The Tony Franklin Era at Auburn was expected to begin with "shock and awe" -- offensive fireworks produced by the new offensive coordinator's spread offense.
But the Tigers proved that a good ground attack and rock-solid defense can serve the purpose Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium, as Auburn rode its running game and defense to a 34-0 victory over Louisiana-Monroe.
Tiger running back Ben Tate rushed for 115 yards and Kodi Burns, who started the game for Auburn, added 69 yards rushing before leaving the game in the third quarter with a cut on his leg.
"We knew we could run the ball," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. "We played pretty good defense. If the defense and special teams play well, you can win ball games. We need more consistency with the throwing game."
The Auburn passing game especially was expected to be transformed with its variety of short, controlled passing mixed with the run.
But the Tigers passing game never materialized.
"The offense stunk, and it's my fault," Franklin said. "I saw it coming three days ago. There's a lot of blame to go around, and, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine."
Auburn managed only 24 yards in the air in the first half as neither Burns nor Todd could generate a passing attack.
The Tigers' final passing numbers were 85 yards on 13-of-27 passing with one interception and a touchdown.
"I've had a lot of ugly games in my life and a lot of ugly halves. This was an ugly half," Franklin said. "We played a little better in the second half, but the defense played lights out. Hats off to them."
ULM had a little success moving the ball early in the game, but Auburn's defense kept the Warhawks off the scoreboard.
ULM coach Charlie Weatherbee said he felt the Warhawks gave the Tigers 21 of their 34 points with turnovers and special-team mistakes.
The Tigers took a 17-0 lead into the locker room because of big plays by the defense and special teams.
Auburn's defense and special teams both out-scored the highly-anticipated new offense as it failed to develop a rhythm or sustain a drive against the suspect ULM defense.
The Tigers generated only 150 yards total offense during the half.
Burns and Todd alternated possessions during the half, but neither could ignite the spread passing game.
Burns finished the half with four completions in eight attempts for a meager 15 yards, while Todd had only two completions in seven attempts for nine yards.
The running game was better, with Ben Tate running for 74 first-half yards. He fueled the offense's only scoring drive of the first half, culminating in Wes Byrum's 33-yard field goal with 1:16 left in the second quarter.
By then, both the defense and special teams already had scored touchdowns.
The defense scored Auburn's first touchdown on ULM's first possession.
Tiger defensive end Antonio Coleman blindsided Warhawk quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster and forced a fumble that fellow defensive end Michael Goggans picked up and returned nine yards for the score. Byrum's kick gave Auburn a 7-0 lead with 12:08 left in the quarter.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
La.-Monroe knows all about Franklin
Most teams facing Auburn this year will have to adjust to first-year offensive coordinator Tony Franklin's spread offense.
Louisiana-Monroe isn't one of those teams.
The Warhawks have played against Franklin's offense the last two years while Franklin was Troy's offensive coordinator.
Despite losing both games, Louisiana-Monroe's defense played respectably, surrendering 24 points in each game.
Last year the Warhawks shut out Troy's offense through the first half. The Trojans' lone score came on an interception return late in the second quarter. The Warhawks held Troy 10 points below its season average last season.
"The key is not giving up the big play and being patient -- keeping the play in front of you," Louisiana-Monroe head coach Charlie Weatherbie said during his Monday morning teleconference.
In other words, Weatherbie's defense will likely try to play soft coverage. Louisiana-Monroe will attempt to make Auburn sustain long drives and won't worry about a few first downs.
Remember how Auburn used to play against the Steve Spurrier-led Florida teams under Tuberville? Expect Louisiana-Monroe to follow that blueprint.
Weatherbie knows what to expect. He just wants to defend against the game-changing plays.
"(Franklin) loves to throw the ball," Weatherbie said. "Of course, they're a team that's going to throw ball 70 percent of time or more. They love the quick game and bubble passes and they throw the ball down field as much as they can. They pick times to do that. He does a great job with it."
Louisiana-Monroe's defense had more success against Troy than the three SEC teams the Trojans played.
Against SEC foes Arkansas, Florida and Georgia, Franklin's offense at Troy scored 26, 31 and 34 points.
Louisiana-Monroe's defense also held Alabama's offense down during its 21-14 upset win last year at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Franklin knows how hard it can be to find big plays against the Louisiana-Monroe defense. The Warhawks changed defensive coordinators, but Franklin expects their scheme to be similar to the past two years.
"They're very sound," Franklin said. "They play hard. They run hard to the ball. They're tough, and they were very well coached. Both years, it's been a struggle. We struggled with them both years at Troy."
Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville is hoping Franklin can solve his Louisiana-Monroe problems now that he has SEC players.
"This is a pretty high-powered offense now," Tuberville said. "You can score. That's the reason that we went to this, to try and have more big plays. You can have big plays against good defenses."
The offensive players are confident as the season-opener approaches.
Running back Ben Tate predicted that Auburn would "put up a nice amount of points."
Receiver Rod Smith said Louisiana-Monroe's success against Troy shows the defense has some talent, but it doesn't mean anything this weekend.
"They may play us differently with us being an SEC team and probably having better athletes, not to take anything away from those guys," Smith said. "They'll probably play us a little different.
"We saw a lot of great things that we can run against those guys."
Louisiana-Monroe isn't one of those teams.
The Warhawks have played against Franklin's offense the last two years while Franklin was Troy's offensive coordinator.
Despite losing both games, Louisiana-Monroe's defense played respectably, surrendering 24 points in each game.
Last year the Warhawks shut out Troy's offense through the first half. The Trojans' lone score came on an interception return late in the second quarter. The Warhawks held Troy 10 points below its season average last season.
"The key is not giving up the big play and being patient -- keeping the play in front of you," Louisiana-Monroe head coach Charlie Weatherbie said during his Monday morning teleconference.
In other words, Weatherbie's defense will likely try to play soft coverage. Louisiana-Monroe will attempt to make Auburn sustain long drives and won't worry about a few first downs.
Remember how Auburn used to play against the Steve Spurrier-led Florida teams under Tuberville? Expect Louisiana-Monroe to follow that blueprint.
Weatherbie knows what to expect. He just wants to defend against the game-changing plays.
"(Franklin) loves to throw the ball," Weatherbie said. "Of course, they're a team that's going to throw ball 70 percent of time or more. They love the quick game and bubble passes and they throw the ball down field as much as they can. They pick times to do that. He does a great job with it."
Louisiana-Monroe's defense had more success against Troy than the three SEC teams the Trojans played.
Against SEC foes Arkansas, Florida and Georgia, Franklin's offense at Troy scored 26, 31 and 34 points.
Louisiana-Monroe's defense also held Alabama's offense down during its 21-14 upset win last year at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Franklin knows how hard it can be to find big plays against the Louisiana-Monroe defense. The Warhawks changed defensive coordinators, but Franklin expects their scheme to be similar to the past two years.
"They're very sound," Franklin said. "They play hard. They run hard to the ball. They're tough, and they were very well coached. Both years, it's been a struggle. We struggled with them both years at Troy."
Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville is hoping Franklin can solve his Louisiana-Monroe problems now that he has SEC players.
"This is a pretty high-powered offense now," Tuberville said. "You can score. That's the reason that we went to this, to try and have more big plays. You can have big plays against good defenses."
The offensive players are confident as the season-opener approaches.
Running back Ben Tate predicted that Auburn would "put up a nice amount of points."
Receiver Rod Smith said Louisiana-Monroe's success against Troy shows the defense has some talent, but it doesn't mean anything this weekend.
"They may play us differently with us being an SEC team and probably having better athletes, not to take anything away from those guys," Smith said. "They'll probably play us a little different.
"We saw a lot of great things that we can run against those guys."
Friday, August 29, 2008
Coleman a changed man
Antonio Coleman says he is a changed man.
The Auburn defensive end typically isn't one to back away from a preseason practice brawl, but he now is trying to keep his temper under control with the season starting Saturday.
Coleman knows the penalties could be harsh if he loses his cool and engages in a fight in an actual game.
"I've just been chilling," Coleman said. "I've got to cool down from that because if I fight Saturday, I'll probably be suspended, and we can't have that. I just have to bite the bullet."
Coleman was involved in two offseason practice scuffles this year that drew media attention: The first was in spring drills with offensive tackle Lee Ziemba and left Coleman with a sprained neck; the other was toward the end of preseason camp with offensive tackle Ryan Pugh.
Blame went around in each case, but Coleman said he plans to turn the other cheek if a similar situation arises in a game -- even if it's out of character for him.
"It's hard for me. That's why I got in so many fights," said Coleman, a junior who turns 22 Monday. "I injured my neck, and any time a hand gets around my facemask or something like that, I just snap. But I learned to control it because the season's starting and we can't have no fights because they need me out there on the field."
Instead, he would like to channel that anger into his on-field performance. Maybe a little healthy competition might help him do that.
The second-team preseason All-SEC honoree joked that he and fellow weakside defensive end Antoine Carter plan to wager on who might accumulate the most sacks this season, although they'll probably wait until after Saturday's opener against Louisiana-Monroe to finalize the terms.
Coleman led the Tigers with 8.5 sacks last season, while Carter totaled 1.5 in spot duty as a true freshman. Each is sure to rank among the team's top sack men this year.
"They're probably our two best, so there's a good chance you could see them on the field at the same time during certain situations," said Auburn defensive ends coach Terry Price.
Coleman came into last season as the backup to Quentin Groves and with little hype after a quiet redshirt-freshman season in 2006. That changed in the fourth quarter of last year's season opener. Coleman recovered Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman's fumble after Groves' crushing sack and returned it 34 yards for a win-sealing touchdown.
That play set the tone for Coleman to start eight games in place of the ailing Groves. Coleman finished fourth in the Southeastern Conference with 18.5 tackles for a loss and fifth in sacks (8.5).
Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said Coleman was overlooked by not being named an all-conference performer, but Coleman won't have to worry about anonymity this season. And, true to form, he doesn't plan to back down from the extra attention he likely will receive.
"Even if they're aiming for me, I can still get out there and make plays," he said. "It's no big deal to me. It don't scare me. When you get on the field, you'd better bring it, because I'm coming 110 percent."
The Auburn defensive end typically isn't one to back away from a preseason practice brawl, but he now is trying to keep his temper under control with the season starting Saturday.
Coleman knows the penalties could be harsh if he loses his cool and engages in a fight in an actual game.
"I've just been chilling," Coleman said. "I've got to cool down from that because if I fight Saturday, I'll probably be suspended, and we can't have that. I just have to bite the bullet."
Coleman was involved in two offseason practice scuffles this year that drew media attention: The first was in spring drills with offensive tackle Lee Ziemba and left Coleman with a sprained neck; the other was toward the end of preseason camp with offensive tackle Ryan Pugh.
Blame went around in each case, but Coleman said he plans to turn the other cheek if a similar situation arises in a game -- even if it's out of character for him.
"It's hard for me. That's why I got in so many fights," said Coleman, a junior who turns 22 Monday. "I injured my neck, and any time a hand gets around my facemask or something like that, I just snap. But I learned to control it because the season's starting and we can't have no fights because they need me out there on the field."
Instead, he would like to channel that anger into his on-field performance. Maybe a little healthy competition might help him do that.
The second-team preseason All-SEC honoree joked that he and fellow weakside defensive end Antoine Carter plan to wager on who might accumulate the most sacks this season, although they'll probably wait until after Saturday's opener against Louisiana-Monroe to finalize the terms.
Coleman led the Tigers with 8.5 sacks last season, while Carter totaled 1.5 in spot duty as a true freshman. Each is sure to rank among the team's top sack men this year.
"They're probably our two best, so there's a good chance you could see them on the field at the same time during certain situations," said Auburn defensive ends coach Terry Price.
Coleman came into last season as the backup to Quentin Groves and with little hype after a quiet redshirt-freshman season in 2006. That changed in the fourth quarter of last year's season opener. Coleman recovered Kansas State quarterback Josh Freeman's fumble after Groves' crushing sack and returned it 34 yards for a win-sealing touchdown.
That play set the tone for Coleman to start eight games in place of the ailing Groves. Coleman finished fourth in the Southeastern Conference with 18.5 tackles for a loss and fifth in sacks (8.5).
Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said Coleman was overlooked by not being named an all-conference performer, but Coleman won't have to worry about anonymity this season. And, true to form, he doesn't plan to back down from the extra attention he likely will receive.
"Even if they're aiming for me, I can still get out there and make plays," he said. "It's no big deal to me. It don't scare me. When you get on the field, you'd better bring it, because I'm coming 110 percent."
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Moving on
Since I already got a couple of comments about it this morning, I guess now's as good a time as any to say farewell. Today's my last day covering Auburn. I accepted a job as sports editor of the Athens Banner-Herald and will start there on Friday. I'm a bit nervous about moving into a management position, but it will be beneficial for me professionally and financially. Probably personally, as well, because I felt like I'd been in a bit of a rut lately.
Anyway, thanks to everyone who sent encouraging e-mails and posted comments. The vast majority of folks have been excessively nice to me and I enjoyed interacting with most of you, as well as the kids on the football team. I think they're going to be very good this season.
If you're ever so inclined, you can catch me at the Banner-Herald's Web site in the future. I'm sure I'll be doing some form of a blog at onlineathens.com with general musings. Would love to hear from you.
Thanks again for reading.
dc
Anyway, thanks to everyone who sent encouraging e-mails and posted comments. The vast majority of folks have been excessively nice to me and I enjoyed interacting with most of you, as well as the kids on the football team. I think they're going to be very good this season.
If you're ever so inclined, you can catch me at the Banner-Herald's Web site in the future. I'm sure I'll be doing some form of a blog at onlineathens.com with general musings. Would love to hear from you.
Thanks again for reading.
dc
Wednesday stories
* Lead story on Auburn punter Clinton Durst. (It's split into two pages. If you like it well enough to want to keep reading, there's a next button toward the bottom of the first page. That little blue button seems inconspicuous to me.)
* Seconday story on Auburn's first depth chart.
* Seconday story on Auburn's first depth chart.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Tuesday quickie
Some really interesting depth chart stuff today, leading with the beat writers' conversation with Clinton Durst, who just might be the starting punter Saturday. He literally just started punting a year ago after playing soccer in high school. That's amazing. And he's a fantastic quote. I have a feeling you'll be reading Clinton Durst's thoughts on the quarterback situation, Clinton Durst's thoughts on the freshman defensive backs, Clinton Durst's opinion on whether Paul Rhoads should rock the full beard or the goatee...pretty much whatever subject somebody needs a good quote on, it appears as though Durst might be the man. He apologized as he walked away from the pack, saying he was sorry if he wasn't good enough as an interview. I was thinking, "I don't know how you'll ever be any better."
I'll drop some highlights of that interview later, but I've got to write the story for tomorrow's paper first. Quickly, here are the big things from the first depth chart released today for Tommy Tuberville's presser:
* No change at quarterback, although my personal opinion after listening to Burns and Todd today is that Burns is going to start. Everyone continues to say no decision has been made and I believe that's likely the case. I'm just basing my opinion on body language and the way they're talking about where they are. I might be completely off base.
* Because he is "in the doghouse," Robert Dunn is currently listed as the fourth-string H receiver behind Terrell Zachery, freshman Darvin Adams and Mario Fannin. Dunn is still listed as the starting punt returner. Tuberville said he will play, but he hasn't been consistent enough at receiver lately.
* Raven Gray is going to redshirt. Tuberville said the knee simply hasn't recovered enough.
* I'm betting the same thing is in the works with Chaz Ramsey, although Tuberville didn't go that far. He just said he's still struggling.
* There are eight freshmen listed on the depth chart (Philip Pierre-Louis, Eric Smith, Adams, Derek Winter, Vance Smith, Christian Thompson, D'Antoine Hood and Neiko Thorpe). Nine if you count Harry Adams, who is listed on the second-team kickoff return unit. I'm pretty sure the first eight, plus Jomarcus Savage, will play. Not so sure about Adams.
* Neil Caudle is listed as the No. 3 quarterback. Tuberville said Barrett Trotter has played well, but Neil Caudle has earned the No. 3 spot and that it could change down the road.
* Gabe McKenzie is listed as the backup strongside DE. A.J. Greene is dealing with a hamstring issue, Tuberville said, and Savage is just coming off a shoulder injury, so Gabe's the best backup option for now, apparently.
* Thorpe and Hood are listed as the backup cornerbacks. No surprise there.
* Philip Pierre-Louis is listed as the No. 2 Z receiver and the No. 3 X receiver. Tuberville said Montez Billings is unlikely to play, so if their prediction from Sunday holds up, PPL is probably going to play more at Z Saturday.
* Tristan Davis and Eric Smith are listed as co-No. 3 running backs and Tristan is on the No. 1 kickoff return unit, but we continue to hear that he's struggling with his health. Ben Tate said he's hurting on Sunday and Brad Lester repeated that today. Said he's having serial foot issues -- although he said he doesn't think the current foot problem is the same one that plagued him last year. same foot, different problem, I believe he said. At any rate, Tuberville says he's practicing, but you have to wonder how useful he can be until he gets it together health-wise. Brad, by the way, has shaved his head bald and has a little chin beard thing going. He's a ringer for Chad Johnson right now.
OK, that wasn't quick at all. More later.
I'll drop some highlights of that interview later, but I've got to write the story for tomorrow's paper first. Quickly, here are the big things from the first depth chart released today for Tommy Tuberville's presser:
* No change at quarterback, although my personal opinion after listening to Burns and Todd today is that Burns is going to start. Everyone continues to say no decision has been made and I believe that's likely the case. I'm just basing my opinion on body language and the way they're talking about where they are. I might be completely off base.
* Because he is "in the doghouse," Robert Dunn is currently listed as the fourth-string H receiver behind Terrell Zachery, freshman Darvin Adams and Mario Fannin. Dunn is still listed as the starting punt returner. Tuberville said he will play, but he hasn't been consistent enough at receiver lately.
* Raven Gray is going to redshirt. Tuberville said the knee simply hasn't recovered enough.
* I'm betting the same thing is in the works with Chaz Ramsey, although Tuberville didn't go that far. He just said he's still struggling.
* There are eight freshmen listed on the depth chart (Philip Pierre-Louis, Eric Smith, Adams, Derek Winter, Vance Smith, Christian Thompson, D'Antoine Hood and Neiko Thorpe). Nine if you count Harry Adams, who is listed on the second-team kickoff return unit. I'm pretty sure the first eight, plus Jomarcus Savage, will play. Not so sure about Adams.
* Neil Caudle is listed as the No. 3 quarterback. Tuberville said Barrett Trotter has played well, but Neil Caudle has earned the No. 3 spot and that it could change down the road.
* Gabe McKenzie is listed as the backup strongside DE. A.J. Greene is dealing with a hamstring issue, Tuberville said, and Savage is just coming off a shoulder injury, so Gabe's the best backup option for now, apparently.
* Thorpe and Hood are listed as the backup cornerbacks. No surprise there.
* Philip Pierre-Louis is listed as the No. 2 Z receiver and the No. 3 X receiver. Tuberville said Montez Billings is unlikely to play, so if their prediction from Sunday holds up, PPL is probably going to play more at Z Saturday.
* Tristan Davis and Eric Smith are listed as co-No. 3 running backs and Tristan is on the No. 1 kickoff return unit, but we continue to hear that he's struggling with his health. Ben Tate said he's hurting on Sunday and Brad Lester repeated that today. Said he's having serial foot issues -- although he said he doesn't think the current foot problem is the same one that plagued him last year. same foot, different problem, I believe he said. At any rate, Tuberville says he's practicing, but you have to wonder how useful he can be until he gets it together health-wise. Brad, by the way, has shaved his head bald and has a little chin beard thing going. He's a ringer for Chad Johnson right now.
OK, that wasn't quick at all. More later.
Franklin Q/A from Sunday
I went back and transcribed Tony Franklin's comments to the pack for my story on scripting that's running Tuesday. Figured I might as well post it.
Like I said in that post from yesterday, I found that scripting stuff to be really interesting. I hope it's not so inside-baseball that it comes off as boring. The really technical stuff can be dry reading sometimes, but I think this time it came off all right.
Anyway, here's what he had to say:
Opening statement:
The only news I’ve got is that both of them will play, just like I’ve told you before. As far as who will start, I don’t know. They’re both good. For me, it’s a very unique situation. I’ve never been in it before. I’ve never had anything like it before, to where that you’ve got two quality Division I quarterbacks that are both good leaders, both good players. Neither one of them have wilted under the pressure. They’ve both gotten better. So as of right now, as far as picking one and saying, ‘This guy’s the starter,’ we haven’t done that yet. We’ll have somebody that’ll go out there first on Saturday, but the good thing is we’ve got Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and more time to put into it and see what happens from there.
On whether the starter will be set or whether it might be situational:
It’ll be situational. It could be something dynamic between now and Saturday that one of them emerges and shows some quality or something that we haven’t seen that makes him the guy, then that could be the case, too. But they’re both gonna play. I think that’s the most important thing. It’ll probably be even more important as to who finishes the game rather than who starts the game. That might be the more important thing.
On when he plans to tell the QBs of his decision:
As soon as I know. They know what you know. Today, when they went out there, I didn’t tell which one of them to go first. They do that between themselves. The snaps and how they alternate the snaps, they do that themselves. I just make sure by the end of the week that they’ve all gotten the quality of reps that they have to have. So when I look out there, like on a certain day, and see who goes first for a certain drill, they decide that every day themselves. So far, like I said, it’s been a good problem. And it’s really not a problem. I can find no negatives in it at all. Unless I made it negative, then it can be negative, but I don’t plan on doing that.
On how they might divide snaps Saturday:
I think the flow of the game and you watch them play, that might kinda help determine that. No but I mean I would be surprised if they didn’t play close to the equal amount of time. I think there could be a situation where one of them gets a hot hand and he may stay. But then again, there’ve been days out here where if you watched them where one of them gets a hot hand and the other one comes in and his is hotter. So again, I think they’ve both risen to each other’s level of excellence.
On how he feels about the offense as a whole:
I feel good. It’s impossible every year to tell. You never know. I don’t care where you are. I don’t care where you’re coaching. You never know until you go play other people. You can never tell against your own people how good you’re gonna be. I feel like we’re talented, I feel like we’ve got a lot of guys that can make plays. And it’s just a matter of how they click on Saturday when they go out there and how many plays they make and, like always, not turning the football over. But I feel like we’re talented enough that if we do a good job coaching that we should be really good on offense. I’ll be very disappointed if we’re not.
On his game-planning process for the opener and whether he scripts plays:
Yeah, I script. I’ve got a whole bunch of them right there (sitting next to him). They’re all basically, I usually script like 25 to 30 plays to start a game off with. That doesn’t mean that I stay exactly down it. The situation sometimes will dictate. But I usually try to make sure I get through those by the end of the half. I’d like to be through those and that kinda tells me what I’m gonna do for the rest of the game.
On when he decided the first play of the season:
Actually I haven’t decided yet. I’ve got about three in mind and it’ll depend on – field position could determine one play versus another, how far backed up we are, what hash we’re on. All those types of things could determine one over the other. But I’ve got about three thoughts right now.
On who fills Montez Billings’ spot if he doesn’t play Saturday. Fannin?
No. Probably you would have Carr and Pierre both play. They’ll both kinda share that position. Philip’s kinda going back and forth playing both X and Z, so if Montez can’t go, then he’ll probably get more at Z than he would at X.
Montez before his injury was the No. 2 at X?
Well they were rotating. Both those guys were playing. The way that we play, everybody plays. Hopefully Montez will be back. We’ll see.
Fannin is still rotating in that group?
Yeah, Fannin’s gonna play and he may play a lot of different spots. I think you’ll see him at different places on the field doing different things because he definitely needs the ball. So we’ve got to figure out ways that we can guarantee him touching the ball.
What stands out about Louisiana-Monroe on defense:
Extremely well-coached. We played them two years when I was at Troy and now Kim Dameron left and went to Ole Miss with Houston. But they kept everybody else and they brought in, I know, a guy from Nebraska as the new defensive co-coordinator. I expect their scheme, they’ve been pretty good on defense, so I expect them to be fairly similar. They’re very sound. They play hard, they run hard to the ball, they’re tough and they’re very well-coached. Both years it’s been a struggle. We struggled with them both years at Troy.
On what he’s told the offense about struggling against ULM at Troy:
We’ve talked about playing them. I told them what I expect out of them, that these guys are coming in here and they believe that they’re gonna win. There’s a tremendous amount of pride in that conference right now. I know because I was in that conference and I have a lot of pride and I know what we felt like when we went on the road playing the SEC. We took a tremendous amount of pride in making sure that when we left the field, they knew that they’d been in a game and hopefully you had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. They’ve gone one step further. They’ve won one on the road, so our guys understand that you only get 14 opportunities this year that you’ll get to do this stuff, so to me there’s never any excuse not to be ready to play.
On whether last year’s ULM-Alabama game forces teams to take ULM seriously:
It should. I think for that entire conference, it wakes everybody up. You look around that conference and you look at Florida Atlantic playing South Florida down to the last play at home and beating Minnesota. And Troy, we beat Oklahoma State last year and played the SEC teams fairly tough. So it had better be an eye-opener to them.
On progression of wide receivers as a whole from when he first saw them to now:
From when I first saw them till now is a huge dramatic change in I think probably just doing things the way I want them done. To me, that made ‘em more successful, I mean, the natural maturation process for anybody, maturing and getting better. But I think they’re happy because they know that they’re gonna get the ball and they’re gonna play. A lot of them are gonna play. So I think that’s the biggest thing. Guys like to play and they like to know they’re gonna have the chance to get the ball, so they’re all excited.
Like I said in that post from yesterday, I found that scripting stuff to be really interesting. I hope it's not so inside-baseball that it comes off as boring. The really technical stuff can be dry reading sometimes, but I think this time it came off all right.
Anyway, here's what he had to say:
Opening statement:
The only news I’ve got is that both of them will play, just like I’ve told you before. As far as who will start, I don’t know. They’re both good. For me, it’s a very unique situation. I’ve never been in it before. I’ve never had anything like it before, to where that you’ve got two quality Division I quarterbacks that are both good leaders, both good players. Neither one of them have wilted under the pressure. They’ve both gotten better. So as of right now, as far as picking one and saying, ‘This guy’s the starter,’ we haven’t done that yet. We’ll have somebody that’ll go out there first on Saturday, but the good thing is we’ve got Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and more time to put into it and see what happens from there.
On whether the starter will be set or whether it might be situational:
It’ll be situational. It could be something dynamic between now and Saturday that one of them emerges and shows some quality or something that we haven’t seen that makes him the guy, then that could be the case, too. But they’re both gonna play. I think that’s the most important thing. It’ll probably be even more important as to who finishes the game rather than who starts the game. That might be the more important thing.
On when he plans to tell the QBs of his decision:
As soon as I know. They know what you know. Today, when they went out there, I didn’t tell which one of them to go first. They do that between themselves. The snaps and how they alternate the snaps, they do that themselves. I just make sure by the end of the week that they’ve all gotten the quality of reps that they have to have. So when I look out there, like on a certain day, and see who goes first for a certain drill, they decide that every day themselves. So far, like I said, it’s been a good problem. And it’s really not a problem. I can find no negatives in it at all. Unless I made it negative, then it can be negative, but I don’t plan on doing that.
On how they might divide snaps Saturday:
I think the flow of the game and you watch them play, that might kinda help determine that. No but I mean I would be surprised if they didn’t play close to the equal amount of time. I think there could be a situation where one of them gets a hot hand and he may stay. But then again, there’ve been days out here where if you watched them where one of them gets a hot hand and the other one comes in and his is hotter. So again, I think they’ve both risen to each other’s level of excellence.
On how he feels about the offense as a whole:
I feel good. It’s impossible every year to tell. You never know. I don’t care where you are. I don’t care where you’re coaching. You never know until you go play other people. You can never tell against your own people how good you’re gonna be. I feel like we’re talented, I feel like we’ve got a lot of guys that can make plays. And it’s just a matter of how they click on Saturday when they go out there and how many plays they make and, like always, not turning the football over. But I feel like we’re talented enough that if we do a good job coaching that we should be really good on offense. I’ll be very disappointed if we’re not.
On his game-planning process for the opener and whether he scripts plays:
Yeah, I script. I’ve got a whole bunch of them right there (sitting next to him). They’re all basically, I usually script like 25 to 30 plays to start a game off with. That doesn’t mean that I stay exactly down it. The situation sometimes will dictate. But I usually try to make sure I get through those by the end of the half. I’d like to be through those and that kinda tells me what I’m gonna do for the rest of the game.
On when he decided the first play of the season:
Actually I haven’t decided yet. I’ve got about three in mind and it’ll depend on – field position could determine one play versus another, how far backed up we are, what hash we’re on. All those types of things could determine one over the other. But I’ve got about three thoughts right now.
On who fills Montez Billings’ spot if he doesn’t play Saturday. Fannin?
No. Probably you would have Carr and Pierre both play. They’ll both kinda share that position. Philip’s kinda going back and forth playing both X and Z, so if Montez can’t go, then he’ll probably get more at Z than he would at X.
Montez before his injury was the No. 2 at X?
Well they were rotating. Both those guys were playing. The way that we play, everybody plays. Hopefully Montez will be back. We’ll see.
Fannin is still rotating in that group?
Yeah, Fannin’s gonna play and he may play a lot of different spots. I think you’ll see him at different places on the field doing different things because he definitely needs the ball. So we’ve got to figure out ways that we can guarantee him touching the ball.
What stands out about Louisiana-Monroe on defense:
Extremely well-coached. We played them two years when I was at Troy and now Kim Dameron left and went to Ole Miss with Houston. But they kept everybody else and they brought in, I know, a guy from Nebraska as the new defensive co-coordinator. I expect their scheme, they’ve been pretty good on defense, so I expect them to be fairly similar. They’re very sound. They play hard, they run hard to the ball, they’re tough and they’re very well-coached. Both years it’s been a struggle. We struggled with them both years at Troy.
On what he’s told the offense about struggling against ULM at Troy:
We’ve talked about playing them. I told them what I expect out of them, that these guys are coming in here and they believe that they’re gonna win. There’s a tremendous amount of pride in that conference right now. I know because I was in that conference and I have a lot of pride and I know what we felt like when we went on the road playing the SEC. We took a tremendous amount of pride in making sure that when we left the field, they knew that they’d been in a game and hopefully you had a chance to win in the fourth quarter. They’ve gone one step further. They’ve won one on the road, so our guys understand that you only get 14 opportunities this year that you’ll get to do this stuff, so to me there’s never any excuse not to be ready to play.
On whether last year’s ULM-Alabama game forces teams to take ULM seriously:
It should. I think for that entire conference, it wakes everybody up. You look around that conference and you look at Florida Atlantic playing South Florida down to the last play at home and beating Minnesota. And Troy, we beat Oklahoma State last year and played the SEC teams fairly tough. So it had better be an eye-opener to them.
