What to Expect the First Two Weeks of Practice

Finally, practice has arrived. It feels like it has been forever since we have had an “in season” practice. Let’s hope that we don’t have to go from November till August again without meaningful practices. I know we have Spring Practice, but it’s not the same. So now that practice is here, what should we expect in the first two weeks of practice?

Definitely don’t expect much the first week of practice, at least not until they put the pads on. The first week is more about making sure everyone is on the same page in knowing assignments and working hard on fundamentals and techniques since the NCAA mandates that the first four practices be with helmets only for player safety. When they don pads, they will have three practices in two days to get acclimated and then they will probably have the biggest practice of the fall on August 11th when they hold the First Scrimmage of the fall. That scrimmage will probably wind up being the biggest single practice of the fall because it will be the starting point to finalizing the depth chart and shaking out the contenders from the pretenders in the position battles, especially the starting quarterback race. I would imagine that after the scrimmage, they will release the first depth chart of the fall and that depth chart could contain some answers that we have had going into the fall, such as what position will Mario Fannin be listed at, which true freshman are battling for playing time and which ones are guaranteeing themselves redshirt seasons, but most importantly, which QB is already out of the race.

The second week features two “Two-A-Day” practices and two regular practices highlighted with Fan Day at the end of the week and a day off for the first day of class. The best thing we can hope to hear from that week is that we make it thru the week without sustaining any significant injuries. I would imagine that by fan day they will have a good idea who the starter at QB for the first game will be and most of the other position battles will be situated.

Personally I am looking forward to the quarterback race and how it shakes out. I have believed for quite some time that this staff has left the door wide open for Tyrik Rollison to come in and gain significant playing time as a true freshman. I am fully onboard the Rollison Express and I believe that he is good enough to come in and at least be equal to the talent we have right now at that position. I’m also crossing my fingers that we do not sustain injuries. We have no depth and cannot afford to be looking for stop gap solutions throughout the year. I’m also looking forward to hearing how the players are responding and enjoying practice. The more they are excited about it the better chances of this team coming together and playing some good football. I just want to get thru these first two weeks without any real surprises and get our depth chart more finalized.

I would like to think Jay G Tate and his HABOTN Blog for posting the practice schedule which I referenced. If you like Auburn Football, please check out his blog at the below link, you will not be disappointed:

www.habotn.com


What are you looking forward to seeing during the next two weeks? Please visit the comment section and share your thoughts.

War Eagle!