Looking at: Kodi Burns' senior season
Hey everyone. I had a conversation yesterday with a friend and he was interested in Kodi Burns, who appears headed into another wave of uncertainty in 2010.So here's what I have to say about it.
Kodi Burns is in a difficult spot.
The quarterback-turned-wideout is three years into his college career and the path to playing time seems more clouded than ever. Former coach Tommy Tuberville ventured into Arkansas and said he'd discovered Auburn's version of Vince Young; a runner and a passer and a fighter all rolled into one neat package.
Yet Burns hasn't become that dominant threat.
It's not a function of personal failure. Burns is a bright kid, a tough kid, and has worked diligently to improve his most glaring weakness. His accuracy wanes because of inconsistent and sometime awkward footwork, which is exactly what offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn doesn't want.
He craves accuracy.
Burns, at least to this point, can't provide it consistently. That's why he conceded to Chris Todd during two-a-days last season and accepted new assignments at wideout and Wildcat.
Burns endeared himself to everyone associated with the program by the way he implored teammates to unite behind Todd. The emotional speech, held during a team meeting, was taped by the university's "Auburn Football … Every Day" cameras.
From that moment forward, Burns became a legend.
Those good vibes didn't transfer well to the field. He scored touchdowns in three ways -- five as a runner, two as a passer and one as a receiver -- but never emerged as the every-down element many expected. Burns struggled to acclimate at receiver, though his challenge was nearly impossible from the beginning.
Learning a new position requires more than two months of training.
Where does Burns go from here?
Auburn signed junior-college phenom Cam Newton, who is considered the favorite to start the team's season-opening game against Arkansas State. Senior Neil Caudle also is in the mix.
Burns looks overmatched there.
Auburn also signed four wideouts including a pair of blue-chip guys in Trovon Reed and Antonio Goodwin. The depth chart at receiver was reasonably thick last season and will include the program's most competitive position battles this fall.
Burns looks overmatched there.
His work out of the Wildcat position, a tailback/quarterback hybrid, was average at best. He averaged 3.1 yards per carry. Tailbacks Ben Tate, Onterrio McCalebb and Mario Fannin averaged at least 5.2 yards apiece.
Burns looks overmatched there as well.
He's now preparing for his senior season without a clear shot at playing time anywhere. Burns' popularity is undeniable. Everyone wants to see him succeed somehow.
Still, his window of opportunity is closing fast and this saga appears headed for a low-key ending.
Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University
Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.
posted by Jay G. Tate at
2:15 PM
134 Comments:
KA-BOOM!
substancio
TRES.
and now back to our regularly scheduled programming at work
"That shield is operational!"
Nice read,
That's some seriously fast commenting.
Jet - get up and walk over there. That ought to liven things up. Spend that $10 plus mileage wisely.
Burns playing time will be significantly less next season IMO
They can't keep running him out there at Wildcat. It's madness.
As a fan. I really look forward not having the problem of feeling like they have to play Burns. I cringed everytime Kodi ran the wildcat, especially if it involved him throwing the ball.
That's what I said every game last year... and yet they kept running him there.
Now that they have a full year to get the Wildcat position groomed, I expect to see Aycock or Gulley or Stallworth or Fannin or even Chris Davis back there.
No, JGT, they can't keep running him out there at Wildcat and run an inside keeper 90% of the time.
now I'm really going back to work, you kids play nice.
As far as the Vince Young comparison goes...where is the Vince Young speed?
Maybe that's why Tuberville is in Lubbock now.
I need to go out there this summer.
Man, I can't believe i didn't guess Burns. I was surprised when Chizik said he would stay at wide receiver and wildcat QB. I don't really see him as the wildcat QB any longer. If you have Newton at QB, who needs a wildcat? If you do use a wildcat, wouldn't you go with someone who is significantly faster than Newton, which Kodi isn't.
At receiver, we have more talent that I can ever remember. Out of the recruits we signed, this is the one position I think we may have oversigned. We are packed.
I read an article the other day saying that Kodi would become a possession receiver, but I just have a hard time seeing it.
What can Kodi compete at on this team? How does he feel about playing safety?
