AUBURN, Ala. — In what has become a weekly ritual, Auburn coach Gene Chizik addressed his struggling punt return team again Sunday, a day after Philip Pierre-Louis had two returns for negative yardage and a third punt that he muffed, resulting in a turnover.
“We’ve got to get somebody back there that we can count on to do that,” Chizik said. “Obviously, we don’t have anybody at this point we feel like can (do it). So if it has to be somebody new, then that’s what we’ll do this week. But we’ll investigate more as the week goes on.”
Auburn has cycled through a series of returners this year who have struggled to catch the ball, from Mario Fannin to Demond Washington to Anthony Gulley to Pierre-Louis. A fifth, Quindarius Carr, was back for a few punts but never had a chance to return one.
Gulley said he and Washington worked as returners during Sunday’s practice.
“Mainly, (it’s) not looking down when the ball is coming at me,” Gulley said of what he worked on. “I had that problem against Ball State. I looked down right before I tried to catch the ball and that’s what caught me, it hit me on my shoulder pads and it bounced off. That’s my main problem.”
Chizik said it’s more complicated that simply sticking a receiver back there with reliable hands.
“Punts are different,” he said. “Because you can catch a ball that’s spiraling at you. If it’s being thrown in your hands, that doesn’t necessarily equate to being able to catch punts. It’s just a whole different animal. But the confidence of an older guy and the confidence of a guy is certainly not out of the question that we look at.”
Auburn is averaging 3.8 yards per punt return, ranking 114th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.
Thinned ranks
The number of Auburn cornerbacks are dwindling, but Chizik said the cupboard’s not completely bare.
“There are very few options left,” he said, “but there are a couple.”
The Tigers are down to three scholarship cornerbacks after Washington moved to safety — starters Walt McFadden and Neiko Thorpe and reserve D’Antoine Hood.
Freshman wide receivers Gulley and Pierre-Louis were tried at cornerback Saturday against Furman. Coaches have already said they won’t continue to use Pierre-Louis back there in the future. Chizik wasn’t so sure what he’ll do with Gulley.
“Obviously he’s a very good athlete, so he can do a couple of different things,” he said. “But you can’t just throw him out there at corner against the Georgias and Alabamas of the world and say, ‘Hey, good luck.’ I mean, it’s a little different deal. So we’re going to have to be smart about what we ultimately do about him.”
For the moment, Hood, a Central-Phenix standout, is the No. 3 cornerback. Chizik said Auburn still has the option of moving Washington back to cornerback in a pinch, with Mike Slade or T’Sharvan Bell stepping in at safety.
Herring out, Evans in
Linebacker Adam Herring didn’t dress against Furman because of an injury to his foot/ankle area. The sophomore had surgery on his heel last offseason. Chizik said he’s “tough-and-go” right now. As for Herring playing the last two weeks, “it’s up in the air.”
That leaves true freshman Jonathan Evans as the next man in at linebacker behind starters Josh Bynes, Craig Stevens and Eltoro Freeman.
Evans, who has spent most of his time on special teams this year, had his most active day yet against Furman, playing most of the second half and finishing with five unassisted tackles, second most on the team.
“He’s improved a lot on his vision, things he needs to see,” Stevens said. “Early on, when he first got here, he was basically running around playing off instinct. Now he’s reading his keys and just doing simple things like that, that he wasn’t doing early on.”
Quick hits
Chizik had no substantive injury update on wide receiver Travante Stallworth, who left Saturday’s game in the first quarter with an apparent knee injury and didn’t return. ... Chizik said running back Onterio McCalebb (ankle) remains “day-by-day.” McCalebb did not play for the second straight week last Saturday.
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