Senior defensive lineman Nate Johnson registered a season high four tackles Saturday against LSU. Johnson says staying true to himself and focusing on improvements has led to him seeing the field more. While he is a natural defensive end, certain schemes this year have required Johnson to move inside.
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When asked about the improvements in his game, Johnson said, “I feel like block defeat, most likely. You know, I'm embracing my role playing a 4-I. So playing a 4-I, I feel like I'm doing a lot better than the other year.”
Johnson says he is doing whatever is asked of him to help the team be successful. He knows Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss will present another difficult challenge this week. Johnson spoke about how playing against LSU’s Sam Leavitt last Saturday has helped their preparation.
“Just as a defense, we know we got to keep the quarterback in the pocket, especially as a D-line. That's our job and that's our responsibility,” Johnson said.
Auburn only registered one sack on Saturday. Auburn Undercover asked Johnson what he and the rest of the defensive line have been working on to increase that number.
“Just taking every rep intentionally, you know, every pass rep, pass rush rep, and pass rush I get, just be intentional with my reps and make sure I'm looking at the right thing,” Johnson said.
LSU ran up 552 total yards of offense on Auburn. It is the most yards given up by the Tigers’ defense this year. In order to prevent a recurrence of that performance against a dynamic Ole Miss offense, Johnson feels success up front will be necessary.
“We know we got to play better as a defense. If the D-line play better, the back end will be able to play better,” Johnson said.
The good news is Auburn’s defense has had a bounce back performance this year. Following surrendering 44 points to Florida, the Tigers responded by holding Vanderbilt to one offensive touchdown a week later.
Auburn will look limit the high-powered Ole Miss offense that is averaging 433 yard and 36 points per game. The Tigers and Rebels will kick things off, from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, at 11:45 a.m. on Saturday.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