Not to divert attention away from JGT's wonderful blog but this guy hit the nail on the head with Kodi and the wildcat http://auppl.blogspot.com/2009/12/10-musts-for-2010-auburn-football-team_08.html.
I just don't see him playing anywhere. I hate to say it, but there's nothing really he can accomplish.
Steve, you took the words right out of my mou... um, keyboard.
Safety!
One of the saddest things of college football is when circumstances turn against good kids. This is a prime case.
It's human nature to look for someone to blame, and I'm not sure who it is. Maybe because there is no one to blame.
When we were grasping for anything in 2007 and 2008, Kodi was the place where we turned. I don't think it was from a lack of effort on his part. It just hasn't worked out.
Presumably, he'll be watching a lot from the sideline this fall. I hope he gets his degree and has a happy, productive life. If the Chizik story turns out to be a happy one, Kodi will be one of the authors because he put the team ahead of himself when a lot of kids today would have fought it to the bitter end.
I hear UNA is looking for players...
I certainly don't mean to make light of Kodi's situation. I consider him a good Auburn man and wish the best for him. I just have trouble finding somewhere he fits.
Also, I don't consider his situation entirely his own doing. I don't think the OC shuffle helped him early in his Auburn career and burning his redshirt for a wasted year in his freshman season was just plain dumb. We did a poor job of developing Burns as a QB.
Vince Young?
Surely, we're confused. He must have said "Vince Van Patten," the former child actor and current host of World Poker Tour.
i can't help pulling for him. my hope is that he has his one shining moment in 2009 that puts a positive stamp on KB forever for AU faithful.
Kodi still could be redshirted, although I have no idea why it would happen. I can't see it helping matters.
Exactly. No real reason to redshirt him b/c the situation at QB and WR probably won't be more open in 2011.
Everyone pulls for Kodi for good reason. He's a good athlete with a broad variety of skills and an outstanding attitude. It's just that none of the skills are good enough to fit him into a roll.
As soon as he's not considered a Qb, he becomes a "tweener". Tweener's usually need to get lucky and fall into a roll. Tweeners are usually good on special teams and special situations.
Just for the sake of moral I hope the coaches can find ways to use him.
I also hope he is doing well in school. If he is, then his character and contacts should make him valuable.
I think Kodi will still get PT next year just because the coaches like him as a person and a leader. I feel that's why he got PT this last fall. I don't see that changing in 2010.
You're right, Hoop. Burns has a very broad base of skills.
Exactly. It would be like saying hey Kodi, I have an idea. If we redshirt you, you can ride the bench for two years instead of one.
He does seem to have enough speed and quickness to play safety, but even there, if Etheridge and Savage both come back, playing time will be limited.
The only other possibility would be something in the kick/punt return game, but there seems to be a lot of options there too.
There just doesn't seem to be a good place for him to fit in.
Jay, what is your view on PPL? Will he be a wide out at UNA soon?
Defense is out of the question for Burns, FC. The intricacies of playing safety are even tougher to adjust to than switching to wide receiver.
Michael, you are probably right.
Caudle is in a similar boat. He was suppose to be the heir apparent to Cox and has ended up being a also ran. Caudle was well though of coming out of high school, although he had knee surgery on both knees at one point or another if I recall correctly.
Isn't it amazing what a difference a year makes? Last season if you had a pulse, we had playing time for you.
I think PPL is in this for the long haul. I'd like to talk with him ...
I found watching Auburn different last season because there were a few times that they mentioned a player name that I didn't recognize. That usually doesn't happen. I remember a kid getting called for a penalty on special teams. I think his name was Knight. I had never heard of him before.
Okay, somebody ripped off my Todzilla nick and used something similar for Newton. I feel violated.
PPL was FAH before FAH got to the Plains. He was the ubiquitous freshman phenom prediction.
How fast is he after the injury? dunno.
PPL was the poster child for the 2008 season. CTF was very excited about him. He lasted all of one play, the opening kickoff of the season.
My impression is that his speed is back, but we have so many great options at WR, I am not sure there is a place for him.
I hope the best for Kodie. I also thought Chris Todd was hanging onto a dream with a taped up shoulder and he ended up being a serviceable quarterback last year, so who knows? It sucks to be odd man out as you go into your Senior Season. His situation is starting to look a little Trey Smith-esq.
