It's almost a shame that Auburn had to lose this game in overtime. Their offensive line was, for the most part, overmatched by the LSU defense. Kenny Irons had to carry the offense on his back when the wideouts couldn't catch the ball. The defense gave up a lot of size to LSU but held them in check most of the game. But when it was all said and done, one person seemed to be bearing the weight of the whole game on his shoulders. Auburn kicker John Vaughn missed five (yes, five) field goals, including one in overtime that clanged off the upright.


AUBURN PRO PROSPECTS

Courtney Taylor #86 602.0 204 4.53 WR - Taylor showed some glimpses of the type of receiver he can soon be. He made some key catches and showed good strength and an ability to get open against a tough LSU secondary. Like most of the Tiger wideouts, he also dropped an easy ball. (SLIGHTLY POSITIVE)

Antarrious Williams #31 511.0 208 4.52 LB - As the commentators said a few times, Williams is a linebacker in the body of a strong safety. He was overmatched when LSO O-linemen were able to get him, and he even struggled against fullbacks. He never gave up though and kept fighting. He also showed no fear as the O-linemen came at him. He will never make it as a LB at the next level. (NEUTRAL)

Devin Aromashodu #1 602.0 202 4.47 WR - Aromashodu made only three catches in the game. What was even more disconcerting were the three passes he dropped. There's no denying the fact that he has talent and good deep speed, but he doesn't have the concentration needed to be high draft pick. He could still be selected in the later rounds based purely on his potential, but Aromashodu has never lived up to the hype that he brought into Auburn. (NEGATIVE)

David Irons #4 600.0 195 4.45 CB - Irons was impressive. In man schemes, Irons was solid, providing tight coverage. Against the run, Irons made two outstanding open-field tackles. With his size and speed, and willingness to be a run supporter, Irons should find a home in the NFL next season. (POSITIVE)

Tommy Jackson #58 601.0 302 5.16 DT - Jackson impressed me in this game. He was active and kept coming. On a few occasions, he was able to get into the backfield and disrupt the play. He also was a solid run plugger and was in on a lot of tackles. Jackson will need to get into a weight room and build himself a better base as Rudy Niswanger was able to turn him out and block him out of the play on a few occasions. (SLIGHTLY POSITIVE)

Marcus McNeill #73 609.0 337 5.28 OT - McNeill is a bit of an enigma. He's like one of those blockbuster movies that gets so hyped, that even though it's a good movie, you're disappointed when you see it because you expected it to live up to the outrageous hype. That's McNeill. He's a good tackle. He has a great wingspan and uses his arms and hands in blocking. He has the speed to get to the next level and take on backers and DBs. He drive blocks well. But he has no lateral movement at all. It's almost painful to watch him try to shuffle his feet. (SLIGHTLY POSITIVE)

Anthony Mix #9 605.0 248 4.65 WR - Mix was the most impressive of the Auburn receivers today. He used his huge size to great advantage, shielding smaller defensive backs (and linebackers) from the ball. He also was an effective blocker in the running game. Mix also showed good speed, making a short catch and running away from the defensive back assigned to him. He's still a tweener prospect for the NFL, being a bit too slow for a WR and a bit too small for TE. (POSITIVE)

Ben Obomanu #2 601.0 198 4.45 WR - Ben was a non-factor in this game. He caught one pass for four yards and showed a lack of concentration when he dropped another. Cox did not often look his direction. (NEGATIVE)

Troy Reddick #66 605.0 335 5.46 OT - Reddick played a rather mediocre game. He was matched up on Melvin Oliver and had trouble dealing with his speed. Oliver was able to get around him a few times on run and pass plays. Reddick was fairly competent as a run blocker on most occasions, but he needs to finish his blocks. More than once I saw Reddick block a player and then look to move onto another, only to have the original player come back and make a play on the ball-carrier. (SLIGHTLY NEGATIVE)

Cooper Wallace #8 603.0 265 4.78 TE - Wallace impressed me both as a receiver and a blocker. As a blocker he showed good technique and decent strength, more than enough to handle linebackers and defensive backs. He demonstrated good footwork. Wallace also displayed a knack for finding open space as a receiver and made a couple nice catches, one of which was a rather difficult one. (POSITIVE)

