08/20 at 11:04 PM

Zac Etheridge doesn’t care who it is, just that it’s somebody.

“Whoever is in the way,” the Auburn senior safety said, “that’s going to be the first blow, so I’m just looking forward to it.”

It’s been close to 10 months since Etheridge lay face down on top of Ole Miss running back Rodney Scott on that cloudy Halloween last October at Jordan-Hare Stadium after a collision with the ball carrier and his own teammate’s shoulder pad.

That’s the last time Etheridge has “hit” anyone, as that play resulted in the safety cracking his C-5 vertebrae and tearing neck ligaments.

The wait is now over.

Etheridge said he was cleared by team doctors earlier in the week to go full speed in this morning’s scrimmage.

In July, Etheridge was medically cleared to play, but the Auburn training staff has been working the safety into contact drills slowly, as a precaution.

“It’s been part of the plan that we’ve been working,” Etheridge said. “The medical staff, I knew before camp we had a plan to work, and we’ve just been following it.

“I mean, it is a neck ... You can’t just throw me back out there. I’ve been out of the game for like six months, so you’ve got to give me time to get myself ready and physically.”
Is he?

“Definitely,” Etheridge said. “I’m looking forward to it. I think I’m there.”

His teammates are looking forward to it, too.

“We’ve been messing with him all camp, talking about how he gets out of the contact parts in practice,” senior linebacker Craig Stevens said. “So, I’m pretty sure he’s excited to get out there. I’m pretty excited to see what he’s going to do. Let all that aggression out.”

Stevens said Etheridge has been trying to do as much as he can in practice drills but nothing compares to the real thing.

“When we’re in skelly or whatever, we’re not supposed to hit, but you’ll see him just nudge somebody every now and then, just like he just wants to get a little bit in while he can,” Stevens said. “So since he can go all out tomorrow, I’m pretty sure he’s going to let it out.”

Filling in
Trooper Taylor did his best Gene Chizik impression Friday night, as the wide receivers coach filled in for the head coach in post-practice interviews with the media.

So, Coach, how was practice?

“It was really good, upbeat,” Taylor said. “We really concentrated on alignment, assignment and starting to put the Arkansas State plan in. It was good to see the guys recall some of the stuff we had talked about earlier.”

The Tigers will scrimmage today for the fourth time this preseason, and for Taylor, it’s all about moving forward.

“You look for improvement,” Taylor said. “You don’t want guys going backwards. You don’t want to be saying the same thing you said in the first week in the fourth week.”

Benton still in ‘tub’
Sophomore wide receiver DeAngelo Benton has aced every written test he’s been given. But it’s the physical ones Taylor’s more focused on.

And until Benton, who has missed almost all of preseason practice with a broken bone in his hand, can return to the field, there’s not much to talk about.

“I don’t really talk to them very much when they’re in the tub, so he thinks right now that he’s on my ill-list,” Taylor said. “But I love the kid. But again, you got to have him out there doing it. It’s unfortunate, because he needs all the reps.”

Catching punts
Taylor went down his short list for who’s in the running for punt returner Friday night. It includes: Quindarius Carr, Darvin Adams and Trovon Reed.

“Probably in that order,” Taylor said.

Jonathon Mincy will also “have a chance.”

But that could all change, Taylor said, come today’s scrimmage.

“We’re going to send some live bullets at them,” Taylor said. “They haven’t been hit. That order could be flipped in a heartbeat.”

Byrum named to watch list
Placekicker Wes Byrum is one of 30 players to be named to the Lou Groza Award Watch List, an honor which goes to the nation’s top placekicker.

Byrum was a semifinalist for the award last season after setting an Auburn single-season record for points by a kicker with 99.

Byrum was 15-for-16 on field goals (.938), which was another Auburn single-season record, while ranking second nationally. He also made all 54 extra points.

Byrum enters his senior season ranked fifth on Auburn’s all-time scoring list with 240 career points, and needs 73 points to surpass John Vaughn (2003-06) as the school’s all-time leading scorer.

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