Position-by-position: The quarterbacks
When Al Borges talks about senior Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox, he can't hide his enthusiasm. Cox, he says, needs only to stay healthy to end his Auburn career with a banner season. "Cox is probably in the best shape he's ever been in," Borges said. "He's between 212 and 215, and it's all good, quality weight. He's running and moving better than he ever has. He's coming off the best spring since he's been here, and that's saying something." Cox struggled with injuries last season, playing on painful knees and still leading the Tigers to an 11-2 record. He never missed a game. "He knows the offense," Borges said. "He's an accurate passer. If he can keep his legs healthy, I think he can have a really, really good year." With road games at Arkansas, Florida, LSU and Georgia on the schedule, there's some comfort in having a 23-year-old senior going into his third season as a starter. "It's good to know you have a guy who has been there, made big plays and won some big games," Borges said. The big question in preseason practice won't be about Cox. It'll be about the backups. Junior Blake Field was the backup the past two seasons. He missed much of spring with tendonitis in his right shoulder. He'll compete with redshirt freshmen Neil Caudle and Steven Ensminger. Incoming freshman Kodi Burns will get a chance to show he's ready to join the fray. Here's what Borges says about each one: On Field: "Assuming his shoulder is sound, Blake is going to get an opportunity to prove himself. Early on, we'll get a good look at him and see if he has taken the next step. Blake has a world of ability. He has a good, strong arm. He's very athletic. He just has to shore up all the phases of his game. If he can do that, he can prove he should be the second quarterback." On Caudle: "He was injured so much in high school that our goal was to get him through last year uninjured. Whatever his role was, we wanted him to be unscathed, and he was. Now he has a better feel for the offense than he ever has." On Ensminger: "Steven is a football junkie. He likes football and works at it. He had a couple of pretty good scrimmages in the spring and showed signs of being able to throw the ball. He just needs more time in there." On Kodi Burns: "Kodi's role on the team is going to be determined by whether we think his skills can help us win games right now. I know his skills will help us win games one day. What we don't want to do is put him in there for a quarterback draw or a deep pass and all of a sudden he's played 40 plays and you've wasted a whole year because you wanted to be cute. If we think he will help win a championship or win games, we'll do it. Otherwise, we won't." Borges says he'll make a decision as early as possible. When it's time for game preparation, there's no more time for experimenting. "You can't rep four quarterbacks," Borges said. "You really can't rep three of them, but you have to pick a No. 3 that can at least come in and function." The Depth Chart
1. Brandon Cox, 2. Blake Field, 3. Neil Caudle/Steven Ensminger, 4. Kodi Burns
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