On progression of wide receivers as a whole from when he first saw them to now:
From when I first saw them till now is a huge dramatic change in I think probably just doing things the way I want them done. To me, that made ‘em more successful, I mean, the natural maturation process for anybody, maturing and getting better. But I think they’re happy because they know that they’re gonna get the ball and they’re gonna play. A lot of them are gonna play. So I think that’s the biggest thing. Guys like to play and they like to know they’re gonna have the chance to get the ball, so they’re all excited.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday notes
Wrote these last night, but lost my internet connection and didn't get it back till now. so here ya go.
Here are some of the highlights from Tommy Tuberville and everyone else's post-practice comments today.
* I listened to Tony Franklin for about 10 minutes. It was the first time he'd spoken with the pack since like Tuesday of the week before last. I'm sure there will be a ton of stories reminding everyone that he still hasn't announced his pick to start the Louisiana-Monroe game. I led my notebook with that nugget, in fact. In this case, the news is that there's no news yet.
While that's one of the things I wrote about for tomorrow, possibly the most interesting thing he talked about, at least for me, was his process for scripting plays. He said he's narrowed his choices to three plays for Auburn's first play on its first drive -- which is of course assuming he's operating under normal circumstances (not first-and-goal at the 1 or something like that). Already has 25 to 30 plays scripted to start out with. I find it fascinating stuff. I think I'm going to write about that for my Tuesday story, since they're off Monday. That's one fun thing about my job is that I get to decide what's interesting and what the 14 people who read my Auburn stories in the CLE have to read about.
Running a close second in what Franklin said this afternoon that I found interesting is this comment, starting with when he'll tell the QBs who's starting:
"As soon as I know. They know what you know. Today, when they went out there, I didn’t tell which one of them to go first. They do that between themselves. The snaps and how they alternate the snaps, they do that themselves. I just make sure by the end of the week that they’ve all gotten the quality of reps that they have to have. So when I look out there, like on a certain day, and see who goes first for a certain drill, they decide that every day themselves. So far, like I said, it’s been a good problem. And it’s really not a problem. I can find no negatives in it at all. Unless I made it negative, then it can be negative, but I don’t plan on doing that."
* Did you know that Louisiana-Monroe had lost 25 straight games against SEC opposition before it beat Alabama last year? Wow. That's got to be a bit embarrassing. I read that little nugget in Auburn's game notes package today.
* WR Montez Billings is doubtful to play Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. Franklin said that means Quindarius Carr and Philip Pierre-Louis probably will get more reps if Billings doesn't go and PPL will probably get more reps at the Z receiver than the X (they're both outside receiver spots. that's all I got), after alternating between the two a lot lately.
* Tuberville said Jomarcus Savage (shoulder) is back at practice and Bart Eddins (shoulder) should be back this week. He said Tristan Davis is back and running at full speed, although Ben Tate said Davis isn't fully healthy. He said he's still limping around.
* Tuberville and Paul Rhoads both said Raven Gray is having a very difficult time getting healthy after knee surgery nine or so months ago. Rhoads said what Gray is going though is pretty common. Tuberville said Gray is “really struggling,” not in the two-deep at DE and is not sure to play this week unless he improves quickly.
* It's not what the reporter was angling for (I think he wanted to know who else would be on the field besides Jerraud Powers and Walt McFadden when Auburn goes to a three-cornerback set), but Rhoads said Powers will be the team's nickelback. I asked him if that's because Powers is a more physical player than the other options. Sounds like it's because of his versatility:
"Jerraud Powers is an extremely intelligent, gifted athletic football player. He’s very mature, he’s a quick study. He allows you to do a lot of things both man and zone for a number of reasons that Jerraud Powers gives us our best nickelback."
* Tuberville said walk-on Justin Albert is back practicing. He said they'll start him out on scout team at running back, but that he might get a look at slot receiver or even cornerback. I know a lot of people thought a lot of him coming out of high school and think he might just turn into the next accomplished AU walk-on.
* Tuberville said Clinton Durst and Wes Byrum won't kick until Thursday to rest their legs. Tuberville said Ryan Shoemaker had been dealing with a hamstring injury, but is now back and will punt some in practice this week to even things out. Tuberville said they'll probably announce a punter by Tuesday at his press conference.
Here are some of the highlights from Tommy Tuberville and everyone else's post-practice comments today.
* I listened to Tony Franklin for about 10 minutes. It was the first time he'd spoken with the pack since like Tuesday of the week before last. I'm sure there will be a ton of stories reminding everyone that he still hasn't announced his pick to start the Louisiana-Monroe game. I led my notebook with that nugget, in fact. In this case, the news is that there's no news yet.
While that's one of the things I wrote about for tomorrow, possibly the most interesting thing he talked about, at least for me, was his process for scripting plays. He said he's narrowed his choices to three plays for Auburn's first play on its first drive -- which is of course assuming he's operating under normal circumstances (not first-and-goal at the 1 or something like that). Already has 25 to 30 plays scripted to start out with. I find it fascinating stuff. I think I'm going to write about that for my Tuesday story, since they're off Monday. That's one fun thing about my job is that I get to decide what's interesting and what the 14 people who read my Auburn stories in the CLE have to read about.
Running a close second in what Franklin said this afternoon that I found interesting is this comment, starting with when he'll tell the QBs who's starting:
"As soon as I know. They know what you know. Today, when they went out there, I didn’t tell which one of them to go first. They do that between themselves. The snaps and how they alternate the snaps, they do that themselves. I just make sure by the end of the week that they’ve all gotten the quality of reps that they have to have. So when I look out there, like on a certain day, and see who goes first for a certain drill, they decide that every day themselves. So far, like I said, it’s been a good problem. And it’s really not a problem. I can find no negatives in it at all. Unless I made it negative, then it can be negative, but I don’t plan on doing that."
* Did you know that Louisiana-Monroe had lost 25 straight games against SEC opposition before it beat Alabama last year? Wow. That's got to be a bit embarrassing. I read that little nugget in Auburn's game notes package today.
* WR Montez Billings is doubtful to play Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. Franklin said that means Quindarius Carr and Philip Pierre-Louis probably will get more reps if Billings doesn't go and PPL will probably get more reps at the Z receiver than the X (they're both outside receiver spots. that's all I got), after alternating between the two a lot lately.
* Tuberville said Jomarcus Savage (shoulder) is back at practice and Bart Eddins (shoulder) should be back this week. He said Tristan Davis is back and running at full speed, although Ben Tate said Davis isn't fully healthy. He said he's still limping around.
* Tuberville and Paul Rhoads both said Raven Gray is having a very difficult time getting healthy after knee surgery nine or so months ago. Rhoads said what Gray is going though is pretty common. Tuberville said Gray is “really struggling,” not in the two-deep at DE and is not sure to play this week unless he improves quickly.
* It's not what the reporter was angling for (I think he wanted to know who else would be on the field besides Jerraud Powers and Walt McFadden when Auburn goes to a three-cornerback set), but Rhoads said Powers will be the team's nickelback. I asked him if that's because Powers is a more physical player than the other options. Sounds like it's because of his versatility:
"Jerraud Powers is an extremely intelligent, gifted athletic football player. He’s very mature, he’s a quick study. He allows you to do a lot of things both man and zone for a number of reasons that Jerraud Powers gives us our best nickelback."
* Tuberville said walk-on Justin Albert is back practicing. He said they'll start him out on scout team at running back, but that he might get a look at slot receiver or even cornerback. I know a lot of people thought a lot of him coming out of high school and think he might just turn into the next accomplished AU walk-on.
* Tuberville said Clinton Durst and Wes Byrum won't kick until Thursday to rest their legs. Tuberville said Ryan Shoemaker had been dealing with a hamstring injury, but is now back and will punt some in practice this week to even things out. Tuberville said they'll probably announce a punter by Tuesday at his press conference.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Monday's stories
* Monday's main story: Auburn's players, coaches shifting focus specifically to La-Monroe. Sen'Derrick Marks says he and most of the other DLs have been watching film of them for months.
* Notebook: If you like overly long notebooks, this is your stop. Covers Tony Franklin talking about the quarterback hunt, Gabe McKenzie finally talking about his move to DE, Montez Billings' injury status for La-Monroe, and other injury updates.
* Notebook: If you like overly long notebooks, this is your stop. Covers Tony Franklin talking about the quarterback hunt, Gabe McKenzie finally talking about his move to DE, Montez Billings' injury status for La-Monroe, and other injury updates.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Bosley on Rimington watch list
No practice update today. Had some crazy house stuff to deal with that kept me from making it to Auburn today. Tommy Tuberville was the only person who was going to be available for post-practice interviews today, anyway. From what I've read and heard from over there this evening, it wasn't the most eventful interview session. Will be back with notes after they finish practice Sunday evening.
On a separate note, Auburn senior Jason Bosley has been placed on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy -- which is given annually to the nation's top center. Bosley is one of five SEC players on the list, one of whom is last year's winner, Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs. No player has ever been a repeat winner of the award.
Jason Bosley, Auburn
Antoine Caldwell, Alabama
Brett Helms, LSU
Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas
Josh McNeil, Tennessee
On a separate note, Auburn senior Jason Bosley has been placed on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy -- which is given annually to the nation's top center. Bosley is one of five SEC players on the list, one of whom is last year's winner, Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs. No player has ever been a repeat winner of the award.
Jason Bosley, Auburn
Antoine Caldwell, Alabama
Brett Helms, LSU
Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas
Josh McNeil, Tennessee
Local Auburn club's kickoff meeting
If you're the meeting-attending type, the Columbus-Phenix City Auburn Club will hold its annual kickoff meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26 at the Country Club of Columbus. Social time starts at 6:30 p.m. and dinner at 7.
The guest speaker will be Phillip Marshall, the senior writer for the best ESPN-affiliated Auburn Web site out there, Auburnundercover.com.
Dress is business casual, which means no jeans or shorts, and especially no jean shorts. Cost is $20 for club members, $35 for non-members and $15 for children 12 and under. For more information e-mail Jana Tarleton at jhtarleton@bellsouth.net or call her at 706-576-5850.
The guest speaker will be Phillip Marshall, the senior writer for the best ESPN-affiliated Auburn Web site out there, Auburnundercover.com.
Dress is business casual, which means no jeans or shorts, and especially no jean shorts. Cost is $20 for club members, $35 for non-members and $15 for children 12 and under. For more information e-mail Jana Tarleton at jhtarleton@bellsouth.net or call her at 706-576-5850.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A-Day 2009
In case you want to start making your tailgating plans now, Auburn SID Kirk Sampson informed the beat writers that Auburn's spring game will be held on March 28 next year. So mark your calendars.
Nice story + injury notes
I can't say anything terribly earth-shattering came out of today's post-practice interviews. You know what the neatest thing I heard today was?
I asked Antonio Coleman if he had any big plans for the team's day off on Saturday. I figured I'd get a little quote on taking it easy on the day off to do a note on that in a story tomorrow. But he said he's planning to go with the freshmen (who unlike the veterans will be required to go) to visit kids at Opelika's Storybook Farm. He doesn't have to do it. He said he just wants to and enjoys it. I thought that was something. You know what I do on my days off? Not a damn thing.
Here's the description of Storybook Farm from its Web site: "Storybook Farm, Inc. is an equestrian-based program offering free therapeutic care to children with chronic or terminal illnesses, disabilities and those learning to live with a loss."
That's a good thing the kids from Auburn do in going over there to visit those kids. Good for them.
* Tuberville said Tristan Davis again did not practice, but Brad Lester did.
* DL coach Don Dunn said Zach Clayton has a sprained neck, but he doesn't expect it to keep him out for an especially long period. He said he hopes Clayton will be back by the first game.
* Dunn said Jake Ricks is back practicing and had a great day today.
* WR coach Greg Knox said Mario Fannin's hamstring and shoulder are pretty much healed and he's back practicing and moving around well.
* Tuberville said Jomarcus Savage and Bart Eddins should be back to work shortly. Both ran on the side today, he said.
* Tuberville said he will host the seniors at his house tonight to talk about their time at Auburn and what they're expecting for the year. He said they'll eat steaks that he estimated to be about 2 inches thick. Said it would give them a chance to vent a little bit.
I asked Antonio Coleman if he had any big plans for the team's day off on Saturday. I figured I'd get a little quote on taking it easy on the day off to do a note on that in a story tomorrow. But he said he's planning to go with the freshmen (who unlike the veterans will be required to go) to visit kids at Opelika's Storybook Farm. He doesn't have to do it. He said he just wants to and enjoys it. I thought that was something. You know what I do on my days off? Not a damn thing.
Here's the description of Storybook Farm from its Web site: "Storybook Farm, Inc. is an equestrian-based program offering free therapeutic care to children with chronic or terminal illnesses, disabilities and those learning to live with a loss."
That's a good thing the kids from Auburn do in going over there to visit those kids. Good for them.
* Tuberville said Tristan Davis again did not practice, but Brad Lester did.
* DL coach Don Dunn said Zach Clayton has a sprained neck, but he doesn't expect it to keep him out for an especially long period. He said he hopes Clayton will be back by the first game.
* Dunn said Jake Ricks is back practicing and had a great day today.
* WR coach Greg Knox said Mario Fannin's hamstring and shoulder are pretty much healed and he's back practicing and moving around well.
* Tuberville said Jomarcus Savage and Bart Eddins should be back to work shortly. Both ran on the side today, he said.
* Tuberville said he will host the seniors at his house tonight to talk about their time at Auburn and what they're expecting for the year. He said they'll eat steaks that he estimated to be about 2 inches thick. Said it would give them a chance to vent a little bit.
Auburn No. 9 in FWAA poll
Auburn came in at No. 9 in the Football Writers Association's Grantland Rice Super 16. The Tigers even got one first-place vote.
USC earned the top spot, just ahead of Georgia. Both teams received five first-place votes.
For the entire list, go here.
USC earned the top spot, just ahead of Georgia. Both teams received five first-place votes.
For the entire list, go here.
Tuberville Wednesday notes
Talked to or listened to a ton of folks today, including Tommy Tuberville, Eddie Gran, James Willis, Terrell Zachary, Robert Dunn, Chris Slaughter and Michael Goggans. Got some good stuff from those guys that I'll be including in notebooks over the next couple of days, but I'm just going to post some highlights from Tuberville's post-practice comments today and some quotes from him. It's late and they're practicing in the morning.
Highlights:
* He said they're still not ready to name a starting quarterback, that Kodi Burns and Chris Todd are still splitting practice reps 50-50 and that he still expects both to play. Whether they've made their decision, he's not ready to let on just yet: "This time of year, the first and second quarterback get the same amount of reps. Now when we start practicing, I would imagine after the first game we’ll cut back a little bit. But right now we’re still trying to pick the right one." The quarterbacks were unavailable to reporters today and have been since Sunday. So were Tony Franklin and Paul Rhoads. I think they were last available about a week ago.
* He said Brad Lester practiced Wednesday. Tristan Davis did not. Previously Tuberville said it was a foot problem that was bothering Davis. Today he said it was hamstring. Neither player has been available for post-practice interviews for a week or so. Tuberville said Davis could play if he had to, but they're being cautious with him.
* Sen'Derrick Marks is apparently feeling better after being slowed by some undisclosed injury last week. He was also unavailable today: "He didn’t look hurt today. He was a beast out there today. I think he strained the back of his calf last week."
* Craig Stevens didn't practice today. Tuberville thought he had some sort of toe injury. He thought Stevens might be back at practice Thursday. Stevens was unavailable after practice today.
* Tuberville was complimentary of the way Gabe McKenzie has taken to his new position, defensive end. McKenzie was unavailable after practice today: "He’s done well. Gabe is very attentive. Everything he does he’s full-speed. I’m proud of him just wanting to play, wanting to make a decision on going and being on the field. This offense, he woulda played some, but he was kinda seeing the rotation and kinda feeling that I’d like to do a little bit more, being a junior. I like his acceleration off the ball. He’s very coachable. And if he keeps practicing the way he’s practicing, he’ll play in the first game at defensive end."
* Tuberville said they hadn't received word from the NCAA Clearinghouse on Reggie Hunt's eligibility. We discovered later that Hunt had been ruled ineligible and he confirmed it to Auburnsports.com. He plans to attend junior college in Mississippi.
* Tuberville on Slaughter: "I think the light’s come on for him. You just hope it keeps staying on. Some guys sometimes lock up on you. Last year I thought midseason he kind of went downhill a little bit, but right now he’s practiced well. Every time we’ve practiced, he’s come out and it’s looked like he’s been on a mission, which has been good."
* Tuberville on whether they'd consider redshirting Raven Gray if his injured knee doesn't improve more: "A lot of it will depend on what he does in the next three or four weeks. A.J. Greene’s playing better, so with Gabe, that gives them five over there that we feel pretty good about. The first couple weeks, Raven looked real good and then he kinda went downhill because he started losing strength because he hadn’t been going that much. If he regains it, we won’t redshirt him, we’ll play him. He’s pretty good in certain situations. He’ll probably be a situation guy for a while. But no, we wouldn’t redshirt him – he’s just got to make a little bit of recovery."
* Tuberville said no players are academically ineligible.
* He was asked about whether he thought freshman receivers like Derek Winter and Darvin Adams will play. Winter, Adams and all other true freshmen are off limits until after the first game: "We talked about that today, about receivers. I don’t want to play one of those guys three or four plays and wish we hadn’t done it. So we’re gonna do long, hard thoughts, probably Saturday, Sunday morning before we start practice again Sunday afternoon. But they’re doing good. I imagine at least one of those will play. Maybe two."
* Just to add it in, Eddie Gran said he considers Brad Lester his starter, although the first play and personnel grouping could call for Ben Tate to be in the game to start out. It depends on what the playcall is, he said.
* Gran also said "there's no question" Eric Smith appears in line for playing time this season.
* He also said Wes Byrum seems to be the top choice as the kickoff man for now, but he'd like to work Morgan Hull into the job as the year goes along in order to keep Byrum's leg fresh.
Highlights:
* He said they're still not ready to name a starting quarterback, that Kodi Burns and Chris Todd are still splitting practice reps 50-50 and that he still expects both to play. Whether they've made their decision, he's not ready to let on just yet: "This time of year, the first and second quarterback get the same amount of reps. Now when we start practicing, I would imagine after the first game we’ll cut back a little bit. But right now we’re still trying to pick the right one." The quarterbacks were unavailable to reporters today and have been since Sunday. So were Tony Franklin and Paul Rhoads. I think they were last available about a week ago.
* He said Brad Lester practiced Wednesday. Tristan Davis did not. Previously Tuberville said it was a foot problem that was bothering Davis. Today he said it was hamstring. Neither player has been available for post-practice interviews for a week or so. Tuberville said Davis could play if he had to, but they're being cautious with him.
* Sen'Derrick Marks is apparently feeling better after being slowed by some undisclosed injury last week. He was also unavailable today: "He didn’t look hurt today. He was a beast out there today. I think he strained the back of his calf last week."
* Craig Stevens didn't practice today. Tuberville thought he had some sort of toe injury. He thought Stevens might be back at practice Thursday. Stevens was unavailable after practice today.
* Tuberville was complimentary of the way Gabe McKenzie has taken to his new position, defensive end. McKenzie was unavailable after practice today: "He’s done well. Gabe is very attentive. Everything he does he’s full-speed. I’m proud of him just wanting to play, wanting to make a decision on going and being on the field. This offense, he woulda played some, but he was kinda seeing the rotation and kinda feeling that I’d like to do a little bit more, being a junior. I like his acceleration off the ball. He’s very coachable. And if he keeps practicing the way he’s practicing, he’ll play in the first game at defensive end."
* Tuberville said they hadn't received word from the NCAA Clearinghouse on Reggie Hunt's eligibility. We discovered later that Hunt had been ruled ineligible and he confirmed it to Auburnsports.com. He plans to attend junior college in Mississippi.
* Tuberville on Slaughter: "I think the light’s come on for him. You just hope it keeps staying on. Some guys sometimes lock up on you. Last year I thought midseason he kind of went downhill a little bit, but right now he’s practiced well. Every time we’ve practiced, he’s come out and it’s looked like he’s been on a mission, which has been good."
* Tuberville on whether they'd consider redshirting Raven Gray if his injured knee doesn't improve more: "A lot of it will depend on what he does in the next three or four weeks. A.J. Greene’s playing better, so with Gabe, that gives them five over there that we feel pretty good about. The first couple weeks, Raven looked real good and then he kinda went downhill because he started losing strength because he hadn’t been going that much. If he regains it, we won’t redshirt him, we’ll play him. He’s pretty good in certain situations. He’ll probably be a situation guy for a while. But no, we wouldn’t redshirt him – he’s just got to make a little bit of recovery."
* Tuberville said no players are academically ineligible.
* He was asked about whether he thought freshman receivers like Derek Winter and Darvin Adams will play. Winter, Adams and all other true freshmen are off limits until after the first game: "We talked about that today, about receivers. I don’t want to play one of those guys three or four plays and wish we hadn’t done it. So we’re gonna do long, hard thoughts, probably Saturday, Sunday morning before we start practice again Sunday afternoon. But they’re doing good. I imagine at least one of those will play. Maybe two."
* Just to add it in, Eddie Gran said he considers Brad Lester his starter, although the first play and personnel grouping could call for Ben Tate to be in the game to start out. It depends on what the playcall is, he said.
* Gran also said "there's no question" Eric Smith appears in line for playing time this season.
* He also said Wes Byrum seems to be the top choice as the kickoff man for now, but he'd like to work Morgan Hull into the job as the year goes along in order to keep Byrum's leg fresh.
Thursday stories
* Auburn defensive backs story -- Continuing the position-by-position breakdown. Wide receivers coming Friday.
* Notebook -- Quarterback stuff, Reggie Hunt, Michael Goggans on Gabe McKenzie, Injuries, other stuff
* Notebook -- Quarterback stuff, Reggie Hunt, Michael Goggans on Gabe McKenzie, Injuries, other stuff
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Hunt fails to qualify
Word came down from the NCAA Clearinghouse that Reggie Hunt has failed to qualify. He plans to enroll at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson, Miss., and redshirt this season. He'll play next year and have three years of eligibility remaining when he signs with somebody in 2010.
Hunt spoke with Bryan Matthews from Auburnsports.com if you want the whole story.
Hunt spoke with Bryan Matthews from Auburnsports.com if you want the whole story.
Auburn hosting Samford in 2011
I wasn't aware of this until another writer mentioned this a few minutes ago, but Samford announced today it will play Auburn in 2011 and Florida State in 2010.
You might recall that former Auburn quarterback and coach Pat Sullivan -- the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner -- is the head coach at Samford. According to the release, it will be the first time he coaches against Auburn. I thought he'd coached against Auburn while at UAB, but I guess that's not the case.
The FSU matchup will have some interesting angles, too, since Bobby Bowden went to school there (you think he'll still be the coach there in 2010?) and coached there, as did his successor-in-waiting, Jimbo Fisher.
Anyway, here's the link.
You might recall that former Auburn quarterback and coach Pat Sullivan -- the 1971 Heisman Trophy winner -- is the head coach at Samford. According to the release, it will be the first time he coaches against Auburn. I thought he'd coached against Auburn while at UAB, but I guess that's not the case.
The FSU matchup will have some interesting angles, too, since Bobby Bowden went to school there (you think he'll still be the coach there in 2010?) and coached there, as did his successor-in-waiting, Jimbo Fisher.
Anyway, here's the link.
Wednesday stories
* Offensive line preview (Third part in a position-by-position breakdown. Already covered defensive line and linebackers. Defensive backs tomorrow)
* Gabe McKenzie's move to defense.
* Notebook. Injury updates on Ricks, Savage. Some other stuff.
* Gabe McKenzie's move to defense.
* Notebook. Injury updates on Ricks, Savage. Some other stuff.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Tuesday quotes
Listened to Auburn coaches Tommy Tuberville, Terry Price and Steve Ensminger today. The two assistants were particularly timely since they're the position coaches at each of Gabe McKenzie's positions -- tight end/inside receiver (Ensminger) and defensive end (Price). They assured us that Gabe will still play some offense after switching to defensive end today. That seems to be a difficult proposition, but more power to him if he can pull it off.
First, I'll post some notes from Tuberville's comments and then drop some quotes from that trio -- some of which I used in my stories for Wednesday, some of which I didn't -- below the notes.
Notes:
* Still no word on Reggie Hunt as of this morning.
* Brad Lester (ankle) and Tristan Davis (foot) still did not practice. Tuberville said they would wait until they're 100 percent. He said Davis is about 75.
* Jake Ricks (knee bruise) is apparently OK. Truthfully, I didn't know until Tuberville said he was relieved Jake wasn't seriously injured that he was injured at all. Said he did some jogging on the side today and should be back practicing shortly.
* Jomarcus Savage (shoulder) should be back soon as well. Tuberville predicted he and Ricks will probably do conditioning stuff all week and then come back next week to start game prep. Tubs said the plan is to play Savage if he can stay healthy.
* Bart Eddins (shoulder) may or may not play in the first game, he said. He said Eddins' shoulder is still sore and regaining its strength and he won't go until he's 100 percent.
* He said they're still undecided on redshirting a handful of freshmen. The names he mentioned were Harry Adams, Spencer Pybus, Darvin Adams and Barrett Trotter, adding, "you can pretty much name most of them yourselves." He said Gabe switching to defense might mean freshman Vance Smith has a better chance to play this year.
* Darrell Roseman is also playing some offensive line, although he's not especially healthy yet.
So here are some of the highlights of what they had to say...
Tubs on what they accomplished this morning:
"We divided up some. Not a whole lot. Everybody didn’t go to scout teams today. We still wanted to look at a few guys that might not go to scout team, but it was a good start to game preparation. We spent probably half of practice working on the Warhawks and the other we’re still working on the fundamentals. A lot of guys still need fundamentals and we’re not gonna stop that – we don’t stop that all year. And we always spend on Tuesday about 20, 25 minutes a day working against each other, ones versus ones, ones versus twos, and then we got into game preparation of special teams, working at what we think they might do on special teams and putting a few new things in that we haven’t done in the first few weeks."
Tuberville on Gabe McKenzie's decision to play defense:
"He kinda saw that the line was pretty long there with Tommy doing so well. But he catches the ball and has done better. He will also play tight end, but with Raven Gray slowed a little bit with his injury, who will eventually be a good football player for us, Gabe thought that he might be able to get some snaps on the defensive side. Today was his first time in full pads. He did very good, he’s just got a lot to learn. But I think as the year goes on, he could really give us a lot of help there. He’s very athletic and he was a very good defensive player in high school. But this situation that we’ve got right now, he sees that if he wants to be on the field more, he might have to get some reps at defensive end. The defensive end position we’re playing him at is the tight end side where you’ve got to be physical, and that’s right up his alley."
Tuberville on McKenzie's immediate prospects at DE:
"I’m not saying he’s gonna play 30, 40 snaps in the first game, but I would see him possibly getting in the game quite a bit. But this week would be the telling tale. He’ll have to show us something this week because of all the fundamentals that we’ll do and not do next week. We’re gonna be just kind of in a game mode next week."
Tuberville on how this helps Gabe, more on his decision:
"You don’t tell anybody where to play. That’s kind of our deal. We kinda let them see it. Gabe last year, he played, I’m gonna guess on average maybe 20 plays a game. He wants to be out there more. He’s very enthusiastic about football. He loves football. So I think this is a great move for him. I think it gives him a chance to have an opportunity at both after next year. He’s a junior and one more year will give him a chance to get a look at the next level at both of them."
Ensminger on moving McKenzie to defense:
"We kinda discussed it and felt like he could give some depth on defense over there, so he’s gonna spend some time over there and if he can help the team, then it’ll be good. But he’ll still get some offensive reps. He’s gonna get some offensive reps. We need him on the other side of the football. He understands it. So right now he probably needs to spend this whole week over there learning their system and all that. But he’ll still get his plays in on offense."
Ensminger on how defensive coaches seem to have had their eyes on McKenzie for a while:
"They see him out there running and everything else with a big body and say, ‘Hey, he can play defensive end.’ I guess during the course of the years, we’ve had enough depth at defensive end that we felt pretty comfortable. Right now, we’ve had some people banged up, I guess, and the depth’s a little short there, so he kinda wanted to do it. And if it’ll help the team, I’m for it."
Ensminger on how Terrell Zachary has looked in camp:
"Really good. For a player that has had some ups and downs here at Auburn with his academics or whatever, trying to get on the field, (he’s a) very responsible young man. He’s done everything I’ve asked him to do, has worked his tail off. Like I said, he’s probably – at my position, I know – the most improved player since last January to now that I have."
Price on what he knew about McKenzie before Tuesday:
"Tight ends and defensive ends do a lot of competition against each other every single day in practice so obviously you know about him, know about his ability. I guess that’s something he wanted to do and obviously I welcome that with open arms. We’re gonna work with him the best we can and see if we can get him ready to play defensive end in the SEC."
Price on how quickly McKenzie will contribute:
"It just depends on how fast he develops. It’s hard to tell after one day, but obviously he has athletic ability, he has toughness, he runs well and now it’s a matter of learning the defense and learning the techniques it takes to play out there."
Price on the versatility it takes for McKenzie to do both:
"There’s a lot of guys on both sides of the ball that can switch sides at any time because of their ability. Obviously we worked with the guys we had and it’s kind of a situation where he kinda in his mind made his mind up that he wanted to come over there and play defense. Obviously when he did decide to do that, we took him with open arms and we’ll put him to work every single day and see what he can do."
Price on whether it's easier to play strongside DE (where McKenzie is playing) or weakside:
"From a learning point of view, it’s a little bit easier because, again, you don’t have to worry about dropping into coverage and doing some of the things you have to do in a 3-4.
(Strongside is) a little less challenging as far as that part’s concerned, so he won’t have to learn the coverages and won’t have to learn how to drop on receivers and running backs and tight ends and all those things. But he’ll still have to learn where to go and where to line up and how to get everything going."
Price on the good news that Jomarcus Savage would be back shortly:
"Very, very, very encouraging. A young player like that needs to be out there every single day. Anytime you hurt a shoulder, you never know how bad it is – whether it’s a few days out, a year out, surgery, whatever it is, you just never know. So it’s very, very good to hear that he won’t have to have any kind of major surgery right now. I think he’s gonna be fine. He’s gonna work hard, rehab and get out there as soon as he can."
Price on the depth chart at strongside DE:
"That situation is really in flux right now. We’ve got Mike Goggans that I think is established right now as the starter at that position. Right now we’re still trying to figure out who’s behind at that position right now. He was doing well before he got hurt, so we’ll have to get him healthy and get all our guys on the field and kinda evaluate them and see where they sit."
Price on Raven Gray:
"He’s pushing through everything right now and working as hard as he can and trying to do the best he can on the football field to help himself on the depth chart. That’s kinda where it is."
