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re: Official Spring Practice (We Talkin' Bout Practice?) Thread:
Posted on 3/31/15 at 9:10 am to joeyb147
Posted on 3/31/15 at 9:10 am to joeyb147
quote:
D'haquille Williams came back to Auburn for several reasons, but his main goal is simple -- he wants to win a championship.
The Auburn receiver solidified himself quickly as the Tigers' top receiver in 2014. His first-half performance in the season opener was a solid start and he kept impressing from there with one-handed catches, athletic grabs in traffic and game-sealing snags down the field. His draft stock soared and the possibility of him jumping to the NFL after one season seemed to be a near certainty.
"He would not have come back if he didn't have his mind on being great and one of the things he talked about in private is we have unfinished business and what he meant by that is he wanted to come back to Auburn and win a championship and he wants to graduate," receivers coach Dameyune Craig said in January.
A disciplinary issue surfaced in December as he weighed whether to jump to the pros. He was punished by Gus Malzahn and missed the Tigers' loss in the Outback Bowl. With Williams on the field, maybe Auburn would have knocked off Wisconsin in a game that was ultimately lost on a missed field goal in overtime.
The 6-foot-2, 216-pound receiver figures to be a preseason All-SEC selection in August. He's already considered one of the top prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft, and ESPN analyst Mel Kiper has the prospect at the top of his list of draft-eligible receivers.
That's good news in the fall for Auburn, which must replace Sammie Coates while also asking other receivers to step up in an offensive system that likely will feature more passes with quarterback Jeremy Johnson at the controls.
"I know if I was a quarterback I'd like to have somebody like that to throw to," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "He's a guy that, when he's covered, he's open. It doesn't matter who you are, that's a good safety bucket. It's always a plus."
Williams finished his first season with 730 yards and five touchdowns with the Tigers, but missed missed three games, including two due to injury. "He came in from Day 1 and just dominated the league," Craig said. A 1,000-yard season as a senior is the expectation in the fall.
Williams worked through a dark past to land at Auburn in 2014 as those close to him guided him away from trouble in his home state. It's in Louisiana where former coaches and allies realized he could be an NFL star, so they cleared a path to Auburn.
At Auburn, Williams' next step is winning a championship.
Williams has not yet been made available to reporters this spring. Teammates say he has continued to dominate practices.
"He's always been really physical," receiver Marcus Davis said. "I think he's taking more of a leadership role right now and letting his talents develop and letting other people be great around him."
Posted on 3/31/15 at 9:26 am to joeyb147
quote:quote:
quote:
AUBURN – Dontavius Russell's body is ready.
FIFY.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 9:30 am to joeyb147
thanks Joey, it was like coming out and finding gifts under the tree.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 9:57 am to RockyMtnTigerWDE
got sick of seeing shite about AI and went searching for some news
hopefully we get some nuggets after todays practice
hopefully we get some nuggets after todays practice
Posted on 3/31/15 at 10:49 am to joeyb147
quote:
got sick of seeing shite about AI and went searching for some news hopefully we get some nuggets after todays practice
Thanks for AL.com's archived articles...
jk, been a slow Spring
Posted on 3/31/15 at 10:57 am to jvilletiger25
quote:
Pettway looking big
Trying to keep my expectations tempered but I think he'll be key in a dominant run game this year. I know everyone's looking to be more pass oriented with JJ at QB but I think if Pettway turns into a solid lead blocker we'll be looking at 2013 esq rushing attack with a better passing threat in the JJ/Duke combo.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 11:53 am to SemperAuburn
quote:
Trying to keep my expectations tempered but I think he'll be key in a dominant run game this year. I know everyone's looking to be more pass oriented with JJ at QB but I think if Pettway turns into a solid lead blocker we'll be looking at 2013 esq rushing attack with a better passing threat in the JJ/Duke combo.
You and me both brother. Give me 2013 offense over any balanced offense anyday. I think I was pretty vocal about that last year.
Just run the damn ball
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:25 pm to LanierSpots
Tony Stevens tweeted he's up to 208 pounds as of today! That's a big WR.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:25 pm to LanierSpots
fap city over her. JJ to Duke
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:27 pm to WareagleKK
Going to be big for us this year. I wonder where Melvin Ray will fit into the WR role this year now that Tony and Duke are clearly ahead of him. I still remember his nice one hand grab during the opening game against Arky, IIRC. I would like to use him more besides blocking
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:40 pm to LanierSpots
quote:that's Auburn
Just run the damn ball
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:43 pm to Rig
quote:Tony Stevens
@Tony_Kickinit: They need to change my weight I'm not sure 190 I'm 208
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:44 pm to Rig
quote:
Just run the damn ball
that's Auburn
We will run the ball a lot, but I am really interested to see how our offense is ran this year with a more pure passer.
I think JJ will throw the ball 400+ times.
ETA: NM threw the ball 293 times last year if anyone is wondering.
Chris Todd in '09 threw it 328
Cam Newton threw 280 passes.
This post was edited on 3/31/15 at 12:46 pm
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:49 pm to AUTigermitch1995
quote:
I wonder where Melvin Ray will fit into the WR role this year now that Tony and Duke are clearly ahead of him.
Is Stevens clearly ahead of Ray? Stevens has been very inconsistent so far and I've only heard that he "has a chance to step it up" this year, as opposed to him being a starter or clearly ahead of Ray, who JJ seems to have a really nice connection with on the field.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:51 pm to AUTigermitch1995
quote:
I think JJ will throw the ball 400+ times.
not going to happen if Todd didn't break 350. I say 375 would be JJ's absolute max pass attempts this season, but probably won't break 350
Posted on 3/31/15 at 12:57 pm to GoCrazyAuburn
If you include all 15 of our games, JJ will hit 400+
Just 12 game regular season, I would imagine 350 is the sweetspot
How bad we blow out teams like say Alabama also will determine things
Just 12 game regular season, I would imagine 350 is the sweetspot
How bad we blow out teams like say Alabama also will determine things
Posted on 3/31/15 at 1:00 pm to GoCrazyAuburn
quote:
I say 375 would be JJ's absolute max pass
The more and more I think about it this is probably right.
In '09 with Todd we averaged 28 passing attempts per game and 42 rushing attempts. That is about on par with the JJ and the Arky game in which JJ attempted 16 passes in the first half.
I wonder if we would see that number rise throughout the year as JJ gets more and more comfortable.
Posted on 3/31/15 at 1:50 pm to AUTigermitch1995
We could see Gus trusting JJ with a hurry up though which would "artificially" increase passing attempts just due to volume of plays
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