2008 Auburn Tigers
Written June 17, 2008 by Jason Lowry
With the NCAA football season only a short time away Jason Lowry is ready to make his 2008 Auburn Tigers football predictions. The Tigers are coming off an overall record of 9-4, but were just 5-3 in the SEC WEST. The Tigers did finish the season on a good note as they were able to beat Clemson in the Chik-Fil-A Bowl. Head coach Tommy Tuberville will be entering his 10th season at Auburn, and hopes that with 16 returning starters this team can compete once again at the top of the SEC. The team did lose 5 players to the NFL draft, including 3 who went in the first 3 rounds. There is plenty of talent left behind for this team to make a big run in 2008, but before we go making predictions lets take a look at what the Tigers have on both sides of the ball.
Offense:
The Tigers did lose their quarterback of the last 3 years in Brandon Cox, but there is plenty of talent in sophomore Kodi Burns and junior Chris Todd. We look for Burns to get the first shot, and could wind up putting up even better numbers than Cox did a year ago. The rest of the offense will remain pretty much the same as the only other spot that needs a new face at starter is tight end where junior Tommy Trott is likely to fill in. At running back the team has a plenty of talent, but look for junior Ben Tate to be the go to guy after his 961 yards and 8 touchdowns a year ago. Senior Brad Lester added a solid 568 yards, but the back of the future is likely sophomore Mario Fannin. At receiver the team doesn’t have great talent, but look for solid years from both Rodgeriqus Smith and Montez Billings. The offensive line won’t be any different from a year ago, including 3 sophomores who started as freshman. Look for 2 of them to have big years in left tackle Lee Ziemba and right guard Chaz Ramsey.
Defense:
Auburn is known for having great defenses, and last year they were pretty solid again giving up just 16.9 points a game. They return 7 starters from a year ago, but loss to big players on the defensive line in DE Quentin Groves and DT Pat Sims. In 2008 the guy to look out for is junior defensive end Antonio Coleman, who had a team high 8.5 sacks a year ago. Also fellow junior Sen’Derrick Marks should have a solid season at defensive tackle. The linebacking corps as a whole is one of the best you will find in the SEC as they return plenty of talent from a year ago. Expect junior MLB Tray Blackmon to be a force in the middle, with sophomore Craig Stevens and senior Merrill Johnson doing damage on the outside. The secondary definitely lost some good talent in Patrick Lee and Jonathan Wilhite, but they could be just as good in 2008. We are expecting a pretty solid year out of junior corners Aairon Savage and Jerraud Powers. It looks like two sophomores will start at the safety spots with Zac Etheridge returning at strong safety and Mike McNeil taking over at free safety.
Predictions: 1st SEC WEST
While LSU has held down this spot for the last few years, we feel that they just lost too much in the NFL Draft this year. It won’t take long to find out though as Auburn hosts LSU in their first conference game of the year. Normally a team with a new QB struggles, but we are pretty high on Burns and his ability to get the job done. You never know this team could be a big surprise and end up winning the whole thing this year.
If you want to get a head start on the upcoming football season, then head over to Sportsbook.com and get an account up and going today. Also professional handicapper Jason Lowry will continue to run down some of the top teams and conferences in the country. Feel free to leave any comments in our comment box.