First, I'll post some notes from Tuberville's comments and then drop some quotes from that trio -- some of which I used in my stories for Wednesday, some of which I didn't -- below the notes.
Notes:
* Still no word on Reggie Hunt as of this morning.
* Brad Lester (ankle) and Tristan Davis (foot) still did not practice. Tuberville said they would wait until they're 100 percent. He said Davis is about 75.
* Jake Ricks (knee bruise) is apparently OK. Truthfully, I didn't know until Tuberville said he was relieved Jake wasn't seriously injured that he was injured at all. Said he did some jogging on the side today and should be back practicing shortly.
* Jomarcus Savage (shoulder) should be back soon as well. Tuberville predicted he and Ricks will probably do conditioning stuff all week and then come back next week to start game prep. Tubs said the plan is to play Savage if he can stay healthy.
* Bart Eddins (shoulder) may or may not play in the first game, he said. He said Eddins' shoulder is still sore and regaining its strength and he won't go until he's 100 percent.
* He said they're still undecided on redshirting a handful of freshmen. The names he mentioned were Harry Adams, Spencer Pybus, Darvin Adams and Barrett Trotter, adding, "you can pretty much name most of them yourselves." He said Gabe switching to defense might mean freshman Vance Smith has a better chance to play this year.
* Darrell Roseman is also playing some offensive line, although he's not especially healthy yet.
So here are some of the highlights of what they had to say...
Tubs on what they accomplished this morning:
"We divided up some. Not a whole lot. Everybody didn’t go to scout teams today. We still wanted to look at a few guys that might not go to scout team, but it was a good start to game preparation. We spent probably half of practice working on the Warhawks and the other we’re still working on the fundamentals. A lot of guys still need fundamentals and we’re not gonna stop that – we don’t stop that all year. And we always spend on Tuesday about 20, 25 minutes a day working against each other, ones versus ones, ones versus twos, and then we got into game preparation of special teams, working at what we think they might do on special teams and putting a few new things in that we haven’t done in the first few weeks."
Tuberville on Gabe McKenzie's decision to play defense:
"He kinda saw that the line was pretty long there with Tommy doing so well. But he catches the ball and has done better. He will also play tight end, but with Raven Gray slowed a little bit with his injury, who will eventually be a good football player for us, Gabe thought that he might be able to get some snaps on the defensive side. Today was his first time in full pads. He did very good, he’s just got a lot to learn. But I think as the year goes on, he could really give us a lot of help there. He’s very athletic and he was a very good defensive player in high school. But this situation that we’ve got right now, he sees that if he wants to be on the field more, he might have to get some reps at defensive end. The defensive end position we’re playing him at is the tight end side where you’ve got to be physical, and that’s right up his alley."
Tuberville on McKenzie's immediate prospects at DE:
"I’m not saying he’s gonna play 30, 40 snaps in the first game, but I would see him possibly getting in the game quite a bit. But this week would be the telling tale. He’ll have to show us something this week because of all the fundamentals that we’ll do and not do next week. We’re gonna be just kind of in a game mode next week."
Tuberville on how this helps Gabe, more on his decision:
"You don’t tell anybody where to play. That’s kind of our deal. We kinda let them see it. Gabe last year, he played, I’m gonna guess on average maybe 20 plays a game. He wants to be out there more. He’s very enthusiastic about football. He loves football. So I think this is a great move for him. I think it gives him a chance to have an opportunity at both after next year. He’s a junior and one more year will give him a chance to get a look at the next level at both of them."
Ensminger on moving McKenzie to defense:
"We kinda discussed it and felt like he could give some depth on defense over there, so he’s gonna spend some time over there and if he can help the team, then it’ll be good. But he’ll still get some offensive reps. He’s gonna get some offensive reps. We need him on the other side of the football. He understands it. So right now he probably needs to spend this whole week over there learning their system and all that. But he’ll still get his plays in on offense."
Ensminger on how defensive coaches seem to have had their eyes on McKenzie for a while:
"They see him out there running and everything else with a big body and say, ‘Hey, he can play defensive end.’ I guess during the course of the years, we’ve had enough depth at defensive end that we felt pretty comfortable. Right now, we’ve had some people banged up, I guess, and the depth’s a little short there, so he kinda wanted to do it. And if it’ll help the team, I’m for it."
Ensminger on how Terrell Zachary has looked in camp:
"Really good. For a player that has had some ups and downs here at Auburn with his academics or whatever, trying to get on the field, (he’s a) very responsible young man. He’s done everything I’ve asked him to do, has worked his tail off. Like I said, he’s probably – at my position, I know – the most improved player since last January to now that I have."
Price on what he knew about McKenzie before Tuesday:
"Tight ends and defensive ends do a lot of competition against each other every single day in practice so obviously you know about him, know about his ability. I guess that’s something he wanted to do and obviously I welcome that with open arms. We’re gonna work with him the best we can and see if we can get him ready to play defensive end in the SEC."
Price on how quickly McKenzie will contribute:
"It just depends on how fast he develops. It’s hard to tell after one day, but obviously he has athletic ability, he has toughness, he runs well and now it’s a matter of learning the defense and learning the techniques it takes to play out there."
Price on the versatility it takes for McKenzie to do both:
"There’s a lot of guys on both sides of the ball that can switch sides at any time because of their ability. Obviously we worked with the guys we had and it’s kind of a situation where he kinda in his mind made his mind up that he wanted to come over there and play defense. Obviously when he did decide to do that, we took him with open arms and we’ll put him to work every single day and see what he can do."
Price on whether it's easier to play strongside DE (where McKenzie is playing) or weakside:
"From a learning point of view, it’s a little bit easier because, again, you don’t have to worry about dropping into coverage and doing some of the things you have to do in a 3-4.
(Strongside is) a little less challenging as far as that part’s concerned, so he won’t have to learn the coverages and won’t have to learn how to drop on receivers and running backs and tight ends and all those things. But he’ll still have to learn where to go and where to line up and how to get everything going."
Price on the good news that Jomarcus Savage would be back shortly:
"Very, very, very encouraging. A young player like that needs to be out there every single day. Anytime you hurt a shoulder, you never know how bad it is – whether it’s a few days out, a year out, surgery, whatever it is, you just never know. So it’s very, very good to hear that he won’t have to have any kind of major surgery right now. I think he’s gonna be fine. He’s gonna work hard, rehab and get out there as soon as he can."
Price on the depth chart at strongside DE:
"That situation is really in flux right now. We’ve got Mike Goggans that I think is established right now as the starter at that position. Right now we’re still trying to figure out who’s behind at that position right now. He was doing well before he got hurt, so we’ll have to get him healthy and get all our guys on the field and kinda evaluate them and see where they sit."
Price on Raven Gray:
"He’s pushing through everything right now and working as hard as he can and trying to do the best he can on the football field to help himself on the depth chart. That’s kinda where it is."
My connection to the crazy AP voter
One of the other writers was talking on Sunday about one of the crazier ballots in the Associated Press preseason poll. Didn't rank Auburn, Tennessee, West Virginia, Illinois or Kansas, yet ranked Alabama and Notre Dame and had Cal at No. 6. Turns out I went to high school with the guy at St. Paul's in Mobile. His name's Taylor Zarzour and he's on the radio in North Carolina now. I think we actually worked on the high school paper together many years ago and from what I remember, he was a pretty good guy.
Yeah I think his ballot's kind of out of left field, but I came across a Web site that asked him to explain it and his response seemed pretty reasonable (basically, he picked teams based on what he thinks the outcome of their season will be, not where they stand going in). I think he's wrong, but he's as entitled to his opinion as I am to mine. I trust that once the games start, he'll rank the teams where they deserve to be ranked. This controversy is yet another reason why I hate preseason polls. They serve absolutely no useful purpose other than water-cooler conversation.
Yeah I think his ballot's kind of out of left field, but I came across a Web site that asked him to explain it and his response seemed pretty reasonable (basically, he picked teams based on what he thinks the outcome of their season will be, not where they stand going in). I think he's wrong, but he's as entitled to his opinion as I am to mine. I trust that once the games start, he'll rank the teams where they deserve to be ranked. This controversy is yet another reason why I hate preseason polls. They serve absolutely no useful purpose other than water-cooler conversation.
McKenzie to DE
Gabe McKenzie has moved from tight end to defensive end. Tommy Tuberville, DEs coach Terry Price and inside WR (TE) coach Steve Ensminger talked to reporters about it after practice. McKenzie was requested, but was not made available.
Darrell Roseman has also apparently moved over to offense.
I'm going back to Columbus to write, so I'll have more on that later.
Darrell Roseman has also apparently moved over to offense.
I'm going back to Columbus to write, so I'll have more on that later.
Auburn adds commit No. 23
I've been away from my computer ALL DAY and it's been every bit as pleasant as I'd thought it could be. While I was away from home and my laptop, Auburn was adding another commitment to its 2009 class.
Atlanta (Douglass High) linebacker Jonathan Atchison is now commitment No. 23. Rivals.com gives him a three-star grade and rates him as the nation's No. 59 outside linebacker. Scout also gives him a three-star grade and rates him as the No. 18 strongside linebacker.
Atchison had a whole buncha offers from mid-level and sometimes pretty darn large programs, including Alabama, LSU, West Virginia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Purdue, Louisville, Maryland and others.
Atlanta (Douglass High) linebacker Jonathan Atchison is now commitment No. 23. Rivals.com gives him a three-star grade and rates him as the nation's No. 59 outside linebacker. Scout also gives him a three-star grade and rates him as the No. 18 strongside linebacker.
Atchison had a whole buncha offers from mid-level and sometimes pretty darn large programs, including Alabama, LSU, West Virginia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Purdue, Louisville, Maryland and others.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tuberville Sunday highlights
Here's the first part of what Tommy Tuberville had to say, followed by some highlights from the other questions and answers after his opening statement.
We didn’t perform real good in most of our scrimmage yesterday. We kinda ran out of gas. We lost our concentration, we made a lot of mental mistakes. I figured that before we watched the film, but I wanted to wait and see. Effort look like we tried to be good. It looked like we were running with leg weights on, but there were some good things. We made some plays.
I thought defensively we stepped up about the middle of practice. We played well on defense and then we just lost our concentration and guys kinda, we went through wrong gaps, we didn’t use our hands, we didn’t get off blocks and we didn’t tackle well. We’ve gotta get a lot better on defense. Actually the bright spot, I thought, was our defensive backs. I thought they covered well, broke on the ball. Mike Slade, probably the best scrimmage he’s had, really played well. Really proud of him. D’Antoine Hood stepped up and looked like he’d been out there for a while and even Neiko Thorpe, both those guys are really making some progress. Harry Adams, hit and miss, a little bit. He will play, and made an interception, but technique-wise he’s got a ways to go. But I like his effort. Our front and our linebackers, we didn’t play near as well as we did the week before.
Offensively, I thought we made some plays. Guys catching the ball and getting 10 to 15 yards down the field. We’re learning to run north and south after the catch. Our offensive line came off the ball well for about the first 25, 30 plays and after that we didn’t do very well. We lost our concentration, we missed blocks and defense threw a couple more different blitzes at them that I thought they adjusted well, but it took a while. We’re gonna have to do a little bit better, offensive line, to make adjustments and be able to figure things out a bit quicker. Both quarterbacks did well. We threw the long ball pretty good, a little bit better than we have. Threw some good corner routes. I thought we caught the ball better other than a couple guys. We had about five drops early on crucial down-and-distance situations that could have been a lot better. We’ve got to catch the ball a lot more consistently.
Kicking game was a little sporadic in terms of punting. Both punters I thought did a good job after they got the jitters. It looks like sometimes we go in that stadium and we look real good out here in all areas and then we go in the stadium and change our tempo for some reason. We tighten up, so we’ve gotta get out of that scenario.
(Jomarcus) Savage will have an MRI tomorrow. His shoulder is a little sore, but they’ll check it and a couple more guys that they’ll look at. But really nothing that we’re concerned about other than Savage. But today we did a lot of team stuff full-speed except for tackling. I thought we got better. We came back in the right frame of mind. Guys did a good job of working on their mistakes that they made. That’s really the last time that we’ll go against each other in practice that much for a while. Tuesday we’ll start in the morning about 9:30 and start scout teaming and start working a little bit more on situation stuff and won’t work against each other as much.
Other Tuberville highlights:
* He said they should make decisions on who will or won’t play tomorrow.
* Chaz Ramsey attended practice today, but isn’t ready to practice yet. They aren’t expecting him back especially soon. Same with Andre Wadley today.
* He said Brad Lester and Tristan Davis will be back at practice Tuesday.
* Mario Fannin practiced full-speed today.
* Tuberville on Reggie Hunt’s situation with the Clearinghouse: “Surely they’ll let us know in the next couple days.”
* Brent Slusher has medical “issues.” Plural. Tuberville is hoping he’ll be back and cleared to practice soon.
* Ryan Williams is eligible to play, on one condition. “If he gets out of my doghouse, he will be. He’s in the doghouse. He’s doing good out there, though. We’d love for him to step up and do well for us because that’s an area where we’re not abundant in depth and experience. Course he doesn’t have much either, but he’s got to get out of my doghouse."
* There are “a couple more” in the doghouse, as well, although he wouldn’t specify who. “They’re scratching at the door,” he said.
We didn’t perform real good in most of our scrimmage yesterday. We kinda ran out of gas. We lost our concentration, we made a lot of mental mistakes. I figured that before we watched the film, but I wanted to wait and see. Effort look like we tried to be good. It looked like we were running with leg weights on, but there were some good things. We made some plays.
I thought defensively we stepped up about the middle of practice. We played well on defense and then we just lost our concentration and guys kinda, we went through wrong gaps, we didn’t use our hands, we didn’t get off blocks and we didn’t tackle well. We’ve gotta get a lot better on defense. Actually the bright spot, I thought, was our defensive backs. I thought they covered well, broke on the ball. Mike Slade, probably the best scrimmage he’s had, really played well. Really proud of him. D’Antoine Hood stepped up and looked like he’d been out there for a while and even Neiko Thorpe, both those guys are really making some progress. Harry Adams, hit and miss, a little bit. He will play, and made an interception, but technique-wise he’s got a ways to go. But I like his effort. Our front and our linebackers, we didn’t play near as well as we did the week before.
Offensively, I thought we made some plays. Guys catching the ball and getting 10 to 15 yards down the field. We’re learning to run north and south after the catch. Our offensive line came off the ball well for about the first 25, 30 plays and after that we didn’t do very well. We lost our concentration, we missed blocks and defense threw a couple more different blitzes at them that I thought they adjusted well, but it took a while. We’re gonna have to do a little bit better, offensive line, to make adjustments and be able to figure things out a bit quicker. Both quarterbacks did well. We threw the long ball pretty good, a little bit better than we have. Threw some good corner routes. I thought we caught the ball better other than a couple guys. We had about five drops early on crucial down-and-distance situations that could have been a lot better. We’ve got to catch the ball a lot more consistently.
Kicking game was a little sporadic in terms of punting. Both punters I thought did a good job after they got the jitters. It looks like sometimes we go in that stadium and we look real good out here in all areas and then we go in the stadium and change our tempo for some reason. We tighten up, so we’ve gotta get out of that scenario.
(Jomarcus) Savage will have an MRI tomorrow. His shoulder is a little sore, but they’ll check it and a couple more guys that they’ll look at. But really nothing that we’re concerned about other than Savage. But today we did a lot of team stuff full-speed except for tackling. I thought we got better. We came back in the right frame of mind. Guys did a good job of working on their mistakes that they made. That’s really the last time that we’ll go against each other in practice that much for a while. Tuesday we’ll start in the morning about 9:30 and start scout teaming and start working a little bit more on situation stuff and won’t work against each other as much.
Other Tuberville highlights:
* He said they should make decisions on who will or won’t play tomorrow.
* Chaz Ramsey attended practice today, but isn’t ready to practice yet. They aren’t expecting him back especially soon. Same with Andre Wadley today.
* He said Brad Lester and Tristan Davis will be back at practice Tuesday.
* Mario Fannin practiced full-speed today.
* Tuberville on Reggie Hunt’s situation with the Clearinghouse: “Surely they’ll let us know in the next couple days.”
* Brent Slusher has medical “issues.” Plural. Tuberville is hoping he’ll be back and cleared to practice soon.
* Ryan Williams is eligible to play, on one condition. “If he gets out of my doghouse, he will be. He’s in the doghouse. He’s doing good out there, though. We’d love for him to step up and do well for us because that’s an area where we’re not abundant in depth and experience. Course he doesn’t have much either, but he’s got to get out of my doghouse."
* There are “a couple more” in the doghouse, as well, although he wouldn’t specify who. “They’re scratching at the door,” he said.
Stewart takes silver in Beijing
Auburn's Kerron Stewart won a silver medal in the 100-meter dash Sunday in Beijing, as part of a clean sweep by Jamaica in the event.
Stewart is the first Auburn woman ever to win an Olympic medal in track and field.
That's 14 medals now for current and former Auburn athletes.
Stewart is the first Auburn woman ever to win an Olympic medal in track and field.
That's 14 medals now for current and former Auburn athletes.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Three more medals for Auburn
Auburn won another three medals tonight in Olympic swimming, with Mark Gangloff winning gold as part of the U.S. men's 400-meter medley relay and Australia's Matt Targett taking silver for swimming for the same event. Neither of them actually swam in the final. They swam in the preliminaries, but were replaced by other swimmers in the final. Michael Phelps was one of the four U.S. swimmers who replaced the foursome from the prelims, winning his unprecedented eighth gold medal of these Olympics.
Same thing with Margaret Hoelzer, who was part of the U.S. women's 400m medley relay. She swam in the prelims and helped the U.S. qualify for the finals, but was replaced by Natalie Coughlin in the finals.
This was the third medal of these Olympics for Hoelzer -- two silvers and a bronze. It's the second for Targett -- a silver and a bronze.
Auburn finished the swimming portion of the Olympics with 13 medals. Auburn's previous high was six. Auburn had three more swimming medals than any other college. Cal-Berkeley was second with 10. From the SEC, Georgia won three and Tennessee two.
Same thing with Margaret Hoelzer, who was part of the U.S. women's 400m medley relay. She swam in the prelims and helped the U.S. qualify for the finals, but was replaced by Natalie Coughlin in the finals.
This was the third medal of these Olympics for Hoelzer -- two silvers and a bronze. It's the second for Targett -- a silver and a bronze.
Auburn finished the swimming portion of the Olympics with 13 medals. Auburn's previous high was six. Auburn had three more swimming medals than any other college. Cal-Berkeley was second with 10. From the SEC, Georgia won three and Tennessee two.
Post-scrimmage notes + quotes
All right, after finishing my story and notebook, I'll drop some of the stuff I gathered from today's post-scrimmage. This week was much, much better than after last week's scrimmage, so thanks to them for taking care of us. Of course, you'd love to be able to watch the thing in a perfect world, but I get why they keep it closed. Keep that in mind, though, when you're reading everybody's stories from the scrimmage. You're only able to be so accurate when you're writing about something you haven't seen. Details vary from person to person when they're recounting things.
Anyway, Tuberville said they ran about 90 plays, plus 30 more in the kicking game. He said the only injury was to freshman DE Jomarcus Savage, but he didn't think it was serious. Bart Eddins (shoulder) should be back within the next week, he said.
* Also, Brad Lester, Tristan Davis, Mario Fannin and Sen'Derrick Marks didn't scrimmage.
* He probably had the line of the day, when he said they should have the depth chart ready in about 10 days: "We’ll look at (film) and we’ll talk about it. We’ve got to give y’all something the next couple weeks, since we’re not fighting anymore."
* Still no word on Reggie Hunt. He said they expect word from the Clearinghouse by maybe Monday, which he said is like the deadline, since classes start on Monday.
* Senior safety Jonathan Vickers has been awarded a scholarship.
* Tuberville likes what safety Mike Slade did today and predicts he'll play a lot this year.
* Rod Smith said he scored on a TD pass of about 50 yards from Kodi Burns.
* He said the coaches were going to immediately watch and grade the film and then
show it to the players afterward. He thinks they're getting ready to decide which freshmen are bound for redshirt years.
* Speaking of freshmen, lots of talk about Philip Pierre-Louis today. Tuberville talked about him at least once or twice. I know I've been pumping him up on here, too, because he's been really fun to watch so far. My guess is that he's going to be a fan favorite because of what he does after the catch. I've already posted Tubs' comments from after the scrimmage on PPL. Here's the quote I used from Jerraud Powers about him today:
"I didn’t get a shot at him. During practice and stuff, we usually sort of talk stuff to each other. I get him a few times in practice, but he’s so quick and fast, it’s hard to get a hold of him. But I didn’t get a chance to go against him today, but I saw him make a lot of plays today, though."
* Tomorrow's the last of 16 straight days of preseason practice. They'll break on Monday for the first day of classes and then begin their regular fall routine. Only two weeks to go...
Here are some more quotes from the players I talked to post-scrimmage:
Jerraud Powers on the scrimmage:
"I would say the first half, I’d say we probably got the upper hand in the first half, but as the scrimmage went along, receivers started making plays and they started running the ball a little bit. I thought Tate had a good scrimmage. He was running the ball well. So later in the second half, the offense probably got the upper hand."
Powers on whether the pace of the offense affected the defense:
"Personally I’ve sorta adapted to it. It doesn’t bother me personally. But I think with the d-line though – and I think o-line too – I think it takes a toll on them as it goes on. That’ll happen, just because those guys are 290, 300 pounds. As far as the linebackers, secondary, I think we’re starting to adapt to it a little bit."
Merrill Johnson, on the offense and defense's performances:
"The offense, they’re getting great chemistry together. They were moving the ball downfield pretty good today. That’s a good thing, as long as our defense continues to progress and continues to get better. We need to work on tackling and I think everything’s gonna work itself out."
Johnson, on whether tackling was again the biggest issue in the scrimmage:
"It is. But we work on tackling every day and we’re gonna continue to get better at it, but right now we’re not where we want to be. So we’ve just got to stay hungry until we get there."
Smith, on the quarterback race:
"As far as one pulling away from another, I can’t tell you that. As far as the competition, it’s still a great competition going on and I’m just looking forward – I don’t even know who’s gonna be the starter – so I’m just looking forward to seeing who’s gonna be the starter. Both of those guys continue to make plays for the team."
Mike McNeil, on how the defense is a little rusty on its tackling because it hasn't done much in practice:
"That’s definitely a reason. You practice how you’re gonna play. We’re not being as physical in practice or they’re blowing an early whistle. That benefits the offense, but it also hurts the defense."
McNeil, on Ben Tate's performance in the scrimmage:
"Ben Tate is a great back. To me he has it all. He has speed, quickness and the size and the strength – and he has good vision. He’s a smart back. He’s not just gonna run blindly, he’s gonna find blocks. I think overall, Ben Tate had a good day."
McNeil, on the running game:
"I think the running game’s gonna excel because of the passing game. They’re gonna open up, spread the field. We’ve got great backs who can run the ball and wide receivers who can catch the ball, so we’re gonna use all that to our advantage."
McNeil, on what the defense needs to work on:
"Right now I believe it’s just conditioning and tackling."
Anyway, Tuberville said they ran about 90 plays, plus 30 more in the kicking game. He said the only injury was to freshman DE Jomarcus Savage, but he didn't think it was serious. Bart Eddins (shoulder) should be back within the next week, he said.
* Also, Brad Lester, Tristan Davis, Mario Fannin and Sen'Derrick Marks didn't scrimmage.
* He probably had the line of the day, when he said they should have the depth chart ready in about 10 days: "We’ll look at (film) and we’ll talk about it. We’ve got to give y’all something the next couple weeks, since we’re not fighting anymore."
* Still no word on Reggie Hunt. He said they expect word from the Clearinghouse by maybe Monday, which he said is like the deadline, since classes start on Monday.
* Senior safety Jonathan Vickers has been awarded a scholarship.
* Tuberville likes what safety Mike Slade did today and predicts he'll play a lot this year.
* Rod Smith said he scored on a TD pass of about 50 yards from Kodi Burns.
* He said the coaches were going to immediately watch and grade the film and then
show it to the players afterward. He thinks they're getting ready to decide which freshmen are bound for redshirt years.
* Speaking of freshmen, lots of talk about Philip Pierre-Louis today. Tuberville talked about him at least once or twice. I know I've been pumping him up on here, too, because he's been really fun to watch so far. My guess is that he's going to be a fan favorite because of what he does after the catch. I've already posted Tubs' comments from after the scrimmage on PPL. Here's the quote I used from Jerraud Powers about him today:
"I didn’t get a shot at him. During practice and stuff, we usually sort of talk stuff to each other. I get him a few times in practice, but he’s so quick and fast, it’s hard to get a hold of him. But I didn’t get a chance to go against him today, but I saw him make a lot of plays today, though."
* Tomorrow's the last of 16 straight days of preseason practice. They'll break on Monday for the first day of classes and then begin their regular fall routine. Only two weeks to go...
Here are some more quotes from the players I talked to post-scrimmage:
Jerraud Powers on the scrimmage:
"I would say the first half, I’d say we probably got the upper hand in the first half, but as the scrimmage went along, receivers started making plays and they started running the ball a little bit. I thought Tate had a good scrimmage. He was running the ball well. So later in the second half, the offense probably got the upper hand."
Powers on whether the pace of the offense affected the defense:
"Personally I’ve sorta adapted to it. It doesn’t bother me personally. But I think with the d-line though – and I think o-line too – I think it takes a toll on them as it goes on. That’ll happen, just because those guys are 290, 300 pounds. As far as the linebackers, secondary, I think we’re starting to adapt to it a little bit."
Merrill Johnson, on the offense and defense's performances:
"The offense, they’re getting great chemistry together. They were moving the ball downfield pretty good today. That’s a good thing, as long as our defense continues to progress and continues to get better. We need to work on tackling and I think everything’s gonna work itself out."
Johnson, on whether tackling was again the biggest issue in the scrimmage:
"It is. But we work on tackling every day and we’re gonna continue to get better at it, but right now we’re not where we want to be. So we’ve just got to stay hungry until we get there."
Smith, on the quarterback race:
"As far as one pulling away from another, I can’t tell you that. As far as the competition, it’s still a great competition going on and I’m just looking forward – I don’t even know who’s gonna be the starter – so I’m just looking forward to seeing who’s gonna be the starter. Both of those guys continue to make plays for the team."
Mike McNeil, on how the defense is a little rusty on its tackling because it hasn't done much in practice:
"That’s definitely a reason. You practice how you’re gonna play. We’re not being as physical in practice or they’re blowing an early whistle. That benefits the offense, but it also hurts the defense."
McNeil, on Ben Tate's performance in the scrimmage:
"Ben Tate is a great back. To me he has it all. He has speed, quickness and the size and the strength – and he has good vision. He’s a smart back. He’s not just gonna run blindly, he’s gonna find blocks. I think overall, Ben Tate had a good day."
McNeil, on the running game:
"I think the running game’s gonna excel because of the passing game. They’re gonna open up, spread the field. We’ve got great backs who can run the ball and wide receivers who can catch the ball, so we’re gonna use all that to our advantage."
McNeil, on what the defense needs to work on:
"Right now I believe it’s just conditioning and tackling."
Tubs' post-scrimmage comments
For a couple reasons, most of which are related to my utter stupidity, I missed Tommy Tuberville's comments directly after the scrimmage. I got there just in time for player interviews. However, the good people in Auburn's sports communications office let me listen to their tape of Tuberville's comments and I just got finished transcribing. Here's almost all of what he had to say:
Opening comments:
(We were) awful sluggish coming out of two-a-days, but we can expect that. It looked like we were running in mud at times, but we got something done. Mainly the scrimmage was for some of the younger guys that needed to play, needed to get tired, needed to get hit, find out what it’s gonna be like. Most of the other guys did play at some point. We did have to hold a couple guys out. But started fast on offense and I thought the defense came around the last three quarters of practice. We had some good runs, some good blocking up front. We were a little bit more physical today. We needed that.
We did work on kickoff, kickoff return, live. We worked on punting live and we did quite a few field goals. I think Wesley missed maybe just one. He’s been real consistent. Our punters, both of them had I think four live punts and each of them had one that wasn’t real good. The other three were very competitive. We’ll see what they averaged after today.
Jomarcus Savage banged his shoulder up a little bit. He had to come out. He’s really the only injury, but he should be back next week. The doctor said it’s nothing serious. But a lot of good contact, but also a few more mistakes than we made last week. Probably seven or eight penalties. This was an SEC group that worked and I told them to be very picky, very tough in terms of alignments and guys doing the right things, and they called it and it was good.
We ran two-minute drills at the end that were live and one group did good on offense. The other one didn’t do very well and we ended up with a good field goal at the end out of Wesley and Hull, making their field goal from two-minute drill on the last group to finish up solid.
We’re gonna come back this afternoon and look at the film. We’ll grade it first and the players will come back and look at the film. We’ve got a lot of mistakes. Now we’ve got to start finding out who’s gonna play. Start from our freshmen up and who we want to start putting on special teams. Tomorrow we’ll come back. I haven’t decided on what kind of practice we’ll have. After we look at the film, we’ll determine that. Monday will be a day off, but we’ve got to get their legs back. They’re pretty much gone in terms of any quickness or speed.
One guy that did show some elusiveness and made some big plays is Philip-Pierre Louis. That’s one guy that I’ll tell you did well in the scrimmage. He’s not a big target, but the quarterbacks have a lot of confidence in him and a lot of confidence that he can make plays afterwards. There were other guys that made plays, but standing out there and watching a guy that just made consistent plays was him. Defensively, it wasn’t anybody that really stood out, but we probably threw the ball a little more today than we ran it, so that was a challenge to our secondary and linebackers, trying to find out where they’re at. Last week we ran it probably more than we threw it, so a little bit different today. Questions.
On Philip Pierre-Louis (who he's taken to calling Frenchy):
He just caught short passes, made 10-, 15-yard runs after that. No long plays. It’s just consistently when the ball’s thrown his way, he caught it. I counted the first half, we probably had four drops. I’m talking about total. And he wasn’t in any of those. We concentrated a little bit better catching the ball in the second half. I thought our quarterbacks did a pretty decent job throwing the ball. Not anything spectacular. The biggest thing is making the right decisions in these scrimmages when you’ve got two guys vying for the starting position, and I thought both of them did about the same. We’ll have to look assignment-wise and how they ran the team. Both of them scored points, but we mixed them up, in and out, trying to find the right combination.
On depth chart:
About third game. We’ll have one probably Tuesday or Wednesday game week. We’re gonna look at a lot of different guys and we’ll have to make some decisions. There’s not many hardships anymore. If you play ‘em, they’re done. And so we want to make sure that any of the younger guys that we play, it’s gonna be worth it. There are some battles at a lot of positions, so we’ll have to grade this film first and see if anybody made any movement, but we’ll have a depth chart, not this week but the next week.
