Auburn’s Lester held out of contact drills

By Mike Szvetitz
Sports Editor, Opelika-Auburn News
Published: September 16, 2008

AUBURN — Senior running back Brad Lester was back at practice Tuesday, head coach Tommy Tuberville said, but he didn’t participate in any contact drills.

Lester suffered a sprained neck in Saturday’s game at Mississippi State when he landed on his head and shoulder after being tackled. The senior was put in a neck brace and taken off the field strapped to a backboard on a cart.

According to Tuberville, all the tests on Lester came back negative, and there’s no serious damage. But that doesn’t mean the running back will be in the lineup this Saturday against LSU.

“Brad was out there today running around, no contact,” Tuberville said. “He’s still real stiff. What he’s trying to do is work the soreness out. He’s got to come a long way between now and Thursday, but he’s going to have to have contact before I let him play.

“He’s bounced back. He was running full speed, but you can tell he doesn’t have range of motion yet. We’ll leave it up to him and the doctors through tomorrow. Then, of course, I’ll get involved and make sure he makes the right decision.”

Todd’s arm strength coming back: Auburn quarterback Chris Todd said his shoulder is getting better. After dealing with soreness in his throwing shoulder for most of spring practice, Todd came into the preseason healthier than he had been. But it still wasn’t all there.

And after three games, it’s still not 100 percent, Todd said.

“I think it’s continuing to get better,” the quarterback said. “It’s not what it was before, but it’s solid. We need to make all the throws, and we did make them the other day, and it’s positive that we’re stretching the field some.”

Todd went downfield a number of times Saturday vs. Mississippi State, completing three passes over 25 yards. But it was clear the passes weren’t thrown with the velocity they needed to be, especially down the middle of the field.

It’s something that Todd says will come back as his shoulder gets better. But for now, the QB feels he can still make all the necessary throws.

“You just have to watch it a little bit more,” Todd said of getting his arm back totally healthy. “You have to get the strength all the way back in it. I don’t think it’s concerning. I think it’s going to be all right. I can make the throws and stuff.”

Wake-up call: The Auburn coaches didn’t waste any time at practice Tuesday morning. They wanted to get everybody’s attention. How’s five wind sprints sound?

From what Rod Smith said, it worked.

“We started practice way different today,” the senior wideout said. “We started our practice with sprints. They just wanted to get our attention today. It’s definitely going to be a lot of very intense practices; you can see that from today. The coaches are getting us prepared.

“That caught everybody off guard. You could just tell the coaches were trying to get everybody focused and get prepared for the game.“

Nice to meet you: Defensive end Antonio Coleman doesn’t need any extra help preparing for No. 6 LSU. The junior said he’s been thinking about this weekend’s game for a whole year now.

“This is what I came to Auburn for,” Coleman said about the weekend’s rivalry game. “This is what I wake up for, these types of games. I love challenges.”

Speaking of challenges, Coleman is looking to make life miserable for LSU quarterback tandem of Andrew Hatch and Jarrett Lee. And he can’t wait to meet them.

“Definitely,” Coleman said, “that’s on my mind right now.“

Coleman, Auburn’s sack leader last season, especially wants to meet Hatch, who transferred in from Harvard.

The defensive end said he’s never sacked an Ivy Leaguer before, but is looking forward to the chance.

“Hopefully, I’ll get to do it Saturday,” Coleman said. “I’d feel real smart about myself.“