for the players.” It was said that there was “great energy” in practice on Day 1. Trust that if Auburn can maintain that in the next 14 practices, the team will improve this summer.
– He said he “felt the meaning of the fall of the camp” there today.
— The coaches are well prepared for the time they have. He obviously would have liked more time for winter training, but that’s how the schedule worked out this time. Quick turnaround from staffing, hiring, winter training to summer work.
– Freeze said that it is difficult for him to judge what is good, what is not, without seeing the film, but he was happy with the energy and effort there.
— Freeze tries to bounce to each group of different positions during the action. He said everyone got “a lot of reps” on day 1.
— The “big thing” for him is attention to detail – from attending class in the morning to applying. “It doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people, not just football players.” He emphasized that “it’s the little things that really matter,” and he hopes that’s lesson No. 1 this summer.
– The team did better on the field, actually, than he expected. A good blast. There are some good throws from QBs, but some times where the mechanics are not quite right. He reiterated that if the same effort and energy is used throughout the summer, he is sure the team will improve.
— “Chemistry is extremely important” with employees and getting everyone on the same page. They didn’t go as far as he would have liked, but that was due to the small prep window of the last month or so. “The last thing you want is for kids to hear multiple voices that don’t say the same thing.”
– Said he “put a lot of thought” into the QB coaching process while putting the staff together. While Freeze has his roots with the QBs, he was happy to have OC Philip Montgomery and analyst Kent Austin in the room to help develop the position. “I feel comfortable with those two guys. It gives me the freedom to recruit like crazy… and to be more focused on that.”
– Injury update: A few people have been in the yellow jerseys that have not been included, but Freeze said he believes everyone will be this summer. He said, it is expected that the young men wearing yellow shirts will make a full trip after the summer vacation.
— The first scrimmage of the summer will be no. 6, every freeze. That will be on March 17.
— He doesn’t want to single out anyone after doing one job. He wants to develop a cultural council for the group at some point.
— On getting wide receivers in the offense: “If you go by my track record, I just believe in it. I believe you have to have a catch radius in this league. You’re not going to create a big separation at in this league when they are in man-to-man …. If you get one-on-one, and the ball is placed correctly, good receivers that have a similar. radius … can have used for a crime.”
– “I think TJ Robby and Holden are hungry.” They both want to learn the new system and are like sponges.
— In real-time opinions to the players: “We will not limit the reps in the spring; we will fight.” He said everyone got enough reps today. Note that there is no solid depth chart this spring. They will rotate players and grade them throughout the summer before starting to sort things out.
— I’m still not sure how he plans to split reps at all on A-Day. “I just hope we’re healthy enough to go out there and compete.”
Tom Green is an Auburn reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
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