Auburn Post-Spring Depth Chart Breakdown: Field Corner

Posted on May 20, 2013 by James Crepea

AUBURN – With the first spring practice of the Gus Malzahn era in the books, we’ll take a look at each position on the depth chart and go over the starter, backup and who arrives in the summer. In the 18th installment of an extensive series, we look at the Field Corner spot.

The Two-Deep
Jonathon Mincy (5-foot-10, 191 pounds, junior), Jonathan Jones (5-foot-10, 172 pounds, sophomore)

Coach Gus Malzahn’s View
“Jonathon Mincy and Jonathan Jones. Jonathan Jones, he’s not a very big guy, but he really laid some good hits. You saw in the spring game when he made an outstanding hit, and then Mincy also had a very solid spring, a veteran guy, also.”

Starter
Jonathon Mincy was effectively a season-long starter in 2012, with the final 11 games to his credit. The East Atlanta, Ga. native nearly doubled his production from his freshman year in 2011, racking up 57 tackles including four for loss and a sack with four pass breakups.

Mincy has very good speed and worked a lot as the nickel in 2012. His quickness makes him a good fit for the field corner role where he has to cover more ground.

The 5-foot-10 junior to be gained some further notoriety on A-Day when he was ejected on a personal foul penalty for targeting a defenseless receiver for his hit against Dimitri Reese early in the third quarter.

Mincy and starting Boundary Corner Chris Davis set themselves apart in the spring and practiced the whole way with the first group. What they both need to do in 2013 is come away with interceptions, something no Auburn corner did in 2012.

Backup
Jonathan Jones made 13 tackles as a true freshman in 2012 with three starts at the nickel position. The Carrolton, Ga. native is a speedster and could end up seeing time in the return game as well.

Jones is by far the lightest member of the Auburn secondary so while he’s lean and quick, he’s also a mismatch in size matchups with bigger wideouts. For teams who can throw a few tall receivers on the field, Jones’ stature could present a hurdle.

Still as freshmen both Jones and Josh Holsey were among the few bright spots on an otherwise poor defense in 2012 and can both have even bigger sophomore campaigns.

Next Wave
Holsey is listed as safety and worked more on the boundary but he may be a field corner as well. The same goes for Ryan White, who is listed as the backup boundary corner.

Summer Arrivals
Among the incoming signees in the secondary, Kamryn Melton might be the most likely option at either corner position but a lot will be sorted out early in fall camp.

Quotable
“We want four corners and if we can get four playing at a high level, I think Mincy and Davis sort of made enough plays to kind of separate. I tell you Jones has had an outstanding spring and Holsey was good enough we feel like he can learn both positions.” – Ellis Johnson

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The doctor is in: Auburn’s Garner calls on ‘Dr. Rush’ to help make over D-line

Posted on May 19, 2013 by James Crepea

Former NFL defensive lineman Chuck Smith has a facility in Atlanta where he helps college and pro players improve on their pass rushing techniques. / GETTY IMAGES

This is a preview of a story which appears in Sunday’s Montgomery Advertiser. To read the full story click here.

AUBURN— It’s been a “Code Blue and Orange” emergency for the Auburn pass rush the last two seasons.

Auburn associate head coach/defensive line coach Rodney Garner is on a mission to get his group back to performing at an elite level after finishing 12th in the SEC in sacks in 2012. With more than a quarter of the defensive linemen selected in this year’s NFL draft coming out of the SEC, there’s no room for downward trends in production from the defensive line, and Garner set out to improve the Tigers by calling upon a doctor to help assist in the makeover.

Chuck Smith, aka “Dr. Rush,” the former Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers defensive end and former Tennessee defensive line coach who has also worked with the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens, was asked by Garner to train several Auburn defensive linemen earlier this month to help revive the Tigers’ pass rush. Garner has a long relationship with Smith from his time at Georgia and former Bulldogs Jarvis Jones and John Jenkins were players who trained with Smith.

“That’s what he specializes in and obviously we definitely need improvement in that area from a defensive line standpoint,” Garner said. “So I was really excited that those guys were going to take this time to try to devote to sharpen their tools and develop their craft, and take some ownership of things.”

Dee Ford, Gabe Wright, Jeff Whitaker, Ken Carter and Nosa Eguae were among the Auburn players who went to Atlanta to work with Smith and improve on their pass rush techniques. Last week, Smith posted several short video clips on Twitter of the Auburn linemen performing a variety of drills.

“Our guys on their own are always trying to get better,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “That’s a guy that has a great reputation and definitely can help guys.”

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Men’s Golf headed to NCAA Championship

Posted on May 18, 2013 by James Crepea

The No. 18 Auburn men’s golf team tied for second at the NCAA Columbus Regional on Saturday at the Ohio State Golf Club’s Scarlet Course and advanced to the NCAA Championship. The Tigers shot a 2-over in the final round to finish the tournament at 20-over.

No. 5 New Mexico won the regional at 18-over while No. 20 South Carolina, UNLV  and Texas Tech clinched a spot in the NCAA Championship, which will be held at the Capital City Club in Atlanta, Ga. from May 28 – June 2.

“I’m very proud of the guys with the way they played today,” Auburn coach Nick Clinard said in a release. “They showed a lot of guts. This was a very tough field on a very tough golf course, and we are very excited to advance to the NCAA Championship.”

Auburn was led by senior Dominic Bozzelli who finished at 1-over.

