Auburn's Offensive Coordinator, Tony Franklin left Jordan-Hare Stadium with plenty of things on his mind to break down after Auburn's final spring practice Wednesday night (4/2/08).

The Auburn Tigers Football team conducted a 100-plus play scrimmage to cap 15 days of practice and although the first team offense struggled at times against the defense, there were plenty of great plays throughout the scrimmage to give the coaches and fans something to hang on to until the Fall.

Sophomore quarterback Kodi Burns delivered perhaps his best performance of the Spring by connecting on his first 10 passes for 112 yards and finishing with a respectable 12-of-15 for 213 yards with two touchdowns performance

Burns connected with James Swinton for a 16-yard touchdown and Quindarius Carr for a 35-yard score on a go route.

Coaches Tony Franklin and Tommy Tuberville each praised Burns for his progress this spring. Burns was used as a run option in Auburn's 2007 offense, but after changing his footwork, has been able to prove he can throw the ball, as well.

"We changed his footwork dramatically. His feet were basically dead," Franklin said. "There's two different schools of philosophy of how you work the feet. We immediately got it back to where I believe in. It doesn't mean it's right or wrong, it just means it's what I believe in. We worked really hard on getting his release quicker and trying to speed up his release."

Junior transfer Chris Todd didn't have as strong an outing as he did on A-Day, but he still completed 11-of-18 passes for 144 yards with no interceptions.

Franklin said the competition with Todd has made Burns much stronger.

"Chris has made him better," Franklin said. "You get competition -- he knows he's going to sit on the bench if he doesn't get better. So that's helped."

Former Carver High standout DeRon Furr had a thing or two to prove in the scrimmage as well. He played sparingly over the last few practices after an acromioclavicular (AC) joint injury in shoulder in the first scrimmage. The statistics didn't show how well Furr played. He also lined up at receiver several times and participated in a trick play.

Furr finished the scrimmage with a 42-yard touchdown pass to Charles Olatunji, going 2-of-3 for 59 yards. He said that was a good note on which to end the spring.

"Especially coming back from my shoulder being hurt," Furr said. "I haven't been able to get in a groove. It helped my confidence."

Franklin called Furr "vibrant."

"I'm trying to keep him excited about playing the game -- so just moving him around, letting him have some fun," Franklin said. "He's a guy that if Kodi ended up going down, we would do some things with him, because he's so vibrant with the ball in his hands."

Tuberville said he liked the controlled way Burns ran the offense, adding that Todd also "looked good."

"Both of them looked very comfortable," Tuberville said. "I thought Kodi got the ball down the field a lot better. He's moving in the pocket well, looking a lot more comfortable with what he's doing.

"Chris' arm is still not as strong as it will be, but he's got a chance now to get it rested and healthy."

The Tigers attempted to run the ball more, although they found it tough going against the first-team defense. Brad Lester carried the ball eight times for 19 yards and a 2-yard touchdown leap, while Ben Tate rushed six times for 22 yards and an 8-yard touchdown. Tristan Davis had the big play of the scrimmage, breaking through the middle, then flashing his speed down the right sideline as he out-cruised everyone for a 69-yard scoring run.

"He's fast," Franklin said. "That's the nice thing, when he broke in open field, he was going to finish. You got to have three running backs minimal in this conference to survive, especially at the tempo we play."

There were a few drops, but the receivers had a strong outing also. Rod Smith broke a tackle and turned a short gain into a 63-yard gain. He made a leaping grab, keeping his balance for another long gain. He had three catches for 91 yards. Chris Slaughter had six catches for 87 yards, while Terrell Zachery had three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Swinton had four catches for 35 yards.

Despite the offensive numbers, the defense played well, particularly the first team against the run. Linebacker Tray Blackmon stood out with nine tackles, including six solos, while Antoine Carter had two sacks and two tackles for a loss. Sen'Derrick Marks had three tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. Zac Etheridge had an interception.