Travis Williams #51 601.0 209 4.49 LB - Williams is another of those undersized Auburn LBs with blazing speed. He was frequently in on tackles, although he didn't appear to ring up too many solos. Williams also had the speed to drop back into coverage and did a good job, even on the wideouts. Williams could bulk up some and be an effective weakside LB at the next level, although he may be best suited to slide back and try his hand at strong safety. (SLIGHTLY POSITVE)

Stanley McClover #75 603.0 250 N/A DE - For a player who is supposed to be the next great thing at DE, I was underimpressed. Granted, McClover was facing All-SEC Andrew Whitworth on most plays, but he was unable to make any impact on the game. He was routinely outmuscled by Whitworth who kept him locked up and out of the play. Even on passing plays, McClover was not able to utilize his speed advantage to get around Whitworth. McClover is a draft-eligible, but he'd be well-advised to stick around another year or two to improve his game. (NEGATIVE)

Jake Slaughter #44 FB - Slaughter was an impressive lead blocker for the Tigers. He showed a never-say-die attitude and did an effective job taking one or two would-be tacklers out of the play. He overmatched the linebackers and defensive backs and opened nice holes for Kenny Irons, especially when they ran outside the tackles. Slaughter also had the opportunity to catch a pass (a rare occurence) and handled it nicely, showing power in his run after the catch. (POSITIVE)

Others to watch:
Kenny Irons (Junior RB) - Irons ran with authority in this game. Irons shows good patience, drifting along with his blockers as they set him up, and then, with a solid cut-back, darts into a hole and powers his way through. On one run, a 74-yard TD, there was little offered to him by the defense, but he squeezed into a small hole for a well-fought three yard gain. Instead of taking what was given to him, he kept his feet moving and he slid off a tackler when a blocker jarred him loose. Irons then blew past the second wave of defenders, most of whom had stopped playing when they saw him bottled up initially. Irons doesn't have breakaway speed, but he has good size and is fast enough to get the yards.

Joe Cope (Junior C) - Cope is a throwback center. He has to be at only 275 pounds. Cope was evident by his lack of size and overabundance of effort. While he had trouble standing up to the likes of Kyle Williams, he gave it his all every play. If Cope is able to add some size and strength before his senior campaign, he could be one to watch.

Ben Grubbs (Junior OG) - Grubbs, like most other linemen in the country, had some trouble blocking the likes of Kyle Williams and Claude Wroten. I won't hold that against him too heavily. Grubbs did grab my attention a few times as a pulling guard. He showed very good feet and decent speed to get out in front of the ball-carrier. Grubbs probably learned a lot against LSU's front four and will grow from it and be a nice prospect for the 2007 NFL Draft.

Karibi Dede (Junior OLB) - Dede is another one of those fast Tiger LBs. He does have more size than the others and also has the frame to add additional bulk. Dede was very impressive against LSU. He was all over the field, showing the speed to get sideline to sideline. He was best able to take on the lead blockers and still manage to get in on the tackles.


LSU PRO PROSPECTS

Joseph Addai #10 600.0 210 4.44 HB - Addai had another solid game. Auburn is a tough team to run against with their speedy linebackers and run-stuffing DTs. He still managed to grind out a 100-yard effort. Addai once again showed his quickness, speed, and power, all rolled into one tidy package. He absorbed and delivered some big hits while running. He also flashed steady hands in the receiving game and contributed four receptions to the effort. I was also surprised to see Addai leading the charge on special teams coverage. (POSITIVE)

Skyler Green #5 510.0 195 4.42 WR - Head Coach Les Miles was criticized following the Florida game for only getting Green the ball once on offense. He made more of an effort to get the ball in Green's hands this week and Green showed his talents. He had a nice 17-yard gain on a reverse. Green was quick and made people miss. As a receiver, he had five catches, but all were of the short variety, none really giving him a chance to beat anyone for yards after the catch. Green also got things going for LSU mid-way through the first quarter with a 66-yard punt return for TD. He was decisive, running north-south and using his blockers well. Once he cleared the traffic, no one was going to catch him. (POSITIVE)

