Auburn could turn to Cotton next season

By Robert Rousseau  |   Tuesday, October 14, 2008  |  Comments( 4 )

Auburn Tigers
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It was a tough week for the Auburn Tigers. First, head coach Tommy Tuberville got rid of coordinator Tony Franklin on Wednesday after another terrible offensive weekend. Then came their game against a struggling Arkansas Razorbacks team on Saturday.

Another game, another poor performance on offense. And another loss for the Tigers, unfortunately, who fell 25-22.

Quarterbacks Kodi Burns and Chris Todd alternated at the quarterback position during the contest. Todd completed 3 of 10 passes for a whopping 18 yards and an interception. Burns was 7 of 18 for 119 yards and two picks. One, by the way, happened when the Tigers still had a chance to drive for a game-tying field goal. And although he managed to drive the club 76 yards late in the game into the red zone -- in part thanks to a 38-yard completion to Tim Hawthorne -- Burns couldn’t hit two touch passes in the end zone that would’ve closed the deal.

That’s the story with Burns this season. He has the arm and the athleticism, but he still doesn’t possess a great command of the offense and can’t hit the touch passes. Todd, on the other hand, has a good command of the spread offense and at least in theory has better touch on his passes, but doesn’t have the same level of athleticism as Burns.

Neither of the players have consistently moved the Tigers downfield.

Which leads to thinking elsewhere for next season. After all, if one of these guys doesn’t step up in a large way, that’s exactly where this will be going.

With that said, is Raymond Cotton the future at Auburn?

Despite what happened with Franklin last week, Cotton’s father has indicated that his son is still coming to Auburn next season. Cotton, a 6-foot-4, 216-pounder, has 4.6 speed and can bench 315 pounds. He’s considered the 12th-best dual-threat quarterback coming out of college in 2009, and the third-best scrambler. Can he throw the touch passes? Can he somehow learn a system on the fly in 2009, something that most freshmen are incapable of in the SEC? Will one of the two quarterbacks currently on the roster finally step up this season and make this all a moot point?

All questions that need answering. But with the disappointment emanating loud and clear from Auburn, Cotton may just be a guy to keep in the back of your mind.

For next year, that is.
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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or...
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CommentsComments: 4  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
bjspack		01:42 PM
10/15/2008
I'm glad that Auburn finally proved that they don't belong in the top 25, it was hard for them to do, because all the voters...
No.2
warbird		05:20 AM
10/16/2008
I'm happy you find us amusing. Quite frankly I'm glad were struggling because it is through adversity that one develops strength...
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No.3
bjspack		11:35 AM
10/16/2008
its not Auburn's struggles that I find amusing, every team has up years and down years, I'm just pointing out the extremely...
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