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Auburn to face Alabama in SEC baseball tournament

Posted on May 18, 2013 by James Crepea

Auburn took two of three from No. 11 Arkansas and will be the No. 10 seed in next week’s SEC baseball tournament. (Anthony Hall/Auburn athletics)

AUBURN — With Saturday’s 11-6 series-clinching victory over No. 11 Arkansas, Auburn baseball wrapped up the regular season 33-22 overall, 13-17 SEC. The Tigers are the No. 10 seed in the SEC Tournament and will face No. 7 seed Alabama in the single elimination game Tuesday at approximately 12:30 p.m. at the Hoover Met.

Tuesday’s game will be Auburn’s first against Alabama in a SEC Tournament game since the opening game of the 2010 SEC Tournament. Auburn is 3-5 all-time against Alabama in the SEC Tournament.

The winner of the Auburn-Alabama game will face second-seeded LSU on Wednesday while the loser will be eliminated.

Below is the full SEC baseball Tournament information as of Saturday afternoon.

SEC Tournament Seeding
#1           Vanderbilt (.897)
#2           LSU (.767)
#3           Arkansas (.621)
#4           South Carolina (.586)
#5           Mississippi State (.533)
#6           Ole Miss (.500)
#7           Alabama (.483)
#8           Florida (.467)
#9           Texas A&M (.448)
#10         Auburn (.433)
#11         Kentucky (.367)
#12         Missouri (.333)

Tuesday, May 21
Game 1                 9:30 a.m.              #6 Ole Miss vs. #11 Kentucky [FSN]
Game 2                 TBD                        #7 Alabama vs. #10 Auburn [FSN]
Game 3                 4:30 p.m.             #8 Florida vs. #9 Texas A&M [CSS]
Game 4                 TBD                        #5 Mississippi State vs. #12 Missouri [CSS]

Wednesday, May 22
Game 5                 9:30 a.m.              #3 Arkansas vs. Winner Game 1 [CSS]
Game 6                 TBD                        #2 LSU vs. Winner Game 2 [CSS]
Game 7                 4:30 p.m.             #1 Vanderbilt vs. Winner Game 3 [CSS]
Game 8                 TBD                        #4 South Carolina vs. Winner Game 4 [CSS]

Thursday, May 23
Game 9                 9:30 a.m.              Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6 [SPSO]
Game 10              TBD                        Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 [SPSO]
Game 11              4:30 p.m.             Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 [SPSO]
Game 12              TBD                        Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 [SPSO]

Friday, May 24
Game 13              3:00 p.m.             Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11 [CSS]
Game 14              TBD                        Winner Game 10 vs. Loser 12 [CSS]

Saturday, May 25
Game 15              Noon                     Winner Game 13 vs. Winner Game 11 [ESPNEWS]
Game 16              TBD                        Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 12 [ESPNEWS]

Sunday, May 26
Game 17              3:30 p.m.             Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 16 [ESPN2]

FSN – Fox Sports South, Sun Sports, Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports Houston
SPSO – SportSouth, Sun Sports, Fox Sports Southwest, Fox Sports Houston
CSS – Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast

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Barbee breaks down Auburn’s three late 2013 signees

Posted on May 17, 2013 by James Crepea

Auburn coach Tony Barbee spoke with the Advertiser on Thursday. (Todd Van Emst/Auburn athletics)

Auburn men’s basketball coach Tony Barbee gave some insight on the three late signees to the Tigers’ 2013 recruiting class during a one-on-one interview with the Advertiser Thursday night.

Matthew Atewe, a 6-foot-9, 235-pound center from Brampton, Ont., Canada., Chris Griffin, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward from Tallahassee, Fla. and Dion Wade, a 6-foot-7, 180-pound guard from Antwerp, Belgium all signed letters of intent in April.

“Excited about all three of them. They all bring something different in areas,” Barbee said. “Obviously Chris and Matt have given us some more size in bulk up front.”

Auburn lacked a pure power forward last season and Atewe and Griffin could both help fill that role.

Atewe averaged close to a double-double in points and rebounds at Notre Dame Prep (Fitchburg, Mass.). He is a member of the Canadian Junior National Team and was selected to represent Canada in the 2012 Nike Global Challenge.

“Matt obviously at 6-9, 6-10 240 pounds, kind of an elite athlete at that size, great rebounder, great defender, underrated offensive player,” Barbee said. “He’s going to get much-needed experience playing with the under-19 Canadian National team this summer. It will be good for him getting that experience.”

Griffin averaged 10.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists for Wabash Valley College (Mount Carmel, Ill.) where he started 10 of 15 games while shooting 35.1 percent from the floor, 28.3 percent from 3-point range and 85.5 percent from the foul line. He appeared in 22 games as a freshman at Murray State in 2010-11 while averaging 2.0 points and 2.0 rebounds.

“Chris is a guy who’s competed at this level before having played at Murray State, played in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman,” Barbee said. “6-7, 6-8 230-pound wing who can really shoot the ball so it will give us a guy with some scoring pop from the perimeter but he has the ability at his size to mismatch and go down inside.”

Wade attended No. 1 ranked Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) and is teammates with Auburn early signee, Benas Griciunas. He played for the Belgium Junior National Team last summer.

“A really talented 6-7 guard, he is a legitimate guard, can score it, can shoot it,” Barbee said. “Going to have to develop physically this summer putting on weight in the weight room but he’s a guy that we expect to contribute.”

The trio joins November signees Ronald Delph, a 7-foot, 235-pound center from Winter Haven, Fla., Griciunas, a 7-foot, 225-pound center from Silute, Lithuania and Tahj Shamsid-Deen, a 5-foot-10, 162-pound point guard from Decatur, Ga.

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