March 17, 2007

Notes and Quotes

By JOHN ZENOR

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - Auburn's Brandon Cox was completing passes downfield to a variety of targets, avoiding mistakes and leading a series of impressive drives.

In other words, the Tigers' now-healthy quarterback did everything in Saturday's spring A-Day game that he was unable to do consistently at the end of last season.

Cox guided the Blue team-led by the No. 1 offense-to a 27-7 win over the White, throwing for 286 yards and three touchdowns and leading four drives for a TD.

"Brandon needed a strong spring. He didn't have a great fall," coach Tommy Tuberville said. "If he stays healthy, he'll be one of the better quarterbacks in the country."

The downside for the Tigers was that none of the three contenders to be Cox's top backup really distinguished themselves in front of the announced crowd of 31,757 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Showcasing young players for the fans and coaches is the more typical benefit of a spring game.

But the Tigers are seeking more playmakers at receiver with the departure of Courtney Taylor from an already thin group, and Cox had little trouble finding them.

Cox completed passes of 30-plus yards to four different receivers and threw TD passes to three.

Montez Billings and Rod Smith, the Blue's starting receivers, had 70 yards and 67 yards, respectively. Prechae Rodriguez had four catches for 64 yards, and tight end Gabe McKenzie set up the first touchdown with a 48-yard, over-the-shoulder catch from Cox.

"We've got to have more than one receiver out there like we did last year with Courtney Taylor catching the ball," Tuberville said. "We've got to have numerous guys catching the ball and making progress."

The Tigers' base defense made it a little easier for Cox to find his targets. He completed 15-of-25 passes to earn offensive MVP honors, and had touchdown passes of 19 yards to Billings, 32 yards to Smith and 4 yards to fullback Danny Perry.

His backups didn't fare quite so well. Redshirt freshman Steven Ensminger had the best showing, going 9-of-11 for 77 yards and leading a TD drive. But he also threw an interception into double coverage.

Blake Field, who was limited in the spring with tendinitis in his throwing shoulder, was 3-for-10 for 45 yards. Redshirt freshman Neil Caudle was 2-for-8 for 32 yards and was intercepted once.

That leaves Wednesday's final practice of the spring as the last chance for one of Cox's backups to separate himself.

"It's not bad sometimes to throw the ball away. It seems like we tried to force things and turned the ball over," Tuberville said of the potential second-teamers. "We've got to find us a No. 2 quarterback that's going to make a little better decisions. That's what today was about."

The Tigers had no shortage of productive tailbacks.

Projected starter Brad Lester didn't play much, but racked up 33 yards on three carries, including a 27-yarder. Tristan Davis had 13 runs for 62 yards. Ben Tate and Mario Fannin gained 44 and 42 yards, respectively, on 14 carries apiece.

Cox clearly benefited from some healing time since the Cotton Bowl. He struggled with leg injuries down the stretch last season.

"It's just his legs are so much more sound now," offensive coordinator Al Borges said. "When your legs are sound, you can put your screws in the ground and throw the ball. That's what he did."

The Tigers produced just one touchdown in last year's spring game.

"It's pretty fun being able to score some points against them," Cox said. "It's A-Day game, so they did a lot of base things. In the past we haven't been able to do much in the A-Day game."

Michael Goggans was the defensive MVP, with five tackles and a quarterback hurry. Matthew Motley was voted the top special teams performer.

The frontrunner to replace placekicker John Vaughn, Ross Garnell, missed an extra point and a 42-yard field goal attempt.

A number of players sat out the game, including receiver Tim Hawthorne, defensive linemen Sen'Derrick Marks and Jemarcus Ricks and linebackers Steve Gandy and Merrill Johnson.

TIGER TALES: Placekicker John Vaughn won the Shug Jordan Award as last season's top senior player. Cornerback David Irons won the Zeke Smith Award as the top defensive player, receiver Courtney Taylor was the top offensive player (Pat Sullivan Award), guard Ben Grubbs was the top blocker (Ken Rice Award) and linebacker Will Herring won the Mike Kolen Award as the top tackler.