On the scrimmage:
There was probably a few more bigger plays last week. There was more of a grind today, working it down the field. The offense did have some consistency. That’s what I like. They were more consistent. Brad didn’t play. Tristan didn’t play. Ben did play, got I’d say off the top of my head, 10-12 carries, which he needed to get this week. He didn’t do much earlier in the week because of his concussion, but he looked pretty good today running the ball. But we all looked slow. It looks like we all had ankle weights on.
On tackling in scrimmage:
Tackled a little bit better. But when you’re trying to tackle Frenchy, it’s pretty tough. He’s gonna be exciting to watch. He’ll make you look bad in one-on-one, but it’s good. It’s good to see somebody like that in the open field. I’m talking about not just the young guys, everybody was trying to take a dead beat on him. He’s gonna make a lot of people do tackling drills the next week if he can stay healthy.
On releasing the depth chart:
We’ll look at this and we’ll talk about it. We’ve got to give y’all something to talk about the next couple weeks, since we’re not fighting anymore.
On the No. 3 quarterback race:
Both of ‘em played a lot. I thought Neil has really improved. The thing that he’s gotta do is make a little bit quicker decision. Every once in a while, of all of them, last spring and everything, he’d throw it to the wrong-colored jersey and that’s what we’re trying to get him out of. He’s done a better job of that. I think he’s much improved in that area, making better decisions. But again, this offense, he’s pretty familiar with. But Barrett got a lot of velocity on the ball. He’s one where we’ll have to make a decision what we want to do with him.
On defensive highlights:
Harry Adams made a nice interception. We blew the whistle. He probably coulda run it back, but when I saw him get to the sideline, we didn’t want to embarrass the offensive linemen trying to chase him. But he made a good play. There wasn’t many fumbles. We didn’t have many fumbles at all, but there were some pretty good tipped balls. I thought our d-line got a pretty good pass rush today from the corners. We looked a little quicker out there. We just looked sluggish in some areas, though, but we knew that was gonna happen.
On Eddins’ shoulder:
I talked to him today. It’s just a bruise. He said he’d be back Tuesday. Doctors said probably more Thursday or maybe hold him out all week and just get him ready for Sunday. Next week we’ll go all the way through Friday and take Saturday off and start back on Sunday on game week. But good news on that. Just a bruise.
On Reggie Hunt:
We called all day yesterday. When they don’t return your calls, you know … But there’s probably not anybody in here that doesn’t remember one like that every year. You just can’t get any word out of them, and we were supposed to hear Monday, so I’m sure Monday will be pretty much the deadline. We’ve got to do it Monday. We start school Monday and we’ve got him ready to go, if they’d just give us a call. Course it could go the other way, too, so we’re expecting either way.
On safeties behind the starters:
I’ll tell you, Mike Slade made a couple good plays, broke on the ball well. I noticed that. Again, we tried to throw the ball on the safeties today a little bit more, tried to throw the ball in the middle of the field. I think Mike has really improved. He’s gonna see a lot of playing time. Of course last week and this week, we went after the corners, all of them, first and second team. But that’s what this offense does. It’s gonna really put pressure on them, and this week was no different. Had a couple pass interference calls this week that we didn’t have last week.
Opening comments:
(We were) awful sluggish coming out of two-a-days, but we can expect that. It looked like we were running in mud at times, but we got something done. Mainly the scrimmage was for some of the younger guys that needed to play, needed to get tired, needed to get hit, find out what it’s gonna be like. Most of the other guys did play at some point. We did have to hold a couple guys out. But started fast on offense and I thought the defense came around the last three quarters of practice. We had some good runs, some good blocking up front. We were a little bit more physical today. We needed that.
We did work on kickoff, kickoff return, live. We worked on punting live and we did quite a few field goals. I think Wesley missed maybe just one. He’s been real consistent. Our punters, both of them had I think four live punts and each of them had one that wasn’t real good. The other three were very competitive. We’ll see what they averaged after today.
Jomarcus Savage banged his shoulder up a little bit. He had to come out. He’s really the only injury, but he should be back next week. The doctor said it’s nothing serious. But a lot of good contact, but also a few more mistakes than we made last week. Probably seven or eight penalties. This was an SEC group that worked and I told them to be very picky, very tough in terms of alignments and guys doing the right things, and they called it and it was good.
We ran two-minute drills at the end that were live and one group did good on offense. The other one didn’t do very well and we ended up with a good field goal at the end out of Wesley and Hull, making their field goal from two-minute drill on the last group to finish up solid.
We’re gonna come back this afternoon and look at the film. We’ll grade it first and the players will come back and look at the film. We’ve got a lot of mistakes. Now we’ve got to start finding out who’s gonna play. Start from our freshmen up and who we want to start putting on special teams. Tomorrow we’ll come back. I haven’t decided on what kind of practice we’ll have. After we look at the film, we’ll determine that. Monday will be a day off, but we’ve got to get their legs back. They’re pretty much gone in terms of any quickness or speed.
One guy that did show some elusiveness and made some big plays is Philip-Pierre Louis. That’s one guy that I’ll tell you did well in the scrimmage. He’s not a big target, but the quarterbacks have a lot of confidence in him and a lot of confidence that he can make plays afterwards. There were other guys that made plays, but standing out there and watching a guy that just made consistent plays was him. Defensively, it wasn’t anybody that really stood out, but we probably threw the ball a little more today than we ran it, so that was a challenge to our secondary and linebackers, trying to find out where they’re at. Last week we ran it probably more than we threw it, so a little bit different today. Questions.
On Philip Pierre-Louis (who he's taken to calling Frenchy):
He just caught short passes, made 10-, 15-yard runs after that. No long plays. It’s just consistently when the ball’s thrown his way, he caught it. I counted the first half, we probably had four drops. I’m talking about total. And he wasn’t in any of those. We concentrated a little bit better catching the ball in the second half. I thought our quarterbacks did a pretty decent job throwing the ball. Not anything spectacular. The biggest thing is making the right decisions in these scrimmages when you’ve got two guys vying for the starting position, and I thought both of them did about the same. We’ll have to look assignment-wise and how they ran the team. Both of them scored points, but we mixed them up, in and out, trying to find the right combination.
On depth chart:
About third game. We’ll have one probably Tuesday or Wednesday game week. We’re gonna look at a lot of different guys and we’ll have to make some decisions. There’s not many hardships anymore. If you play ‘em, they’re done. And so we want to make sure that any of the younger guys that we play, it’s gonna be worth it. There are some battles at a lot of positions, so we’ll have to grade this film first and see if anybody made any movement, but we’ll have a depth chart, not this week but the next week.
On the scrimmage:
There was probably a few more bigger plays last week. There was more of a grind today, working it down the field. The offense did have some consistency. That’s what I like. They were more consistent. Brad didn’t play. Tristan didn’t play. Ben did play, got I’d say off the top of my head, 10-12 carries, which he needed to get this week. He didn’t do much earlier in the week because of his concussion, but he looked pretty good today running the ball. But we all looked slow. It looks like we all had ankle weights on.
On tackling in scrimmage:
Tackled a little bit better. But when you’re trying to tackle Frenchy, it’s pretty tough. He’s gonna be exciting to watch. He’ll make you look bad in one-on-one, but it’s good. It’s good to see somebody like that in the open field. I’m talking about not just the young guys, everybody was trying to take a dead beat on him. He’s gonna make a lot of people do tackling drills the next week if he can stay healthy.
On releasing the depth chart:
We’ll look at this and we’ll talk about it. We’ve got to give y’all something to talk about the next couple weeks, since we’re not fighting anymore.
On the No. 3 quarterback race:
Both of ‘em played a lot. I thought Neil has really improved. The thing that he’s gotta do is make a little bit quicker decision. Every once in a while, of all of them, last spring and everything, he’d throw it to the wrong-colored jersey and that’s what we’re trying to get him out of. He’s done a better job of that. I think he’s much improved in that area, making better decisions. But again, this offense, he’s pretty familiar with. But Barrett got a lot of velocity on the ball. He’s one where we’ll have to make a decision what we want to do with him.
On defensive highlights:
Harry Adams made a nice interception. We blew the whistle. He probably coulda run it back, but when I saw him get to the sideline, we didn’t want to embarrass the offensive linemen trying to chase him. But he made a good play. There wasn’t many fumbles. We didn’t have many fumbles at all, but there were some pretty good tipped balls. I thought our d-line got a pretty good pass rush today from the corners. We looked a little quicker out there. We just looked sluggish in some areas, though, but we knew that was gonna happen.
On Eddins’ shoulder:
I talked to him today. It’s just a bruise. He said he’d be back Tuesday. Doctors said probably more Thursday or maybe hold him out all week and just get him ready for Sunday. Next week we’ll go all the way through Friday and take Saturday off and start back on Sunday on game week. But good news on that. Just a bruise.
On Reggie Hunt:
We called all day yesterday. When they don’t return your calls, you know … But there’s probably not anybody in here that doesn’t remember one like that every year. You just can’t get any word out of them, and we were supposed to hear Monday, so I’m sure Monday will be pretty much the deadline. We’ve got to do it Monday. We start school Monday and we’ve got him ready to go, if they’d just give us a call. Course it could go the other way, too, so we’re expecting either way.
On safeties behind the starters:
I’ll tell you, Mike Slade made a couple good plays, broke on the ball well. I noticed that. Again, we tried to throw the ball on the safeties today a little bit more, tried to throw the ball in the middle of the field. I think Mike has really improved. He’s gonna see a lot of playing time. Of course last week and this week, we went after the corners, all of them, first and second team. But that’s what this offense does. It’s gonna really put pressure on them, and this week was no different. Had a couple pass interference calls this week that we didn’t have last week.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Huntingdon player dies
UPDATE: I apologize for posting incorrect information, if Sam Collins did not in fact fall ill in practice. The original story I linked is no longer available, but here's the current one on the Advertiser's front page.
This is sad news. Sam Collins, an 18-year-old freshman football player at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, collapsed at practice Friday and later died. No cause of death has been determined, but the Montgomery Advertiser story said his coaches originally feared he had suffered heat stroke or some other heat-related illness.
Collins was an all-state football player last year at Flomaton High, which is right up the road from my hometown, Mobile. Condolences to his friends and family.
This is sad news. Sam Collins, an 18-year-old freshman football player at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, collapsed at practice Friday and later died. No cause of death has been determined, but the Montgomery Advertiser story said his coaches originally feared he had suffered heat stroke or some other heat-related illness.
Collins was an all-state football player last year at Flomaton High, which is right up the road from my hometown, Mobile. Condolences to his friends and family.
Cielo does it
Man. That 50-meter freestyle is crazy. It's almost violent how these guys attack the water. Auburn's Cesar Cielo just won the Olympic gold in the event and broke his own Olympic record -- which pretty much makes him the world's fastest swimmer. That's the marquee sprint swim, one trip down the pool, fast as heck.
Good for him. I interviewed him this summer with a couple of other reporters and thought he was an interesting kid. His coach at Auburn, Brett Hawke, was going to be an assistant on Cielo's Brazilian team to go with him to Beijing.
That's 10 medals now for Auburn, which would put Auburn 10th if it were a country, one ahead of Great Britain and four behind Germany and Japan.
Good for him. I interviewed him this summer with a couple of other reporters and thought he was an interesting kid. His coach at Auburn, Brett Hawke, was going to be an assistant on Cielo's Brazilian team to go with him to Beijing.
That's 10 medals now for Auburn, which would put Auburn 10th if it were a country, one ahead of Great Britain and four behind Germany and Japan.
More history for Auburn swimming
You know, it hasn't been a bad week to be an Auburn swimmer. Kirsty Coventry just reclaimed her world record in the 200-meter backstroke. She set it earlier this year, then her former Auburn roommate Margaret Hoelzer stole it and now Coventry has won it back -- taking an Olympic gold medal in doing so.
Coventry won gold in 2:05.24, beating Hoelzer's record of 2:06.09. Hoelzer took silver in 2:06.23. This is the first time ever an Auburn duo has finished 1-2 in an Olympic event. Unfortunately the United States' drought in the 200 back continues. The U.S. women haven't won that event since 1972 -- the longest goldless streak in any women's Olympic swimming event.
That's nine medals now for Auburn. Could be more soon. Cesar Cielo is swimming in the 50 free finals shortly.
Coventry won gold in 2:05.24, beating Hoelzer's record of 2:06.09. Hoelzer took silver in 2:06.23. This is the first time ever an Auburn duo has finished 1-2 in an Olympic event. Unfortunately the United States' drought in the 200 back continues. The U.S. women haven't won that event since 1972 -- the longest goldless streak in any women's Olympic swimming event.
That's nine medals now for Auburn. Could be more soon. Cesar Cielo is swimming in the 50 free finals shortly.
Tubs post-practice rundown
I've got to get out of here to go look and try to find somewhere to live here before the sun goes down, but I'll throw out a quick recap of what Tommy Tuberville said after practice just now:
* Today was the final two-a-day workout. Said it hasn't been the toughest camp that they've had, mostly because the weather has been fairly mild. Despite that, he said they've run about 20 to 25 percent more reps in the same amount of practice because of the pace of the offense.
* He said they'll begin whittling down who they're expecting to play after tomorrow. Noted there are about 16-17 guys circled on their board that they'll have to make decisions on.
* They'll scrimmage tomorrow (closed) at the stadium. Should run about 80-100 plays, plus lots of kicking game. Estimated it would last about an hour and a half to 1:45.
* It will all be live, with the exception of some kicking game scenarios.
* Chris Todd and Kodi Burns will quarterback the first half and Barrett Trotter and Neil Caudle the second. They'll all be seeing a lot of blitzes, he said, and will work in lots of different situational scenarios.
* Ben Tate was back at practice today. Brad Lester won't scrimmage tomorrow. (TT said he has an ankle injury). Neither will Tristan Davis (foot). Nor Mario Fannin (hamstring)
* He said he's been watching the young DBs on film a lot. Believes all of them (I believe he was referring to Neiko Thorpe, D'Antoine Hood and Harry Adams) will play. On Adams, he said he wouldn't want him to play if all he was going to get was on special teams.
* Said this freshman class is probably one of the fastest ones they've had. Talked about how well Philip Pierre-Louis, Darvin Adams, Eric Smith, the DBs, Jomarcus Savage and Derrick Lykes have performed. Said Lykes is "exactly what you look for."
* Raven Gray is still struggling with fatigue because of being out with injury for so long. Same with Tez Doolittle, although he talked about how great Tez's attitude has been in coming back and how much he wants to play.
All right, that's all for now. If anyone has some advice on rental properties around here, please let me know. I've got to find something, and fast.
* Today was the final two-a-day workout. Said it hasn't been the toughest camp that they've had, mostly because the weather has been fairly mild. Despite that, he said they've run about 20 to 25 percent more reps in the same amount of practice because of the pace of the offense.
* He said they'll begin whittling down who they're expecting to play after tomorrow. Noted there are about 16-17 guys circled on their board that they'll have to make decisions on.
* They'll scrimmage tomorrow (closed) at the stadium. Should run about 80-100 plays, plus lots of kicking game. Estimated it would last about an hour and a half to 1:45.
* It will all be live, with the exception of some kicking game scenarios.
* Chris Todd and Kodi Burns will quarterback the first half and Barrett Trotter and Neil Caudle the second. They'll all be seeing a lot of blitzes, he said, and will work in lots of different situational scenarios.
* Ben Tate was back at practice today. Brad Lester won't scrimmage tomorrow. (TT said he has an ankle injury). Neither will Tristan Davis (foot). Nor Mario Fannin (hamstring)
* He said he's been watching the young DBs on film a lot. Believes all of them (I believe he was referring to Neiko Thorpe, D'Antoine Hood and Harry Adams) will play. On Adams, he said he wouldn't want him to play if all he was going to get was on special teams.
* Said this freshman class is probably one of the fastest ones they've had. Talked about how well Philip Pierre-Louis, Darvin Adams, Eric Smith, the DBs, Jomarcus Savage and Derrick Lykes have performed. Said Lykes is "exactly what you look for."
* Raven Gray is still struggling with fatigue because of being out with injury for so long. Same with Tez Doolittle, although he talked about how great Tez's attitude has been in coming back and how much he wants to play.
All right, that's all for now. If anyone has some advice on rental properties around here, please let me know. I've got to find something, and fast.
Morning post-practice
I've especially started thinking in the last couple days about how it seems like many of Auburn's special teams battles are still up in the air. It was a good day for Eddie Gran to come in and talk to the beat writers this afternoon, after Auburn's morning workout. They'll practice again later this afternoon -- the last two-a-day of preseason -- and we'll talk to Tommy Tuberville.
It sounds like tomorrow's scrimmage might help in some regard, but I don't know that Gran, Auburn's special teams coordinator, thinks it will decide things in every race.
P -- They give off the impression that the closest race is between Ryan Shoemaker and Clinton Durst at punter. Several times one of the coaches has made that comment.
K -- It sounds like Wes Byrum's got the lead on Morgan Hull
PR -- I think Gran would probably use Robert Dunn first, but he said he's been pleased with Philip Pierre-Louis and Chris Slaughter there as well. Watching those guys return punts in practice has been fun, especially when they find their hole and get to accelerate.
KOR -- First guy Gran mentioned was Tristan Davis. In no particular order, I believe the other names he mentioned were Ben Tate, James Swinton and Pierre-Louis.
Obviously not a big news day. Here are some good examples of just how not newsy it has been thus far:
Pierre-Louis came and spoke to the pack after practice. He sort of settled the beat writers' debate about how to pronounce his last name, but not really. He said his dad says it Pierre-Lou-wee. Philip said he usually says Pierre-Lou-Iss. He said we should probably go with Lou-wee like his dad says it. I think I'll just call him Philip. I guess I was kinda rambling there. These are the things you really need to know.
Someone asked Philip, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native if it has been difficult adjusting to life in Auburn. I believe he said it took some getting used to. I asked him if he'd ever seen a cow. Seemed like a perfectly legitimate question. He assured me that they do have cows in South Florida. Dang. That's not the way I pictured Fort Lauderdale at all.
We'll have some stuff from Tommy Tuberville later. Might have some injury rundown to discuss entering the scrimmage. Back later...
It sounds like tomorrow's scrimmage might help in some regard, but I don't know that Gran, Auburn's special teams coordinator, thinks it will decide things in every race.
P -- They give off the impression that the closest race is between Ryan Shoemaker and Clinton Durst at punter. Several times one of the coaches has made that comment.
K -- It sounds like Wes Byrum's got the lead on Morgan Hull
PR -- I think Gran would probably use Robert Dunn first, but he said he's been pleased with Philip Pierre-Louis and Chris Slaughter there as well. Watching those guys return punts in practice has been fun, especially when they find their hole and get to accelerate.
KOR -- First guy Gran mentioned was Tristan Davis. In no particular order, I believe the other names he mentioned were Ben Tate, James Swinton and Pierre-Louis.
Obviously not a big news day. Here are some good examples of just how not newsy it has been thus far:
Pierre-Louis came and spoke to the pack after practice. He sort of settled the beat writers' debate about how to pronounce his last name, but not really. He said his dad says it Pierre-Lou-wee. Philip said he usually says Pierre-Lou-Iss. He said we should probably go with Lou-wee like his dad says it. I think I'll just call him Philip. I guess I was kinda rambling there. These are the things you really need to know.
Someone asked Philip, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native if it has been difficult adjusting to life in Auburn. I believe he said it took some getting used to. I asked him if he'd ever seen a cow. Seemed like a perfectly legitimate question. He assured me that they do have cows in South Florida. Dang. That's not the way I pictured Fort Lauderdale at all.
We'll have some stuff from Tommy Tuberville later. Might have some injury rundown to discuss entering the scrimmage. Back later...
More swimming stuff
The finals in the women's 200m backstroke will be held at 10:03 p.m. Eastern. Auburn's Kirsty Coventry and Margaret Hoelzer will both compete. Coventry qualified first and Hoelzer fifth.
Auburn's Cesar Cielo will also swim in the 50m freestyle finals at 11:39 p.m. He broke an Olympic record in the semifinals and also set Americas and South American records.
Also, former Auburn track star Marc Burns (Trinidad and Tobago) ran in the 100 meters tonight, placing second in his heat and advancing to today's quarterfinals at 7:45 p.m. He's the first of 12 Auburn track folks who'll compete in Beijing.
More Friday...
Auburn's Cesar Cielo will also swim in the 50m freestyle finals at 11:39 p.m. He broke an Olympic record in the semifinals and also set Americas and South American records.
Also, former Auburn track star Marc Burns (Trinidad and Tobago) ran in the 100 meters tonight, placing second in his heat and advancing to today's quarterfinals at 7:45 p.m. He's the first of 12 Auburn track folks who'll compete in Beijing.
More Friday...
Thursday thoughts
Today's practice was incredibly boring...at least for me.
There was no 11-on-11. No Brad Lester, Tristan Davis or Ben Tate. It was exactly what Tommy Tuberville predicted Wednesday that it would be -- a light day.
At the end of practice, they cut watermelons and the players ate up. Oddly, some of them were trying to make sure some of us reporters there took a slice. I'm by no means against eating a nice chunk of watermelon, but they didn't bring that stuff out there for me to eat, so I didn't take any.
They practice Friday at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (remember I operate on eastern time) for the last two-a-day practice of the preseason. The practices will be at the football complex and are scheduled to be closed. They'll scrimmage Saturday (also closed)
and start classes on Monday -- which will be the first day off of the preseason. I can't wait. I haven't packed a dish or a stitch of clothing yet and I have to start moving very, very soon.
So with that said, I haven't got much to offer today. Spoke with Neil Caudle, D'Antoine Hood and Tommy Trott today after practice. Sat and listened to Trott talk with Jay G. Tate for a long time and really liked the kid. I'm gonna try not to steal much from that, but Jay's on the clock. Couple more days and he loses all proprietary rights to the material from his Montgomery guy. Trott looks just like former Georgia quarterback Joe Tereshinski to me. Not a dead ringer, but fairly close. It's probably the haircuts...those young cutters with their full heads of hair.
Tommy T. (right)
Joe T. (left)
Anyway, I'll head over in the morning (actually in like six hours) and we'll see what they have to say then.
Today's stories:
* Lead on Auburn's receivers
* Notebook leading with Tommy Tuberville's reaction to the new SEC 15-year deal with CBS. (Like I said, it was an extremely slow day).
There was no 11-on-11. No Brad Lester, Tristan Davis or Ben Tate. It was exactly what Tommy Tuberville predicted Wednesday that it would be -- a light day.
At the end of practice, they cut watermelons and the players ate up. Oddly, some of them were trying to make sure some of us reporters there took a slice. I'm by no means against eating a nice chunk of watermelon, but they didn't bring that stuff out there for me to eat, so I didn't take any.
They practice Friday at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (remember I operate on eastern time) for the last two-a-day practice of the preseason. The practices will be at the football complex and are scheduled to be closed. They'll scrimmage Saturday (also closed)
and start classes on Monday -- which will be the first day off of the preseason. I can't wait. I haven't packed a dish or a stitch of clothing yet and I have to start moving very, very soon.
So with that said, I haven't got much to offer today. Spoke with Neil Caudle, D'Antoine Hood and Tommy Trott today after practice. Sat and listened to Trott talk with Jay G. Tate for a long time and really liked the kid. I'm gonna try not to steal much from that, but Jay's on the clock. Couple more days and he loses all proprietary rights to the material from his Montgomery guy. Trott looks just like former Georgia quarterback Joe Tereshinski to me. Not a dead ringer, but fairly close. It's probably the haircuts...those young cutters with their full heads of hair.
Tommy T. (right)
Joe T. (left)
Anyway, I'll head over in the morning (actually in like six hours) and we'll see what they have to say then.
Today's stories:
* Lead on Auburn's receivers
* Notebook leading with Tommy Tuberville's reaction to the new SEC 15-year deal with CBS. (Like I said, it was an extremely slow day).
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Elite 11 thoughts
I saw where Rivals upgraded Auburn commit Raymond Cotton's rating to four stars today. They also rate him as the No. 12 dual-threat QB prospect. I was thinking about how rare it was for an Auburn commit to receive a bid to the Elite 11 quarterback camp and I actually dug up a list of all 10 Elite 11 classes thus far. Auburn has had one player go to the camp -- Neil Caudle in 2005.
For whatever reason, Auburn has rarely gotten the huge QB signees in my 20-something years of keeping up with the Tigers. I've always wondered why that is. I guess it's because Auburn has so often been close to the vest in its offensive approach -- which might be why they always seemed to bring in great running backs. In contrast, Georgia has three former Elite 11 QBs on its current roster -- Matthew Stafford, Joe Cox and Logan Gray -- and two more commits out of this Elite 11 class in Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger.
Obviously if you look at some of the names on there, it's not a rock-solid predictor of collegiate success. But there are some pretty stinking good players who have participated in that thing since it started a decade ago. If my count is right (and if Jarrett Lee winds up as LSU's QB) it looks like four starters for Auburn's 2008 opponents are former Elite 11 QBs -- Stafford, Lee, Jevan Snead and Jonathan Crompton.
Here's the list. I'd acknowledge where I found it if I could only remember:
For whatever reason, Auburn has rarely gotten the huge QB signees in my 20-something years of keeping up with the Tigers. I've always wondered why that is. I guess it's because Auburn has so often been close to the vest in its offensive approach -- which might be why they always seemed to bring in great running backs. In contrast, Georgia has three former Elite 11 QBs on its current roster -- Matthew Stafford, Joe Cox and Logan Gray -- and two more commits out of this Elite 11 class in Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger.
Obviously if you look at some of the names on there, it's not a rock-solid predictor of collegiate success. But there are some pretty stinking good players who have participated in that thing since it started a decade ago. If my count is right (and if Jarrett Lee winds up as LSU's QB) it looks like four starters for Auburn's 2008 opponents are former Elite 11 QBs -- Stafford, Lee, Jevan Snead and Jonathan Crompton.
Here's the list. I'd acknowledge where I found it if I could only remember:
1999
Brock Berlin
Jeff Smoker
Chris Rix
Casey Clausen
Matt Cassell
Roman Ybarra
Matt Lovecchio
Chance Mock
Jon VanCleave
John Rattay
Zac Wasserman
2000
Derek Anderson
Nic Costa
Kellen Clemens
Brodie Croyle
Billy Hart
Matt Leinart
Ingle Martin
Adrian McPherson
Kyle Orton
Casey Paus
D.J. Shockley
Paul Troth
2001
Ben Olson
Chris Olson
Drew Olson
Justin Zwick
Tyler Palko
Trent Edwards
Vince Young
Reggie McNeal
Gavin Dickey
Evan Kraky
Will Proctor
Ryan O'Hara
2002
Michael Affleck
Dennis Dixon
Tommy Grady
Robert Lane
Chris Leak
Justin Midgett
Blake Mitchell
T.C. Ostrander
Clayton Richard
Jamarcus Russell
Andre Woodson
Kyle Wright
2003
Rhett Bomar
John David Booty
A.J. Bryant
Kirby Freeman
Brian Hildebrand
Cornelius Ingram
Nate Longshore
Tony Morelli
Chase Patton
Bobby Reid
Matt Tuiasosopo
Drew Weatherford
2004
Harrison Beck
Jake Christensen
Joe Cox
Jonathan Crompton
Jonathan Garner
Ryan Perrilloux
Kyle Reed
Mark Sanchez
Rob Schoenhoft
Willie Tuitama
2005
Matthew Stafford
Tim Tebow
Kevin Riley
Cody Hawkins
Jevan Snead
Josh Freeman
Mitch Mustain
Pat Devlin
Jake Locker
Isiah Williams
Neil Caudle
Zach Frazer
2006
John Brantley
Stephen Garcia
Willie Korn
Ryan Mallett
Rontrell Bailey
Aaron Corp
Logan Gray
Peter Lalich
Jarrett Lee
Brock Mansion
Keith Nichol
Tyrod Taylor
2007
Nick Crissman
Dayne Crist
Blaine Gabbert
Mike Glennon
Jacory Harris
Star Jackson
Landry Jones
Andrew Luck
E.J. Manuel
Kyle Parker
Sean Renfree
John Wienke
2008
Tajh Boyd
Richard Brehaut
Allan Bridgford
Raymond Cotton
Garrett Gilbert
Andrew Maxwell
A.J. McCarron
Zach Mettenberger
Aaron Murray
Bryn Renner
Tom Savage
Eugene Smith
AU swimmers topple two more records
Link to story on official Auburn site.
Here's the gist:
Cesar Cielo and Kirsty Coventry broke two more Olympic records in event preliminaries in Beijing. Cielo's big event is the 50-meter freestyle and he broke the record in his heat. It fell in the next heat, but he still tied an Americas record and broke the South American record in the event.
Coventry set a new Olympic record in qualifying for the 200-meter backstroke semis.
In all, six Auburn swimmers advanced to an event semifinal today:
Cielo (50m free)
Coventry (200m back)
Margaret Hoelzer (200m back)
George Bovell (50m free)
Gideon Louw (50m free)
Fred Bousquet (100m fly)
The 50m free folks competed at 10:03 tonight (9:03 central). Hoelzer and Coventry swim in the same heat in the 200 back semis, tonight at 10:32 (9:32 central). Bousquet will be the last of the AU swimmers to compete tonight at 11:24 (10:24 central).
Here's the gist:
Cesar Cielo and Kirsty Coventry broke two more Olympic records in event preliminaries in Beijing. Cielo's big event is the 50-meter freestyle and he broke the record in his heat. It fell in the next heat, but he still tied an Americas record and broke the South American record in the event.
Coventry set a new Olympic record in qualifying for the 200-meter backstroke semis.
In all, six Auburn swimmers advanced to an event semifinal today:
Cielo (50m free)
Coventry (200m back)
Margaret Hoelzer (200m back)
George Bovell (50m free)
Gideon Louw (50m free)
Fred Bousquet (100m fly)
The 50m free folks competed at 10:03 tonight (9:03 central). Hoelzer and Coventry swim in the same heat in the 200 back semis, tonight at 10:32 (9:32 central). Bousquet will be the last of the AU swimmers to compete tonight at 11:24 (10:24 central).
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Highlights from Wednesday afternoon
It's been a long day, so I'm not transcribing anything tonight. I'll probably wish I had tomorrow.
First things first, a couple of links to my stories for Thursday.
* Feature on freshman linebacker Spencer Pybus, who might be facing a redshirt season because of depth. Then again, maybe he won't. Folks are talking him up around there. That's a nice story considering it went down to almost the last minute before Auburn gave him an offer.
* Notebook -- Leads with Drew Cole's move to safety, talks about James Swinton, Philip Pierre-Louis and Harry Adams and who is the fastest player on the team. Gets into injuries and some other stuff.
OK, some practice notes:
* Chris Todd and Kodi Burns didn't participate in the competitive drills this afternoon. Tommy Tuberville said they wanted to give them a break and also let Barrett Trotter and Neil Caudle get some reps in.
