AUBURN NOTEBOOK: Furr a no-show at practice Sunday

By Collin Mickle

Published: August 4, 2008

DeRon Furr keeps moving. But his latest move appears to have left his head coach in the dark.

Furr, a true freshman, enrolled early at Auburn to play quarterback. Then, after spring practice, he switched to defensive back.

Sunday, Furr was on the move again — although this time, no one seems entirely sure where he’s heading.

Furr didn’t attend Sunday’s practice, Auburn’s second preseason workout. Head coach Tommy Tuberville was evasive when asked about his whereabouts.

“Don’t know,” Tuberville said.

When a reporter repeated the question, Tuberville said, “I haven’t seen him.”

Furr was one of several defensive backs involved in a practice-field fight Saturday, during AU’s first preseason practice. After that scuffle, Furr spent the rest of Saturday’s practice on the sideline.

Furr ended spring practice fourth on the quarterback depth chart, then moved to defensive back over the summer. He is competing for playing time at second-team safety with fellow true freshmen Christian Thompson and Marcus Jemison and redshirt freshman Mike Slade.

Tuberville: Quarterbacks improving
Auburn’s quarterback race is off to a strong start.

For the second consecutive day, sophomore Kodi Burns and junior Chris Todd both impressed in passing drills. The two have both completed around 60 percent of their passes in the first two practices.

Todd had the biggest highlight Sunday, a deep pass to wideout Tim Hawthorne in 11-on-11 drills. Hawthorne caught the pass behind the defense for a long gain.

Burns also threw the ball well, though he tossed his first interception of the preseason when a pass intended for Darvin Adams was intercepted by safety Zac Etheridge.

Tuberville liked what he saw from both quarterbacks.

“It’s going to be a good battle there,” he said.

Things will get tougher starting today, when the Tigers first don shoulder pads. The first two practices featured just shorts, t-shirts and helmets.

Auburn’s first practice in full pads is scheduled for Wednesday. The preseason’s first scrimmage is slated for Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium, weather permitting.

“It’s fun to watch them with no shoulder pads on,” Tuberville said of the quarterbacks. “The pressure starts (today); we’ll start watching a little bit different attitude in terms of knowing guys are coming at them pretty good.

Burns, Todd and coordinator Tony Franklin were all off-limits to reporters Sunday.

Injury report
Defensive end Antonio Coleman (hamstring) participated in most of practice, though he stayed out of 11-on-11 drills. Coleman expects to be cleared to practice in the next few days.

Defensive tackle Tez Doolittle (hamstring), a former Opelika star, also went through some drills. Doolittle also expects to be cleared soon.

Walk-on wideout Justin Albert (knee surgery) and freshman defensive back T’Sharvan Bell (broken foot) are expected to miss all of preseason practice.

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