Rhoads speaks to local AU Club

If first-year defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads didn’t know what he got himself into when he accepted his job on the Plains, he found out Tuesday night when he served as the guest speaker at the annual Barbour/Bullock County Auburn Club meeting.

“You getting familiar with those boys in west Alabama?” an Auburn alumnus asked.

The alum was of course referring to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

“We’re getting more and more familiar with those boys from west Alabama every day,” Rhoads said. “We’ll be ready to play them when the time rolls around. Trust me, I know how important that game is. I’ll be ready in my heart and soul when it’s time.

“And I know that it’s time 365 days a year,” he added after a brief pause.

Auburn will attempt to earn its seventh consecutive victory against the Crimson Tide Nov. 29 in its final regular-season game.

While Rhoads stopped just short of promising a victory against the Crimson Tide, he did make three promises to the Auburn faithful that were gathered at the James S. Clark Center in Eufaula.

“I’ll guarantee you three things,” he said. “You can count on these three things when you come watch us play this season. First, we will be a smart outfit on defense. We will be well coached. We will be well prepared, and we will know how to play the game.

“Second, we will be physical. We will be well conditioned and we’re going to play hard all game long. We’re going to hit our opponents for four quarters and beyond if that’s what it takes to win.

“Third, we are going to tackle. That’s not always the same thing as being physical. We are going to challenge our guys to be the best tackling team in America. That starts with technique and approach. It’s not just being a big hitter. Being a big hitter doesn’t always mean you are a great tackler. We will be great tacklers. If we do those three things we’re going to give our team a chance to win.”

The approach has worked for Rhoads in the past.

During his eight seasons as the defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh, his defensive units finished 31st or better nationally in total defense five times, including a No. 5 ranking last season.

Last season Auburn ranked sixth nationally in total defense. Rhoads believes the Tigers have the talent to be one of the top defenses in the nation again this season, although he pointed out there are still plenty of question marks heading into fall camp.

“I believe we can be awfully good,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball. I really like our athleticism and speed. We’ve still got some questions to answer, but we’ll get them figured out. We’re going to do what we need to do to win.”

According to Rhoads, stopping the run will be top priority for the Tigers, who ranked 29th nationally in rushing defense last season and allowed 124.7 yards per game on the ground. Pittsburgh was ranked 33rd nationally in rushing defense last season and allowed 130.4 yards per game with Rhoads at the helm of the defense.

“You’ve got to be able to stop the run to win a championship,” Rhoads said. “We were game planning this morning and into the afternoon and we didn’t watch a single pass. That should show you where our focus is. To be successful we’ve got to be able to stop the run. As a defense you can’t completely take the pass away, but if you can stop the run you can control the game. We’re going to be committed to stopping the run.”

Rhoads said that starts up front, and that’s good news for the Tigers. Auburn has some depth issues on the defensive side of the ball, but that does not include the defensive line, where Rhoads plans to play anywhere from eight to 10 players this season.

“That’s by far our deepest unit on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “We’ve got a good group that we can put out there and help us win a Southeastern Conference championship. These guys have good size, a lot of athleticism and they know how to play the game. I think we have a chance to real good across the front.”

The Tigers also boast plenty of talent at the linebacker position in Tray Blackmon, Craig Stevens, Chris Evans and Merrill Johnson, but unlike the defensive line, depth is a major concern.

“We’ve got some very good players at linebacker, but we can’t afford any injuries there,” Rhoads said. “We don’t have a lot of depth there right now, so if a linebacker goes down, whether it’s August or in the middle of the season, say a prayer for us.”

It’s a similar story in the secondary. In fact, who will be in the secondary when the Tigers open the season Aug. 30 against Louisiana-Monroe may be the biggest question facing Rhoads and the Tigers.

“We’re very thin back there,” he said. “We’ve got six scholarship players that finished spring practice with us. This fall we’re going to have to count on some freshmen to play, and that’s a hard thing to do. If there’s a position I think you can do that at though, it’s in the secondary. Those guys are farther away from the ball and can rely more on their skill than their maturity. They don’t have to line up inside and get hammered by a 22-year-old man for four quarters. That’s a whole different game in there when you are a freshman, so if you have to play freshmen you would rather play them in the secondary. We’re going to have to play at least a couple of freshmen back there. I don’t have any idea who they are, but we’ll get that figured out over the next six weeks.”

Rhoads has 46 days to find some answers before the Tigers kick off their 2008 campaign.

“There’s a lot of work to do and a little time, but we’re going at it hard,” he said. “We’re going to get it done, and we’re going to be ready to go when it’s time.”

The Barbour/Bullock County Auburn Club also held an auction at Tuesday night’s meeting to raise money for the Barbour/Bullock County Auburn Club Scholarship which is presented annually to a graduating high school senior that will be attending Auburn.

This year’s $500 scholarship was awarded to Eufaula High School graduate Rebecca Hart.

Tuesday night’s auction raised approximately $600 for the club’s scholarship fund.