Tre Smith is a great example. I will always love him for his performance in that Iron Bowl game, but he had a lot of issues later on.
Ubiquitous freshman prediction: Cody Parkey is the future star. Cody Parkey. Yes, that Cody Parkey.
There. That should take care of it.
I agree with Michael. I think this coaching staff feels a debt of gratitude to KB, and because of that, I see him playing this year- -even if it doesn't make a ton of sense in the situation.
Remember this, though. If KB doesn't accept that decision last year like a team player- -we possibly could have had a real dumpster fire on our hands.
I'm just not sure if Joe Fan sitting near me in the upper deck is going to remember that, and will probably start boo'ing if KB comes in at WC and runs for .5 yards or throws a pick.
There is another way to look at Kodi Burns. I believe his presence resulted in the firing of two coordinators and one head coach.
wde- Joe Fan is my uncle, leave him alone
Joe Fan is my boy, don't get me wrong. He's just more liberal with the vocal displays of displeasure/anger.
Kodi = special teams player
There are times when Kodi can be used. Against Arkansas State, it wouldn't be bad.
why haven't any of you wished me a happy birthday on my facebook page?
Harrison, if you'll cruise over to my Facebook page, you'll see where I wished you a Happy Birthday and baked you a cake.
Let me guess, is it a chocolate cake?
Who wants to take my place at baseball practice tonight? Gonna be a lot of cold 8-year-olds out there (probably not as cold as their dads, though).
The cake shares many characteristics with both of our Facebook pages.
A not-so-quick story while I'm in the posting mood:
My kids had been after me to create a character on this website that they like. I finally did so last week. When you sign up, you have to enter your birthday (including the year). I noticed once I got logged in that all the characters walking around are identified by their character name, country, and age in little balloons over their heads. I immediately thought, "Being identified as a 42-year-old on a kids' website is not good." I told the kids that I would only be "friends" with them on there - no one else. Well, over the weekend a 17-year-old girl asked to be my friend. Of course, I did not accept, but I did laughingly tell a couple of my real-life friends about it. One of them immediately said, "That was the cops!". I'm sure that caused a strange look on my face. I never thought about that! Anyway, I tried to show one of the aforementioned real-life friends the friend request from the girl. It had mysteriously disappeared. If it was the cops, I guess they only give you so long to take the bait.
Hmmm, it may have been the cops or a child molester. The web is a dangerous place these days. Be careful who your kids talk to. My kids actually told me that they new they were talking to a kid because they sent them a picture. Kids have no clue.
My kids have definitely been warned about all that stuff. I monitor the messages that they get, too. Plus, they use the particular website I'm talking about at school, so the teachers keep a pretty close watch on it.
The number of idiots in this world seems to be increasing.
And I just ran across an article seemingly written specifically for Michael.
Good stuff Jay G.
I wish Kodi well, I agree in that I just don't see where he fits in on the field.
The Wildcat is supposed to be momentum changer, and unfortunately for us it seemed that it slowed ours down when we ran it.
It looks like the Ole Miss students have decided to change their school mascot. That is surprising, although moving away from the old south image might be good for them.
Thanks for reading, peeps!
Steve ...
They didn't decide to change ... the school dropped Col. Reb. This vote is to attempt to replace the Colonel with something else less divisive.
Not kids related, but I was wiping out a laptop of a guy that was let go recently and the crap that he had on there from dating sites and emails that he thought he deleted is just absolutely crazy. People will do anything these days online and hid behind a monitor. I could never imagine myself doing anything quite like that. Anyways.
As promised a few weeks ago, I have added the franchise player tag to jhag.
I have no idea what this means, but I promised him that I'd do it and I did.
We love jhag.
Eddie, I want details.
USCw looks to be going down hard and way worse than Auburn did for Eric Ramsey. This report suggests 2 years of no bowl games and "NO TV" along with severe loss of scholarships. This will be interesting to see how the dominoes fall.
http://sportales.com/football/source-leaks-usc-placed-on-major-probation/
Jay G- Sending / receiving pictures, looking for hook ups, sending email trashing our company & his bosses. He also tried to delete all his files that were important except he forgot to empty the recycling bin. Dude was trying to find one nighters or something else it seams by going thru these sites that have to scream virus alert if you just clicked on them.
