Back in the Saddle

My hiatus is over. Dog days, two-a-days, and school days are upon us. Locker rooms across the country have the fragrant smell of sweaty socks and jocks. Body parts are chafed, itching, burning and peeling. It’s Gold Bond Ointment and Powder time. Its football time again.

Since we last conversed, many things have changed in my life. My oldest daughter moved from Charleston and is headed to Portland, Oregon….with a 1 month pit-stop at our house. My youngest daughter totaled her car in a one vehicle accident that sent her and the vehicle on a three flip rollover (she’s o.k.). My middle daughter went to Nairobi, Kenya on a mission trip, came home and passed 4th semester Spanish during her “mini-mester”. My son was tapped into the Order of the Arrow in Boy Scouts, and has his ordeal this weekend. And my wife and I celebrated our 29th anniversary. Being “ever the human resources professional” that I am, I should add…that’s 29 years without a break in service.

I learned to “twitter” during my hiatus, and find that it is interesting, and temptingly addictive. It gives new meaning to the phrases: “just how much do you want to know”, and “I don’t believe I’d a told that”.

So now, summer comes to a close. Down on the Plains, the Tigers are already in the midst of two-a-day practices and in fact had their first scrimmage last night. Many questions remain to be answered, and most will continue to dangle like a participle until kickoff time on September 5th. The most pressing question is, “who will be the starting quarterback?” My beloved wife of 29 years would say, “Who cares?”

I do.

Therefore, I offer to you my assessment of the quarterback situation at Auburn this year.

First and foremost, I believe WITH CONVICTION that Gus Malzahn already knows who he wants. I believe the “fair shot” thing is just that….to make sure that none of his gunslingers believe they were slighted and not given a fair shake. That being said, my assessment:

Kodi Burns: Malzahn has known him since the high school days. Malzahn likes him personally and recruited him at Arkansas. He has big-game experience, and this always has to be taken into consideration. However, he has shown consistently that although he has a tremendous amount of athletic ability, he makes bad decisions. Or at least incomplete ones. And while we are talking incomplete, he has a passing problem and it is still apparent if you look at the summer workout videos on any of the Auburn sites. He is still throwing behind and at the feet of receivers.

Neil Caudle: It’s now or never for the Spain Park superstar. His knee problems seem to be corrected, and in the spring game he showed much more poise than he had shown during most practices. His problem, before the spring game, was WAY too many interceptions in practice. Although he came from a spread offense, he will never outrun anybody. My suspicion is that he will fade into the background for good, if not named the starter.

Chris Todd: There was no question he had shoulder and/or arm problems last year. His passes had no “umph” to them, and most floated like a sunbather on an Inner-Tube. Has his arm strength come back? Is he now what he was purported to be when he was almost/woulda/shoulda/coulda been the starter at Texas Tech? As with Caudle, if not now for him, then never. He’s worked hard and those closest to the situation indicate he has the best grasp, mentally, of Malzahn’s offense.

Two freshmen: Rollison may be the future. Or Moseley. Many say Rollison reminds them of a young Jason Campbell. But even the young Jason Campbell got roughed up when he entered the SEC. It’s just no place for a freshman, no matter how good they are. My feeling is the freshmen quarterbacks redshirt. Clearly they are the future, but not the right now future.

All that said….what do I think? Let me put my finger up and feel the wind.

I think it ends up being Todd. Why? Just a hunch. Mostly based on what I hear about his grasp of the offense mentally. But hey, I could be wrong. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.

Oh….and one more thing before I forget. My family grew by one this past week. My son has a thirteenth birthday next week and he got one of his presents early. He’s a Boston Terrier puppy. And his name is Carnell.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR