08/25 at 10:49 PM

Three weeks later, DeAngelo Benton participated Wednesday in his second practice of the 2010 season.

Kept out for a seemingly endless number of practices by a broken hand, Benton was playing catch-up at Wednesday’s practice, coach Gene Chizik said, but that was to be expected.

“He’ll work really hard to come back, and he’s going to do whatever he has to do to help our team,” Chizik said. “He came out (Wednesday) with a really good attitude and did whatever we asked him to do. So he was a good teammate today.”

Benton certainly wasn’t rushed back into Wednesday’s proceedings, Chizik said. He didn’t have a bunch of passes thrown his way and the pace likely won’t pick up anytime soon as he’s “weaned” back into playing mode.

“I think for his first day back you expect him to be a little bit rusty,” Chizik said, “But I think he did well.”

Big things were expected from Benton this season after a disappointing freshman campaign that saw him catch all six of his passes in a Homecoming romp over Furman. Midway through the 2009 season, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor infamously said that Benton would “light up the record books” by the time his Auburn career was over.

Taylor offered less than encouraging words for Benton while he was injured, though Benton should now be back in his good graces.

“I don’t have time for the injuries,” Taylor said. “I have time to coach the guys that are in there.”

On the mend
Tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen wore a wrap on his right shoulder Wednesday and has been used lightly in recent practices but said he would be fine for the season opener.
Lutzenkirchen said he’s dealt with the pain in his shoulder since high school.

“We’re just trying to keep it safe,” he said.

QB, right tackle battles
Chizik remained mum on Auburn’s two hottest contested position battles Wednesday, though he said the battle at right tackle should wind down quickly.

“It’s the same guys in the mix that we’ve been using,” Chizik said. “But obviously we know time is of the essence.”

Chizik said A.J. Greene, John Sullen and Brandon Mosley are all still in the mix, though many players, when talking about the position battle, said it’s between two players.

Roszell Gayden, recruited out of junior college specifically to compete for the position, has been hampered by injuries.

“I think that’s slowed him down some,” Chizik said. “But he’s really tried hard. He’s given us great effort and we’ll continue to see how he helps us at some point and in some way.”

Safety dance
A pecking order of sorts has emerged at Auburn’s safety positions, with Zac Etheridge, Aairon Savage, Mike McNeil, Ikeem Means and Drew Cole making Tommy Thigpen’s final five.

Cole sits fifth in the group, Thigpen said, though “you can still trot out (Demetruce McNeal and Ryan Smith) as well.”

Determining the final two won’t come down to whether a certain player’s specialty is at free or strong safety, Thigpen said. Etheridge and Means are receiving repetitions at free safety while McNeil and Savage are at free.

“The best two guys at the end of the camp will start,” Thigpen said.

Center piece
Mike Berry, Auburn’s starting left guard, has been playing the part of center during portions of this week’s practice.

Though he’s a part of Auburn’s veteran-heavy starting unit, Berry is, in theory, Auburn’s backup center behind Ryan Pugh as well. Walk-on Blake Burgess could also be an option.

“You can do all those snaps before and after practice all you want, but that’s not the same as actually lining up and making all the calls, then snapping the ball, then executing your block,” Grimes said.

Fannin named to watch list
Mario Fannin was one of six SEC tailbacks named to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which is given annually to the nation’s best tailback.

Fannin has never spent a full season as a true tailback, but has compiled 971 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 172 attempts carries during his career. Last year, he was second on the team with 42 catches for 413 yards and three scores, while also rushing for 285 yards on just 34 carries, good for an 8.4 yards-per-carry average.

He has 2,722 all-purpose yards in his career.

Other SEC candidates for the award are Alabama’s Mark Ingram, Florida’s Jeff Demps, Arkansas’ Dennis Johnson, Kentucky’s Derrick Locke and LSU’s Richard Murphy. Forty-nine players across the nation were named to the list.

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