Auburn notebook: Lawson and Auburn defense dominate first scrimmage

AUBURN -- Carl Lawson said last week he felt the coaches were much more concerned about protecting his surgically repaired knee than he was.

Forget that after the team's first scrimmage Monday afternoon. In a scrimmage that was described by Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn as "completely dominated" by the defense, Lawson was the only player he highlighted without film review.

"The only person I can say 100 percent was Carl Lawson," Malzahn said when asked which players easily stood out to him. "He's about unblockable."

The sophomore defensive end primarily been working at defensive end and the new Buck position. The new position, designed by coordinator Will Muschamp in his 4-3 scheme, is to utilize the team's most athletic pass rusher in multiple situations on the field before the snap.

"You've just got to know where he's at," Malzahn said. "There's no doubt about that from an offensive standpoint. He disrupts. He's a disruptor, and a lot of times, even if he's not making the play, he disrupts stuff for other people."

Lawson was part of a defensive effort in Monday's scrimmage where Malzahn said three turnovers were created, which was more than two offensive scores throughout the day. On a day where the Tigers focused more on running offensively, Malzahn said only a pair of field goals were scored throughout the scrimmage.

"We hadn't had any scrimmage since I've been the head coach that we've had a dominant defensive performance like that in a scrimmage, so that's very exciting," Malzahn said.

Lawson was named a freshman All-American selection by multiple national publications following a 2013 season that finished with 7.5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. Having the 257-pounder back for the 2015 campaign sets up the Tigers with an element they desperately needed last season -- a pass rush.

"It feels good knowing you have a real good defensive end over there with Carl," senior defensive lineman DeVonte Lambert said. "He's energetic, strong, powerful, and he brings a lot of energy to the defense as well."

Even Auburn's quarterback Jeremy Johnson said Monday he noticed a different feel to the defense. He was staring across the field toward Lawson's No. 55, saying he needs to be accounted for on every snap.

"He's been unblockable all fall camp," Johnson said. "Just (lets the offense) get our tackles ready for live game situations because we aren't going to face anybody like him, so it's good to have him on our team and not come tackle me."

<b>Golson not active for scrimmage; Ole Miss transfer's return "won't be long"</b>

Austin Golson wasn't able to return to the playing field for the first scrimmage Monday, but Malzahn didn't seem concerned with the timetable of the center's undisclosed injury.

The transfer from Ole Miss was not in pads for Saturday's practice and was held out of the scrimmage at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Malzahn said Saturday Golson is "dealing with something minor" that "won't be a big deal".

After the scrimmage Monday, Malzahn reiterated the coaching staff wanted "to be smart with him" and "it won't be long" before the sophomore center returns to the first-string offensive line unit.

In Golson's pace has been senior Xavier Dampeer, as the two have rotated between the first and second-team units throughout the first week of preseason practices.

Godson played in all 12 games as a true freshman at Ole Miss in 2013 and was mostly at guard for the Rebels, but Auburn offensive line coach J.B. Grimes has liked Golson's fit at center.

"We need him to do well," Auburn offensive tackle Avery Young said. "We just stick behind him and make sure he gets everything right. He understands what his role is and that's to help us get through."

<b>No more punting for Daniel Carlson</b>

Daniel Carlson no longer has to worry himself with the double duty of punting and kicking at Auburn. The sophomore kicker is focusing his duties to just field goal kicking and kickoffs.

Carlson was split between both jobs in 2014 and said Saturday he believes it affected his inconsistent nature with field goals late in the season.

"It's definitely a relief," Carlson said. "That takes some pressure and stress off me. I'm hoping I'll be that much better on kicking because I have that much more time to focus on that."

During preseason camp, freshman Ian Shannon and junior Kevin Phillips will continue to battle for the punting job.

"I'm hoping one of them really step up because they've been doing really well," Carlson said. "They did really well today in practice, so it is nice to be able to sit back and do what I came here to do originally. That takes some pressure and stress off me."

Malzahn said the offense's struggle to score in Monday's scrimmage gave both Shannon and Phillips ample chances to impress.

"I wouldn't say it was bad or I didn't notice it, but I'm not ready to say it was great," Malzahn said. "They got a lot of opportunities to get out there and work on their get-off time, their angles and everything that goes with it. Once we see film, I can be a little more specific.

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Auburn notebook: Lawson and Auburn defense dominate first scrimmage ."