On a football field, the position of safety strikes me as misunderstood. Thanks to headhunters like Ed Reed (University of Miami, Baltimore Ravens) and Troy Polamalu (University of Southern California, Pittsburgh Steelers), we think of the safety as either a ball-hawking, super intelligent Venus fly-trap (Reed) or a heavy-hitting assassin that roams the field with intentions of distributing concussions (Polamalu).
Correct me if I’m wrong, but “fly-trap” and “assassin” are bonus attributes for a safety. A satisfactory safety is intended to be a catch-all or a last resort. Or in other words a safety net. Imagine that.
This is what makes Auburn’s national championship run unfathomable. The weakest spot on the roster was the safety position. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof and the Tigers performed a season-long high-wire act without the aid of a net. Although three names that will arguably live forever in Auburn lore lined up at safety last season, none were considered satisfactory in the biggest five-month stretch of football in the school’s existence.
The three safeties in Auburn’s 2010 rotation are no longer on the roster. The two initial starters – Zac Etheridge and Aairon Savage – were seniors in eligibility. Mike McNeil, a junior, entered the fray as a starter late in the year, but as we later learned, was already suffering from a litany of personal issues.
Etheridge returned from a frightening neck injury in 2009 to reclaim his starting role in fall practice. While his leadership was vital to the family-tight locker room atmosphere, it was visibly evident that his body was still reacclimating to full-speed, full-contact football. In spurts, he looked like his old, spry self. Most times, his body looked weather-beaten. He was not a lost cause for the Tigers, making 69 total tackles (second-best on the team behind linebacker Josh Bynes) and picking off three interceptions; however, he did leave holes in the safety net against bigger, faster receivers and running backs in the open field. He was not an outright liability, but one could not help but imagine that Roof could have used an upgrade.
Savage saw his career come to an end at the halfway point of the season, immediately becoming the worst kind of case study for a college football player. For two straight seasons in 2008 and ’09, Savage’s season succumbed to injuries during fall practice. Last season, the sixth-year senior returned to the field but was a shell of his former self (in ’06, Savage was the third-leading tackler for the Tigers as a redshirt freshman). What occurred this past fall was unfair. For someone who gave all his physical gifts to Auburn and encountered copious amounts of mental strain from rehabbing for two consecutive years, his body betrayed him. Even before his season-ending injury, Savage no longer could run against SEC speed. A Savage in street clothes acted as a coach during the Tigers’ march toward Glendale. It was irony that the Tiger with the biggest heart and a gifted brain graduated with his heart and brain as the only body parts intact.
Our top two safeties exemplified everything from a character perspective that head coach Gene Chizik has preached since his arrival to Auburn on December 13, 2008. They just could not physically compete.
McNeil had the physical tools. Unfortunately, as the Tigers rolled toward immortality, his personal life was already falling from grace.
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A tainted legacy
Mike McNeil’s 56 tackles in a championship-winning season, mostly coming in a backup role, will not be remembered. Instead, McNeil, a top-rated recruit coming out of high school, will be remembered for a year-long personal breakdown that culminated in the morning hours of March 11, 2011.
According to Auburn football beat writer Evan Woodberry, McNeil and teammate Mike Blanc were served with an eviction notice in April 2010. (Note: At the time, McNeil was undergoing rehab from a broken leg and most likely operating at an elevated-level of stress.) The landlord sued McNeil and Blanc shortly thereafter. At the duo’s next apartment, it was more of the same: McNeil, Blanc, and teammate Neiko Thorpe were served with an unlawful detainer complaint in March of this year. A week later on March 11, McNeil and three other Auburn players – all freshmen – robbed a motor home and were subsequently arrested and dismissed from the team.
Frustration sets in upon the realization that McNeil should have been a leader of this year’s team. But for someone who is supposed to be a safety net, it’s doubtful that he would be the likely choice to fill the role that Auburn so desperately needs. The description of the safety position implies that it needs to be the most reliable player on the field. The trait of reliability typically translates to off-the-field antics as well. That said, McNeil’s actions proved he was anything but reliable.
What does the foreseeable future hold for Chizik, coach of three Jim Thorpe Award winners for the nation’s best defensive back? Will he get the safety that logic suggests he should covet?
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The not-so-loose cannon
The likelihood of freshman-to-be Erique Florence becoming one of my favorite Tigers is high. He has yet to see the field, but already is establishing his own quirky corner in Auburn history.
He was supposed to go on his official visit the University of Alabama the weekend of January 22-23. But then Auburn, who he openly rooted for last year, won the national championship. The visit to Tuscaloosa conflicted with the day of Auburn’s championship celebration in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Florence didn’t hesitate to pick up the phone and cancel the Alabama visit. He and his camera were headed to Auburn for the celebration and subsequent partying.
Alabama fans slam him on message boards as a “loose cannon” and “trouble.” I don’t see any of that in a video interview with a Tuscaloosa publication in which Florence came off as a calming presence that actually had an interesting, thought-out take on playing in high school all-star games and living in a state where both Auburn and Alabama fans co-exist. Contrary to the deductions of the Alabama faithful, Florence might be the antithesis of a loose cannon: a methodical worker who can quickly digest, analyze, and execute with the information provided.
