Five things to watch for from Auburn on A-Day

AUBURN – With so many starters gone on offense and an injury ravaged defense, plenty of new names could rise to the occasion for Auburn on A-Day.

Only wide receiver D'haquille Williams and tackles Shon Coleman and Avery Young return from the starting offense of a year ago and while the successors are quarterback, running back, both guard spots and center appear to have front runners inJeremy Johnson, Jovon Robinson, Alex Kozan, Braden Smith and Austin Golson, respectively, there's a long way to go until decisions are made for the fall and the spring game offers a chance for unproven players to shine.

Defensively there are is a new scheme to watch in the game-like scrimmage, which will kick at 1 p.m. Saturday and be televised as part of the SEC Network's whip-around coverage or streaming in its entirety via SEC Network+ and WatchESPN.

Another large crowd is expected at Jordan-Hare Stadium, which has seen among the best paid crowds for spring games the last two years.

"It's huge for our players and our coaches," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "It's huge for recruiting and just shows that we got the best fans in college football. … We're planning on playing and having fun with it."

Here are five things to watch for:

1. Jeremy Johnson's consistency – There's no questions Johnson's arm strength and his accuracy is also not in doubt, but it's been over seven months since he took a meaningful snap. He'll be at the helm of the first-team offense and have all the targets at his disposal this afternoon. How many receivers he connects with and the variety of the routes he throws for will be an indicator of how much command the junior QB has of the offense.

2. Defensive intensity – We've heard about Will Muschamp's intensity ever since he was hired in mid-December, including when he was supposedly just "helping out a little" during the Outback Bowl. Boom will be on the sideline and won't allow his new group to make too many errors, even if it is a scrimmage. The defense wants to show it has made progress this spring so the stage is theirs as much as it is Johnson's.

3. Running back divide – The backfield was billed as open races in each of the last two springs only to see a workhorse emerge fairly quickly once the season began. Though Robinson is expected to do the same as Tre Mason and Cameron Artis-Payne did before him, Roc Thomas and Peyton Barber are very much in this more genuine competition. If any of the three have a big day or get a significantly larger portion of the carries, it'll give them a leg up for the starting job in the fall.

4. Oh snap – After four outstanding years of play from Reese Dismukes, Auburn has to replace the best center in the country. Golson and Xavier Dampeer have been splitting first-team reps thus far and should today as well. Any bad snap will be overanalyzed and immediately self-addressed, as Golson did at a practice last week following a high snap during a drill, in one of the more heated position battles on the entire team.

5. Ailing secondary – Just as injuries depleted the defense during the spring last year, the Tigers are down several players today, particularly in the secondary. Corners Jonathan Jones (foot surgery) and T.J. Davis (ACL) are out and Josh Holsey and Tray Matthews were limited this week, leaving only Johnathan Ford as fully healthy from the first-team defensive backfield entering Saturday's scrimmage. Stephen Roberts, Joe Turner, Kamryn Melton and Michael Sherwood should all get significant reps at corner and Nick Ruffin and Markell Boston could see a lot time as the second-team safeties.