LaRon Landry #30 602.0 187 4.48 S - This was one of the better games I've seen Landry play. Landry is certainly known as a big hitter and solid run supporter, and he justified that praise by laying the lumber on a couple occasions. He showed his speed as he ran down Kenny Irons after Irons cleared the first and second levels of the defense. Landry really excelled in pass defense against Auburn. He showed great cover skills, staying with receivers in man coverage and keeping them on his hip. In zone schemes, Landry was always in a position to make a play, closing quickly and securing a tackle or breaking up the pass. (VERY POSITIVE)

Cameron Vaughn #46 604.0 237 4.56 LB - Vaughn once again displayed his quickness and ability to make plays. He was involved in a lot of the tackles on Irons, including one for loss. I just question whether he anticipates well enough to be a solid prospect at the next level and if he can learn to play a more physical game. There's little doubt he'll be drafted, but how effective he'll be remains a question to me. (SLIGHTLY POSITIVE)

Justin Vincent #25 510.0 219 4.42 HB - Once again, Vincent received a mercy carry, which he took for a whopping three yards. Vincent looks too big for his body and it appears to have affected his quickness. (VERY NEGATIVE)

Andrew Whitworth #76 607.0 325 5.24 OT - There are a number of offensive tackles vying to be selected first at their position this spring. Whitworth is amongst them and he certainly improved his stock against Auburn. Whitworth completely shut down a couple of highly respected (albeit young and somewhat inexperienced) defensive ends in Stanley McClover and Quentin Groves. Whitworth was not at all affected by their speed or quickness and he completely overpowered them physically. Both were driven clear away from the ball-carrier and neither was able to get any pressure on the QB. (VERY POSITIVE)

Kyle Williams #95 602.0 295 4.85 DT - Williams played over center most of the game and gave an undersized Joe Cope fits. He was consistently able to overpower the center (and also the guards he challenged). Williams showed a nice burst of quickness off the line and was able to get into the backfield for a sack or TFL a couple times. (VERY POSITIVE)

Claude Wroten #98 603.0 293 5.03 DT - Wroten played one of the most impressive games I've seen from him. He lined up over guard (usually Tim Duckworth) or at an end position most of the game. He was too much for Duckworth, using quickness, speed, and power to take advantage of him. Not only was Wroten able to get after the passer by beating a blocker outright or using his speed for stunts, he was very effective in run defense and could frequently be seen mirroring a runner across the line of scrimmage and running him down on the other side of the field. Wroten even dropped back into coverage a few times where he did an effective job. (VERY POSITIVE)

JaMarcus Russell #4 605.5 250 4.82 QB - Russell did not play poorly, but his throws were not as crisp and tight as usual. Russell insisted he felt fine, but he was told by his receivers that the ball was coming out of his release differently than usual. He completed less than half of his passes, frequently missing them completely. He did not make any big mistakes and was able to run the ball reasonably well, although he didn't look super comfortable doing it. (SLIGHTLY NEGATIVE)

Melvin Oliver #90 603.0 277 5.1 DE - Oliver had one of his better games. He was able to take advantage of a slower Troy Reddick and put some pressure on the QB. Oliver really stood out in run defense, holding taut at the end of the line and forcing plays inside or stringing them outside to the sidelines. He also showed more motivation than he did last year and could frequently be seen making (or at least chasing) plays downfield. Oliver did blow the tackle on Kenny Irons' big TD run. (POSITIVE)

Dwayne Bowe #80 WR - Bowe once again presented a big target for Russell and was able to find holes in the zone to settle into. Bowe only caught three passes in the game, but one of them was a TD pass late in the 3rd quarter which helped LSU regain the lead. Unfortunately, Bowe also dropped a couple balls including a pass in the end zone in the 4th quarter which may have put the game away for LSU instead of sending it to overtime. (NEUTRAL)

Nate Livings #71 605.0 313 5.58 OG - Livings was matched up primarily with Wayne dickens and was generally successful. There were a few occasions on running plays where dickens was able to get off Livings' block and make a play on the RB. However, Livings kept dickens from putting any pressure on the QB. (NEUTRAL)

Others to watch:
Rudy Niswanger (Senior C) - Niswanger played a very nice game. There were more than a few occasions where he opened the hole for the running game by turning run-stopper Tommy Jackson away from the hole and driving him out of the play altogether. Niswanger also calls the line assignments and did a very good job. He did get beat a couple of times by Jackson and Jackson went on to make a play in the backfield, but all-in-all, Niswanger did a very solid job.