Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee spoke with the media tonight. All credit to the beat writers who were there.

Rhett Lashlee spoke to the media today, and he had quite a bit to say. Of course, the topic of the QB competition came up. He used all the typical buzz words/phrases you would expect. Sean is a better runner than people give him credit for, he has a strong arm, competitive, other QBs are behind him, etc.

He did have an interesting comment that John Franklin III was recruited as an athlete who would get a shot at QB. To me, that sounds like laying the groundwork for a positional change. He did say Franklin was still at QB, but Franklin’s athleticism is impressive enough that it seems hard to keep him off the field except for a few plays per game in a wildcat situation. He stopped short of naming the back-up QB, but I’m guessing it’s Jeremy Johnson. If JF3 were past JJ in terms of ability to pass/run the offense, he’d be the starter.

On the receivers, Kyle Davis sounds like he might not be quite as far along as we’d hope. That’s unsurprising given he just started practicing at full speed last week. Marcus Davis being consistent is unsurprising; he’s always been that way. As for Tony Stevens… that’s disconcerting that he’s still having the issues of making great plays and then fumbling the easy ones. The top three receivers on the team going into Week 1 will probably be Marcus Davis, Stevens, and Jason Smith, so I’m guessing we’re going to need one of the young guys to step up in a hurry.

The Tigers are practicing tonight under the lights of Jordan-Hare Stadium and MOTHRATRON. It’s good to get the players – especially the newcomers – adjusted to that monstrous screen.

Gus Malzahn will meet with the media Tuesday during his usual Game Week press conference time slot. That’s right. GAME. WEEK. The long nightmare of the off-season is almost over. Hopefully, we’ll have some updates on the status of Stephen Roberts, the depth-chart, and more.

Now to the Tweets!