AUBURN - Jerraud Powers. Antonio Coleman. Merrill Johnson.

Where's Tray Blackmon?

Neiko Thorpe. Zac Etheridge. Josh Bynes.

Where's Tray Blackmon?

Well, he's resting comfortably somewhere down the Auburn tackle
charts because Auburn coaches have saved him for the biggest hits of
the season.

Blackmon, who has shared middle linebacker duties with Bynes in the
first two games, is healthy and ready for a five-game stretch of SEC
games that begins Saturday night at Mississippi State.

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads has championed the idea of rotating
his players so they're fresh during each game. And because he thinks
that's a necessity over an entire season. The defensive stats suggest
he's been true to his beliefs: 17 players have between three and
seven tackles.

Blackmon has five.

"There's nothing there other than as the rotation goes and a lead
exists, Josh might be playing a couple more snaps," Rhoads said.

Auburn has enjoyed big enough leads for defensive reserves to enjoy
playing time, but Bynes won't be dismissed because the level of
competition figures to get tougher.

"Josh is an intelligent player," Rhoads said.

"He understands the scheme. And when I say that, he's got to
understand everyone around him and (their) scheme. He understands
where they all fit into that picture. He gets them corrected."

Bynes seems to like that part of the game. This week, he talked more
about setting the defense each play than his eight tackles.

"I've been doing that since high school," Bynes said. "Moving people
around like that is natural to me."

Bynes looks at it this way: "If one is wrong, we're all going to be
wrong; so we have to get everybody aligned properly."

Blackmon said Bynes is a "real smart player."

And, Blackmon added with a smile, "Playing behind like a guy like me,
you've got to be real special.

"Even though we work together all the time, I still feel like he's
trying to get my position. He should feel that way, so I go out every
day and compete with him and against him."

Coach Tommy Tuberville said Blackmon has a chance to start moving up
the tackle charts Saturday because, he said, Blackmon excels against
more traditional offenses. That's what Mississippi State will offer
with two running backs.

"Tray is a lot more effective because he's a true inside guy,"
Tuberville said.

Blackmon should be fresh for the adventure. Tuberville says rotating
Blackmon and Bynes has been smart because "you can't play middle
linebacker for 70 snaps in a game.

"You've got to get somebody else in. When you're the left cornerback
and the ball goes away, nothing happens. But if you're the middle
linebacker, you're going to hit somebody or they're going to hit you
every snap. It takes a little bit of a toll on you. You need two
middle linebackers to survive a season." Check out Goldberg's blog at
blog.al.com/goldmine cgoldberg@...