* Almost every big play I wrote down from 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 came with Neil Caudle at quarterback. That's both a good and bad thing.
The good: A well-placed 33-yard touchdown pass to Philip Pierre-Louis in 7-on-7; a well-placed 33-yard touchdown pass to James Swinton with Ryan Williams in coverage in 7-on-7; a perfectly thrown TD to Pierre-Louis of about 80 yards with D'Antoine Hood in coverage.
The bad: An ugly interception for a touchdown thrown out of his own end zone, caught by Josh Bynes around the 5 and returned for a walk-in TD; a deep ball to Rod Smith that Jerraud Powers made a nice play on and picked off at the goal line
* The Trotter plays I jotted down were a nice throw and catch where he hooked up with Tommy Trott in traffic for about a 20-yard gain and a nice throw to Derek Winter for a TD with D'Antoine Hood in coverage (I believe this was in 7-on-7).
* Watched the kickoff return drills a little closer than I have previously today. Pierre-Louis, Swinton and Harry Adams were the guys working there. I really like watching Pierre-Louis. He can flat out fly, but he's about 5-foot-nothing, 100-and-nothing. Maybe a faster version of Markeith Cooper if you remember him. I'll eat my hat if he doesn't play this year.
* Speaking of Pierre-Louis, he obviously had one of the better days. Aside from the long TD catch, the highlight for me was when he caught a short little pass and made Tray Blackmon fall down with a fake. Granted, the slippery playing surface from this morning's rainfall provided an assist. Still, the offensive guys gave Tray some grief over that one. It got a laugh out of me.
* In blue this afternoon: Mario Fannin (I don't think he did anything this afternoon, although he practiced some this morning) with a hamstring injury and Chris Evans. Out of blue and back for full participation were Harry Adams and Robert Dunn.
* Ben Tate didn't practice today. Tuberville said "he got his bell rung" in that collision I mentioned with Evans on Tuesday.
* Brad Lester and Tristan Davis rode stationary bikes during the afternoon practice. Tuberville said they could have practiced, but they're letting them recuperate for Saturday's scrimmage.
* Bart Eddins apparently injured his left shoulder sometime during practice. I didn't see it happen, but I saw him at the end of practice without his pads on (they were in shoulder pads and shorts this afternoon) and he'd apparently been icing the shoulder.
* It looks like Neiko Thorpe is in the lead to be Auburn's third corner. When they lined up in a nickel defense today, the DBs were Powers, McFadden, Thorpe, Etheridge and McNeil.
* You'll be glad to know that at the end of practice, Tuberville gathered everyone up and they held hands and sang Kumbaya. A particularly poignant moment was when Lee Ziemba, Ryan Pugh and Antonio Coleman sang in three-part harmony. Never one to miss an opportunity to brawl, though, Ziemba took his helmet off and cracked Coleman over the head with it when AC got out of tune in one of the choruses. Or maybe I'm making that up. You know us biased media people, always blowing things out of proportion.
Highlights of Tuberville's post-practice comments:
* Still no word from the Clearinghouse on Reggie Hunt, although it sounds like he thinks Hunt is going to make it into school.
* They'll be doing a light practice tomorrow afternoon. It's scheduled for 4:15, but at this point, I don't like telling anyone a set practice time. They seem to change on a daily basis, sometimes several times in a day. I think he said they'll do some walk-through stuff and work on the kicking game mostly.
* He said they've only received about half of the summer school grades and they haven't suffered an academic casualty yet.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's all I got for now.
First things first, a couple of links to my stories for Thursday.
* Feature on freshman linebacker Spencer Pybus, who might be facing a redshirt season because of depth. Then again, maybe he won't. Folks are talking him up around there. That's a nice story considering it went down to almost the last minute before Auburn gave him an offer.
* Notebook -- Leads with Drew Cole's move to safety, talks about James Swinton, Philip Pierre-Louis and Harry Adams and who is the fastest player on the team. Gets into injuries and some other stuff.
OK, some practice notes:
* Chris Todd and Kodi Burns didn't participate in the competitive drills this afternoon. Tommy Tuberville said they wanted to give them a break and also let Barrett Trotter and Neil Caudle get some reps in.
* Almost every big play I wrote down from 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 came with Neil Caudle at quarterback. That's both a good and bad thing.
The good: A well-placed 33-yard touchdown pass to Philip Pierre-Louis in 7-on-7; a well-placed 33-yard touchdown pass to James Swinton with Ryan Williams in coverage in 7-on-7; a perfectly thrown TD to Pierre-Louis of about 80 yards with D'Antoine Hood in coverage.
The bad: An ugly interception for a touchdown thrown out of his own end zone, caught by Josh Bynes around the 5 and returned for a walk-in TD; a deep ball to Rod Smith that Jerraud Powers made a nice play on and picked off at the goal line
* The Trotter plays I jotted down were a nice throw and catch where he hooked up with Tommy Trott in traffic for about a 20-yard gain and a nice throw to Derek Winter for a TD with D'Antoine Hood in coverage (I believe this was in 7-on-7).
* Watched the kickoff return drills a little closer than I have previously today. Pierre-Louis, Swinton and Harry Adams were the guys working there. I really like watching Pierre-Louis. He can flat out fly, but he's about 5-foot-nothing, 100-and-nothing. Maybe a faster version of Markeith Cooper if you remember him. I'll eat my hat if he doesn't play this year.
* Speaking of Pierre-Louis, he obviously had one of the better days. Aside from the long TD catch, the highlight for me was when he caught a short little pass and made Tray Blackmon fall down with a fake. Granted, the slippery playing surface from this morning's rainfall provided an assist. Still, the offensive guys gave Tray some grief over that one. It got a laugh out of me.
* In blue this afternoon: Mario Fannin (I don't think he did anything this afternoon, although he practiced some this morning) with a hamstring injury and Chris Evans. Out of blue and back for full participation were Harry Adams and Robert Dunn.
* Ben Tate didn't practice today. Tuberville said "he got his bell rung" in that collision I mentioned with Evans on Tuesday.
* Brad Lester and Tristan Davis rode stationary bikes during the afternoon practice. Tuberville said they could have practiced, but they're letting them recuperate for Saturday's scrimmage.
* Bart Eddins apparently injured his left shoulder sometime during practice. I didn't see it happen, but I saw him at the end of practice without his pads on (they were in shoulder pads and shorts this afternoon) and he'd apparently been icing the shoulder.
* It looks like Neiko Thorpe is in the lead to be Auburn's third corner. When they lined up in a nickel defense today, the DBs were Powers, McFadden, Thorpe, Etheridge and McNeil.
* You'll be glad to know that at the end of practice, Tuberville gathered everyone up and they held hands and sang Kumbaya. A particularly poignant moment was when Lee Ziemba, Ryan Pugh and Antonio Coleman sang in three-part harmony. Never one to miss an opportunity to brawl, though, Ziemba took his helmet off and cracked Coleman over the head with it when AC got out of tune in one of the choruses. Or maybe I'm making that up. You know us biased media people, always blowing things out of proportion.
Highlights of Tuberville's post-practice comments:
* Still no word from the Clearinghouse on Reggie Hunt, although it sounds like he thinks Hunt is going to make it into school.
* They'll be doing a light practice tomorrow afternoon. It's scheduled for 4:15, but at this point, I don't like telling anyone a set practice time. They seem to change on a daily basis, sometimes several times in a day. I think he said they'll do some walk-through stuff and work on the kicking game mostly.
* He said they've only received about half of the summer school grades and they haven't suffered an academic casualty yet.
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's all I got for now.
Cielo takes bronze, new record for AU
Auburn's Cesar Cielo won bronze tonight in the 100-meter freestyle, making it seven medals now won by current and former Auburn swimmers (a new AU record for a single Olympics). In other words, right this second, Auburn is tied with Great Britain for 10th in the medal count. Couple more and they'll tie Germany for ninth -- and I'm betting they win at least two more when Margaret Hoelzer and Kirsty Coventry square off in the women's 200-meter backstroke.
Cielo's a bad man. His time of 47.67 seconds in tonight's event was a new record for a South American swimmer. I wrote a story about him this summer around the time of the U.S. Olympic Trials (although he's Brazilian). He twice won NCAA Swimmer of the Year, won 10 NCAA titles and 19 SEC titles, all Auburn records. So he decided to forego his senior year at Auburn to go pro. That's how good he is -- he's skipping a year of eligibility to become a professional swimmer.
Here's where AU's medal count stands right now:
Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe: Silver x 3
Fred Bosquet, France: Silver
Cesar Cielo, Brazil: Bronze
Margaret Hoelzer, United States: Bronze
Matt Targett, Australia: Bronze
Cielo's a bad man. His time of 47.67 seconds in tonight's event was a new record for a South American swimmer. I wrote a story about him this summer around the time of the U.S. Olympic Trials (although he's Brazilian). He twice won NCAA Swimmer of the Year, won 10 NCAA titles and 19 SEC titles, all Auburn records. So he decided to forego his senior year at Auburn to go pro. That's how good he is -- he's skipping a year of eligibility to become a professional swimmer.
Here's where AU's medal count stands right now:
Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwe: Silver x 3
Fred Bosquet, France: Silver
Cesar Cielo, Brazil: Bronze
Margaret Hoelzer, United States: Bronze
Matt Targett, Australia: Bronze
Jarboe to Troy
Y'all see where Josh Jarboe is going to Troy? He was one of the top high school receivers in the country last year and signed with Oklahoma, but got himself in a little trouble before he got there. A little more after he got there, including a freestyle rap on Youtube that became a little Internet sensation. He was kicked off the team not long after that thing began making the rounds. I started to embed it in a post, but after watching it I realized my boss would have a coronary (it's got a little bad language).
Instead, here's a highlight reel of Jarboe. He's a very talented player. I know Georgia fans were excited about the possibility of him going to UGA last year before he committed to Oklahoma. I'm guessing they're glad he opted to go elsewhere, especially in light of the other disciplinary issues they've had this year. Besides, they signed two super-talented receivers this year in A.J. Green and Tavarres King anyway.
Instead, here's a highlight reel of Jarboe. He's a very talented player. I know Georgia fans were excited about the possibility of him going to UGA last year before he committed to Oklahoma. I'm guessing they're glad he opted to go elsewhere, especially in light of the other disciplinary issues they've had this year. Besides, they signed two super-talented receivers this year in A.J. Green and Tavarres King anyway.
Quick observations from the morning practice
* Practice was originally supposed to be closed this morning, but it wasn't. No idea what was going on with that change. I kinda thought they might start closing it down after yesterday, which would be understandable. As long as they're open, though, I'm gonna be there and write what I see. They practiced at the football complex instead of the intramural fields and we watched from the railings with the fans who were in attendance.
* Drew Cole has moved from cornerback to safety. I spoke with him after practice about the move and will probably have something on that in tomorrow's paper.
* Wearing non-contact jerseys today: Robert Dunn, Mario Fannin, Harry Adams, Chris Evans
* Didn't see Brad Lester or Ben Tate out there
* Spoke with or listened to a ton of guys after the morning session: Don Dunn, Greg Knox, Chris Slaughter, James Swinton, Tray Blackmon, Zac Etheridge, Cole, Zach Clayton and Barrett Trotter. Should have some good stuff coming from those guys in the next few days.
* Slaughter and Swinton continue to receive a lot of praise for their performances in camp. Slaughter made a beautiful diving catch on a Kodi Burns bomb today in practice. We'll talk to Tommy Tuberville after the evening practice.
* Drew Cole has moved from cornerback to safety. I spoke with him after practice about the move and will probably have something on that in tomorrow's paper.
* Wearing non-contact jerseys today: Robert Dunn, Mario Fannin, Harry Adams, Chris Evans
* Didn't see Brad Lester or Ben Tate out there
* Spoke with or listened to a ton of guys after the morning session: Don Dunn, Greg Knox, Chris Slaughter, James Swinton, Tray Blackmon, Zac Etheridge, Cole, Zach Clayton and Barrett Trotter. Should have some good stuff coming from those guys in the next few days.
* Slaughter and Swinton continue to receive a lot of praise for their performances in camp. Slaughter made a beautiful diving catch on a Kodi Burns bomb today in practice. We'll talk to Tommy Tuberville after the evening practice.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Another silver for Coventry
Ex-Auburn swimmer Kirsty Coventry won her third silver medal of these Olympics tonight, placing second behind Australia's Stephanie Rice in the 200-meter individual medley. Both swimmers beat Rice's previous world record, with Coventry clocking a 2:08.59 and Rice a 2:08.45.
Coventry has also won silvers in 400m IM and 100m backstroke in Beijing. She also won three medals in 2004, giving her six for her career -- three more than the previous record for an Auburn swimmer.
In other Auburn Olympics news, Eric Shanteau, who gained international attention when he announced that he'd been diagnosed with testicular cancer after the Olympic Trials, failed to qualify for the finals in the 200m breastroke. He clocked a personal-best time, but finished in 10th place in 2:10.10. He needed to place eighth to advance to the finals.
Also, Auburn's Matt Targett and Cesar Cielo qualified for the 100m freestyle finals by finishing fourth and eighth, respectively, in the semis. I believe that finals race is Thursday.
From Auburn's release, previewing Wednesday's action:
Incoming freshman Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace gets things started at 5:39 a.m. CT as she competes in the 100m freestyle prelim. Wallace will swim in the third heat, occupying lane four, and enters with a seed time of 56.01.
Former Auburn swimmers get in on the action beginning at 6:22 a.m. CT as two are set to compete in the men’s 200m individual medley preliminary. Nick Bovell (Trinidad & Tobago) goes first in heat two, swimming in lane two, with a seed time of 2:03.02. Jeremy Knowles (Bahamas) follows in heat three, occupying lane eight, with a seed time of 2:02.79.
Rounding out the Auburn contingent in the session will be incoming freshman Stephanie Horner. She is part of the pool of swimmers available for the Canadian 800m freestyle relay. Canada is scheduled to swim at 7:06 a.m. CT, going in lane one in the first heat. The team enters with a seed time of 8:04.19.
Schedule
Coventry has also won silvers in 400m IM and 100m backstroke in Beijing. She also won three medals in 2004, giving her six for her career -- three more than the previous record for an Auburn swimmer.
In other Auburn Olympics news, Eric Shanteau, who gained international attention when he announced that he'd been diagnosed with testicular cancer after the Olympic Trials, failed to qualify for the finals in the 200m breastroke. He clocked a personal-best time, but finished in 10th place in 2:10.10. He needed to place eighth to advance to the finals.
Also, Auburn's Matt Targett and Cesar Cielo qualified for the 100m freestyle finals by finishing fourth and eighth, respectively, in the semis. I believe that finals race is Thursday.
From Auburn's release, previewing Wednesday's action:
Incoming freshman Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace gets things started at 5:39 a.m. CT as she competes in the 100m freestyle prelim. Wallace will swim in the third heat, occupying lane four, and enters with a seed time of 56.01.
Former Auburn swimmers get in on the action beginning at 6:22 a.m. CT as two are set to compete in the men’s 200m individual medley preliminary. Nick Bovell (Trinidad & Tobago) goes first in heat two, swimming in lane two, with a seed time of 2:03.02. Jeremy Knowles (Bahamas) follows in heat three, occupying lane eight, with a seed time of 2:02.79.
Rounding out the Auburn contingent in the session will be incoming freshman Stephanie Horner. She is part of the pool of swimmers available for the Canadian 800m freestyle relay. Canada is scheduled to swim at 7:06 a.m. CT, going in lane one in the first heat. The team enters with a seed time of 8:04.19.
Schedule
Tony Franklin Tuesday Q/A
Here's what Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin had to say to reporters after Tuesday's practice:
On Saturday’s scrimmage:
Saturday I thought we got a lot accomplished, a lot of guys made plays. It seems like six weeks ago that Saturday happened, so my memory fails me on exactly what happened. There’s been a lot of film since there. We had good tempo as the scrimmage progressed. Early on, we didn’t have real good tempo and that’s because we’re a little slower out here right now than what we normally will be. But trying to get through two-a-days and trying to make sure that the defense is able to accomplish what they need to accomplish … so Saturday took a while for us to get our tempo the way that we want it. But overall we played hard and we had some good playmakers that made plays, so I was pleased with what happened.
On the quarterback race:
I’ll tell ya what’s fun. This has been the most fun for me about watching the quarterbacks. It’s like a great heavyweight championship fight and one guy lands what you think is a knockout blow and the other guy falls against the ropes and 5 seconds later he comes back and he lands a blow that you think’s gonna knock the other one out. And it happens every day to where one guy will make a throw that just blows your mind and then the other one will walk in and he’ll trump it. And that’s phenomenal because it shows that they’re both competitors, that neither one of them wither from the competition, they step up to it. And I think, again, like I’ve said many times, the longer this thing progresses, the more that it becomes such a wonderful problem because they’ve both risen to the occasion, they’ve both gotten better and I’m very tickled with how they’ve both played.
On if he still thinks it will be the week before Louisiana-Monroe that they’ll name a starter:
I don’t have a clue. I don’t have a clue.
If they decide to split it up, will they even announce a starter:
I don’t know, it’s something coach Tuberville and I will sit down and talk about and see what we feel like is best for the team. Like I told you I guess the last time that we talked is that it’s something that right now I’d have a very difficult time doing that because they’re both really good. They’re both making plays, they’re both getting better at their weaknesses. Kodi’s gotten a lot better throwing, Chris has gotten a lot better running, so it’s really like I said. It’s one of those things that the harder it gets, the tougher the competiton gets, then the better that they both get. So it’s been really a blessing for both of them. They’ve both become better.
On what he’s seen from the receivers:
I see talent that’s good enough to win in this league and I see it our job to make ‘em better. That’s what we’re hired to do and I’m very pleased with it. They’ve stepped up, they’ve gotten better. They’re a lot better now than they were at the end of the spring. Greg and Steve have both done an incredible job with coaching those guys and getting them better. The details they’ve paid attention to and they’re good enough to win in this league. It’s our job just to make sure we do a good job coaching them.
On receivers that have stood out:
You know it’s really several that stand out. The biggest probably most pleasant thing that’s happened so far has been Chris Slaughter. He’s a guy that you can tell his talent, but the work ethic and the day in and day out grind of doing the right things and making plays and all that, just I never saw it. And from the day that we started, the first practice that we had, he was like a different person. I keep waiting for it to fall off and it hasn’t, so that’s been probably the most pleasant surprise. Gabe McKenzie’s been another pleasant surprise. Gabe has caught, he’s had very few drops, if any, in competition. That’s very pleasant. His routes are still not as crisp as they need to be, but he has stepped up and shown more promise.
On how many freshmen might play:
Well, the running back probably, Eric, will probably play. Philip will probably play. Derek is a question mark. Not really 100 percent sure yet whether he will or not. Darvin will probably play. So those guys are definitely gonna play.
On the importance of having Jason Bosley back in practice:
It means we’ve got a snap, you know? We had a day where he and Pugh both were out and it was a challenge, as you saw Tyronne getting his first time ever at center. But it’s a lot for leadership and it helps getting Pugh back getting reps at tackle too. But it’s big. Your center on this team plays a huge role, so it’s good to have him back.
(I can’t hear this question well, but I think the reporter asked if Barrett Trotter or Neil Caudle has separated himself as the No. 3 quarterback):
Not really. I mean they’re both good enough. It’s just a matter of probably just making a decision one day as to which one that we’re gonna use.
On Saturday’s scrimmage:
Saturday I thought we got a lot accomplished, a lot of guys made plays. It seems like six weeks ago that Saturday happened, so my memory fails me on exactly what happened. There’s been a lot of film since there. We had good tempo as the scrimmage progressed. Early on, we didn’t have real good tempo and that’s because we’re a little slower out here right now than what we normally will be. But trying to get through two-a-days and trying to make sure that the defense is able to accomplish what they need to accomplish … so Saturday took a while for us to get our tempo the way that we want it. But overall we played hard and we had some good playmakers that made plays, so I was pleased with what happened.
On the quarterback race:
I’ll tell ya what’s fun. This has been the most fun for me about watching the quarterbacks. It’s like a great heavyweight championship fight and one guy lands what you think is a knockout blow and the other guy falls against the ropes and 5 seconds later he comes back and he lands a blow that you think’s gonna knock the other one out. And it happens every day to where one guy will make a throw that just blows your mind and then the other one will walk in and he’ll trump it. And that’s phenomenal because it shows that they’re both competitors, that neither one of them wither from the competition, they step up to it. And I think, again, like I’ve said many times, the longer this thing progresses, the more that it becomes such a wonderful problem because they’ve both risen to the occasion, they’ve both gotten better and I’m very tickled with how they’ve both played.
On if he still thinks it will be the week before Louisiana-Monroe that they’ll name a starter:
I don’t have a clue. I don’t have a clue.
If they decide to split it up, will they even announce a starter:
I don’t know, it’s something coach Tuberville and I will sit down and talk about and see what we feel like is best for the team. Like I told you I guess the last time that we talked is that it’s something that right now I’d have a very difficult time doing that because they’re both really good. They’re both making plays, they’re both getting better at their weaknesses. Kodi’s gotten a lot better throwing, Chris has gotten a lot better running, so it’s really like I said. It’s one of those things that the harder it gets, the tougher the competiton gets, then the better that they both get. So it’s been really a blessing for both of them. They’ve both become better.
On what he’s seen from the receivers:
I see talent that’s good enough to win in this league and I see it our job to make ‘em better. That’s what we’re hired to do and I’m very pleased with it. They’ve stepped up, they’ve gotten better. They’re a lot better now than they were at the end of the spring. Greg and Steve have both done an incredible job with coaching those guys and getting them better. The details they’ve paid attention to and they’re good enough to win in this league. It’s our job just to make sure we do a good job coaching them.
On receivers that have stood out:
You know it’s really several that stand out. The biggest probably most pleasant thing that’s happened so far has been Chris Slaughter. He’s a guy that you can tell his talent, but the work ethic and the day in and day out grind of doing the right things and making plays and all that, just I never saw it. And from the day that we started, the first practice that we had, he was like a different person. I keep waiting for it to fall off and it hasn’t, so that’s been probably the most pleasant surprise. Gabe McKenzie’s been another pleasant surprise. Gabe has caught, he’s had very few drops, if any, in competition. That’s very pleasant. His routes are still not as crisp as they need to be, but he has stepped up and shown more promise.
On how many freshmen might play:
Well, the running back probably, Eric, will probably play. Philip will probably play. Derek is a question mark. Not really 100 percent sure yet whether he will or not. Darvin will probably play. So those guys are definitely gonna play.
On the importance of having Jason Bosley back in practice:
It means we’ve got a snap, you know? We had a day where he and Pugh both were out and it was a challenge, as you saw Tyronne getting his first time ever at center. But it’s a lot for leadership and it helps getting Pugh back getting reps at tackle too. But it’s big. Your center on this team plays a huge role, so it’s good to have him back.
(I can’t hear this question well, but I think the reporter asked if Barrett Trotter or Neil Caudle has separated himself as the No. 3 quarterback):
Not really. I mean they’re both good enough. It’s just a matter of probably just making a decision one day as to which one that we’re gonna use.
Furr bound for Memphis
Our columnist, Troy Johnson, spoke with DeRon Furr Sr. today about his son's decision to transfer to Memphis. I'm glad to see that's sorted out and that he's excited about playing football again. It was a shame the way things ended up here for him because, as I said on here before, I liked DeRon in the handful of times I dealt with him. A fresh start is exactly what he needs. Good luck to him.
La-Monroe game available on PPV
Auburn announced today that the Aug. 30 against Louisiana-Monroe will air on cable pay-per-view in Alabama and Louisiana and will be available on PPV for DirecTV and Dish Network subscribers.
It's a 7 p.m. game here in the Eastern time zone. Potential home cable and commercial PPV purchasers can call 1-800-TV-STARS for more information or to order the game.
It's a 7 p.m. game here in the Eastern time zone. Potential home cable and commercial PPV purchasers can call 1-800-TV-STARS for more information or to order the game.
Tuesday practice notes
I'd imagine you're going to read a lot more about practice fights in the near future, because of the participants in today's scrape. It started out between Ryan Pugh and Antonio Coleman in pass-rush drills, but Lee Ziemba ran up in there as it continued and I don't believe it was to break it up. There were a lot of people trying to end it, including players, coaches and trainers, but it turned into a big mess and they crashed over a water cooler. When they cleared it out, Coleman was initially lying face down on the ground and was attended to by trainers. After a minute or so, he rolled over and eventually got up and was fine. He was back out practicing soon afterwards, but I know everyone watching was thinking back to the spring, when an after-the-whistle fight between Ziemba and Coleman left Coleman with a sprained neck.
Tommy Tuberville was flippant when asked about it after practice, saying he wants them ornery every day. That's not the attitude he or the coaches showed immediately after the fight cleared, though. Like Paul Rhoads said after practice, there's a good kind of aggression -- and fights sometimes happen because of that -- and then there's going over the line. I guess that's the fine line they walk every time one of these things happens. Eight times out of 10, nothing comes of it. But then you occasionally run into the broken leg or the nearly broken neck and you have to answer questions about it. What's the proper reaction to it? I'm not sure.
* Talked with Harry Adams today. He didn't get his wind knocked out the other day. He had a bruised lung and was spitting up blood -- lots of it -- after taking a hit from Antoine Carter in a tackling drill. After his ride in the ambulance, he said, he spent about five hours in the hospital, but he's OK now. He came back out to practice today after it had started and rode the stationary bike and did some light running. He expects to be back at practice soon.
* Jason Bosley was back at practice today. He did most everything except pass-rush drill, so he had a ringside seat for the brawl. Bosley, by the way, said he doesn't think there's any animosity between the offensive and defensive line and didn't think the brawl was a big deal. He said he doesn't think the back problem he had will be a continuing thing.
* Ben Tate came out after taking a big hit from Chris Evans while catching a screen pass in 11-on-11. Tate was kind of hung out to dry on that play. Evans gave him a good thud, but if he was going full-bore, he'd have taken Tate's head off. Tate and Bosley rode back to the football building in a university van after practice -- which has to be one of the top benefits of being injured.
* Robert Dunn and Mario Fannin, both with shoulder injuries, wore non-contact jerseys in practice.
* I thought Carter, Jomarcus Savage and Zach Clayton had some good reps in pass-rush drill before the brawl. Clayton's a big bull. He's been extremely impressive in those one-on-one matchups.
* This just in, Cameron Henderson is fast. Can't see him playing this year because he's way too skinny, but he's gonna be good.
* Somebody asked Tony Franklin which freshmen he sees playing this year, and he actually rattled off a couple. His responses: Eric Smith (probably), Philip Pierre-Louis (probably), Derek Winter (question mark), Darvin Adams (probably).
I've barely interacted with him, but I like Tony Franklin. You always appreciate a coach, especially a coordinator, who gets it and he does. Same thing with Paul Rhoads. Both of them spoke with the pack after practice. I think I'll probably post the Q/A with Franklin later.
Tommy Tuberville was flippant when asked about it after practice, saying he wants them ornery every day. That's not the attitude he or the coaches showed immediately after the fight cleared, though. Like Paul Rhoads said after practice, there's a good kind of aggression -- and fights sometimes happen because of that -- and then there's going over the line. I guess that's the fine line they walk every time one of these things happens. Eight times out of 10, nothing comes of it. But then you occasionally run into the broken leg or the nearly broken neck and you have to answer questions about it. What's the proper reaction to it? I'm not sure.
* Talked with Harry Adams today. He didn't get his wind knocked out the other day. He had a bruised lung and was spitting up blood -- lots of it -- after taking a hit from Antoine Carter in a tackling drill. After his ride in the ambulance, he said, he spent about five hours in the hospital, but he's OK now. He came back out to practice today after it had started and rode the stationary bike and did some light running. He expects to be back at practice soon.
* Jason Bosley was back at practice today. He did most everything except pass-rush drill, so he had a ringside seat for the brawl. Bosley, by the way, said he doesn't think there's any animosity between the offensive and defensive line and didn't think the brawl was a big deal. He said he doesn't think the back problem he had will be a continuing thing.
* Ben Tate came out after taking a big hit from Chris Evans while catching a screen pass in 11-on-11. Tate was kind of hung out to dry on that play. Evans gave him a good thud, but if he was going full-bore, he'd have taken Tate's head off. Tate and Bosley rode back to the football building in a university van after practice -- which has to be one of the top benefits of being injured.
* Robert Dunn and Mario Fannin, both with shoulder injuries, wore non-contact jerseys in practice.
* I thought Carter, Jomarcus Savage and Zach Clayton had some good reps in pass-rush drill before the brawl. Clayton's a big bull. He's been extremely impressive in those one-on-one matchups.
* This just in, Cameron Henderson is fast. Can't see him playing this year because he's way too skinny, but he's gonna be good.
* Somebody asked Tony Franklin which freshmen he sees playing this year, and he actually rattled off a couple. His responses: Eric Smith (probably), Philip Pierre-Louis (probably), Derek Winter (question mark), Darvin Adams (probably).
I've barely interacted with him, but I like Tony Franklin. You always appreciate a coach, especially a coordinator, who gets it and he does. Same thing with Paul Rhoads. Both of them spoke with the pack after practice. I think I'll probably post the Q/A with Franklin later.
Former Auburn student wins gold
Glenn Eller, who was a student at Auburn a few years back, won a gold medal in double trap shotgun an hour or so ago and set a couple of Olympic records. Eller is a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, which is based here at Fort Benning.
Here's a story on Eller that ran before the Olympics in his hometown Houston Chronicle.
The story I just posted for the Ledger.
Here's a story on Eller that ran before the Olympics in his hometown Houston Chronicle.
The story I just posted for the Ledger.
James Willis Q/A
Auburn linebackers coach James Willis talked to a group of reporters after Monday evening's practice for about five minutes. Here's what he had to say:
Thoughts on the scrimmage?
It’s a good starting point. Our guys came out and they competed. The biggest thing we were looking for in that first scrimmage is how guys respond under pressure. Alignments, understanding formations, understanding coverages and just overall effort getting to the ball and I think our guys came out and did a pretty good job of that. It’s just a starting point. We’ve got a long way to go.
And today?
Here’s what I feel about a feel of the defense. I feel like our guys are right now in the whole swing of training camp, getting hot, getting tired and sore and all that stuff, but they come out every morning and they compete. They understand what’s ahead of ‘em, they come out and they attack the task at hand. So that’s what we’re really proud of.
Anybody really improve since spring practice?
I think a lot of guys have. I’m very proud of Adam Herring. He’s really come out and paid great attention to detail. His assignments, his technique, his fundamentals, everything is right on track with where he should be right now. I really take hats off to him. Also Josh Bynes is coming with a tremendous job also.
Bynes and Herring still at (middle linebacker)?
Yes sir.
