Auburn's Will Muschamp rebuilding defense 'from the ground up'

There will be a lot of change when Auburn hits the field to open up spring practice on Tuesday afternoon.

Key offensive contributors Nick Marshall, Cameron Artis-Payne and Sammie Coates will all be absent, along with three starters on the offensive line.

But onlookers won't be focusing on Auburn's new offensive players. All eyes will be on the defense, led by new coordinator Will Muschamp, who seems to have big plans for a unit that ranked in the bottom half of the SEC in scoring last season.

"He's going to install his defense from the ground up," Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn said, according to Joel A. Erickson of the Birmingham News. "Spring is going to be that foundation where he's laying the foundation, so it's very important."

The schedule for spring practices has even been shifted to help Muschamp install his scheme.

"We decided to split it up a little bit," Malzahn said. "Just strategically, with a new defensive coordinator coming in, a little bit more time to put our defense in and to teach everything."

Muschamp has been scouting the team's talent since watching Auburn's Outback Bowl practices, and the installation of his new defense will be heavily impacted by the assessments he made then.

With the change in scheme, players recruited to play different positions - like the now-defunct hybrid "Star" position in former coordinator Ellis Johnson's 4-2-5 scheme - will need to find new roles, and Malzahn is leaving those personnel decisions up to Muschamp this spring.

"He'll decide all that. He's been there, done this before," Malzahn said. "Like I've said numerous times before, I believe he's the best in the business at doing it."