As promised, albeit a bit late, here is my tome on The Situation At Tailback.
We spoke with Rhett Lashlee the other day and he said a few things that surprised me. One of those things is that they're not fully on board, at least not publicly, with the idea of playing Sean White this weekend. The other is the odd handling of the tailback race, such as it is, and the ways in which it mirrors things at quarterback.
Let me explain.
The thing at quarterback is that Gus Malzahn and Rhett Lashlee have so much time (and heart) invested in Jeremy Johnson that I believe they're blind to the severity of his problems. It's honorable on one hand. It's also potentially damaging depending on how long they allow Jeremy to wallow as a first-team player. Malzahn and Lashlee believed with all their heart and all their mind that Jeremy was going to dominate this fall. He was going to unlock the true potential of this misdirection, no-huddle offense. That was their agenda. And they're hesitant about adjusting that agenda.
I believe the same thing is happening at tailback -- in reverse. I believe they want Roc Thomas to be the No. 1 guy, which is problematic because he fumbles. He fumbled in the Iron Bowl and it was costly. He didn't earn another carry in '14. He fumbled at a critical juncture against JSU and that mistake coulda/shoulda/woulda sealed the Tigers' fate. Auburn extricated itself from that mess with some good plays and good fortune, but Thomas was the problem and not the solution that day.
The solution, and we all can see this, is Peyton Barber. His gusty running in the Louisville game saved Auburn's hide. His gutsy running in the JSU game saved Auburn's hide. So he goes into the LSU game as Auburn's starter, takes the first snap and then ... he's subbed out for Kerryon Johnson. Which isn't a bad thing; I happen to think Kerryon Johnson is one of the best things Auburn has going right now and he absolutely deserves a chance to prove his value. So at that point, I'm thinking they'll go with Peyton and Kerryon, power and speed, and let 'er rip. Problem solved.
Except they didn't do that. Despite competent running from both Peyton and Kerryon, Roc was placed into the game during the first half, was used as the primary guy during the second half and led all tailbacks with eight carries and 37 yards. At one point during the second half, they even substituted Jovon Robinson into the game. He promptly gained four yards on a pair of sweeps directly into hordes of LSU defenders. It was hardly a meaningful trial.
What are they doing here? If the goal is to find a guy who can shoulder the load, they've already found him. It's Peyton Barber. If their second goal is to find a guy who can give them a spark and perhaps a 20-yard gainer as an off-speed runner, they've already found him. It's Kerryon Johnson. Yet they keep pushing the Roc agenda and even toy around with the Jovon agenda despite an obvious need to settle this quandary and let the offense get to work.
Listen to Rhett explain this.
First question: Talk about what Kerryon brings.
I agree. We all agree. Kerryon is fast and fearless. He's fighting for every inch, much like Tre Mason did in 2012 and '13. A gem.
Second question: Why did you remove Kerryon from the game if he was competing and fighting hard?
They want Roc Thomas to be their No. 1 back and they're going to do everything they can to make sure he gets every opportunity to secure that spot. Look, I'm no Roc hater. He absolutely has home-run ability and flash and creativity and at least some toughness. My eyes tell me Kerryon is all that plus another helping of toughness/urgency and he hasn't fumbled. And he's a better receiver.
Then there's Peyton, who grinds like mad and takes hits and fights through holes that aren't there. Yet the coaching staff doles out carries in a way that appears to devalue his contributions while simultaneously overvaluing Thomas' contributions.
It's as if Peyton is the star Auburn doesn't want to shine.
Malzahn said last night on 'Tiger Talk' that part of his job is "keeping them (all four tailbacks) happy and motivated," which was a surprising answer. The goal should be giving the team the best chance to win. Maybe it was an inarticulate answer or perhaps I'm reading Malzahn's intentions incorrectly here.
Either way, Auburn's indecision at tailback is a problem that doesn't appear to have an imminent solution.
We spoke with Rhett Lashlee the other day and he said a few things that surprised me. One of those things is that they're not fully on board, at least not publicly, with the idea of playing Sean White this weekend. The other is the odd handling of the tailback race, such as it is, and the ways in which it mirrors things at quarterback.
Let me explain.
The thing at quarterback is that Gus Malzahn and Rhett Lashlee have so much time (and heart) invested in Jeremy Johnson that I believe they're blind to the severity of his problems. It's honorable on one hand. It's also potentially damaging depending on how long they allow Jeremy to wallow as a first-team player. Malzahn and Lashlee believed with all their heart and all their mind that Jeremy was going to dominate this fall. He was going to unlock the true potential of this misdirection, no-huddle offense. That was their agenda. And they're hesitant about adjusting that agenda.
I believe the same thing is happening at tailback -- in reverse. I believe they want Roc Thomas to be the No. 1 guy, which is problematic because he fumbles. He fumbled in the Iron Bowl and it was costly. He didn't earn another carry in '14. He fumbled at a critical juncture against JSU and that mistake coulda/shoulda/woulda sealed the Tigers' fate. Auburn extricated itself from that mess with some good plays and good fortune, but Thomas was the problem and not the solution that day.
The solution, and we all can see this, is Peyton Barber. His gusty running in the Louisville game saved Auburn's hide. His gutsy running in the JSU game saved Auburn's hide. So he goes into the LSU game as Auburn's starter, takes the first snap and then ... he's subbed out for Kerryon Johnson. Which isn't a bad thing; I happen to think Kerryon Johnson is one of the best things Auburn has going right now and he absolutely deserves a chance to prove his value. So at that point, I'm thinking they'll go with Peyton and Kerryon, power and speed, and let 'er rip. Problem solved.
Except they didn't do that. Despite competent running from both Peyton and Kerryon, Roc was placed into the game during the first half, was used as the primary guy during the second half and led all tailbacks with eight carries and 37 yards. At one point during the second half, they even substituted Jovon Robinson into the game. He promptly gained four yards on a pair of sweeps directly into hordes of LSU defenders. It was hardly a meaningful trial.
What are they doing here? If the goal is to find a guy who can shoulder the load, they've already found him. It's Peyton Barber. If their second goal is to find a guy who can give them a spark and perhaps a 20-yard gainer as an off-speed runner, they've already found him. It's Kerryon Johnson. Yet they keep pushing the Roc agenda and even toy around with the Jovon agenda despite an obvious need to settle this quandary and let the offense get to work.
Listen to Rhett explain this.
First question: Talk about what Kerryon brings.
I agree. We all agree. Kerryon is fast and fearless. He's fighting for every inch, much like Tre Mason did in 2012 and '13. A gem.
Second question: Why did you remove Kerryon from the game if he was competing and fighting hard?
They want Roc Thomas to be their No. 1 back and they're going to do everything they can to make sure he gets every opportunity to secure that spot. Look, I'm no Roc hater. He absolutely has home-run ability and flash and creativity and at least some toughness. My eyes tell me Kerryon is all that plus another helping of toughness/urgency and he hasn't fumbled. And he's a better receiver.
Then there's Peyton, who grinds like mad and takes hits and fights through holes that aren't there. Yet the coaching staff doles out carries in a way that appears to devalue his contributions while simultaneously overvaluing Thomas' contributions.
It's as if Peyton is the star Auburn doesn't want to shine.
Malzahn said last night on 'Tiger Talk' that part of his job is "keeping them (all four tailbacks) happy and motivated," which was a surprising answer. The goal should be giving the team the best chance to win. Maybe it was an inarticulate answer or perhaps I'm reading Malzahn's intentions incorrectly here.
Either way, Auburn's indecision at tailback is a problem that doesn't appear to have an imminent solution.
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