Auburn's backfield undergoing 'complete startover'

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) Tommy Tuberville sounds pretty confident for a guy who casually describes Auburn&#39;s backfield situation as ``a complete startover.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> After all, that description might actually come as a relief for tailbacks Kenny Irons and Tre Smith, who don&#39;t have to instantly be the new Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams. And quarterback Brandon Cox isn&#39;t expected to pick right up where Jason Campbell left off when the Tigers polished off a 13-0 season at the Sugar Bowl in January.<br> <br> When No. 16 Auburn opens the season Saturday night against Georgia Tech, Tuberville wants everyone including himself to remember those veteran backfield stars are in the NFL now. These are the new guys.<br> <br> ``The problem that we&#39;re all going to have myself, our coaches, other players on the team, our fans we&#39;re all going to want to compare this backfield to last year&#39;s,&#39;&#39; Tuberville said Tuesday. ``This is not a comparison.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> That&#39;s not a knock on a talented backfield trio but a nod to the fact that they&#39;ve got one career start among them and their predecessors had the benefit of numerous games together.<br> <br> Cox understands Auburn fans and opponents alike are wondering how he and his fellow backfield starters will fare in replacing three first-round NFL draft picks.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re the ones replacing Jason Campbell and Ronnie Brown and Carnell Williams,&#39;&#39; he said. ``That&#39;s why everybody has questions about our backfield. We&#39;re just going to take the opportunity to prove to people we can continue what we had going last year.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Then again, there&#39;s a reason why the questions are so prevalent. Last year, the combination worked so well the Tigers won their first Southeastern Conference title in 15 years and finished No. 2 nationally.<br> <br> Plus, there&#39;s The Streak.<br> <br> Auburn has won 15 games in a row, tied for the third-longest streak in school history. Only Southern California (22) and Utah (16) have longer current winning streaks.<br> <br> Tuberville has said this is his most talented Auburn team all around, but he knows that doesn&#39;t necessarily translate into wins.<br> <br> ``We have goals in mind for this football team,&#39;&#39; Tuberville said. ``I don&#39;t know how good we are or how bad we are. Nobody knows. Every player could be back from last year&#39;s team and this team could be completely different, because guys mature, they get older, they change, priorities change. All those things change.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The preseason focus has been on giving Cox and the offense plenty of live looks against the nation&#39;s top scoring defense of 2004, a month-long crash course in being an SEC quarterback.<br> <br> Cox played in seven games in relief of Campbell while Irons sat out the season after transferring from South Carolina and Smith was redshirted because of a shoulder injury.<br> <br> Here&#39;s what they replace. Campbell was the SEC offensive player of the year, completing 70 percent of his passes for 2700 yards and 20 touchdowns. Brown and Williams combined for 2,164 yards and 20 rushing TDs.<br> <br> ``It was a big challenge for us on offense going through the last few weeks, trying to find an identity,&#39;&#39; Tuberville said. ``You can&#39;t really find an identity until you start playing each Saturday.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> TIGER TALES: The Tigers&#39; final preseason depth chart featured few surprises, most notably Karibi Dede vaulting Kevin Sears for a starting linebacking position. Sears started every game last season, but has been slowed by a hand injury. Center Joe Cope beat out Steven Ross and Patrick Lee edged Montae Pitts for a starting job at cornerback opposite David Irons. Marquies Gunn will start at defensive end instead of Quentin Groves.<br> <br> (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)