Breaking Down The Depth Chart: Week Two

Auburn Defensive Back Jonathan Ford. (Photo: Auburn Athletics/Dakota Sumpter)

Auburn Football has shifted their focus to Saturday night, when Arkansas State comes to town.

We will breakdown the depth chart for the game, and provide stats for the starters.

Quarterback

Sean White has been named the starter for the Tigers for the second straight week, however there has been a change as to who is number two, and who is number three. John Franklin III’s status has been bumped up to second string, while Jeremy Johnson has been moved to third. The head scratching decision to shuffle all three quarterbacks in-and-out throughout the game caused Head Coach Gus Malzahn to rethink his strategy, by allowing White to play a majority of the snaps, while Franklin will see time in special packages.

Sean White (10-21/140 yds/0 TD/1 INT)

Runningback

Kerryon Johnson was awarded the starting position following the dismissal of Jovon Robinson in August. Johnson has the ability to be the every down back for the Tigers, says Gus Malzahn. He received a majority of the carries last week, gaining 94 yards. Expect to see more action from Kam Martin, Kamryn Pettway, and others in this game.

Kerryon Johnson (23 carries, 94 yds, 1 TD)

Wide Receiver

This season’s receiving corp is young for the Tigers, with only one senior, Marcus Davis. During the Clemson game, many young receivers gained experience. Will Hastings, originally a walk-on kicker, caught three passes for 29 yards. Freshman Kyle Davis caught one pass for 43 yards. Freshmen Darius Slayton and Eli Stove are expected to catch a few passes during the Arkansas State game.

Marcus Davis (5 catches, 56 yards)

Ryan Davis (2 catches, 17 yards)

Stanton Truitt (2 catches, 17 yards)

Darius Slayton (no stats)

Jalen Harris (no stats)

Offensive Line

The most experienced unit of the Auburn offense struggled a bit during the first half, but slowly got into a rhythm in the second half, paving the way for Auburn to have a chance at pulling off an upset of the number two rated team in the nation. Offensive Coordinator Rhett Lashlee stated that given the circumstance, the offensive line performed “ok”. Those circumstances coming from players either being moved from one position to another, or players not playing the position at all. Game number two with the current unit should run more smoothly.

LT- Austin Golson

LG- Alex Kozan

C- Xavier Dampeer

RG- Braden Smith

RT- Robert Leff

Defensive Line

Defensively, Auburn played soundly on Saturday night against Clemson. Some say that the defensive performance was the best that they had seen in years, all that thanks to new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, as well as assistants Wesley McGriff and Travis Williams, and defensive line coach, Rodney Garner. Defensive lineman accounted for 16 tackles last Saturday, with senior Montravius Adams leading the way with 5. Freshman Derrick Brown also recovered a fumble. Continue to see more players rotating, and gaining experience.

Carl Lawson (3 TT)

Marlon Davidson (1 TT)

Dontavius Russell (4 TT)

Montravius Adams (5 TT)

Linebacker

As we mentioned before, the defense was incredible last Saturday. The Tigers defense held Clemson to 399 total yards, and under 20 points. The difference has been linebackers coach, Travis Williams, who players say has a fiery passion that drives them to be successful. Three defensive players spoke to the media this week, and they all mentioned how easy it was to watch film on Sunday, and not cringe over missed tackles or blown assignments. The only way the defense can improve, is to mirror the Clemson performance this weekend.

Deshaun Davis (5 TT)

Montavious Atkinson (no stats)

Darrell Williams (6 TT)

Secondary

The best of the best came from the secondary against Clemson. The top four leading tacklers came from the defensive backfield. Nick Ruffin, Tray Matthews, Carlton Davis, and Rudy Ford were top four in tackles, with Josh Holsey recording an interception. The experience, and the change in guard have really helped in developing the defensive backs. Stephen Roberts has served a one game suspension, and will see playing time against Arkansas State, although, it has not been determined how much playing time he will see.

CB- Javaris Davis (4 TT)

CB- Carlton Davis (6 TT)

FS- Rudy Ford (6 TT, 1.5 TFL)

SS- Tray Matthews (9 TT)

Nickel- Rudy Ford (6 TT, 1.5 TFL)

Specialist

Junior Daniel Carlson seemed to be in midseason form last week, booting a 32 yarder, and a 53-yard field goal, three yards shy of his career long. Three of his four kickoffs were touchbacks, and he was successful on his only PAT attempt. Kevin Phillips also punted 5 times for an average of 44.4 yards per.

K- Daniel Carlson (2-2 FG, 1-1 PAT)

P- Kevin Phillips (5 punts, 44.4 avg, 68 long)

Auburn is two days away from kickoff with the Arkansas State Red Wolves. Game time is scheduled for 6:30PM in Auburn.