On the importance of Bynes following a strong spring with a strong fall:
The key word is consistency. That’s one thing we’ve challenged Josh with from day one is being consistent. He’ll come out one day and be all over the place and the next day you might not even hear his name being called. That’s what we kinda gave him a challenge as, as far as coming out to this training camp and seeing if he can improve in that area, and I think he has.
On the competition between Evans and Johnson for the starting job:
It’s a great problem to have. Right now, again, if you gave me a starting roster, they’d both be on the first team. That’s a great problem to have.
On the play of Stevens and Blackmon:
They haven’t missed a day. They’ve both come out with some nagging injuries here or there, but they both come out, they line up and they perform every snap, so I’m very proud about that.
On how many guys he needs to be game-ready:
You’d rather have six, but right now we have seven. That’s a good thing. I mean, Pybus has really stepped up and he’s one that I’m gonna keep my eye on. If he’ll keep pushing and keep pushing, he may have a chance to help us this season.
On who would be the seven:
Of course, Craig Stevens and Courtney Harden. Tray and Merrill. You’ve also got … Chris and Evans. And now Adam Herring and Pybus both are giving a push for that seventh spot. … and Bynes also. So we’ve got some depth now and that’s a great thing for us right now because for the last few years we haven’t had that at linebacker, so right now we’re pretty strong in the depth category.
On what he saw in Pybus, who wasn’t especially highly recruited:
That’s the thing. He came to camp for two strong years and he came and competed. Every year I saw him get better and better. The kid can run fast, he can jump high and he can cover. Things like that kinda show up, plus he loves Auburn. He’s one that every year he came back, he was loyal, he came to camp every time we had a camp. And that’s one thing that means a lot to us.
Is he making plays?
He’s making plays. If you go back and watch the scrimmage, his name was called several times – a lot of times in one series. So that’s outstanding.
When did you start seeing the light come on as far as doing that?
I think the second day of pads. The first day of course everybody looks good in shorts. The first day the pads came on, I think he kinda hit a wall. Coach Tub (?) put some more defenses in and we gave him a challenge as far as coming out and seeing if you can push past that wall, and he did. He came out when the bullets were live just making plays, so that was very good to see.
Is he still gonna redshirt?
Hard to say. Hard to say. I mean he’s doing some good things out there. We don’t recruit guys to redshirt. He came in and he has a chance to play if he can come out and keep getting better.
On Craig Stevens:
Here’s what we gave him. Craig is the kind of guy for us at linebacker that he does all the right things. He’s always in the right spot, always doing the right thing in his assignments. Our challenge to Craig was doing something special. Making that special play, that tremendous play. And I think he’s done some of those things in camp now, so he’s definitely improved in that area.
On the changes he’s seen in Tray Blackmon:
Every year, he gets better and better. You see maturity. He matures right in front of your face. This year he came out and again, Tray’s been the kind of guy where maybe every day he doesn’t show up. Well he’s been showing up every day in practice, fighting through some soreness. He’s one of those tight-muscle guys and he gets sore pretty fast, but he’s been pushing right through, and I’m proud of that.
On whether this could be Tray’s breakout year if he stays healthy:
I think he can and he deserves it. He’s been through a lot and he’s put in the hard work and a lot of sacrifice, so we’ve got high hopes for him.
On whether he’s been around another linebacker with such a special collection of tools:
Myself, none. I was here as a graduate assistant when Dontarrious was here and Karlos Dansby and those guys were special. Tray’s got that potential to be special.
Thoughts on the scrimmage?
It’s a good starting point. Our guys came out and they competed. The biggest thing we were looking for in that first scrimmage is how guys respond under pressure. Alignments, understanding formations, understanding coverages and just overall effort getting to the ball and I think our guys came out and did a pretty good job of that. It’s just a starting point. We’ve got a long way to go.
And today?
Here’s what I feel about a feel of the defense. I feel like our guys are right now in the whole swing of training camp, getting hot, getting tired and sore and all that stuff, but they come out every morning and they compete. They understand what’s ahead of ‘em, they come out and they attack the task at hand. So that’s what we’re really proud of.
Anybody really improve since spring practice?
I think a lot of guys have. I’m very proud of Adam Herring. He’s really come out and paid great attention to detail. His assignments, his technique, his fundamentals, everything is right on track with where he should be right now. I really take hats off to him. Also Josh Bynes is coming with a tremendous job also.
Bynes and Herring still at (middle linebacker)?
Yes sir.
On the importance of Bynes following a strong spring with a strong fall:
The key word is consistency. That’s one thing we’ve challenged Josh with from day one is being consistent. He’ll come out one day and be all over the place and the next day you might not even hear his name being called. That’s what we kinda gave him a challenge as, as far as coming out to this training camp and seeing if he can improve in that area, and I think he has.
On the competition between Evans and Johnson for the starting job:
It’s a great problem to have. Right now, again, if you gave me a starting roster, they’d both be on the first team. That’s a great problem to have.
On the play of Stevens and Blackmon:
They haven’t missed a day. They’ve both come out with some nagging injuries here or there, but they both come out, they line up and they perform every snap, so I’m very proud about that.
On how many guys he needs to be game-ready:
You’d rather have six, but right now we have seven. That’s a good thing. I mean, Pybus has really stepped up and he’s one that I’m gonna keep my eye on. If he’ll keep pushing and keep pushing, he may have a chance to help us this season.
On who would be the seven:
Of course, Craig Stevens and Courtney Harden. Tray and Merrill. You’ve also got … Chris and Evans. And now Adam Herring and Pybus both are giving a push for that seventh spot. … and Bynes also. So we’ve got some depth now and that’s a great thing for us right now because for the last few years we haven’t had that at linebacker, so right now we’re pretty strong in the depth category.
On what he saw in Pybus, who wasn’t especially highly recruited:
That’s the thing. He came to camp for two strong years and he came and competed. Every year I saw him get better and better. The kid can run fast, he can jump high and he can cover. Things like that kinda show up, plus he loves Auburn. He’s one that every year he came back, he was loyal, he came to camp every time we had a camp. And that’s one thing that means a lot to us.
Is he making plays?
He’s making plays. If you go back and watch the scrimmage, his name was called several times – a lot of times in one series. So that’s outstanding.
When did you start seeing the light come on as far as doing that?
I think the second day of pads. The first day of course everybody looks good in shorts. The first day the pads came on, I think he kinda hit a wall. Coach Tub (?) put some more defenses in and we gave him a challenge as far as coming out and seeing if you can push past that wall, and he did. He came out when the bullets were live just making plays, so that was very good to see.
Is he still gonna redshirt?
Hard to say. Hard to say. I mean he’s doing some good things out there. We don’t recruit guys to redshirt. He came in and he has a chance to play if he can come out and keep getting better.
On Craig Stevens:
Here’s what we gave him. Craig is the kind of guy for us at linebacker that he does all the right things. He’s always in the right spot, always doing the right thing in his assignments. Our challenge to Craig was doing something special. Making that special play, that tremendous play. And I think he’s done some of those things in camp now, so he’s definitely improved in that area.
On the changes he’s seen in Tray Blackmon:
Every year, he gets better and better. You see maturity. He matures right in front of your face. This year he came out and again, Tray’s been the kind of guy where maybe every day he doesn’t show up. Well he’s been showing up every day in practice, fighting through some soreness. He’s one of those tight-muscle guys and he gets sore pretty fast, but he’s been pushing right through, and I’m proud of that.
On whether this could be Tray’s breakout year if he stays healthy:
I think he can and he deserves it. He’s been through a lot and he’s put in the hard work and a lot of sacrifice, so we’ve got high hopes for him.
On whether he’s been around another linebacker with such a special collection of tools:
Myself, none. I was here as a graduate assistant when Dontarrious was here and Karlos Dansby and those guys were special. Tray’s got that potential to be special.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Two more medals for Tigers
Just got home from Auburn. Auburn's Kirsty Coventry and Margaret Hoelzer took silver and bronze, respectively, in the women's 100-meter backstroke about an hour ago. America's Natalie Coughlin, whose world record in the event Coventry broke yesterday, took the gold.
That's pretty cool for Coventry and Hoelzer, who were roommates at Auburn. They're also probably the top two contenders for the 200m backstroke. Both set a world record in the event this year, Coventry first and then Hoelzer broke it at the U.S. Olympic Trials. They'll compete in that one in a couple days.
Coventry continues to tear it up in these Olympics. A few minutes ago, she set an Olympic record in the 200m individual medley semifinals with a time of 2:09.53. She'll compete in the finals Tuesday night. Coventry won bronze in 200 IM in 2004. She's already medaled twice in Beijing, taking silver in 400 IM and 100m back.
Schedule
That's pretty cool for Coventry and Hoelzer, who were roommates at Auburn. They're also probably the top two contenders for the 200m backstroke. Both set a world record in the event this year, Coventry first and then Hoelzer broke it at the U.S. Olympic Trials. They'll compete in that one in a couple days.
Coventry continues to tear it up in these Olympics. A few minutes ago, she set an Olympic record in the 200m individual medley semifinals with a time of 2:09.53. She'll compete in the finals Tuesday night. Coventry won bronze in 200 IM in 2004. She's already medaled twice in Beijing, taking silver in 400 IM and 100m back.
Schedule
Short notes
Missed a good bit, but here are a couple of quick things from this evening's practice.
* The defense had completely dominated the last couple of 11-on-11s I watched, but I thought the offense fared a little better just now. I might have scored that one a draw.
* The biggest news from the press conference was that Marcus Jemison had surgery today to repair a broken leg. In my professional medical opinion, I'd say he's probably redshirting this season.
* Sen'Derrick Marks had a nice pass breakup at the line.
* One of the QBs threw a screen right into Raven Gray's stomach, but he dropped it.
* The players and Tommy Tuberville were available after the morning practice, so nothing new there. But LB coach James Willis and OL coach Hugh Nall spoke with reporters after the evening workout. Got a couple interesting things out of that, including that Willis thinks Tray Blackmon has the most special combination of skills of any LB he's worked with. I assume that's only as a coach, but he didn't specify. He brought up Dontarrius Thomas and Karlos Dansby and said Tray has the ability to be that kind of special player.
Obviously most of us agree with that assessment. It's a matter of him staying healthy and out of trouble. When I covered high schools several years ago, I knew some coaches whose team was in the same region with LaGrange (Blackmon's school). When their team was coming to the line for a running play, the QB was supposed to come to the line and then audible into a run in the opposite direction of wherever Blackmon was lined up. Of course that meant running toward Wesley Woodyard, who went on to be one of the top LBs in the SEC for the last couple years, but they looked at that as a preferable option. In other words, Tray's pretty good.
* The defense had completely dominated the last couple of 11-on-11s I watched, but I thought the offense fared a little better just now. I might have scored that one a draw.
* The biggest news from the press conference was that Marcus Jemison had surgery today to repair a broken leg. In my professional medical opinion, I'd say he's probably redshirting this season.
* Sen'Derrick Marks had a nice pass breakup at the line.
* One of the QBs threw a screen right into Raven Gray's stomach, but he dropped it.
* The players and Tommy Tuberville were available after the morning practice, so nothing new there. But LB coach James Willis and OL coach Hugh Nall spoke with reporters after the evening workout. Got a couple interesting things out of that, including that Willis thinks Tray Blackmon has the most special combination of skills of any LB he's worked with. I assume that's only as a coach, but he didn't specify. He brought up Dontarrius Thomas and Karlos Dansby and said Tray has the ability to be that kind of special player.
Obviously most of us agree with that assessment. It's a matter of him staying healthy and out of trouble. When I covered high schools several years ago, I knew some coaches whose team was in the same region with LaGrange (Blackmon's school). When their team was coming to the line for a running play, the QB was supposed to come to the line and then audible into a run in the opposite direction of wherever Blackmon was lined up. Of course that meant running toward Wesley Woodyard, who went on to be one of the top LBs in the SEC for the last couple years, but they looked at that as a preferable option. In other words, Tray's pretty good.
Tuberville press conference quotes
Auburn released a transcript from Tommy Tuberville's preseason press conference today. I intended to just post a link to their official site so you could read it there, but it doesn't appear to be up. So here it is:
Opening statement:
“You would hope to be farther along than what we are. You always think that. After watching all the practice film over the last few days and our scrimmage, I think we’ve made a lot of progress. There is a good possibility we could have a good football team but a lot of things have to fall in place. You need to stay away from the injury bug as we found out pretty early losing a guy like Aairon Savage. It throws you in a tailspin trying to find who can play and who will step up. That’s probably thrown in into a situation where we’ll have to look a little harder at some of the true freshmen coming in. That will work itself out. I remember a few years ago we moved Tre Smith from running back to the secondary just trying to find someone we felt had some experience. We won’t do that. We won’t move anybody over. We feel like the freshmen are moving along pretty well and as a group we can fill that void. It’s hard to fill a void when you lose experience like that.
“Overall, our camp has gone well. The weather has cooperated. We’ve gotten a lot more done since the weather has been nice, other than the first couple of days where it was almost unbearable. I think the guys came in in good shape and with a good frame of mind. We’ve got good leadership. It really takes good leadership in a long camp like this one. Overall the guys have worked hard and we’ve got a chance to
get better if we keep working hard and are able to have guys out there consistently. We’ve even cut practices back in length. We looked at last year and practices were about 25 minutes longer but we’ve been getting more reps because of the tempo we are going at. We haven’t lost anything and knowing that is the reason we cut a little time out.
“Let’s talk about the offense first. Kodi (Burns) and Chris (Todd) both are a little tired. They are hanging in there. You need your quarterbacks to step up and show the players around them that they can withstand anything. You need good camaraderie and leadership out of your quarterbacks. Both these guys are good friends. They are competing well. We’re going to have to wait a little longer and see how they do
in the scrimmage coming up. I thought practice has been a pretty good indicator that both of them are going to be fine quarterbacks. They are able to do different things. They have different strengths but I love their frames of mind out there. They are team players and that’s what you have got to have at quarterback.
“Barrett Trotter and Neil Caudle are fighting it out to be No. 3 and I thought Neil played the best in practice since he’s been here. He’s throwing the ball better. I don’t have any preference there as I told Trotter. The best player is going to be No. 3 and be the guy that travels. We’ll continue to work all four of those guys.
“The area that we need to work to get more consistency is in the offensive line. The offensive line is the focal point of anything you do on offense. All it takes is one missed block from one of the five guys and you’ve got problems. We’ve looked at different scenarios. We want to have three centers. We’re moving people around just trying to find the right combination of the first two groups. We don’t have
many numbers there. We didn’t bring anyone in in terms of a signee. All the guys that are there now have been there and have played the positions they are playing so we’ve got a little experience coming out of spring practice with most of the guys. It looks good. Again, it’s hard to tell in two-a-days about your offensive line. Those are the guys who fatigue pretty quick, especially with the tempo of this
offense. The thing we want to make sure we do is have two healthy offensive lines so we can play a lot of players in the first few games of the season. As we go through the season you won’t see as much substitution because the tempo really takes something out of those guys.
“I like what Tyronne Green has done. He might be one of the better and quicker athletes we’ve had on the offensive line in a while. He doesn’t say a lot but he’s probably one of the most improved players we’ve had here over the last four or five years.
“Mike Berry will be a utility player for us. Could be a starter or could be a backup at a lot of positions. He has really performed for us.
“Of course, (Lee) Ziemba is Ziemba. He doesn’t know how good he could be. He’s a tough guy and he wants to learn. Sometimes he gets out of control but I’ve noticed in two-a-days he is much more patient in his technique.
“The offensive line is coming along. It’s harder on them probably than anybody with what they have to do mentally and physically.
“Tommy Trott has made some catches in these two-a-days that he wouldn’t have made these last couple of years. He made one of those today. He’s going to be a tremendous force in this offense. Gabe McKensie is much improved. Those guys have to be factors for you in this offense where they catch the ball, block and move around in the backfield. We’ll use both of those guys in several situations.
“The wide receiver position – wow! We’ve never had so many guys with opportunities to play. Greg Knox and Steve Ensminger are going to have some decisions to make as we go through this last scrimmage and are getting ready for game time. Darvin Adams has come out, he’s learning, he doesn’t say a lot but he’s been a factor in most
practices we’ve had in terms of running routes like they need to be run. It’s good to see young guys perform that well early. There are a lot of guys at the top that have a lot of experience playing in this league. When it all comes down to it, we’re going to have to have two groups that can get out there a make very few mental mistakes. It’s very important that wide receivers run the right routes, the correct
routes, the distance, the speed and be able to understand coverage. It’s going to be fun watching these receivers. We’re going to have a few playmakers. I think more and more of them are going to step up as we go along.
“Last week, Brad Lester and Ben Tate got some playing time like any scrimmage in the fall for guys who have been with us. You all know me. We’re not going to run the running backs too much. They are going to get all they need during the season. We did look at Eric Smith. He had a good day and made some yards. They call him ‘Little Rudi.’ He’s a guy the looks just like Rudi Johnson running the ball. He
slashes. He can run inside and out. I think the guy who is going to be our ace in the hole, if he can continue to stay healthy, is Tristan Davis. He’s really having a good fall camp so far. We just need to get enough practices out of him to where he can get back into playing shape. I’m proud of what he’s done and how he’s done it.
“We didn’t tackle very well in the scrimmage but that’s normal when you play an offense like we play in terms of having to make a lot of open-field tackles. It’s going to be fun to watch our front seven. I think this could be one of our better ones if we continue to stay healthy. We’re starting to build some depth. We’ve got some young linebackers, even some first- and second-year guys like Adam Herring,
that have a chance to play. They are starting to learn and understand this defense. We haven’t changed a whole lot. That’s helped all the younger players that redshirted last year.
“Our kicking game is up in the air. There’s going to be a lot of competition at the punting position. I think that’s an area where every day could make a difference. You love competition at that area because it forces you to work on the little things that could make a difference in the conference.
“It’s been a good camp. We’ve still got a dozen practices to go. We’re going to get one more scrimmage in a few days after Saturday depending on if our offense or defense feels like they need it. We’ll also have some kind of full speed kicking night inside the stadium to try and get some looks at some younger guys to try and get them on special teams.”
Q: At this point in camp, guys start talking about hitting a wall. How are you trying to prevent that?
Tuberville: Well, you change it up. Sometimes in the past we have changed it up and done team drills early and do individual last. I think that is the biggest thing that has happened, especially now because you get bored a little bit. We are not going to be a fancy team on offense or on defense. We never have been in terms of what you do in a certain play, you might look different in formation or in personnel on the
field. It is a lot of carry-over with what you do. As a head coach and with the coordinators, one thing that you do not want to set in is boredom. I have had teams where we have run sprints at the beginning and so you let them know that we will be running early and working on teamwork and drills after that. It is not rocket science, you just have to get in their heads and know where they are at and figure out what will motivate them so they will put out a little more in practice and
you get can a little more execution out of them.
Q: What were some of the most noticeable differences with the new clock rules during the scrimmage?
Tuberville: There really were not any. I think the officials had to adjust a couple of times and we brought our guy in. A paid official does not come from the SEC to run a 40-second clock. That comes from your school. You have to hire that person, but an alternate official does run the game clock, so we brought in our guy, someone who has done it for us for years. I think he lives in south Georgia, but he has had to come up and as I talked to him, it is very different. You have to learn hand signals, understand what you are doing, so he is kind of like an official on the field. But that is not going to bother us much because on offense, we are on the line of scrimmage as the ball is getting ready for play. You can see some definite differences for teams that huddle and take their time because you can obviously run a lot of time off the clock. I think the biggest rule change is going to be when the ball goes out of bounds and being brought back in, starting the clock. I think
that will be the biggest change in terms of cutting five or six plays out of the game and maybe more than that.
Q: Neil Caudle has done some holding in practice. Is he the kind of guy
you like in that kind of position?
Tuberville: What we are going to do is that (Clayton) Crofoot will be our holder .We are trying to work a scenario where we do not have to take another person in the kicking area that is holding so we wanted Neil to be our backup holder, and he will travel. Especially when you play as many freshmen as we will this year. And special teams really cut into your roster especially when you only have seventy people
travelling.
Q: How tough is it to rely on young freshman cornerbacks?
Tuberville: They are not freshman after a few games. If they have got enough ability to be here and to get a scholarship, then they can play. And most of them, that is an athletic position, and we have looked and talked about it where we have met a couple of these freshmen who did not do anything right in terms of alignment, footwork or turning, but they make the play. Now, once they learn then all the techniques are going to make them that much better. But the number one thing at corner is that
you have got to be able to play there. You have got to have speed, you have got to have quickness, and you have got to be able to break on the ball. And I really like all three guys that we are working right now and the young guys in terms of being able to get that done because we are going to have to play most of them.
Q: How conditioned will the defense be just from having to practice against an offense running spread all the time?
Tuberville: We do not even have to condition much anymore because for the hour and a half that we are out there they are constantly running, especially when you get to the team drills when there is not much standing around. I think it is going to help us, but you also have to watch it. You have to watch for when they start dragging and get tired because when you get fatigued, that is when you start picking up the
hamstrings, the quads and the ankles. When people do not move their feet that is when you get rolled up on. It is a concern and I have not let them run them much after practice except for maybe a couple of times. After watching this offense and the tempo on both sides of the ball, we are not going to have any problem being in shape.
Q: How has Tyronne Green changed since his move from defensive tackle?
Tuberville: When you look at most of the guys who we have had, a lot of the time it is the defensive players that are defensive players who have not played much offense who turn into great offensive linemen. Tyronne Green probably could’ve played defense, but he was borderline because of his weight and he really struggled with that. Because of that, he has got the natural ability to move across the line and move laterally and that really benefits him. He has got a bright future ahead of him, but we did not know whether he would make it so we made the decision to take
him from being a good defensive lineman and making him into a great offensive lineman. It really has benefitted him and he is a very physical player who plays low to the ground and has really good leverage and is flexible and he has really done well for us.
Q: How do you prepare the defense for a running offense after they’ve gone up against this passing offense?
Tuberville: Once we get past Saturday, we will probably start going for thirty minutes a day versus two back. We have chartered all of the games from last year and only about twenty percent of the time are you going to see two back. Most people are one back running zone play or about what we are running. They might have the quarterback right up under the center, but very few people will be running two back: us and Georgia. Georgia is a lot of one back, a lot of shotgun. Sometimes you think that football is a lot of two back, but it is not anymore. You are going to have a lot of change but it is not going to hurt us at all. I like the way we practice and how our offensive line comes off the line. The plays that we are running are basically the plays that we will be seeing a lot of this season whether they are a one or a two back.
Q: Do you think that the fullback will disappear completely or will it come back?
Tuberville: No, I think that there will be a place for it. It might not be a fullback. It might be a big tight end like we are doing. We are going to have Tommy Trott and Gabe McKenzie in the background. We have moved John Douglas, who was our fullback, to our slot position and we are going to move him around and throw the ball to him. I think that what you have probably seen over the years is that every fullback or small tight end is going to have to be more athletic because you are
going to ask more of him. But there is a place for a fullback in goal line. If you go back and look at what we have done in the past few years, our fullbacks usually played between twelve and sixteen plays a game, otherwise it was two tailbacks in the game or one back.
Opening statement:
“You would hope to be farther along than what we are. You always think that. After watching all the practice film over the last few days and our scrimmage, I think we’ve made a lot of progress. There is a good possibility we could have a good football team but a lot of things have to fall in place. You need to stay away from the injury bug as we found out pretty early losing a guy like Aairon Savage. It throws you in a tailspin trying to find who can play and who will step up. That’s probably thrown in into a situation where we’ll have to look a little harder at some of the true freshmen coming in. That will work itself out. I remember a few years ago we moved Tre Smith from running back to the secondary just trying to find someone we felt had some experience. We won’t do that. We won’t move anybody over. We feel like the freshmen are moving along pretty well and as a group we can fill that void. It’s hard to fill a void when you lose experience like that.
“Overall, our camp has gone well. The weather has cooperated. We’ve gotten a lot more done since the weather has been nice, other than the first couple of days where it was almost unbearable. I think the guys came in in good shape and with a good frame of mind. We’ve got good leadership. It really takes good leadership in a long camp like this one. Overall the guys have worked hard and we’ve got a chance to
get better if we keep working hard and are able to have guys out there consistently. We’ve even cut practices back in length. We looked at last year and practices were about 25 minutes longer but we’ve been getting more reps because of the tempo we are going at. We haven’t lost anything and knowing that is the reason we cut a little time out.
“Let’s talk about the offense first. Kodi (Burns) and Chris (Todd) both are a little tired. They are hanging in there. You need your quarterbacks to step up and show the players around them that they can withstand anything. You need good camaraderie and leadership out of your quarterbacks. Both these guys are good friends. They are competing well. We’re going to have to wait a little longer and see how they do
in the scrimmage coming up. I thought practice has been a pretty good indicator that both of them are going to be fine quarterbacks. They are able to do different things. They have different strengths but I love their frames of mind out there. They are team players and that’s what you have got to have at quarterback.
“Barrett Trotter and Neil Caudle are fighting it out to be No. 3 and I thought Neil played the best in practice since he’s been here. He’s throwing the ball better. I don’t have any preference there as I told Trotter. The best player is going to be No. 3 and be the guy that travels. We’ll continue to work all four of those guys.
“The area that we need to work to get more consistency is in the offensive line. The offensive line is the focal point of anything you do on offense. All it takes is one missed block from one of the five guys and you’ve got problems. We’ve looked at different scenarios. We want to have three centers. We’re moving people around just trying to find the right combination of the first two groups. We don’t have
many numbers there. We didn’t bring anyone in in terms of a signee. All the guys that are there now have been there and have played the positions they are playing so we’ve got a little experience coming out of spring practice with most of the guys. It looks good. Again, it’s hard to tell in two-a-days about your offensive line. Those are the guys who fatigue pretty quick, especially with the tempo of this
offense. The thing we want to make sure we do is have two healthy offensive lines so we can play a lot of players in the first few games of the season. As we go through the season you won’t see as much substitution because the tempo really takes something out of those guys.
“I like what Tyronne Green has done. He might be one of the better and quicker athletes we’ve had on the offensive line in a while. He doesn’t say a lot but he’s probably one of the most improved players we’ve had here over the last four or five years.
“Mike Berry will be a utility player for us. Could be a starter or could be a backup at a lot of positions. He has really performed for us.
“Of course, (Lee) Ziemba is Ziemba. He doesn’t know how good he could be. He’s a tough guy and he wants to learn. Sometimes he gets out of control but I’ve noticed in two-a-days he is much more patient in his technique.
“The offensive line is coming along. It’s harder on them probably than anybody with what they have to do mentally and physically.
“Tommy Trott has made some catches in these two-a-days that he wouldn’t have made these last couple of years. He made one of those today. He’s going to be a tremendous force in this offense. Gabe McKensie is much improved. Those guys have to be factors for you in this offense where they catch the ball, block and move around in the backfield. We’ll use both of those guys in several situations.
“The wide receiver position – wow! We’ve never had so many guys with opportunities to play. Greg Knox and Steve Ensminger are going to have some decisions to make as we go through this last scrimmage and are getting ready for game time. Darvin Adams has come out, he’s learning, he doesn’t say a lot but he’s been a factor in most
practices we’ve had in terms of running routes like they need to be run. It’s good to see young guys perform that well early. There are a lot of guys at the top that have a lot of experience playing in this league. When it all comes down to it, we’re going to have to have two groups that can get out there a make very few mental mistakes. It’s very important that wide receivers run the right routes, the correct
routes, the distance, the speed and be able to understand coverage. It’s going to be fun watching these receivers. We’re going to have a few playmakers. I think more and more of them are going to step up as we go along.
“Last week, Brad Lester and Ben Tate got some playing time like any scrimmage in the fall for guys who have been with us. You all know me. We’re not going to run the running backs too much. They are going to get all they need during the season. We did look at Eric Smith. He had a good day and made some yards. They call him ‘Little Rudi.’ He’s a guy the looks just like Rudi Johnson running the ball. He
slashes. He can run inside and out. I think the guy who is going to be our ace in the hole, if he can continue to stay healthy, is Tristan Davis. He’s really having a good fall camp so far. We just need to get enough practices out of him to where he can get back into playing shape. I’m proud of what he’s done and how he’s done it.
“We didn’t tackle very well in the scrimmage but that’s normal when you play an offense like we play in terms of having to make a lot of open-field tackles. It’s going to be fun to watch our front seven. I think this could be one of our better ones if we continue to stay healthy. We’re starting to build some depth. We’ve got some young linebackers, even some first- and second-year guys like Adam Herring,
that have a chance to play. They are starting to learn and understand this defense. We haven’t changed a whole lot. That’s helped all the younger players that redshirted last year.
“Our kicking game is up in the air. There’s going to be a lot of competition at the punting position. I think that’s an area where every day could make a difference. You love competition at that area because it forces you to work on the little things that could make a difference in the conference.
“It’s been a good camp. We’ve still got a dozen practices to go. We’re going to get one more scrimmage in a few days after Saturday depending on if our offense or defense feels like they need it. We’ll also have some kind of full speed kicking night inside the stadium to try and get some looks at some younger guys to try and get them on special teams.”
Q: At this point in camp, guys start talking about hitting a wall. How are you trying to prevent that?
Tuberville: Well, you change it up. Sometimes in the past we have changed it up and done team drills early and do individual last. I think that is the biggest thing that has happened, especially now because you get bored a little bit. We are not going to be a fancy team on offense or on defense. We never have been in terms of what you do in a certain play, you might look different in formation or in personnel on the
field. It is a lot of carry-over with what you do. As a head coach and with the coordinators, one thing that you do not want to set in is boredom. I have had teams where we have run sprints at the beginning and so you let them know that we will be running early and working on teamwork and drills after that. It is not rocket science, you just have to get in their heads and know where they are at and figure out what will motivate them so they will put out a little more in practice and
you get can a little more execution out of them.
Q: What were some of the most noticeable differences with the new clock rules during the scrimmage?
Tuberville: There really were not any. I think the officials had to adjust a couple of times and we brought our guy in. A paid official does not come from the SEC to run a 40-second clock. That comes from your school. You have to hire that person, but an alternate official does run the game clock, so we brought in our guy, someone who has done it for us for years. I think he lives in south Georgia, but he has had to come up and as I talked to him, it is very different. You have to learn hand signals, understand what you are doing, so he is kind of like an official on the field. But that is not going to bother us much because on offense, we are on the line of scrimmage as the ball is getting ready for play. You can see some definite differences for teams that huddle and take their time because you can obviously run a lot of time off the clock. I think the biggest rule change is going to be when the ball goes out of bounds and being brought back in, starting the clock. I think
that will be the biggest change in terms of cutting five or six plays out of the game and maybe more than that.
Q: Neil Caudle has done some holding in practice. Is he the kind of guy
you like in that kind of position?
Tuberville: What we are going to do is that (Clayton) Crofoot will be our holder .We are trying to work a scenario where we do not have to take another person in the kicking area that is holding so we wanted Neil to be our backup holder, and he will travel. Especially when you play as many freshmen as we will this year. And special teams really cut into your roster especially when you only have seventy people
travelling.
