Tuberville boasts about the spread

HOOVER | Auburn University head coach Tommy Tuberville strode to the podium and thanked the assembled media for picking his Tigers to win the SEC West.

"You guys are never right," Tubberville said with a broad smile on his face. "I'm not big on predictions. I'll use this. We need something to get us going."

Most of comments were directed toward the two new coordinators he hired in the offseason. Paul Rhodes replaces Will Muschamp, who bolted for the same position at the University of Texas, and Tony Franklin is the new offensive signal caller replacing Al Borges.

Tuberville spoke at length about the excitement Franklin's spread offense has created.

"It's a no huddle, fast tempo offense," Tuberville said. "Spread the field and use a lot of wide receivers. Last year we averaged 56 plays a game. In the bowl game we ran 93.

"It'll be fun to watch. It gives you the opportunity to use more than one player."

Auburn went 9-4 last season after starting the season 1-2, including two home losses. The Tigers rebounded to win the Chik-fil-A Bowl against Clemson. The Tigers unveiled the spread offense in a 23-20 overtime win..Auburn opens the season Aug. 30 against Louisiana-Monroe.

Tuberville acknowledged that it's a risk to run the spread offense in a conference renown for its defense.

"It’s hard in this league to consistently line up and pound the ball," Tuberville said. "People were ganging up on us. Putting 10 guys in the box. I looked at recruiting, the change in football. Tony Franklin is a one direction guy. It’s going to be different going in to the SEC. I was looking for a way to help this football team score a few more points.

"The question is can we hold up running this."

Kodi Burns got most of the snaps at quarterback in the Chik-fil-A Bowl. Tuberville said the starting quarterback will be named 10-12 after the start of fall camp.