AUBURN, Ala. — Defensive coordinator Ted Roof had an emphatic response when asked if he wanted to get Demond Washington more reps at his new safety position in the second half of Auburn’s 63-31 win against Furman on Saturday.
“No. No. No. No. Absolutely not,” Roof said with a laugh, adding one more for good measure. “No.”
Washington, who helped the Tigers’ depleted secondary by moving from cornerback to safety following Zac Etheridge’s season-ending neck injury last week, did well in his only half of action Saturday.
ROBIN TRIMARCHI/rtrimarchi@ledger-enquirer.com Auburn defensive back Daren Bates upends Furman quarterback Chris Forcier on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The junior college transfer started and made three unassisted tackles, sniffing out a play-action pass in the flat on one play and flattening Furman’s Adam Mims after a 1-yard gain.
“It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but it wasn’t easy,” Washington said. “I made that transition. I’m used to it now.”
Washington’s move left Auburn with only three scholarship cornerbacks left on the roster (Walt McFadden, Neiko Thorpe and D’Antoine Hood), so the Tigers tried wide receivers Anthony Gulley and Philip Pierre-Louis as defensive backs Saturday.
“With where our depth was, you’ve got to try some different things and give some guys some opportunities,” Roof said. “They had an opportunity to get their feet wet a little bit today and see what it feels like to play.”
Roof said Gulley will be an emergency cornerback. Auburn coach Gene Chizik said Pierre-Louis will not continue to play on defense.
For Zac
The SEC approved Auburn’s request to let players wear white arm bands with a navy number “4” on the side in honor of Etheridge, whose future as a football player is in doubt after last week’s scary neck injury.
Safety Daren Bates took it a step further, writing the “ZAC” on his arm in silver marker to show support for his injured teammate.
“I just wanted to show that I love him and I still want to be out there with him,” Bates said.
Flag bearer
Running backs coach Curtis Luper carried an American flag as he led the team onto the field to commemorate Veteran’s Day.
Luper was a running back at Oklahoma State from 1984-87 but left from 1988-92 to be an air traffic controller for the United States Army. He spent eight months at Fort McClellan in Anniston, Ala., and Fort Rucker near Enterprise, Ala. After his stint in the Army, Luper finished his playing career at Stephen F. Austin in 1993.
Approximately 300 military personnel from Fort Benning were in attendance for Saturday’s game.
“We brought the Armed Forces into our practice this week just as a recognition and celebration for what those guys do for our country,” Chizik said.
A never-ending problem
Auburn’s punt return problems appear to have no end in sight. Pierre-Louis had two returns go for negative yardage in the first half before making a regrettable mistake in the third quarter.
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