As the season has gotten farther and farther, many teams across the nation are facing health concerns, having to dig deep into their depth chart to find players that will be called on to step up in big moments.
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The Auburn Tigers have been one of those teams, seeing the defense take a bulk of the hit over the last few weeks with a number of starters being banged up. However, against Arkansas, guys stood tall and made their time their own.
Specifically in the linebacker room, a number of challenges have been faced. Following the dismissal of Xavier Atkins from the football program, Elijah Melendez moved up to being the guy everyone looked to to lead the room on the field.
After Melendez, it was Bryce Deas. The injury bug hit Deas on Nov. 4 during practice though, and Head Coach Alex Golesh said following Saturday’s game against the Razorbacks that Deas would be out for the year.
Melendez and De’Marcus Riddick, who also got a fair amount of playing time in the game, both got dinged up a little and had to exit the game for some time. Golesh provided an update on Wednesday following practice, saying those two guys are still a work in progress.
“Slow beginning part of the week,” Golesh said. “The hope is that we’ll have them at full strength by the end of the week. But they’ve been all in on trying to get back and trying to get right. We’ll see how it looks here in the next 48 hours, but I feel good about that group.”
So who stepped up? And who will have to step up if those two veterans are below 100%?
True freshman Shadarius Toodle put on a show in his collegiate debut, putting up 11 total tackles with three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, and the bar for him has now been raised.
With the performance Toodle put on, Golesh said his output in practice has had him showing a little more rhythm and energy than he did before.
“It’s been fun to see him kind of have a little bit more umph in his step,” Golesh said. “He’s a unique cat. He’s the same guy every day. But if you could see, there’s now expectations, so you’re trying to help mentor him through that. That’s always interesting when you’re a young guy and you’ve done something positive. Now there’s expectations, now how do you handle it?”
As a true freshman, the kind of expectation received after a big performance like that can sometimes be overwhelming, as a young player feels like they have to get to those numbers again, otherwise it is a failure.
Golesh stated though that what has given Toodle an edge in the days that have followed is his attitude and view on what he’s doing, which is keeping him where he needs to be.
“I think what’s helped him is his temperament's always been the same,” Golesh said. “Sometimes he gets lost because he’s not the loudest in the room, he actually doesn’t ever say anything, but there has always been this quiet confidence about him. Outside of a small media tour, he’s right where his feet are. He’s done a really good job.”
If the starters are banged up though, with Melendez and Riddick both being key veterans, others outside of Toodle has to step up. That could come in the form of a guy like Michael Matthews-Canty or even Blake Woodby to an extent.
Golesh said the depth is there though, and every single guy in the room knows what he needs to do. He said that part has been non-negotiable, it’s just a matter of who is ready to roll.
“They all are able to communicate,” Golesh said. “That’s the one thing that Durk and Brad (Wilson) and those guys do a really good job with is, they all demand that everybody knows everything in that room so that they can be interchangeable. So, saw it last week. Last week for us, when Mike went in, Mike had it on. When Elijah’s in there, he’s got it on. Bryce has had it in. Riddick’s had it in. That is the one positive. They’ve all got two helmets on the sideline and you’re just going with the guy that’s most ready to rock in terms of being able to communicate it all.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