Eduardo ... We've got a situation even worse than that. Unfortunately, I can't elaborate, but it's sad.
Jet- Unfortunately this is not the first time that this has happened when I clean a laptop out. I've seen something worse at a previous company both personal and company related. People are just morons sometimes.
Harrison - you've got a message on FB from yours truly.
bad day turns good for LGG Byron. He starts the afternoon with a West Ham loss and finishes the evening with a West Ham ticket good for their March 6 fixture.
Eddie/Jet - not only have I worked with multiple people guilty of the same behavior, one in particular even disappeared for a few hours multiple times a month for said hookups. He's divorced, and I believe still unemployed now. I wonder if those two conditions are related to his workday antics?
Norm- I believe those two things go hand in hand. BTW...still trying to keep the Rollison Express alive and going, but it's getting touch with all these new "clean" coal initiatives :).
This particular guy was just trouble from the word go. He had two dogs - a Pit Bull and a Great Pyrenees (I think). One day, apparently, the fine folks at Auburn Animal Control picked up his Pit Bull for a stay at their facilities. Well, this just would not do. So after their offices closed for the night, he breaks in to get his dog back. While there he figures the proper course of action is to return all the other dogs to the community too so he left all the cages open and the back door to the facility wide open for them to come and go at their leisure. Well he got his dog back alright and for his trouble got to be a guest of the city jail for awhile. What a loser. That's just one of many stories for this oxygen thief.
JGT-Excellent article. Enjoyed reading it. I hope you can do more like that. I like your opinion on these kids, since you are not a fan like the rest of us.
Luv-From an earlier post:
For many years Joe Whitt was called the bag man (bag of money) for recruits coming to AU. It has now shifted to Chett in the FCA. Since I don't follow recruiting at all, I thought I would make a comment about meeting a recruit and giving him the money that Joe Whitt would have given him. maybe FSJ can let us know if someone has posted that remark on BOL.
KB will get playing time at WR this year, IMO. That spot can be easily changed by players just stepping on and off the field. With Gus's offense the WR does not always go to the huddle, so they can make personnel changes with him by just swapping spots from the sidelines.
OT: Man vs Food. he has to eat 6 wings in 20 minutes . No milk or water. He ate only 2 wings and just about passed out. The wings were called 'Fire in your hole'.
Why even try to eat something like that?
wtc - what are the distances for your upcoming sprint?
If you mean my next few runs, I will do 8 miles Wednesday, 6 on Thursday, prolly 4 Friday and 11 on Saturday.
No, I thought you were training for a Tri-Sprint. Maybe I was wrong, I thought my cousin had mentioned it.
He is training for one in the panhandle for around May (whatever holiday weekend that is). He wants me to train with him, but I haven't pushed my self to get to the Y at 5:30am and swim. Running and biking are easy that early but I hate having to drive somewhere to train.
Speaking of all of that stuff. I found out anything I open on my work computer, including personal email, is public record.
Same goes for my personal cell phone if I use it at all at work.
Good to know.
Eddie,
We had a guy who was let go a couple of years back, who was sending out emails, resumes and job recommendations for girls he knew at UTC (trying to impress them) and changing the signature on his emails to that of his managers, so that it would look like he was the manager.
Needless to say his real manager wasn't too happy when she found this.
The same guy had set up a yahoo personals page, and was talking on the phone at work with someone about it and the girl next to him overheard it and sent a mass email out to everyone with a link to his profile, which had some pretty funny pictures. The guy complained to a manager and the manager said "it's a public profile, right?"
Just some stuff I ran across today regarding basketball:
AU's RPI rank is 138 at 13-14
Sam Houston State is #73 at 15-6 (L)
Mizzou St is #79 at 18-10 (L)
Charlston is #270 at 8-15 (W)
IUIPI is #102 at 18-9 (W)
UVA is #108 at 14-10 (W)
NC St is #117 at 15-13 (L)
Troy is #144 at 13-11 (L)
Niagra is #153 at 16-13 (W)
UCF is #173 at 12-13 (L)
High Point is #258 at 11-14 (W)
AL State is #309 at 9-13 (W)
AL A&M is #332 at 7-11 (w)
FSU is #40 at 19-9 (L)
AU beat 1 non conference team with a better RPI and lost to 1 non conference team with a worse RPI.
