AUBURN – Junior college transfer Demond Washington played safety for the first time in his life Saturday, and he got high marks from his coaches.
“I thought he did a good job,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “He was very active. I thought he did a good job.”
Head coach Gene Chizik agreed.
"Demond is a very good football player," Chizik said. "I thought he did some really good things. He closed on the ball well and made some really good open-field tackles. He has a lot of speed. He's a good football player all the way around."
Washington, who also played nickel back, was Auburn’s third cornerback since the first nine games.
“It was just like any other day,” Washington said. “I felt comfortable. “Coach Thig (Tommy Thigpen) did a tremendous job of preparing us for the game.”
Washington said he was not nervous going into the game.
“Nah,” he said, “I was more excited than nervous.”
STALLWORTH INJURED: Freshman wide receiver/H-back Travante Stallworth had to be helped off the field late in the first quarter of Auburn’s 63-31 victory over Furman on Saturday. He appeared to have an injury to his right leg or knee.
Auburn coach Gene Chizik said after the game he did not Stallworth’s status nor details of his injury.
Stallworth was injured covering the kickoff after Auburn’s second touchdown. He pounded the ground in frustration.
RECORD FOR TODD: Senior quarterback Chris Todd, who completed his first 14 passes, set an Auburn record single-game completion percentage with a minimum of 10 attempts. Todd completed 17-of-18 passes for 94.4 percent. Jason Campbell completed 12-of-13 for 92.3 percent against Western Kentucky in 2003.
Todd deflected the credit.
“The big thing was the offensive line,” Todd said. “They stepped up and had a really great game today. And we had some receivers do a really good job. They ran some good routes and got themselves open and did some good things.”
MALZAHN PLEASED: Auburn’s 655 yards total offense against Furman was the fourth highest single-season total in school history. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said last Saturday’s 33-20 win over Ole Miss gave the offense a shot of energy.
“Last week we kind of got that edge back,” Malzahn said. :We got some confidence. You could see it in practice. The guys came out and executed. We talked about getting better, no matter who we were playing.”
NEARING THE END: Senior defensive end Antonio Coleman said he wouldn’t need extra motivation for Auburn’s final two games against Georgia and Alabama and a probable bowl game.
“I’ve had a great career,” Coleman said. “These last three, I’ve just got to get out there and play better than I’ve ever played before. I approach every game the same. every game I play is important to me.”
IN HONOR OF ETHERIDGE: Auburn players and coaches wore white arm bands displaying the number 4 in honor of injured safety Zac Etheridge.
“Our football team and coaching staff and players really felt like we needed to do something in recognition of the fact that Zac wasn’t playing out there on the field with us today,” Chizik said. “This is what we came up with. … It meant a lot to our football team. He is a huge part of who we are and what we do.”
FAST START: With Saturday’s win, Chizik has won more games in his first season than any coach in Auburn except Terry Bowden, who went 11-0 in 1993. Barring an unexpected turn of events, Chizik will become the first coach ever to take the Tigers to a bowl game in his first season.
