Lindsey: 'We’re getting to where we want to be'
AUBURN | One of the most important goals for Chip Lindsey this spring was to identify Auburn’s strengths on offense.
With just the A-Day game and one practice left, the first-year offensive coordinator has a pretty good idea where things stand on his side of the ball.
“I think our offensive line has a chance to be good,” Lindsey said. “They’re still improving and getting better. I like our running backs for sure. That’s what we’ve been good at here; running the football. I think the young receiving corps is getting better. They’re taking steps in the right direction. So I’ve been really been pleased with some of them.
“And then Sal (Cannella), I mentioned Sal earlier, I think those guys have made a lot of progress. I think our tight end play—I think Jalen Harris has made some strides and Sal, obviously being the next tight end there. And then our quarterbacks, obviously. I think Sean (White), with Sean doing some 7-on-7, I’ve been really pleased. Sean is a smart guy, he’s played a lot. You can tell that. He has some savvy about him. And then Jarrett (Stidham), obviously, has made some improvement, too. As a unit, I think we’re getting to where we want to be. There’s obviously still a long way to go.”
Lindsey basically just named the entire offense but mentioning the offensive line first may come as a bit of a surprise. It’s the one position group where they’re still trying to identify all the first-team players. Seniors Darius James, Braden Smith and Austin Golson, along with sophomore Mike Horton, seem to have locked down a spot but the left guard position remains open.
“You know, we feel like we’ve got two or three guys that are battling for that spot there, but we need to leave with feeling good about five guys,” Lindsey said. “That’s what coach (Herb) Hand’s kind of — in his mind, he’s like ‘I’m trying different combination of guys at those spots to get the right guy.’ But we’re still looking for a guy or two to step up and be that next guy.”
At wide receiver, the first player Lindsey singled out was Cannella, a tight end, who joined the team this January out of junior college. Lindsey said they’re using Cannella as both a slot receiver and attached tight end, much liked they used C.J. Uzomah a few years ago.
“Sal I think has been an impressive guy, and maybe it’s because he’s just now getting here that he kind of sticks out to me. I thought he’s done a good job,” Lindsey said. “I’ve seen Nate Craig do some good things, he’s another guy. Darius Slayton, without a couple weeks early, I saw him come back. So that was a surprise because that guy’s really talented. I think he’s done a good job.
“Will Hastings has been impressive, he does what he does and is competitive. And then I think really Eli Stove and Ryan Davis have kind of both played the same spot… One day I saw Ryan make plays, the next day Eli’s made plays. So those guys would be the four or five guys that have probably caught my eye.”
Of course, running backs Kamryn Pettway and Kerryon Johnson have impressed this spring, it’s just a matter of how much they’ll play in the A-Day game. "We're still kind of sorting through the running back rotation right now," Lindsey said.
At quarterback, White won’t play Saturday for precautionary reasons after breaking his arm in the Sugar Bowl. Stidham should see plenty of action along with Malik Willis and Woody Barrett.
“We're just going to try to run our base offense and hopefully get a few balls down the field. We definitely want to do that,” Lindsey said. “But at the same time, I'm interested in our quarterbacks just executing. If they'll do that and their eyes are in the right place and their fundamentals are good, and hopefully we'll throw it and catch it, but at the end of the day I just want to make sure that they're dialed in and they're where they're supposed to be.”
The A-Day game is set for 1 p.m. CT Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It will be televised on the SEC Network.