By Andrew Gribble
Auburn University Beat Reporter
Published: August 30, 2009
AUBURN — Chris Todd held an impromptu press conference early last week and delivered a startling bit of information.
“Basically, they saw so much potential with my athletic ability that I wasn’t fully being utilized at quarterback,” Todd said in response to the “rumor” that he would be following Kodi Burns in a transition to wide receiver.
Todd was joking, of course — something he’s been doing quite a bit during his final preseason with the Tigers.
Todd’s athleticism obviously doesn’t stack up with Auburn’s wideouts, Burns or a number of college quarterbacks.
But it’s nothing to scoff at, teammates say.
“He can move around the pocket pretty well,” cornerback Walt McFadden said. “He knows when it’s time to run and he knows he’s not the fastest guy on the field, but he can get us a first down if he has to.”
Todd, who gained 47 yards on the ground last season but lost 110 when sacks are counted, doesn’t need to be speedy in Gus Malzahn’s offense. He just might need to be a force near the goal line.
In Malzahn’s first year as a college coordinator at Arkansas, quarterbacks Mitch Mustain and Casey Dick each finished with negative rushing yards. In fairness, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones did enough on the ground that season (2,815 combined rushing yards) for an entire conference.
In 2007 at Tulsa, Malzahn’s first year with the Golden Hurricane, quarterback Paul Smith finished with just 73 net yards but had 12 rushing touchdowns. In 2008, David Johnson had 186 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Malzahn has repeatedly said that he evaluates his personnel before drawing up a gameplan for the season. That certainly includes designing — or not — running plays for the conductor of his offense.
“I think you have to have a quarterback who can make plays when things break down,” Malzahn said. “That doesn’t always mean you have to have great mobility, but you have to be a good decision-maker. We have to put him situations where he can be successful, too.”
Malzahn’s been putting Todd and the other Auburn quarterbacks through drills that simulate those undesired, but often frequent, broken plays. He’s not looking for anything fancy from Todd in those situations — just ball control.
“You get more comfortable the more you do it,” Todd said. “The biggest thing is taking care of the ball, no matter what you’re doing. Really, that’s it. Knowing where to fill in and where to squeeze into gaps and reading the defense, you get more comfortable every day.”
In just a short time, though, Todd has turned some heads with some of that untapped potential he was joking about.
He’s certainly no Burns. But he’s got enough gas to get by some of the, well, slower-footed defenders.
“I’ve seen him get away from big Jake (Ricks) one time,” McFadden said. “The inside guys, you know. I’m not saying he got away from everybody but he’s capable of getting us three, four yards if needed.
“If he has to take a hit, he’ll go in there and throw is head in even if he might come out with a concussion. He’s going to do it for the team.”
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