Post-game superlatives: Several standouts from Auburn’s A-Day

AUBURN – A-Day was short and it was basic. Still, there were some players who showed out in with very limited opportunities.

In college football, it doesn’t matter what the opportunity is, if one presents itself, take advantage of it. I thought several players did so on Saturday.

These awards aren’t to be taken too seriously as it was such a small sample size and against fellow teammates (in some cases first-string against third-string). There were small glimpses of what we can expect from certain players.

Here are the post-game superlative awards.

Offensive MVP: RB, Damari Alston

Sophomore Sean Jackson got the brunt of the work on Saturday, and USF transfer Brian Battie had some flashy runs, but Alston was a standout.

He had only five carries in the game and finished with 43 yards. He averaged over 8 yards per carry and had a long run of 20 yards.

Most importantly, Alston showed that he is able to find the creases, and the cut-backs, in the zone run game. When Auburn gets in a bind during the season, it will lean on the basics. Alston could be another go-to guy in those situations along with Jarquez Hunter.

Defensive MVP: CB, Kayin Lee

I didn’t think that a freshman would be my pick here, but I was overly impressed with Lee. Apparently, so was Hugh Freeze. He pointed Lee out specifically in his press conference along with other active freshmen Keldric Faulk and Connor Lew.

Lee made several plays. Two that stood out were a pass break up against Cincinnati Nick Mardner in man coverage, and a great play against Landen King against an end zone fade.

Lee looks like a veteran and made the most of his snaps at A-Day.

What worked: Outside Zone read

The outside zone with a quarterback read on the backside was nearly undefeated.

At this point, the defense is going to overreact to a play that shows a heavy flow to on side. The linebackers were confused all day trying to defend this look.

Robby Ashford found himself all alone after a pull in the zone read mesh way too many times. Without an alley player, the linebackers were in serious conflict.

This was a a great play and it could have been run over and over.

What didn’t work: The passing game

There’s not much explanation needed here. Quarterbacks were a combined 5-12 for 60 yards and no touchdowns.

The weather absolutely had the most to do with it, and this is not a fair representation of the Freeze/Montgomery passing game. To be fair, it wouldn’t be if the weather had cooperated either.

Most physical: Mosiah Nasili-Kite

I think Auburn hit the jackpot with Nasili-Kite.

He was consistently the quickest guy off the line of scrimmage and the best with his hands. By the best, he was the most violent.

When he was in the game, he consistently handled the offensive lineman in front of him. He was always the first to land hands on his opponent and win his positioning.

He will need to be better with his feet moving forward, but his initial strike is tough.

I loved what I saw from Nasili-Kite on Saturday. He finished with 2 tackles.

Unsung hero: DJ James

James is one of the most proven players on Auburn’s football team. Because of that, fans (and journalists) would not typically pay attention to him during a spring game.

He finished the game with 4 tackles and had some really nice tackles coming down from his corner spot.

James also rotated around and played some nickel at times. He recently mentioned the fact that he has worked at nickel and wants to play there more.

Bottom line: James is a lover of contact. He wins his one-on-one coverage battles because of physicality most times. At nickel he showed he can make tough tackles, too.

James is a future pro, and he shows it every single time he gets the chance.

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