Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series previewing Auburn’s 2010 football opponents. This week: Arkansas State (Sept. 4). The series will run weekly.

Never does the “no news is good news” cliche apply more than for the college football offseason.

At Arkansas State, there has been no such luck.

Nine-year coach Steve Roberts, coming off his worst season since 2004, fired his long-time offensive coordinator Doug Ruse shortly after the
Red Wolves’ 4-8 finish to 2009. Roberts replaced Ruse with Clay Helton, a castoff from the turnover at Memphis who, after two months on the job in Jonesboro, signed on with Lane Kiffin at USC shortly after Signing Day.

Hugh Freeze, who also spent just two months at his previous stop, San Jose State, has since taken over the reins of Roberts’ offense.

Midway through spring ball, defensive line coach Kevin Peoples, another nine-year coach under Roberts, left the program to become Director of
High School Operations at Arkansas.

Before all the coaching turnover, Roberts knew his spring wouldn’t reach its full potential.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ryan Aplin, who finished 2009 as Arkansas State’s starter, put his shoulder under the knife after the regular season and won’t be ready until the fall.

Then Phillip Butterfield, Aplin’s backup, went out and had a fantastic 15 spring practices, and now there’s talk of a potential quarterback controversy heading into the 2010 season.

And you thought Auburn’s spring was eventful.

Butterfield, who was a player in last year’s quarterback battle before bowing out with an injury, capped his strong impression with an up-and-down, yet productive, performance in the team’s end-of-spring scrimmage.

He took nearly every snap under center, completing 30-of-54 passes for 235 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions, two of which came on the game’s first two possessions.

In the previous week’s scrimmage, Butterfield tossed five touchdowns and no interceptions.

“He’s had his ups and downs. He’s a freshman, and obviously this is a big stage for him tonight. He’ll draw a lot of confidence from the way he settled down and fought back,” Roberts told the Jonesboro Sun. “I’m really pleased with the way he settled down and made some big-time throws and got us in some good plays. He was very, very poised for three quarters of the scrimmage.”

Aplin, though, remains the front-runner. Filling in for departed senior Corey Leonard, who ended his career injured, Aplin started the final three games of 2009, winning two, and finished his first full year by completing 77-of-118 passes for 889 yards, three touchdowns and six
interceptions, while rushing for 253 yards and four scores. Unfortunately for the Red Wolves, they have bigger holes to fill before their season
opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The biggest void is at tailback, where Roberts is still in the market for three-time All-Sun Belt rusher Reggie Arnold’s replacement.

The battle appears to be far from over, as fullback Jermaine Robertson and Derek Lawson split carries in the spring game. Freshmen Frankie
Jackson, considered the third-best running back out of Louisiana by ESPN.com, and Sirgregory Thornton, ranked the No. 1 running back out of
Tennessee, have yet to arrive on campus, but shouldn’t be ruled out as potential ball-carriers in the Sept. 4 season opener.

The Red Wolves added plenty of quick fixes to its defense via junior-college transfers in what Roberts called the “best in-state class” he’s ever signed.

Cornerback Darron Edwards made an instant impact this spring, working his way into a first-team role and picking up seven tackles and an interception in the spring game. Defensive end Brandon Joiner, a former Texas A&M signee who was dismissed from the Aggies after being arrested for armed robbery, and linebacker Michael Lombardo also joined the team this spring and are in position to replace one of the eight
starters Arkansas State lost after the 2009 season.

The Red Wolves return eight players who started on defense last season, including big defensive tackle Bryan Hall. Hall, a senior, finished second on the team with nine tackles for loss and garnered second-team All-Sun Belt honors last season.

“The team had a really strong spring and I’m proud of that,” Roberts said after the Red Wolves’ spring scrimmage. “I’m excited about the success of our program in the future.”

| 737-2561

Arkansas State at Auburn
When: Sept. 4
Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium
2009 Record: 4-8
Final Ranking: None
Bowl: None
Returners: 27 (with at least 1 start)
All-Time Record vs. AU: 0-1
Last Meeting: 2006 (AU won, 27-0, in Auburn)