Florence also played quarterback his senior year at Valley (Ala.) High School. Those leadership skills and reliability that is so desired at the safety position? Florence starting honing them last year as the vocal leader of a team that went on a run to the post-season. Auburn’s safety spot is staring him right in the face.
To the liking of Chizik, Roof, and safeties coach Tommy Thigpen, Florence will have competition.
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“I think he’s a much better safety than he is a corner”
Neiko Thorpe knows he has to make this work.
A soon-to-be-senior, Thorpe was the recipient to a slap in the face this spring. Going into spring practice, Thorpe was Auburn’s most seasoned cornerback. But don’t mistake seasoned for productive. Thorpe’s 2010 year as a starting cornerback proved that his Outback Bowl appearance the previous January (14 tackles, including the game-winning tackle, and an interception vs. Kansas State) was an anomaly. Thorpe was frequently terrorized by big, fast receivers Alshon Jeffery (South Carolina), A.J. Green (Georgia), and Julio Jones (Alabama). The emergence of T’Sharvan Bell as a big-game performer at cornerback placed Thorpe on the bench at the start of the national championship game against Oregon.
In the fastest conference in football, Thorpe was a step slower. Ted Roof knew this. The move to safety was inevitable. And Roof didn’t sway away from explaining the move to Charles Goldberg:
“We thought that would be best for our football team and best for Neiko. I think it’s a win-win for both because right now we’ve got more depth at corner than we did at safety. I think he’s a much better safety than he is a corner. And I think he’s very comfortable back there. I think we’re going to see an increased level of production.”
Translation: “He might not be able to chase down a parked car, but surely, he could be the last resort on our defense.”
I hope for Thorpe’s sake, there is a payoff to Roof’s logic. I assume I am not the only Auburn fan who cursed out Thorpe through the television last year. It was not out of hate, but frustration as Thorpe demonstrated the potential to be an All-SEC performer his freshman year. Where was that kid? Why hasn’t that potential been realized?
Thorpe has one more year on The Plains. Since he did not start the national title game, one could assume there is a large chip on Thorpe’s shoulder pads. Game experience accounts for a lot in the SEC. Can that experience carry him as Auburn’s catch-all? We better hope, because as an incoming senior, he has the first crack at being the final man between the opponent and the goal line.
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Throwing more logs on the fire
The Auburn coaches are manufacturing depth.
Demetruce McNeal’s ability to barrel downfield as the gunner on the kickoff team leads fans to believe that he’s a future star at safety. That thought is not completely out of line seeing that McNeal transcended anonymity in a role that typically goes unnoticed. The sophomore-to-be exited spring practice as one of the starters alongside Thorpe.
Jermaine Whitehead could have just as easily told Auburn to stick it. The Mississippi State commit was coveted by the Bulldogs, only his heart belonged to the Tigers. It was not until the day before National Signing Day 2011 that Whitehead got the scholarship offer from Auburn. He accepted. That simple act proved that Whitehead wants to play here. In a time where young players detach their heart from the decision-making process, Whitehead followed it. The all-purpose defensive back (he could dabble at corner if need be) will be on campus in the fall, just as he wished. Based on desire alone, I wish he gets an opportunity to prove himself at safety.
Robenson Therezie was never going to switch his commitment. Alabama fans enjoy their delusion of grandeur to an extent that they view Auburn as a safety school for Crimson Tide players that failed to make Nick Saban’s cut. I would have believed that Therezie would switch if he was nicknamed “Sherman Williams,” but he was not. His nickname was “Cadillac,” as in childhood favorite Carnell “Cadillac” Williams. Thought to be a future star running back in Pop Warner, Therezie projected as every bit the head-hunting safety an Auburn fan could relish while in high school. Regardless of his success during his prom-going years (if scouting reports were any indication, the kid was a monster) the adjustment to safety at the SEC level begins with summer workouts. For the kid dubbed “Cadillac,” reaching similar stardom as his namesake will be a daunting process.
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Why finding a reliable safety has plagued Auburn, I’ll never know. I was a die-hard Roshard Gilyard fan when No. 3 roamed the secondary, but he was not as reliable as Tommy Tuberville had hoped or else he would have been a starter. Junior Rosegreen may have overachieved on that undefeated team in 2004, seeing as how his post-Auburn days have been filled with travels through football’s alternatives to the NFL. Etheridge was certainly an overachiever in a full year removed from a paralysis scare.
That signature safety – one that stands out as a great – has consistently eluded the Tigers. Before 2010, a national championship and a signature quarterback were considered elusive. That changed.
As I look at the five aforementioned names, I hope the same holds true for this position in 2011.
Walking the tight-rope without the aid of a net makes for a fantastic show. It also makes for a fantastic fall.
David Smith is the Editor in Chief of The Jungle Cat. David has previously written for The Daytona Beach News-Journal and NASCAR.com. You can follow David on Twitter at twitter.com/davidsmith28.
