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Rudy Ford, who has led Auburn in tackles the last two seasons, is within striking distance of accomplishing that feat again.
Through nine games this year, the senior nickel back has made 50 stops, second-most on the Tigers behind Tray Matthews’ 57.
Ford has proven to be a tackling machine during his career on The Plains, but making stops is not all he does. He’s also very good on special teams, averaging nearly 16 yards on his eight kickoff returns this season.
Ford’s ability to contribute in multiple roles has been a valuable asset for the Tigers. It’s also something that’s not lost on Gus Malzahn.
“He’s very versatile. He’s one of our best athletes on our team,” the Auburn head coach said Wednesday at his weekly SEC teleconference. “We recruited him to play running back, and he moved to DB his freshman year for us because of a need and kind of just settled in and getting more and more comfortable. He’s been a very good tackler for us.”
No player has ever led Auburn in tackles over three straight seasons. But Malzahn believes Ford still has a good chance to become the first.
“Of course, Rudy led us in tackles that last two years,” he said. “He’s got a nose for the football. He runs to the ball very well, and he plays very good special teams for us, too.”
Cunningham’s play captivates Malzahn
More than a week after he hurdled Auburn’s offensive line to block Daniel Carlson’s 36-yard field goal attempt, Zach Cunningham is still a hot topic in the SEC. Malzahn, who has been a football coach since 1991 and played the sport in high school and college before that, admitted it was a play he had never seen before.
“I haven’t, it was something,” he said. “It was really unbelievable to watch. I mean he went straight up, came down on his feet and blocked it, so it was impressive.”
Malzahn was so impressed by the play, he thinks it’s a move that he and other coaches will start teaching to their teams.
“Well, I think what you’ll see is everybody around the country will start practicing that, especially in desperate situations, you know,” he said. “And I don’t know who else could do it, but I’m sure all teams will start working (on) it.”
Malzahn, who said the move is something Auburn will begin implementing, had this to say when asked if any of his current Tigers could execute Cunningham’s move: “We’ll find out.”
Meanwhile, Cunningham wasn’t the only Commodore who caught Malzahn’s eye. He totally respects Vanderbilt’s program as a whole.
“Going into the game, just watching them on film, we knew that they were a good team,” Malzahn said. “And after we played them, it just confirmed exactly what I thought. I think Derek Mason does a super job, him and his staff with that group. He’s a great coach, and they’re tough to handle.”
Despite beating Vanderbilt, 23-16, Auburn allowed Kyle Shurmur to throw for 221 yards, the second-highest total of his career. Malzahn definitely noticed the sophomore QB’s performance.
“He played well the other day,” he said. “They had an off week and they kind of changed up their offense and did some really good things, and he executed well. And I was impressed with him.”
You can tell the Iron Bowl is approaching
According to timesdaily.com, former Alabama players Blake Sims and John Parker Wilson have returned to Tuscaloosa to serve as scout team QBs. In addition, current Crimson Tide players confirmed on Monday that former Bama All-American Trent Richardson was the scout-team stand-in for LSU’s Leonard Fournette.
Upon being told about this approach, Malzahn revealed that he was unaware of it.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” he said. “We stick with our team. Whoever’s on our team, that’s who we deal with.”
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