BEASLEY!!!
HELLO KENNESAW, GEORGIA!
DARVIN!!!
Au should beat LSU and possibly UA on the schedule. may lose to OM on the road and Miss state at home to finish 6-10 in the SEC.
THT, this blog is getting heavy.
I can't carry it for much longer
wtc - I fulfilled my blog obligation (blogibation?) with those last 2 posts. Got to get back to playing travel agent. You're doing a fine job.
In Kennesaw, GA, all residents are required by law to own a shotgun.
Your right wells, and it has an extremely low crime rate.
Should they pass such a law in Johns Creek, GA well you'd better believe I'll be ready.
I love Kennesaw, lived just outside in Acworth for 3 or so years. Actually went to high school with Darvin for a year before I moved away.
You inspired me to change my facebook status wells. Good job.
hi wells. In the 1990s we lived in Burnt Hickory Lakes about 4 miles south of Acworth. I was jealous of my friends who had a Kennesaw address.
This comment has been removed by the author.
We were in Brookstone, just in front of County Line Road and not much more than a stone's throw from you. Technically it was Acworth, but its the no man's land between Kennesaw, Acworth, and Powder Springs addresses. I remember friends at school with all three.
I say we finish 5-11 in the league and get hammered in the first round of the tournament.
Also, this is my emergence from extreme lurking. If I recall correctly, there's a bunch of engineers that follow the HABOTN? I'm here at AU in Civil. Actually doing statics homework as I type... meh.
A little bird told me Hargrove proclaimed an Auburn win in the SEC tourney? Not sure if that's accurate.
Jet-that means we lose to OM, Miss St, UA. I would hate that kind of a finish. According to the brackets shown tonight on ESPN, if the season ended tonight we would play soCal in the opener with the winner getting UK in round 2.
WTC .. That's exactly what I'm saying.
Anyone just see ESPN get pranked?
Jet...have to disagree about us getting hammered in the first round of the SEC tourney.
I know we've put down this team a lot this year (myself included), but one thing it has been pretty consistently is competitive with just about everyone. Tennessee is the only exception and we had a 12 point lead in the first half there. Ole Miss and Vandy were games where we seemed well beaten in the end, but certainly didn't get hammered (watch us get hammered in Oxford tomorrow night now).
We act like this team is the laughing stock of the league, but it took Kentucky to the wire, threw away victories in OT on the road against the West's two best teams.
We're certainly not a good team and it's been frustrating to watch, but these kids do battle hard, if not intelligently (bar last Saturday against the Hogs). I'd definitely be a little surprised if we got hammered in the first round of the SEC tourney, especially since we could still finish with a third or fourth seed out of the West.
Good morning, Hotties! It's Hump Day!
It's a shame about Kodi, but if there really isn't any position for him, I don't think they should feel they have to use him - Auburn Man or not. This is SEC football, not pee wee. I wish him only the best, but it's obvious Auburn has gone in another direction and he - and all his fans - just have to accept that.
jhag- I did not. Please share.
Welcome to the blog Wells!
Morning folks. Welcome to Wells and any other newbies I've forgotten to officially welcome.
Eddie - seen the status update from "The Express"?
No denying that Kodi has not met our (or his own) expectations as a player. but, don't count him out. I think it's possible that he could continue to improve at WR. He certainly performed better than DeAngelo Benton at the position.
And even at Wildcat, he ran for several and threw a couple of important TDs. And you can't really compare his YPC against others because many of his wildcat runs scrimmaged from inside the 5. It's harder to gets yards down there and it's impossible to get more than 5 yards...kinda hurts the ole average.
I guess what I'm saying is, Kodi is no Vince Young, but some of you are acting like he was a disaster and I don't believe that was the case either.
Norm- I'm done with the Rollison Express....I need a fresh start :).
