Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns entered Saturday’s scrimmage hoping to make a statement.

After almost 130 plays and two hours, it’s safe to say Burns made his statement.

The sophomore was 22-for-37 passing for 162 yards and a touchdown. But his numbers didn’t tell the whole story.

Saturday, Burns needed to show AU head coach Tommy Tuberville and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin that he had improved as a passer. He needed to prove he was comfortable in Franklin’s spread offense.

Both Tuberville and Franklin said Burns accomplished those goals.

“I thought Kodi was very productive overall,” Franklin said. “He made a couple of really good throws.”

Burns wasn’t perfect. He overthrew a few passes and was charged with an interception on a tipped ball in his own end zone.

But he out-performed his competition, sophomore quarterback Neil Caudle and freshman DeRon Furr.

“Kodi was the only quarterback who really threw the ball consistently,” Tuberville said. “The rest of them were kind of reaching and trying to make plays — but they did a good job.”

Playing mostly against the second-team defense, Caudle had better numbers. The sophomore completed 22 of his 33 passes for a team-high 243 yards and three touchdowns.

But Caudle’s decision-making was in question after he threw two interceptions and watched defenders drop at least two more.

“I thought Neil made some good throws, but he’s throwing it to them way too much,” Franklin said. “He’s got to eliminate that.”

Rhoads: Defense ‘got tired’
Auburn’s defense was limited Saturday by an abbreviated gameplan. The Tigers rarely blitzed and didn’t reach very deep into their defensive playbook.

That was by design: Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads wants to gauge his players’ understanding and effort before he unleashes the full strength of the scheme.

“We didn’t let the defense do a whole lot today,” Tuberville said. “The offense should have scored some points and we did.”

Rhoads thought the length of the scrimmage — and a lack of depth — affected the defense.

“Once we got tired, we executed poorly,” Rhoads said. “When they were fresh, I thought we were pretty physical and thought we tackled well. When we got tired, all those skills started to diminish.”

QB Furr impresses teammates
While Burns made plays with his legs and his arm, freshman quarterback DeRon Furr might have made his biggest impact with his fists.

It’s not as bad as it sounds. Furr, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound freshman, was the only quarterback not wearing an orange no-contact jersey in Saturday’s scrimmage. Franklin said he wanted the rookie to face full-contact pressure from Auburn’s defense.

The contact didn’t seem to bother Furr, who finished with a team-high 57 yards on 10 carries.

On one play, Furr out-raced the defense to the sideline for a 17-yard gain, only to be chased out of bounds by linebacker Merrill Johnson. The two collided out of bounds.

Furr, believing he had been hit illegally, confronted Johnson. A shoving match quickly turned into a full-fledged scrap.

Much to the delight of his offensive teammates, Furr held his own.

“I was already out of bounds,” he said. “I guess he didn’t think I was going to hit him back, because I’m a quarterback and quarterbacks are supposed to be soft.

“I play very aggressive and I wasn’t just going to take it.”

Franklin was less impressed.

“I tell them, you just don’t fight in the stadium,” he said. “I think when you come in here, you have to have different discipline. … It’s a good camaraderie thing, and fights are part of football, but not when you’re in the stadium.”

Furr sat out the last three possessions of the scrimmage after having his throwing arm examined by medical staffers. Franklin said the freshman suffered a minor shoulder injury; the injury didn’t appear to be related to the fight.

“Hopefully, he’ll be able to throw next week,” Franklin said. “We hope.”

Injury report
Tailback Mario Fannin injured his left shoulder early in the scrimmage. The injury appeared to be painful: The sophomore had to be helped off the field by two members of AU’s medical staff.

But Tuberville said the injury appeared worse than it actually was.

“Mario knocked his shoulder down a little bit,” Tuberville said. “He should be fine.”

Wide receiver Tim Hawthorne, who left Friday’s practice with an injured arm, got bad news after an X-ray. The X-ray revealed Hawthorne had broken his left arm. The sophomore will miss the rest of the spring.

Junior tailback Ben Tate missed the scrimmage with a hamstring injury. Junior quarterback Chris Todd didn’t play due to shoulder soreness.

Offensive guard Chaz Ramsey played briefly before being replaced by sophomore Byron Isom. Offensive line coach Hugh Nall said Ramsey was held out for medical reasons, but said he wasn’t sure of the details.

Scrimmage attracts several recruits
Auburn’s second Junior Day of the spring coincided with Saturday’s scrimmage. The event — designed to get high-school juniors on campus to familiarize themselves with AU’s program — drew at least 35 recruits.

The biggest name among the juniors present was W.S. Neal defensive tackle Jamar Travis. The 6-foot-1, 298-pounder already has scholarship offers from Auburn, Alabama and Florida State.

Auburn also got some news on the 2008 recruiting front Saturday, when Prattville tailback Justin Albert announced his plans to walk on in the fall. Albert, rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, had scholarship offers from Troy, Ole Miss and Hawaii before tearing his ACL in the first round of the AHSAA football playoffs.

The 5-foot-8, 168-pounder will participate in preseason practice in August.

Four of AU’s 2008 signees were also in attendance Saturday: Quarterback Barrett Trotter, tight end Vance Smith, cornerback Drew Cole and deep-snapper Dax Dellenbach.

| 737-2561