Brian VanGorder's thinking cap

Auburn fans are excited about the addition of defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, and not just because of the slick 'do he brings to The Plains.

VanGorder is supposed to fix what ailed Auburn for years under Ted Roof: a defense that often couldn't get out of its own way.

Last year Auburn ranked 78th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 28.9 points per game. In 2009 those Tigers were ranked 76th with a 27.5-point clip. Even during the remarkable BCS title run of 2010, Auburn's defense was exceptionally pedestrian by BCS-champ standards, giving up 24 points a game to rank 53rd.

Here comes VanGorder, a distinguished defensive mind, and it's hard to imagine the guy not making this defense a lot better in time.

It's interesting to read some of the impressions of VanGorder contrasted with the impressions of new Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

Here, it's often said that the defense did too much thinking under Kevin Steele and will do much less thinking under Venables.

At Auburn, the defense did too little thinking under Roof and will do much more under VanGorder.

Here's some of what VanGorder has said, according to our Rivals friends at AuburnSports.com:

On being tough on LBs: "Linebacker in our system, it takes a lot of work. There's a lot of responsibility. Their plate is full."

"I expect that we'll improve through the season. The first game, there will be some issues."

From Gene Chizik:

On the LBs: "There's a lot required of those guys in this defense."

From defensive back Demetruce McNeal:

"There's a lot more things that go into it. There's more thinking. He's getting us ready for the NFL, getting us ready for what we'll see. It's about us knowing football."

From defensive back Trent Fisher:

"It's definitely an NFL system, but that's what we need. The coaches are putting us in position to make plays in this defense -- and that's good. We love it. We're going to get after it. It definitely requires a higher football IQ."

I spoke with Jonathan Meeks yesterday, and he believes too much is made of the notion that Steele's system was more complicated and this one is much more simple.

He had a great way of putting it, and I'm paraphrasing here: "Anything can look complicated if you're making mistakes and not executing."

And that might be much more of a bottom line than any theories on over-complication or under-complication. The new is almost always regarded as superior to the old, but it's still about talent and execution.

A few Wednesday links:

-- Virginia Tech AD Jim Weaver proposes a scheduling format by which every ACC school would have a home-and-home series with SEC schools. Hard to see this getting off the ground, but it's a fantastic idea for anyone who cares about the ACC's stature with the big boys.

-- North Carolina's depth at receiver is becoming an issue.

Of the Tar Heels’ top five receivers entering training camp, Highsmith is the only one yet to miss a practice, and he was the only one working Tuesday. UNC dismissed Todd Harrelson from the team in July, and sophomores Sean Tapley and Reggie Wilkins didn’t practice Tuesday.

The player surrounded by the greatest concern, though, is sophomore T.J. Thorpe, who led the ACC a season ago in kickoff returns. He suffered a broken bone in his left foot Sunday and is out indefinitely.

Larry Fedora, the Tar Heels’ first-year head coach, shared little Tuesday about Thorpe’s status.

“I don’t know what to tell you, because I don’t talk about injuries,” Fedora said. “Here’s what I’ll tell y’all about injuries, guys. I will tell you about anybody that we lose for the season. And that’s it. So we haven’t lost him for the season, so I don’t really have anything to say for him.”

-- Our friends at Warchant have this story on injured RB Mario Pender.

FSU running back Chris Thompson said Tuesday night that Pender's injury dated back to the spring.

Fisher said that he and the team's medical staff consulted with specialists and decided it would be best to have Pender undergo surgery. Pender will redshirt this fall.

"It's something going on in the groin area," Fisher said. "Instead of making it worse, we're going to get it fixed."

Pender was known for his explosive speed at Island Coast High in Cape Coral, Fla., rushing for 1,547 yards and 17 touchdowns on just 130 carries as a senior last season. But despite enrolling early at FSU, Pender was behind a trio of known commodities at tailback - Thompson, James Wilder and Devonta Freeman, who led the team in rushing with 579 yards in 2011.

But there were mild concerns about every FSU running back as camp opened. Thompson and Freeman are both coming off back injuries. Wilder was hampered by off-field issues and spent more than a week in Leon County Jail. All three looked sharp during Tuesday's practice as Pender watched from the sideline.

-- And this blog entry has an update on the absence of UNC WR Quinshad Davis.

Freshman receiver Quinshad Davis was still absent on Tuesday. According to what he wrote on his Twitter account, Davis has been in Minnesota, presumably seeking treatment for the unspecified medical condition that has kept him out of the start of practice.

LW