Jamar Travis’ biggest play of the season came against Ball State, when he juggled a short Cardinals’ kickoff before grasping it for the successful fair catch.

The freshman defensive tackle seemed a bit surprised, understandably, that the ball found its way into his big arms.

To others, it was simply more of a surprise that Travis was even on the field.

Travis was the last of Auburn’s 15 signees of the Class of 2009 to see the field, leaving Gene Chizik with redshirts on just six of the 22 players that enrolled in August as the Tigers head into their 10th game of the season against Furman.

Barring some sort of unexpected rash of injuries, that number will hold constant heading into the 2010 season.

It was a tough decision on Travis, Chizik said at the time, made hard and fast because of Auburn’s depth concerns across the board, but specifically on special teams. Travis has since seen action on special teams in the last five games.

It wasn’t the plan to get players such as Travis on the field this season, but it’s nothing that Chizik said he regrets.

“I think we handled everything the only way we could and should have,” Chizik said.

Though the Tigers’ total of six redshirts is one more than the five from 2008, Chizik calls the group “small.” There’s no ideal number you attempt to strike when bringing in a signing class, Chizik said, and, considering Auburn’s well-documented depth issues, an extra year was “probably much-needed” for all six if he didn’t see them fit to contribute.

“It just changes, not only year to year, but it changes from person to person,” Chizik said. “Some guys are just mature enough to be able to come in and do it and some don’t mature quite as fast.”

Two members of the group were in the mix for playing time in August, while the four others were considered longshots from the day they signed.

Tyrik Rollison, one of Auburn’s most highly touted recruits, was considered a genuine threat to win Auburn’s open quarterback competition in August before Chris Todd came out on top. He was then beat out for the backup job by junior Neil Caudle, whom coaches said looked more comfortable and showed a better understanding of Gus Malzahn’s offense.

Malzahn said Rollison has continued to progress, despite a midseason “lull” that he expected because Rollison is a “competitor” who is accustomed to playing every game.

“Probably in the last three or four weeks he’s really come on,” Malzahn said. “You can tell he’s mentally into it and starting to develop and starting to do the things he needs to do to get better.”

Defensive end Nosa Eguae was an early riser up Tracy Rocker’s depth chart during August and was poised to see regular snaps heading into the season opener. But when the Tigers walked through the south end zone tunnel for the first time in 2009, Eguae hobbled out in a boot, the result of an injury caused by what Chizik called a “freak accident.”

“He was ready,” Chizik said. “As it turned out, everything happens for a reason. We’re really excited and really high on him.”

Running back Dontae Aycock was a late commitment and was considered a major snag by Auburn’s last-second recruiting push under Chizik’s new regime. But a stacked depth chart made his climb uphill from the start, making it no surprise that running backs coach Curtis Luper was ready to declare him a redshirt by the fourth week of the season.

His biggest contribution has been on the scout team, Luper said, as he played out the role of Tennessee’s Monterio Hardesty one week and LSU’s Charles Scott the next. He’s slimmed down to 215 pounds — about 10 fewer than when he arrived — and expects to compete for a role in Malzahn’s running back-friendly offense when Ben Tate graduates.

The 2009 season was considered an afterthought from the start for quarterback Clint Moseley, especially when Rollison committed. His learning process has been similar to Rollison’s, Malzahn said.

“The defensive coaches rant and rave about him,” Malzahn said. “He’s a big, physical guy that’s going to be a very solid guy here at Auburn.”

Tight end Robert Cooper and offensive lineman Andre Harris round out the redshirts from the 2009 signing class. Three others — sophomores Drew Cole and Spencer Pybus and junior Mike McNeil — are expected to receive redshirts this season because of injuries.

“They’ve grown up a lot, which is what happens when you redshirt,” Chizik said. “We feel that they’re going to be really good football players.”

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