Jason- I don't think Kodi was a disaster, I just don't feel like he is the best option at times when he is on the field. He did have some critical TD's and the throws he made were to wide open guys if I recall, but when he threw the ball into coverage he got picked. I'm curious...how many Picks to Todd have vs Kodi last season? I'm sure Steve will let me know. Look, like most everyone here, we all want Kodi to be successful at Auburn due to how he handled his time here and not winning the QB position last fall, but with that said, we also want the best option out on the field and to be honest he seemed to not be the best option at times last season. I hope that he works his butt off at the WR spot and is able to contribute. I will continue to root for the guy. I do personally hope that he does not run the wildcat package. He is just not effective on a consistent basis IMO.
Eddie ... I concur in re Kodi ... I hope he finds a niche. But it's uphill battle.
Norm ... I saw that.
Tyrik Rollison = Facebook Legend
Jason, I have to disagree on Kodi vs. Deangelo. According to Auburn's website, here are there receiving stats:
Kodi: 5 catches for 46 yds.
Deangelo: 6 for 88
I hope I didn't sound callous in my first post. I was being rushed, so I didn't have time to properly formulate.
Jason & Luv- There also seemed to be issues between Todd and Benton behind the scenes that nobody seems to want to discuss. I expect better things to come from Deangelo.
I'm hoping we see better things from everyone, Eddie!
Anyone paying attention to the Michigan / NCAA violations story? This story should reshape football landscape a little bit if they get penalized severely. Quality control people usually coach at a lot of schools so it will be interesting to see how this impacts the football landscape and how "quality Control" staff positions are used from this point on. A lot of schools are guilty of this.
Eddie - I've read a bit about that and agree it could be a game changer. Should be interesting.
The only thing with Kodi is that is Newton is such a similar player to Kodi, both are athletic QBs. If Newton is a better runner and thrower than Kodi, there is no sense in running the 'wildcat' package with Kodi. Newton basically makes every formation the wildcat package.
Now if Kodi can produce some at WR, then you do have the 2 QB threat thing out there, but that is more of a gimmick than a weapon. As much as I like Kodi, Auburn will be better if Adams, T-Zack, Benton, Blake, and Lutz are the guys catching the passes.
Auburn is better off lining up with its best on best and running the regular stuff this year. If you want to run some wildcat, put someone like Trevon Reed back there and make it explosive.
The National Geological Survey just issued a statement that there was not a major earthquake in the Southeastern U.S. this morning, but rather it was the shockwaves generated by a person known as "Eddie" jumping off the Tyrik Rollison bandwagon.
Well said, stupup!
Eddie, I would venture to guess that most schools are guilty of what Michigan is being charged with. Realistically, how can those rules be enforced?
Jet- I think you need to re-look at my comments and figure out what that means in regards to what Norm had asked.
I know ... just giggin' ya, Eddie. Since you were the George Washington of the Tyrik Fan Club, it deserved a little gig.
Luv- the practice time being more or the QC guys leading a workout and coaching is a no-no that I believe most schools comply with. What most schools do not comply with is just having the allotted on-field coaches they are allowed, and they abuse it by hiring the QC guys. Tubs had Andy Lutz, who coached special teams and Phillip Lolley after he stepped down from coaching. If Michigan gets hammered in that aspect, then you will see schools changing the way they do things. I'm fairly sure that the two schools in the BCS Championship game were guilty of breaking this rule.
Jet- But if Tyrik leaves, then he is dead to me. Unfortunately I will have to send a lot of Rollison Express merchandise to wherever ever they sent the Texas National Championship gear to.
Not to be a pessimist, but it seems that a lot of schools always find ways to break the rules.
LOL, Eddie. What is his status anyway? I am not a FB friend of any players.
Luv- If you ain't cheatin, you ain't trying :). I've heard that said more times than I would like. With that said, I do believe that most teams don't blatantly cheat, but like to push boundaries as far as they can. That is why Saban would "bump" into recruits and NCAA reacted and killed the HC from going to schools in the spring evaluation period. The QC / Volunteer guys coaching is just another example of teams pushing the envelope.
As far as Tyrik's FB status, I'm not a FB friend of his nor any other player, but you don't have to look hard to find those that are and what he is saying. I pretty much said exactly what Tyrik said in my response to Norm, except remove the "Rollison Express".
Not to be obtuse, but does that sound like Rollison is leaving Auburn? I hate reading too much into things, that has gotten me in trouble before.
New thread UPZ.
Let's talk.
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