Practice report, 3/24

I was able to observe practice for approximately 20 minutes tonight.

Let's just free associate it.

• Practice moves at a faster pace. I sense more urgency.
  
  
• In orange jerseys, but participating pretty fully: S Aairon Savage, S Zac Etheridge, WR Philip Pierre-Louis
  
  
• In orange jersey, not participating fully: TE Tommy Trott
  
  
• In blue jersey, not participating fully: WR Montez Billings, OT Lee Ziemba
  
  
• Chris Todd didn't throw passes. He was pretending to throw passes.
  
  
• RB Onterio McCalebb is smaller than I expected.
  
  
• Assistant coach Trooper Taylor has a loud voice. It booms.
  
  
• Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn doesn't negotiate about what happens in practice. He knows exactly what he wants and that's how it's going to be.
  
  
• Gene Chizik, true to his word, roamed around throughout practice. I caught him getting on a walk-on for not running a drill correctly. Not saying that's good or bad. That's not something you'd have seen from Tommy Tuberville.
  
  
• I saw Justin Albert. He was at full speed.
  
  
• Auburn tonight played host to Arkansas TB Michael Dyer, the nation's top-rated junior tailback. He's not very tall. I'd say he's 5-10. He's a stout dude in the Tristan Davis/Ben Tate mold.
  
  
• TE Gabe McKenzie didn't attend practice tonight. Chizik said the senior is dealing with a medical issue that should/could be resolved soon. I saw Gabe a few hours before practice, so he's around.
  
  
• Neil Caudle is a happier guy. He feels like he has a legitimate shot at this job, based on all the stuff Chizik has said to that end, and it's clear that Caudle feels better in general. He took some tough mental hits last season.
  
  

KODI BURNS SPEAKS

• On practice: "The biggest difference is tempo. We're really going to actually run that tempo. If you saw in practice, it's a tempo offense. There's not much looking to the sidelines for plays. We just run play after play after play. We'll have an advantage over defenses by wearing them down. We're going to run the tempo. We're not going to run the I."
  
  
• On playing for Gus Malzahn: "In Arkansas, he's like a Bobby Bowden in Florida. Everybody knows him. He's the guy. I definitely always wanted to play for him when I was growing up. Even at Auburn, I've dreamed of him being my coach. I feel like it's a blessing, him being here. It's going to be a great future ahead of us."

NEIL CAUDLE SPEAKS

• On Malzahn's offense: ``I think it fits perfectly. I feel comfortable out there. I feel comfortable out there running these plays. It's a timing offense, which really plays well to me. I like to have rhythm and throw the ball in time."
  
  
• On Malzahn, the man: "He's always coaching is the main thing. He never takes a second off. He's real fast-paced. He talked real fast, which is good, because we get a lot of information from him. He thinks a lot faster."

CHRIS TODD SPEAKS

• On his December surgery: "What they did is basically go in and shave off the end of the clavicle that had become damaged or arthritic. They were just trying to play with it. They cleaned all that up. They drilled a hole in the AC joint and tied it back together and yanked it back down, so it's in place now."