Q: How tough is it to rely on young freshman cornerbacks?
Tuberville: They are not freshman after a few games. If they have got enough ability to be here and to get a scholarship, then they can play. And most of them, that is an athletic position, and we have looked and talked about it where we have met a couple of these freshmen who did not do anything right in terms of alignment, footwork or turning, but they make the play. Now, once they learn then all the techniques are going to make them that much better. But the number one thing at corner is that
you have got to be able to play there. You have got to have speed, you have got to have quickness, and you have got to be able to break on the ball. And I really like all three guys that we are working right now and the young guys in terms of being able to get that done because we are going to have to play most of them.
Q: How conditioned will the defense be just from having to practice against an offense running spread all the time?
Tuberville: We do not even have to condition much anymore because for the hour and a half that we are out there they are constantly running, especially when you get to the team drills when there is not much standing around. I think it is going to help us, but you also have to watch it. You have to watch for when they start dragging and get tired because when you get fatigued, that is when you start picking up the
hamstrings, the quads and the ankles. When people do not move their feet that is when you get rolled up on. It is a concern and I have not let them run them much after practice except for maybe a couple of times. After watching this offense and the tempo on both sides of the ball, we are not going to have any problem being in shape.
Q: How has Tyronne Green changed since his move from defensive tackle?
Tuberville: When you look at most of the guys who we have had, a lot of the time it is the defensive players that are defensive players who have not played much offense who turn into great offensive linemen. Tyronne Green probably could’ve played defense, but he was borderline because of his weight and he really struggled with that. Because of that, he has got the natural ability to move across the line and move laterally and that really benefits him. He has got a bright future ahead of him, but we did not know whether he would make it so we made the decision to take
him from being a good defensive lineman and making him into a great offensive lineman. It really has benefitted him and he is a very physical player who plays low to the ground and has really good leverage and is flexible and he has really done well for us.
Q: How do you prepare the defense for a running offense after they’ve gone up against this passing offense?
Tuberville: Once we get past Saturday, we will probably start going for thirty minutes a day versus two back. We have chartered all of the games from last year and only about twenty percent of the time are you going to see two back. Most people are one back running zone play or about what we are running. They might have the quarterback right up under the center, but very few people will be running two back: us and Georgia. Georgia is a lot of one back, a lot of shotgun. Sometimes you think that football is a lot of two back, but it is not anymore. You are going to have a lot of change but it is not going to hurt us at all. I like the way we practice and how our offensive line comes off the line. The plays that we are running are basically the plays that we will be seeing a lot of this season whether they are a one or a two back.
Q: Do you think that the fullback will disappear completely or will it come back?
Tuberville: No, I think that there will be a place for it. It might not be a fullback. It might be a big tight end like we are doing. We are going to have Tommy Trott and Gabe McKenzie in the background. We have moved John Douglas, who was our fullback, to our slot position and we are going to move him around and throw the ball to him. I think that what you have probably seen over the years is that every fullback or small tight end is going to have to be more athletic because you are
going to ask more of him. But there is a place for a fullback in goal line. If you go back and look at what we have done in the past few years, our fullbacks usually played between twelve and sixteen plays a game, otherwise it was two tailbacks in the game or one back.
Missed morning practice
Didn't make it to Auburn's practice this morning, but I'll have post-practice updates after this evening's workout. I'm in the process of selling my house in Columbus and had to stay around to let the appraiser in to do his thing. Will be glad to get this over with and move closer to where I'm working. A lot of different things -- not the least of which is commuting back and forth every day while trying to get this house sale done AND trying to find somewhere new to live -- have combined to make this a really stressful experience thus far. If I got snippy with you in an e-mail or a response to a comment, sorry about that. I'm kinda having a tough time right now.
Look back here tonight and I'll have some stuff from practice and some quotes on the proceedings.
Look back here tonight and I'll have some stuff from practice and some quotes on the proceedings.
FSU leads for Furr
NoleDigest.com spoke with former Auburn safety DeRon Furr about where he may eventually land after leaving Auburn last week. Furr says he wants to go to Florida State and play safety, but the hangup is he's waiting for a scholarship to come open -- which it sounds like may happen in the near future.
He says Memphis would be the next choice. Either way, there would be a Columbus connection. His former Carver teammate and friend Jarmon Fortson of course de-committed from Auburn and eventually signed with Florida State. The defensive coordinator at Memphis is Tim Walton, who is from Columbus and went to Carver before playing at Ohio State.
He says Memphis would be the next choice. Either way, there would be a Columbus connection. His former Carver teammate and friend Jarmon Fortson of course de-committed from Auburn and eventually signed with Florida State. The defensive coordinator at Memphis is Tim Walton, who is from Columbus and went to Carver before playing at Ohio State.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Wow, what a relay
Anybody see that 4x100 freestyle final? What a comeback by the U.S. men to win the gold when Jason Lezak touched the wall just before France's Alain Bernard. What a race. That's another gold for Michael Phelps.
The U.S. win makes former Auburn swimmer Fred Bosquet a silver medalist. Auburn's Matt Targett swam the anchor leg for the Australian team, which won bronze. More swimming tomorrow.
Schedule
The U.S. win makes former Auburn swimmer Fred Bosquet a silver medalist. Auburn's Matt Targett swam the anchor leg for the Australian team, which won bronze. More swimming tomorrow.
Schedule
Coventry breaks world record
Auburn's Kirsty Coventry is the new owner of the world record in the women's 100-meter backstroke after swimming the event in 58.77 seconds in the semifinals tonight. She beat Natalie Coughlin's previous record by two-tenths of a second. Earlier in the day, she set an Olympic record in the event in the prelims.
Auburn's Margaret Hoelzer also qualified for Monday's finals. She was third in her heat and sixth overall.
Auburn's Mark Gangloff also swam tonight. He took eighth in the 100-meter breaststroke finals.
Four more Auburn swimmers are about to compete in the 400-meter freestyle relay. I'll post results here if anyone does anything big.
Auburn's Margaret Hoelzer also qualified for Monday's finals. She was third in her heat and sixth overall.
Auburn's Mark Gangloff also swam tonight. He took eighth in the 100-meter breaststroke finals.
Four more Auburn swimmers are about to compete in the 400-meter freestyle relay. I'll post results here if anyone does anything big.
Sunday observations
* Cornerback Harry Adams was helped off the field by trainers today and sat in the tent for a while until an ambulance arrived to take him away. Tommy Tuberville said Adams had the air knocked out of him in a drill and couldn't get it back, but improved afterwards.
* The offense might have won out in yesterday's scrimmage we didn't watch, but the defense dominated 11-on-11 work today. Like shut down dominated. I mentioned to Tray Blackmon after practice about how the offensive guys claimed victory from the scrimmage and he responded, "Well they took an L today," which I thought was funny.
* Speaking of Tray, he sat out the scrimmage yesterday. He said he had some bumps and bruises he was getting treatment on. But he practiced today.
* Craig Stevens made several great plays in 11-on-11.
* Ryan Pugh (eye) and Jason Bosley (back) didn't practice, leaving Tyronne Green and a few others to snap today. Tuberville said it was good to get them some reps, but there were a lot of snap issues throughout the day.
* Zach Clayton continues to be impressive in pass-rush drills. I think he's going to help them this year.
* Didn't write down every rep, but I recollect that Andrew McCain had a pretty good day blocking in pass-rush drills. Antoine Carter killed him one time, but the rest of the reps he was in for that I wrote down, he won, including riding Antonio Coleman down to the ground one time. Seemed to do a particularly good job on that one.
* Philip Pierre-Louis made a great over-the-shoulder touchdown catch in one-on-one drills. He had a chance to make a similar play in 11-on-11, but he dropped the ball. Probably would have been a TD.
* Barrett Trotter worked in for some reps in 11-on-11 work. He's been very impressive in what I've seen so far. Tuberville said Trotter and Neil Caudle are in a close battle for the No. 3 QB spot.
* The offense might have won out in yesterday's scrimmage we didn't watch, but the defense dominated 11-on-11 work today. Like shut down dominated. I mentioned to Tray Blackmon after practice about how the offensive guys claimed victory from the scrimmage and he responded, "Well they took an L today," which I thought was funny.
* Speaking of Tray, he sat out the scrimmage yesterday. He said he had some bumps and bruises he was getting treatment on. But he practiced today.
* Craig Stevens made several great plays in 11-on-11.
* Ryan Pugh (eye) and Jason Bosley (back) didn't practice, leaving Tyronne Green and a few others to snap today. Tuberville said it was good to get them some reps, but there were a lot of snap issues throughout the day.
* Zach Clayton continues to be impressive in pass-rush drills. I think he's going to help them this year.
* Didn't write down every rep, but I recollect that Andrew McCain had a pretty good day blocking in pass-rush drills. Antoine Carter killed him one time, but the rest of the reps he was in for that I wrote down, he won, including riding Antonio Coleman down to the ground one time. Seemed to do a particularly good job on that one.
* Philip Pierre-Louis made a great over-the-shoulder touchdown catch in one-on-one drills. He had a chance to make a similar play in 11-on-11, but he dropped the ball. Probably would have been a TD.
* Barrett Trotter worked in for some reps in 11-on-11 work. He's been very impressive in what I've seen so far. Tuberville said Trotter and Neil Caudle are in a close battle for the No. 3 QB spot.
Auburn graduates
Fourteen Auburn athletes graduated yesterday. Here's the list Auburn released:
The graduates include: Tristan Davis (Football; East Point, Ga.); Tom George (Men’s Tennis; Canberra, Australia); Julie Gibbes (Equestrian; St. Mathews, SC); Courtney Harden (Football; Leighton, Ala.); Merrill Johnson (Football; Butler, Ala.); Drew Lovette (Men’s Track; Charlotte, NC); Tamela McCorvey (Women’s Basketball; Pensacola,
Fla.); Jon McDonald (Baseball; Columbus, Ga.); Summer Ragsdale (Soccer; Birmingham, Ala.); Abigale Schepperle (Women’s Golf; Birmingham, Ala.); Jonathan Schuerholz (Baseball; Atlanta, Ga.) [Operation Follow Through]; Rachel Stewart (Soccer; Lilburn, Ga.); James Swinton (Football; Tucker, Ga.); Frank Tolbert (Men’s Basketball; River Falls, Ala.)
The graduates include: Tristan Davis (Football; East Point, Ga.); Tom George (Men’s Tennis; Canberra, Australia); Julie Gibbes (Equestrian; St. Mathews, SC); Courtney Harden (Football; Leighton, Ala.); Merrill Johnson (Football; Butler, Ala.); Drew Lovette (Men’s Track; Charlotte, NC); Tamela McCorvey (Women’s Basketball; Pensacola,
Fla.); Jon McDonald (Baseball; Columbus, Ga.); Summer Ragsdale (Soccer; Birmingham, Ala.); Abigale Schepperle (Women’s Golf; Birmingham, Ala.); Jonathan Schuerholz (Baseball; Atlanta, Ga.) [Operation Follow Through]; Rachel Stewart (Soccer; Lilburn, Ga.); James Swinton (Football; Tucker, Ga.); Frank Tolbert (Men’s Basketball; River Falls, Ala.)
Coventry sets Olympic record
Kirsty Coventry set an Olympic record in the preliminaries of the Olympic 100m backstroke today. Auburn's Margaret Hoelzer also advanced to tonight's semifinals.
The relevant portion of the AU release:
First up was Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe) in the 100m backstroke as she won the preliminary with an Olympic-record time of 59.00. The time is a personal best and ranks second all-time in the event. She will occupy lane four in the second heat of the 100m back semifinal tonight.
Also advancing in the 100m back was American Margaret Hoelzer as she finished third in her heat, seventh overall, with a time of 1:00.13. She will swim two lanes over from her former teammate in tonight’s semifinal as she will occupy lane six in the second heat.
The relevant portion of the AU release:
First up was Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe) in the 100m backstroke as she won the preliminary with an Olympic-record time of 59.00. The time is a personal best and ranks second all-time in the event. She will occupy lane four in the second heat of the 100m back semifinal tonight.
Also advancing in the 100m back was American Margaret Hoelzer as she finished third in her heat, seventh overall, with a time of 1:00.13. She will swim two lanes over from her former teammate in tonight’s semifinal as she will occupy lane six in the second heat.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Coventry takes silver in 400 IM
I've been away from home/the computer all evening, so I don't know when this happened, but former Auburn swimmer Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe took silver in the 400-meter individual medley tonight in the Olympics. The three-time medalist in 2004 took second behind Australia's Stephanie Rice (who isn't hard on the eyes, by the way, if you ever saw the Facebook photos of her floating around the Internet), who set a new world record in the event. Coventry's time also beat the previous world record. She'll swim three more events in Beijing.
Also, ex-Auburn swimmer Mark Gangloff will swim in Sunday's finals in the men's 100-meter breaststroke. Gangloff took seventh in the semifinals to slip into the finals. He placed fourth in the event in the 2004 Olympics.
From the Auburn release, here's what is on tap for Sunday:
Swimming action in the 2008 Olympics continues at 5:33 a.m. CT with Sunday’s preliminary session. The session features two events that will pit current, former and future Auburn swimmers against one another.
Fred Bousquet (France), Cesar Cielo (Brazil) and Matt Targett (Australia) will compete against future Tigers Adam Brown (Great Britain) and Gideon Louw (South Africa) in the 400m freestyle relay. Each of the five swimmers are part of their respective country’s relay pool and are not necessarily guaranteed to swim in the heat.
Also on the program is the women’s 100m backstroke, an event that will feature Coventry (Zimbabwe), Alana Dillette (Bahamas) and Margaret Hoelzer (United States). The last Tiger to take to the pool in the session will be incoming freshman Stephanie Horner (Canada) as she suits up in the 400m freestyle.
And the schedule.
Also, ex-Auburn swimmer Mark Gangloff will swim in Sunday's finals in the men's 100-meter breaststroke. Gangloff took seventh in the semifinals to slip into the finals. He placed fourth in the event in the 2004 Olympics.
From the Auburn release, here's what is on tap for Sunday:
Swimming action in the 2008 Olympics continues at 5:33 a.m. CT with Sunday’s preliminary session. The session features two events that will pit current, former and future Auburn swimmers against one another.
Fred Bousquet (France), Cesar Cielo (Brazil) and Matt Targett (Australia) will compete against future Tigers Adam Brown (Great Britain) and Gideon Louw (South Africa) in the 400m freestyle relay. Each of the five swimmers are part of their respective country’s relay pool and are not necessarily guaranteed to swim in the heat.
Also on the program is the women’s 100m backstroke, an event that will feature Coventry (Zimbabwe), Alana Dillette (Bahamas) and Margaret Hoelzer (United States). The last Tiger to take to the pool in the session will be incoming freshman Stephanie Horner (Canada) as she suits up in the 400m freestyle.
And the schedule.
Alabama scrimmage statistics
Just in case anyone's wondering how the Tide players fared in their scrimmage today. Alabama sent them out afterwards...
STATISTICAL LEADERS FROM SATURDAY’S SCRIMMAGE
PASSING
John Parker Wilson – 17 for 30, 309 yards, 2 Int., 2 TDs; Greg McElroy – 9 for 18, 146 yards, 0 TDs, 0 Int.
RUSHING
Glen Coffee – 14 rush, 42 yards, 1 TD; Mark Ingram – 11 rush, 42 yards, 1 TD; Terry Grant – 9 rush, 32 yards, 0 TD.
RECEIVING
Glen Coffee – 6 rec. 79 yards, 0 TD; Mike McCoy – 3 rec., 119 yards, 1 TD; Mark Ingram – 3 rec., 31 yards, 0 TD; Colin Peek – 3 rec., 27 yards, 0 TD; Marquis Maze – 2 rec., 74 yards, 0 TD; Julio Jones – 2 rec. 59 yards, 1 TD.
FIELD GOALS
Leigh Tiffin (3-5) – Made: 48, 38, 23; Missed: 38, 51.
PUNTS
P.J. Fitzgerald – 7 punts, 298 yards, 42.6-yard average.
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
Charlie Higgenbotham – 8 tackles; Rolando McClain – 5 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 Int., 1 PBU; Don’ta Hightower – 5 tackles; 1 TFL; Ali Sharrief – 5 tackles, 1 PBU; Eryk Anders – 4 tackles, 2 TFLs; Rashad Johnson – 4 tackles, 1 Int., 2 PBUs.
STATISTICAL LEADERS FROM SATURDAY’S SCRIMMAGE
PASSING
John Parker Wilson – 17 for 30, 309 yards, 2 Int., 2 TDs; Greg McElroy – 9 for 18, 146 yards, 0 TDs, 0 Int.
RUSHING
Glen Coffee – 14 rush, 42 yards, 1 TD; Mark Ingram – 11 rush, 42 yards, 1 TD; Terry Grant – 9 rush, 32 yards, 0 TD.
RECEIVING
Glen Coffee – 6 rec. 79 yards, 0 TD; Mike McCoy – 3 rec., 119 yards, 1 TD; Mark Ingram – 3 rec., 31 yards, 0 TD; Colin Peek – 3 rec., 27 yards, 0 TD; Marquis Maze – 2 rec., 74 yards, 0 TD; Julio Jones – 2 rec. 59 yards, 1 TD.
FIELD GOALS
Leigh Tiffin (3-5) – Made: 48, 38, 23; Missed: 38, 51.
PUNTS
P.J. Fitzgerald – 7 punts, 298 yards, 42.6-yard average.
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
Charlie Higgenbotham – 8 tackles; Rolando McClain – 5 tackles, 2 TFLs, 1 Int., 1 PBU; Don’ta Hightower – 5 tackles; 1 TFL; Ali Sharrief – 5 tackles, 1 PBU; Eryk Anders – 4 tackles, 2 TFLs; Rashad Johnson – 4 tackles, 1 Int., 2 PBUs.
Post-scrimmage player quotes
Here are some quotes I didn't use for my two stories tomorrow.
Jerraud Powers, on the play of D'Antoine Hood and Neiko Thorpe in the scrimmage:
"They played a lot more than us. The main thing about them is we know they’re not gonna get everything right with the scheme and everything we’re trying to do. It’s just we want to see them compete. That’s the main thing I want to see. I think that’s what coach Rhoads wants to see, them just competing and them out there trying."
Powers on the play of the starting defense:
"I think we did pretty good from a first-team standpoint, but there’s still gonna be a lot of stuff we need to work on."
Brad Lester, on the play of the offense:
"It’s just not a one-week thing. This took the whole year to get ready for and we’re looking great right now."
Lester on Quindarius Carr:
"I’m real impressed with him. He’s very quick. He has great hands and he has the ability to get up the field. He’s one of the ones that had a long reception today and he looks real good. We’re gonna need him this year."
Sen'Derrick Marks on whether he feels like a coach on the sideline when he barely participates in the scrimmage so the young guys can play (I like him so far. Seems like a good dude):
"I can’t be a coach when I ain’t that good myself. ... You try to lead them and let them know what you know. If you say that’s like coaching, then you can say it. But other than that, I don’t think so."
Jerraud Powers, on the play of D'Antoine Hood and Neiko Thorpe in the scrimmage:
"They played a lot more than us. The main thing about them is we know they’re not gonna get everything right with the scheme and everything we’re trying to do. It’s just we want to see them compete. That’s the main thing I want to see. I think that’s what coach Rhoads wants to see, them just competing and them out there trying."
Powers on the play of the starting defense:
"I think we did pretty good from a first-team standpoint, but there’s still gonna be a lot of stuff we need to work on."
Brad Lester, on the play of the offense:
"It’s just not a one-week thing. This took the whole year to get ready for and we’re looking great right now."
Lester on Quindarius Carr:
"I’m real impressed with him. He’s very quick. He has great hands and he has the ability to get up the field. He’s one of the ones that had a long reception today and he looks real good. We’re gonna need him this year."
Sen'Derrick Marks on whether he feels like a coach on the sideline when he barely participates in the scrimmage so the young guys can play (I like him so far. Seems like a good dude):
"I can’t be a coach when I ain’t that good myself. ... You try to lead them and let them know what you know. If you say that’s like coaching, then you can say it. But other than that, I don’t think so."
Tuberville post-scrimmage comments
Here's all 10 minutes of what Tommy Tuberville had to say after today's scrimmage. I might post some thoughts on today later, but I might just blow it off. I don't understand what benefit they derive from this selective cloak-and-dagger routine. Seems Sabanitis is spreading over to East Alabama. I fully expect Tuberville to begin coloring his hair, get a facelift and start punctuating his sentences with "Aight" any day now. (That's a joke. Get over it you thin-skinned losers).
Opening comments:
It was a good start. We needed some kind of measuring point of where we’re at on both sides and even in kicking game. When you scrimmage for the first time, normally you don’t do that much on either side of the ball, you just look for execution. But we got a lot in on both sides, so we ran it today. There was some good and bad. Probably the thing I’m most disappointed in, we ran out of gas about 75 plays in. We probably ran around 100 plays. We lost our concentration. Few more penalties than we would have hoped, but we didn’t hold anything back on either side. We didn’t play some of the guys that’s been with us longer that much – Sen’Derrick went probably 25 plays, those type of guys – but offensively, we didn’t hold anything back. The quarterbacks looked pretty sharp considering it was the first time in the stadium throwing the ball around. But we ran it about half the time, threw it about half the time. There were some big plays. I thought we caught the ball well. The biggest thing, we ran the ball well after we caught it. That’s something we’re really working hard on, trying to get better at that and making yards after the catch. Defensively, just a bunch of missed assignments. We did miss some tackles. We didn’t tackle as well in the open field, but again, we were kinda gassed by really about three-quarters of the way through and it looked like we were running in mud. But that’s the reason you practice. We haven’t done that much conditioning to this point because we wanted to keep them as fresh as we could going through two-a-days and try not to cramp as many and keep as many out there as we possibly could, so they could learn. Now we’re to the point, we’ll go watch film this afternoon, we’ll make corrections, have walk-throughs tomorrow, we’ll come back and we’ll start conditioning after all the practices, or most of the practices we go through the next week. We’ll either scrimmage Friday night or Saturday of next week. We haven’t made up our mind, depending on how many people we’ve got back. But it was a good day. The running backs, we made some yards running the ball. That was good to see, knowing that we hadn’t done a lot towards the running game because most, half our practices have been non-contact in terms of no shoulder pads. So we’ll pick it up in terms of trying to get ‘em in shape and I think that’s one of the biggest disappointments. We didn’t turn the ball over. We didn’t throw any interceptions. We dropped it on the ground a couple times, but I thought the concentration there was pretty good. Overall, without looking at the film, I thought we were probably a little ahead of schedule, but there’s gonna be some things that we’re gonna really want to correct after we look at them on film in terms of steps and assignments and, you know, mental things that we’ve got to get corrected before we get into three weeks from tonight. Questions.
On the big plays on offense:
We had some good runs. We had one called back. (Philip Pierre-Louis) caught about an 80-yard touchdown pass, but we had too many receivers on the line of scrimmage, illegal receiver downfield. Eric Smith made some big running plays. It was mostly the younger guys that made plays, some of the newer guys that were out there for the first time. I thought our corners did good tackling once they caught the ball. There’s gonna be times that the ball’s gonna be caught in this offense that you’ve just gotta make sure that you don’t get yards after the catch. I thought the young corners, Neiko Thorpe and Hood, did a good job of tackling. We did play Powers some and McFadden some. They looked pretty good, did well, but we wanted to put the pressure on the younger guys that’s gonna obviously have to play because of injury.
Anybody get hurt?
No. Everbody’s in pretty good shape.
On if there are one or two people who helped themselves before he watches the tape:
The thing that you want to do is you want to look at the younger guys that were out there, like Eric Smith, running back. He did well. He did much better than we’d thought, mentally and physically, in the stadium for the first time. As I said, the two young corners, we wanted to put pressure on them and certainly did that today. They had to make some plays. We held out Mario Fannin, we didn’t use him, but when you scrimmage, the big thing obviously is getting it lined up and getting into organizational game mode with officials and the 40-second clock wasn’t any problem. I thought everybody, the officials and the players, did a good job getting the plays in. But the biggest thing you want to do is you want to get the quarterbacks out there and in a rhythm, and I thought they handled it pretty well. There were some times that they coulda done better. But we’re gonna have leadership out of our quarterbacks in terms of how this offense runs. I think today they were just trying to survive, trying to get themselves going (and not) worried about everybody else. But we’ve got to have some confidence out of Kodi and Chris going into the next few weeks of them knowing what they’re doing, what everybody else is doing and getting in a little bit better shape. But we’ll have to wait and see after we look at the film and linemen. The two guys that I saw at linebacker that I was impressed with was Adam Herring, made some good plays, and Spencer Pybus made some good plays. Both young players, Adam being here one year and Spencer here only a few weeks, those two guys are gonna have to play for us down the road and I thought they really did well. We played ‘em against the first-team offense some and they held their own fairly well. They made some mistakes, but physically it’s what we want to look at in the film, not mentally on the younger guys. Are they ready for the speed of the game in which they’re getting ready to get into on this level.
On whether he thinks the offense or defense is ahead at this point:
I thought the offense did better than we have in the past. But again, we’ve probably got more in. Again you say more in, you do fewer things in this offense out of a wider group of formations. It really gives you an opportunity to get mismatches and cause problems with the defense. If you’re looking at probably an advantage, I’d say right now the offense has gameplanned the defense better because the defense is not gameplanning them. They’re gameplanning themselves and trying to play fundamentals and techniques. There was some good on both sides. There’s got to be a lot of improvement in the next seven or eight days because week will be the last scrimmage. As I said, it’ll be Friday night or Saturday. Then we’ll start kinda grouping up and start getting ready for the season.
How is Marcus Jemison?
He’s going to Birmingham Monday. They don’t know. They’re going to evaluate him and see. It’s not his ankle, it’s his leg, so they’ll see if they’ve got to do anything with that. But he’s going to Birmingham Monday, we’ll know further after that. But he wasn’t out there today. We didn’t play Bosley. Anybody else?
Ziemba?
Ziemba played. He went every snap.
Clayton?
Clayton played every play.
On Fannin:
He will play next scrimmage. They wanted to look at the younger guys this week and knowing that he was gonna have to go through one scrimmage, they picked next week for him so we held him out.
Antonio Coleman:
Yeah he went every snap. Every snap that the ones were in there and that they wanted him to go. But he’s ready to go. Our punters did good. I thought that’s gonna be a battle there. It’s gonna be a battle to the end between Ryan and Durst. That’ll be an interesting scenario. Wesley won the field goal battle today. He kicked really well. I don’t think he missed – he might have missed one or two, maybe. I get ‘em confused watching them. We look at ‘em more on film than we do out there. But we were concerned a little bit about the 40-second clock, obviously with this offense we’re running. It’s as new for the officials as it is us. But it went pretty smooth. It is different. It’s gonna be different for the fans, it’s gonna be different for everybody. But when it goes to 25 and when it starts at 40, even the officials, you can tell they were thinking today other than reacting, so it’s good that they got work in it and we’ll do the same thing again next week.
There was one time when they got the ball spotted with about 14 seconds to go, but the rule is, and we all found out today, that if they start the 40-second clock – if the ball’s down and the 40-second clock starts – if they don’t have the ball spotted before 20 seconds, they will move it back to 25. You’ve got to have at least 20 seconds and there was one time out there early that they didn’t do that. They kinda stopped and kinda told us the mistake that they had made and what’s gonna happen. So that was a good understanding, because I don’t think we really understood how that would work.
Opening comments:
It was a good start. We needed some kind of measuring point of where we’re at on both sides and even in kicking game. When you scrimmage for the first time, normally you don’t do that much on either side of the ball, you just look for execution. But we got a lot in on both sides, so we ran it today. There was some good and bad. Probably the thing I’m most disappointed in, we ran out of gas about 75 plays in. We probably ran around 100 plays. We lost our concentration. Few more penalties than we would have hoped, but we didn’t hold anything back on either side. We didn’t play some of the guys that’s been with us longer that much – Sen’Derrick went probably 25 plays, those type of guys – but offensively, we didn’t hold anything back. The quarterbacks looked pretty sharp considering it was the first time in the stadium throwing the ball around. But we ran it about half the time, threw it about half the time. There were some big plays. I thought we caught the ball well. The biggest thing, we ran the ball well after we caught it. That’s something we’re really working hard on, trying to get better at that and making yards after the catch. Defensively, just a bunch of missed assignments. We did miss some tackles. We didn’t tackle as well in the open field, but again, we were kinda gassed by really about three-quarters of the way through and it looked like we were running in mud. But that’s the reason you practice. We haven’t done that much conditioning to this point because we wanted to keep them as fresh as we could going through two-a-days and try not to cramp as many and keep as many out there as we possibly could, so they could learn. Now we’re to the point, we’ll go watch film this afternoon, we’ll make corrections, have walk-throughs tomorrow, we’ll come back and we’ll start conditioning after all the practices, or most of the practices we go through the next week. We’ll either scrimmage Friday night or Saturday of next week. We haven’t made up our mind, depending on how many people we’ve got back. But it was a good day. The running backs, we made some yards running the ball. That was good to see, knowing that we hadn’t done a lot towards the running game because most, half our practices have been non-contact in terms of no shoulder pads. So we’ll pick it up in terms of trying to get ‘em in shape and I think that’s one of the biggest disappointments. We didn’t turn the ball over. We didn’t throw any interceptions. We dropped it on the ground a couple times, but I thought the concentration there was pretty good. Overall, without looking at the film, I thought we were probably a little ahead of schedule, but there’s gonna be some things that we’re gonna really want to correct after we look at them on film in terms of steps and assignments and, you know, mental things that we’ve got to get corrected before we get into three weeks from tonight. Questions.
On the big plays on offense:
We had some good runs. We had one called back. (Philip Pierre-Louis) caught about an 80-yard touchdown pass, but we had too many receivers on the line of scrimmage, illegal receiver downfield. Eric Smith made some big running plays. It was mostly the younger guys that made plays, some of the newer guys that were out there for the first time. I thought our corners did good tackling once they caught the ball. There’s gonna be times that the ball’s gonna be caught in this offense that you’ve just gotta make sure that you don’t get yards after the catch. I thought the young corners, Neiko Thorpe and Hood, did a good job of tackling. We did play Powers some and McFadden some. They looked pretty good, did well, but we wanted to put the pressure on the younger guys that’s gonna obviously have to play because of injury.
Anybody get hurt?
No. Everbody’s in pretty good shape.
On if there are one or two people who helped themselves before he watches the tape:
The thing that you want to do is you want to look at the younger guys that were out there, like Eric Smith, running back. He did well. He did much better than we’d thought, mentally and physically, in the stadium for the first time. As I said, the two young corners, we wanted to put pressure on them and certainly did that today. They had to make some plays. We held out Mario Fannin, we didn’t use him, but when you scrimmage, the big thing obviously is getting it lined up and getting into organizational game mode with officials and the 40-second clock wasn’t any problem. I thought everybody, the officials and the players, did a good job getting the plays in. But the biggest thing you want to do is you want to get the quarterbacks out there and in a rhythm, and I thought they handled it pretty well. There were some times that they coulda done better. But we’re gonna have leadership out of our quarterbacks in terms of how this offense runs. I think today they were just trying to survive, trying to get themselves going (and not) worried about everybody else. But we’ve got to have some confidence out of Kodi and Chris going into the next few weeks of them knowing what they’re doing, what everybody else is doing and getting in a little bit better shape. But we’ll have to wait and see after we look at the film and linemen. The two guys that I saw at linebacker that I was impressed with was Adam Herring, made some good plays, and Spencer Pybus made some good plays. Both young players, Adam being here one year and Spencer here only a few weeks, those two guys are gonna have to play for us down the road and I thought they really did well. We played ‘em against the first-team offense some and they held their own fairly well. They made some mistakes, but physically it’s what we want to look at in the film, not mentally on the younger guys. Are they ready for the speed of the game in which they’re getting ready to get into on this level.
On whether he thinks the offense or defense is ahead at this point:
I thought the offense did better than we have in the past. But again, we’ve probably got more in. Again you say more in, you do fewer things in this offense out of a wider group of formations. It really gives you an opportunity to get mismatches and cause problems with the defense. If you’re looking at probably an advantage, I’d say right now the offense has gameplanned the defense better because the defense is not gameplanning them. They’re gameplanning themselves and trying to play fundamentals and techniques. There was some good on both sides. There’s got to be a lot of improvement in the next seven or eight days because week will be the last scrimmage. As I said, it’ll be Friday night or Saturday. Then we’ll start kinda grouping up and start getting ready for the season.
How is Marcus Jemison?
He’s going to Birmingham Monday. They don’t know. They’re going to evaluate him and see. It’s not his ankle, it’s his leg, so they’ll see if they’ve got to do anything with that. But he’s going to Birmingham Monday, we’ll know further after that. But he wasn’t out there today. We didn’t play Bosley. Anybody else?
Ziemba?
Ziemba played. He went every snap.
Clayton?
Clayton played every play.
On Fannin:
He will play next scrimmage. They wanted to look at the younger guys this week and knowing that he was gonna have to go through one scrimmage, they picked next week for him so we held him out.
Antonio Coleman:
Yeah he went every snap. Every snap that the ones were in there and that they wanted him to go. But he’s ready to go. Our punters did good. I thought that’s gonna be a battle there. It’s gonna be a battle to the end between Ryan and Durst. That’ll be an interesting scenario. Wesley won the field goal battle today. He kicked really well. I don’t think he missed – he might have missed one or two, maybe. I get ‘em confused watching them. We look at ‘em more on film than we do out there. But we were concerned a little bit about the 40-second clock, obviously with this offense we’re running. It’s as new for the officials as it is us. But it went pretty smooth. It is different. It’s gonna be different for the fans, it’s gonna be different for everybody. But when it goes to 25 and when it starts at 40, even the officials, you can tell they were thinking today other than reacting, so it’s good that they got work in it and we’ll do the same thing again next week.
There was one time when they got the ball spotted with about 14 seconds to go, but the rule is, and we all found out today, that if they start the 40-second clock – if the ball’s down and the 40-second clock starts – if they don’t have the ball spotted before 20 seconds, they will move it back to 25. You’ve got to have at least 20 seconds and there was one time out there early that they didn’t do that. They kinda stopped and kinda told us the mistake that they had made and what’s gonna happen. So that was a good understanding, because I don’t think we really understood how that would work.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Quotes of the day
I've gotten a ton of material in the last couple days, so I figured what the heck, I'll post some of these quotes -- some of them I've used, some I haven't. Why not, right? I typed it all out, after all. Somebody else might as well read it.
The best one of the day wasn't spoken to me. It was from Paul Rhoads to Quindarius Carr while I was standing behind Rhoads, watching one-on-one passing drils. Carr was going against Jerraud Powers and finally got open and Chris Todd hit him for what should have been a short touchdown pass. But the ball squirted just out of Carr's hands and Powers snatched it away for an interception. It was somewhat reminiscent of last year's Iron Bowl, when Powers picked off a pass that DJ Hall bobbled in the back of the end zone.
So anyway, here's what Rhoads said, kind of laughing, to Carr:
"How does he do that?"
Here's some other stuff.
Tommy Tuberville, on tomorrow's scrimmage:
"Tomorrow will be a telling tale. You can come out here all day in (7-on-7 passing drills) and throw around and me and you can complete a lot of passes against no pressure. But when you get underneath the center and you get 11 guys over there knowing it’s full-speed, it makes a difference. So it’ll be a big test for the quarterbacks tomorrow, not just the top two, the other two. We’re looking for a No. 3 also."
Ryan Pugh, on fights in practice:
"That’s the things that you get out of the way in practice so they don’t happen in games. You don’t want to fight in games, you don’t want to fight in scrimmages. It’s something that happens in practice every day, but really flies under the radar because nobody watches practice during the season."
Paul Rhoads, on the value of tomorrow's scrimmage:
"It’s invaluable. We haven’t taken anybody to the ground once and we’ve been through eight practices. The most important trait a defense has is to be a great-tackling defense and we’ll find out tomorrow morning if we are where we should be or if we’ve still got a lot of work to do."
Robert Dunn, on whether the team is ready to go in tomorrow and run the up-tempo offense in the scrimmage with a 40-second clock:
"I feel like we’re ready. We did a whole lot of running in the offseason. Coach Yox got everybody in shape. I think he got in shape watching us get in shape. But we did a whole lot of running and everybody’s pretty much in great shape or good enough shape to go in and get three reps. We’ve got a great rotation of receivers coming in. All the way down to the third-string receivers are people that can catch in and start and we won’t miss a beat on offense. I feel like as an offense, we’ve just got to come out and just stay consistent and stay focused on taking care of all the little things. That’s what coach Franklin’s always preaching about is just taking care of all the little things. The defense is coming along real good. They’re looking better every day. We’ve got a lot of young DBs and those guys are stepping up every day. I see a lot of promise in those guys."
Chris Todd, on the quarterback competition:
"With competition, you have two choices. You can either lay down or step up and compete with it. If you look at it in the right way, when you’re competing with somebody, you’re gonna get better every day. Otherwise if you weren’t competing, you might tend to kind of get comfortable with where you’re at. So competing every day just kinda helps push both of you to make you better."
Robert Dunn, on what he wants personally and for the team from the scrimmage:
"I just want to stay consistent. I’ve been doing good since coach Franklin got here. My drop-catch rate has gone through the roof. I don’t really drop a whole lot of balls and that’s what coach Franklin loves about me – just staying consistent with catching the balls and running the routes and getting open and making the right blocks. That’s basically my main focus, just to stay consistent with everything I’m doing. And as a team, I just want the whole team, offensively and defensively, to just click and take care of the things they have to do and everybody just stay healthy."
The best one of the day wasn't spoken to me. It was from Paul Rhoads to Quindarius Carr while I was standing behind Rhoads, watching one-on-one passing drils. Carr was going against Jerraud Powers and finally got open and Chris Todd hit him for what should have been a short touchdown pass. But the ball squirted just out of Carr's hands and Powers snatched it away for an interception. It was somewhat reminiscent of last year's Iron Bowl, when Powers picked off a pass that DJ Hall bobbled in the back of the end zone.
So anyway, here's what Rhoads said, kind of laughing, to Carr:
"How does he do that?"
Here's some other stuff.
Tommy Tuberville, on tomorrow's scrimmage:
"Tomorrow will be a telling tale. You can come out here all day in (7-on-7 passing drills) and throw around and me and you can complete a lot of passes against no pressure. But when you get underneath the center and you get 11 guys over there knowing it’s full-speed, it makes a difference. So it’ll be a big test for the quarterbacks tomorrow, not just the top two, the other two. We’re looking for a No. 3 also."
Ryan Pugh, on fights in practice:
"That’s the things that you get out of the way in practice so they don’t happen in games. You don’t want to fight in games, you don’t want to fight in scrimmages. It’s something that happens in practice every day, but really flies under the radar because nobody watches practice during the season."
Paul Rhoads, on the value of tomorrow's scrimmage:
"It’s invaluable. We haven’t taken anybody to the ground once and we’ve been through eight practices. The most important trait a defense has is to be a great-tackling defense and we’ll find out tomorrow morning if we are where we should be or if we’ve still got a lot of work to do."
Robert Dunn, on whether the team is ready to go in tomorrow and run the up-tempo offense in the scrimmage with a 40-second clock:
"I feel like we’re ready. We did a whole lot of running in the offseason. Coach Yox got everybody in shape. I think he got in shape watching us get in shape. But we did a whole lot of running and everybody’s pretty much in great shape or good enough shape to go in and get three reps. We’ve got a great rotation of receivers coming in. All the way down to the third-string receivers are people that can catch in and start and we won’t miss a beat on offense. I feel like as an offense, we’ve just got to come out and just stay consistent and stay focused on taking care of all the little things. That’s what coach Franklin’s always preaching about is just taking care of all the little things. The defense is coming along real good. They’re looking better every day. We’ve got a lot of young DBs and those guys are stepping up every day. I see a lot of promise in those guys."
Chris Todd, on the quarterback competition:
"With competition, you have two choices. You can either lay down or step up and compete with it. If you look at it in the right way, when you’re competing with somebody, you’re gonna get better every day. Otherwise if you weren’t competing, you might tend to kind of get comfortable with where you’re at. So competing every day just kinda helps push both of you to make you better."
Robert Dunn, on what he wants personally and for the team from the scrimmage:
"I just want to stay consistent. I’ve been doing good since coach Franklin got here. My drop-catch rate has gone through the roof. I don’t really drop a whole lot of balls and that’s what coach Franklin loves about me – just staying consistent with catching the balls and running the routes and getting open and making the right blocks. That’s basically my main focus, just to stay consistent with everything I’m doing. And as a team, I just want the whole team, offensively and defensively, to just click and take care of the things they have to do and everybody just stay healthy."
Olson to be inducted into Orioles HOF
Auburn just sent out a release about how former Auburn pitcher Gregg Olson will be inducted into the Baltimore Orioles team hall of fame before tomorrow's game against Texas.
He was the fourth overall pick in the 1988 draft and was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1989. That was in the middle of my bigtime baseball card phase. I had a ton of that dude's rookie cards. His curveball was ridiculous.
Here's the relevant portion of their press release, relating to his career at Auburn:
"During his three-year stay at Auburn, Olson compiled a 25-7 record with 20 saves and a 3.03 ERA, striking out 271. A Baseball America All-American in 1987 and an ABCA and Baseball America selection in 1988, Olson was also a 1987 USA National Team member. In 1987 he led the NCAA with a 1.26 ERA and led the SEC in 1988 with a 2.00 ERA. He still holds the honor of the highest-drafted baseball player to come out of Auburn."
He was the fourth overall pick in the 1988 draft and was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1989. That was in the middle of my bigtime baseball card phase. I had a ton of that dude's rookie cards. His curveball was ridiculous.
Here's the relevant portion of their press release, relating to his career at Auburn:
"During his three-year stay at Auburn, Olson compiled a 25-7 record with 20 saves and a 3.03 ERA, striking out 271. A Baseball America All-American in 1987 and an ABCA and Baseball America selection in 1988, Olson was also a 1987 USA National Team member. In 1987 he led the NCAA with a 1.26 ERA and led the SEC in 1988 with a 2.00 ERA. He still holds the honor of the highest-drafted baseball player to come out of Auburn."
Friday practice, scrimmage tomorrow
They're scrimmaging tomorrow at the stadium. Tommy Tuberville called it a "midterm" and said they'll have SEC officials there and will run the 40-second clock so it will be like a live game situation. It's closed to the media and public. I'll be writing about that tomorrow as well as some other stuff, some of which I've mentioned below.
* The news coming out of today's practice is another practice fight. I didn't see this one, but I saw the aftereffects. Running back John Douglas and freshman safety Marcus Jemison got into a scrap. The other writers said it broke up pretty quickly, but Jemison apparently twisted his ankle in the scrape. He needed trainers' assistance to leave the field, not putting any weight on the ankle, and was fitted with an air cast and crutches before he got on a nearby medical van and left practice early.
I don't want to overdramatize these things -- which is what I think has happened with the Furr thing, when there was a lot more to it than a fight -- but the fact of this particular fight is they've got another player injured (Jemison) or gone (Furr) at a position where they're not especially deep. Not the end of the world in either case, but it's not especially productive, either.
* While that stuff was happening in a running game drill, I was standing behind the end zone watching one-on-one passing drills. I was standing about 10 feet behind Paul Rhoads and enjoyed listening to him coach his DBs. He has a positive, instructive way about his coaching that's different than a lot of defensive coaches you'll see.
* A couple highlights from passrush drill (I thought the offensive line was having its best day in the drill midway through, but the d-linemen started narrowing the gap toward the end):
*Zach Clayton was back in practice and looked good -- strong and quick -- in his reps.
* I thought the one rep between Sen'Derrick Marks and Tyronne Green today was a draw. I talked to Green about how their matchups are drawing a crowd and he seemed amused by that, although he said he hadn't noticed.
* Jake Ricks looked good in a rep against Ryan Pugh, where he beat him with a swim move.
* Lee Ziemba did a good job against Raven Gray forcing him behind and past the quarterback and then pushing him away and shoving him after the rep almost into a team of high school kids who were watching practice today.
* Gray, however, probably had his best day in the drill so far, getting in close to the QB on other reps.
* Byron Isom dominated Darrell Roseman on a rep.
Highlights from 11-on-11, as they occurred. The top play was a Burns bomb to Rod Smith:
* Antonio Coleman blew past Lee Ziemba around right end for what would have been a sack on one of the first plays. (they apparently also got into a little shoving match that was quickly broken up shortly after the Douglas-Jemison fight).
* Walt McFadden had a nice pass breakup on a wobbly Kodi Burns pass downfield.
* Chris Todd delivered a nice pass to Terrell Zachery with Courtney Harden rushing hard into his face on a blitz.
* Burns delivered a deep throw to Smith over the coverage of D'Antoine Hood. Hood was right there with him, but Smith outjumped him to grab the ball and landed on his feet as Hood went down. It would have gone for about an 80-yard touchdown.
* Chris Evans sacked Todd on a blitz.
* Second-best play: Sen'Derrick Marks snuck out into the flat and tagged Mario Fannin as he leaped to catch a little screen. Considering Fannin's wearing a non-contact jersey, even the contact Marks put on him might have been excessive -- and that was just kind of a nice little collision. It would have been a highlight-reel decleater if they'd been going full speed.
* Highlights from goal-line offense:
*Chris Todd made a nice 5-yard TD pass to Tim Hawthorne in the back of the end zone
* Todd scrambled around and found Montez Billings for another 5-yard TD. Both Billings and Zachery broke off their routes when Todd started scrambling and were just trying to get open, coming from opposite directions, when he threw. They slammed into each other head-first when the ball arrived, but Billings held on. He was a little shaken up after the play, but I'd think he's fine.
* Burns hit Robert Dunn for a 5-yard TD in the corner of the end zone, with McFadden in coverage.
* Todd threw a 1-yard TD to Chris Slaughter and McFadden made a nice pass breakup, and near-interception, on Todd on the drill's final play.
* Field goals:
* Wes Byrum was 2-for-3, hitting from 47 yards and 40 yards. His try from 42 was blocked by Raven Gray, I believe, up the middle.
* Morgan Hull was 2-for-4, hitting from 46 and 40 and missing from 40 and 35.
* Still no word on Reggie Hunt.
* Jason Bosley will probably start practicing again early next week, Tuberville said.
* The news coming out of today's practice is another practice fight. I didn't see this one, but I saw the aftereffects. Running back John Douglas and freshman safety Marcus Jemison got into a scrap. The other writers said it broke up pretty quickly, but Jemison apparently twisted his ankle in the scrape. He needed trainers' assistance to leave the field, not putting any weight on the ankle, and was fitted with an air cast and crutches before he got on a nearby medical van and left practice early.
I don't want to overdramatize these things -- which is what I think has happened with the Furr thing, when there was a lot more to it than a fight -- but the fact of this particular fight is they've got another player injured (Jemison) or gone (Furr) at a position where they're not especially deep. Not the end of the world in either case, but it's not especially productive, either.
* While that stuff was happening in a running game drill, I was standing behind the end zone watching one-on-one passing drills. I was standing about 10 feet behind Paul Rhoads and enjoyed listening to him coach his DBs. He has a positive, instructive way about his coaching that's different than a lot of defensive coaches you'll see.
* A couple highlights from passrush drill (I thought the offensive line was having its best day in the drill midway through, but the d-linemen started narrowing the gap toward the end):
*Zach Clayton was back in practice and looked good -- strong and quick -- in his reps.
* I thought the one rep between Sen'Derrick Marks and Tyronne Green today was a draw. I talked to Green about how their matchups are drawing a crowd and he seemed amused by that, although he said he hadn't noticed.
* Jake Ricks looked good in a rep against Ryan Pugh, where he beat him with a swim move.
* Lee Ziemba did a good job against Raven Gray forcing him behind and past the quarterback and then pushing him away and shoving him after the rep almost into a team of high school kids who were watching practice today.
* Gray, however, probably had his best day in the drill so far, getting in close to the QB on other reps.
* Byron Isom dominated Darrell Roseman on a rep.
Highlights from 11-on-11, as they occurred. The top play was a Burns bomb to Rod Smith:
* Antonio Coleman blew past Lee Ziemba around right end for what would have been a sack on one of the first plays. (they apparently also got into a little shoving match that was quickly broken up shortly after the Douglas-Jemison fight).
* Walt McFadden had a nice pass breakup on a wobbly Kodi Burns pass downfield.
* Chris Todd delivered a nice pass to Terrell Zachery with Courtney Harden rushing hard into his face on a blitz.
* Burns delivered a deep throw to Smith over the coverage of D'Antoine Hood. Hood was right there with him, but Smith outjumped him to grab the ball and landed on his feet as Hood went down. It would have gone for about an 80-yard touchdown.
* Chris Evans sacked Todd on a blitz.
* Second-best play: Sen'Derrick Marks snuck out into the flat and tagged Mario Fannin as he leaped to catch a little screen. Considering Fannin's wearing a non-contact jersey, even the contact Marks put on him might have been excessive -- and that was just kind of a nice little collision. It would have been a highlight-reel decleater if they'd been going full speed.
* Highlights from goal-line offense:
*Chris Todd made a nice 5-yard TD pass to Tim Hawthorne in the back of the end zone
* Todd scrambled around and found Montez Billings for another 5-yard TD. Both Billings and Zachery broke off their routes when Todd started scrambling and were just trying to get open, coming from opposite directions, when he threw. They slammed into each other head-first when the ball arrived, but Billings held on. He was a little shaken up after the play, but I'd think he's fine.
* Burns hit Robert Dunn for a 5-yard TD in the corner of the end zone, with McFadden in coverage.
* Todd threw a 1-yard TD to Chris Slaughter and McFadden made a nice pass breakup, and near-interception, on Todd on the drill's final play.
* Field goals:
* Wes Byrum was 2-for-3, hitting from 47 yards and 40 yards. His try from 42 was blocked by Raven Gray, I believe, up the middle.
* Morgan Hull was 2-for-4, hitting from 46 and 40 and missing from 40 and 35.
* Still no word on Reggie Hunt.
* Jason Bosley will probably start practicing again early next week, Tuberville said.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Sports Illustrated preseason poll
SI released its preseason poll on Thursday. I'm just getting around to looking at it. Here's where they rank the 12 teams from the SEC.
1. Georgia
5. Florida
7. Auburn
9. LSU
12. Tennessee
29. Alabama
30. Mississippi State
40. South Carolina
60. Ole Miss
69. Arkansas
72. Kentucky
75. Vanderbilt
1. Georgia
5. Florida
7. Auburn
9. LSU
12. Tennessee
29. Alabama
30. Mississippi State
40. South Carolina
60. Ole Miss
69. Arkansas
72. Kentucky
75. Vanderbilt
Thursday evening notes
Here are a couple things, quickly. It's been a long day.
* Practice got cut short by about 30 minutes by a stinking deluge. They got in two hour-plus workouts today.
* Lee Ziemba got back out in the morning some and then some more in the afternoon.
* Saw Zach Clayton walking around looking rather pirate-like with gauze taped over his eye. He got poked in the eye on inside running drill yesterday, but Tommy Tuberville said he might be back tomorrow.
* Same for Jason Bosley, who injured his back during pass-rush drills yesterday. He missed both practices today, but Tuberville said he might be back tomorrow. His absence allowed Ryan Pugh to get some valuable experience working with the ones at center. Read more about that in Friday's Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
* Tony Franklin said there were too many drops in the morning session, but I saw some nice grabs in pass skeleton and two-minute drill in the afternoon. In pass skeleton, Montez Billings, James Swinton and Chris Slaughter all made nice touchdown catches. Derek Winter caught a TD from Chris Todd in two-minute drill and Tommy Trott added a 2-point catch from Todd.
* D'Antoine Hood and Neiko Thorpe both rotated in with the ones some on the first two-minute drill against the starting offense.
* I saw Tez Doolittle get out there to work with the twos (I believe) on the second go-round of the two-minute drill, against the second-team offense with Kodi Burns under center.
* They're slated to practice tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
* Oh yeah, and the scrimmage at the stadium Saturday will be closed unless you're extra special, which I'm not, nor apparently are the other members of the media. I'm sure the statistics they provide afterward will be fully representative of what happens and completely accurate, though. So don't worry there.
* Practice got cut short by about 30 minutes by a stinking deluge. They got in two hour-plus workouts today.
* Lee Ziemba got back out in the morning some and then some more in the afternoon.
* Saw Zach Clayton walking around looking rather pirate-like with gauze taped over his eye. He got poked in the eye on inside running drill yesterday, but Tommy Tuberville said he might be back tomorrow.
* Same for Jason Bosley, who injured his back during pass-rush drills yesterday. He missed both practices today, but Tuberville said he might be back tomorrow. His absence allowed Ryan Pugh to get some valuable experience working with the ones at center. Read more about that in Friday's Columbus Ledger-Enquirer.
* Tony Franklin said there were too many drops in the morning session, but I saw some nice grabs in pass skeleton and two-minute drill in the afternoon. In pass skeleton, Montez Billings, James Swinton and Chris Slaughter all made nice touchdown catches. Derek Winter caught a TD from Chris Todd in two-minute drill and Tommy Trott added a 2-point catch from Todd.
* D'Antoine Hood and Neiko Thorpe both rotated in with the ones some on the first two-minute drill against the starting offense.
* I saw Tez Doolittle get out there to work with the twos (I believe) on the second go-round of the two-minute drill, against the second-team offense with Kodi Burns under center.
* They're slated to practice tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.
* Oh yeah, and the scrimmage at the stadium Saturday will be closed unless you're extra special, which I'm not, nor apparently are the other members of the media. I'm sure the statistics they provide afterward will be fully representative of what happens and completely accurate, though. So don't worry there.
Savage update
Today's Albany Herald quotes Aairon Savage's brother as saying yesterday's surgery was only to correct the torn ACL and the injuries were not as severe as initially thought. If that's the case, the MCL might not have been damaged. Not sure about the dislocated kneecap, though, because that's apparently an injury that wouldn't necessarily require surgery to correct it, if doctors are able to re-locate it on the spot. I'll try to ask about it after practice.
Morning update
Couple things:
* It's much more pleasant watching practice in the relatively cool climate of a 7:15 a.m. practice. It's the 7:15 part that kind of sucks. For those of you who are up every day at that hour, my sympathies. I'm operating on two hours of sleep and a ton of caffeine.
* Lee Ziemba came back and practiced a little today. He shut out Cameron Henderson twice in pass rush drill, but went back to the trainers' tent afterwards and iced his right knee.
* Jason Bosley did not attend practice.
* Mike Blanc probably had the best rep in the drill, beating Ryan Pugh with the trusty old bull rush.
* Hugh Nall had good things to say to Jared Cooper about the strides he's making with his technique after he went against Antonio Coleman in the drill. Coleman pushed him backwards, but Cooper found ways to stay in front of him.
* Ben Tate was in and out during practice. He said his groin has bothered him, but he expects to practice this afternoon.
* Jerraud Powers made a nice pick on a Kodi Burns pass to Quindarius Carr during 11-on-11.
* Tony Franklin said about the quarterback battle something like, "This is the best problem I've ever had, and I've had a lot of problems." That's paraphrasing, as I haven't transcribed that tape yet. Just thought it was funny.
That's all for now. Got a buncha stuff to do before the afternoon practice.
* It's much more pleasant watching practice in the relatively cool climate of a 7:15 a.m. practice. It's the 7:15 part that kind of sucks. For those of you who are up every day at that hour, my sympathies. I'm operating on two hours of sleep and a ton of caffeine.
* Lee Ziemba came back and practiced a little today. He shut out Cameron Henderson twice in pass rush drill, but went back to the trainers' tent afterwards and iced his right knee.
* Jason Bosley did not attend practice.
* Mike Blanc probably had the best rep in the drill, beating Ryan Pugh with the trusty old bull rush.
* Hugh Nall had good things to say to Jared Cooper about the strides he's making with his technique after he went against Antonio Coleman in the drill. Coleman pushed him backwards, but Cooper found ways to stay in front of him.
* Ben Tate was in and out during practice. He said his groin has bothered him, but he expects to practice this afternoon.
* Jerraud Powers made a nice pick on a Kodi Burns pass to Quindarius Carr during 11-on-11.
* Tony Franklin said about the quarterback battle something like, "This is the best problem I've ever had, and I've had a lot of problems." That's paraphrasing, as I haven't transcribed that tape yet. Just thought it was funny.
That's all for now. Got a buncha stuff to do before the afternoon practice.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Wednesday practice notes
I'm keeping this fairly brief because they start the first of two practices tomorrow (I guess it's today where I am) in about eight hours. And I'm tired.
First things first, here are my Auburn-related stories in the Thursday paper:
* Aairon Savage is out for the season.
* Notebook. Leads with Antonio Coleman's return to practice. Other injury notes included.
* Feature on Chris Slaughter, who has been very good thus far in preseason practice. Tony Franklin said he's been the biggest pleasant surprise in camp.
* Ex-Auburn swimmer Margaret Hoelzer is America's best shot at gold in the 200-meter backstroke in Beijing. She'll have to beat her former Auburn roomate Kirsty Coventry to end America's winless streak in the event that dates back to 1972.
Now some quick notes:
* Obviously the big news was that Aairon Savage had season-ending surgery on his
* Jason Bosley injured his lower back while squaring off with Mike Blanc in pass rush drills. Tommy Tuberville seemed to think it was no big deal, saying linemen are always going to be twisting something. True, but Bosley didn't look like he felt too hot to me.
* In other injury news, Lee Ziemba (knee) didn't practice for the second straight day. Tuberville said it's not a big thing. Tez Doolittle (hamstring) again watched from the side, but Antonio Coleman (hamstring) got his first action today. He said he felt good. Zach Clayton got poked in the eye on an inside running drill and came out. Ben Tate also went and sat with the injured guys in the tent late in practice, but he was moving around fine when they gathered up. Don't know what the deal was there.
* Speaking of that inside running drill, freshman DE Cameron Henderson took Clayton's place when he came out for the final rep. He laid a huge hit and stopped the running back to end the drill. Got a lot of pats on the back for that one.
* If you haven't caught on already, I love watching that pass rush drill. Probably the best rep of the entire drill today was when Jake Ricks absolutely trucked Byron Isom one time with a bull rush. To Isom's credit, he held Ricks off the next four times the duo squared off.
* I enjoy watching Jomarcus Savage. I think he's going to be a very good player at Auburn. He split the victories in four reps against Jared Cooper, but his wins are often decisive. Think I might have to write about him soon.
* Conversely, I don't think Raven Gray has won a rep yet. He comes close sometimes, but seems to get pushed far outside too often.
* Catches of the day that I witnessed in passing drills:
1. Mario Fannin from Chris Todd
2. Terrell Zachary from Barrett Trotter over Zac Etheridge
3. Quindarius Carr diving catch from ???
* Best defensive play I noticed in one-on-ones was Ryan Williams (at least I believe that's who it was. He was wearing No. 24) batting down a pass to Derek Winter in the end zone.
All for now. More after the morning practice.
First things first, here are my Auburn-related stories in the Thursday paper:
* Aairon Savage is out for the season.
* Notebook. Leads with Antonio Coleman's return to practice. Other injury notes included.
* Feature on Chris Slaughter, who has been very good thus far in preseason practice. Tony Franklin said he's been the biggest pleasant surprise in camp.
* Ex-Auburn swimmer Margaret Hoelzer is America's best shot at gold in the 200-meter backstroke in Beijing. She'll have to beat her former Auburn roomate Kirsty Coventry to end America's winless streak in the event that dates back to 1972.
Now some quick notes:
* Obviously the big news was that Aairon Savage had season-ending surgery on his
* Jason Bosley injured his lower back while squaring off with Mike Blanc in pass rush drills. Tommy Tuberville seemed to think it was no big deal, saying linemen are always going to be twisting something. True, but Bosley didn't look like he felt too hot to me.
* In other injury news, Lee Ziemba (knee) didn't practice for the second straight day. Tuberville said it's not a big thing. Tez Doolittle (hamstring) again watched from the side, but Antonio Coleman (hamstring) got his first action today. He said he felt good. Zach Clayton got poked in the eye on an inside running drill and came out. Ben Tate also went and sat with the injured guys in the tent late in practice, but he was moving around fine when they gathered up. Don't know what the deal was there.
* Speaking of that inside running drill, freshman DE Cameron Henderson took Clayton's place when he came out for the final rep. He laid a huge hit and stopped the running back to end the drill. Got a lot of pats on the back for that one.
* If you haven't caught on already, I love watching that pass rush drill. Probably the best rep of the entire drill today was when Jake Ricks absolutely trucked Byron Isom one time with a bull rush. To Isom's credit, he held Ricks off the next four times the duo squared off.
* I enjoy watching Jomarcus Savage. I think he's going to be a very good player at Auburn. He split the victories in four reps against Jared Cooper, but his wins are often decisive. Think I might have to write about him soon.
* Conversely, I don't think Raven Gray has won a rep yet. He comes close sometimes, but seems to get pushed far outside too often.
* Catches of the day that I witnessed in passing drills:
1. Mario Fannin from Chris Todd
2. Terrell Zachary from Barrett Trotter over Zac Etheridge
3. Quindarius Carr diving catch from ???
* Best defensive play I noticed in one-on-ones was Ryan Williams (at least I believe that's who it was. He was wearing No. 24) batting down a pass to Derek Winter in the end zone.
All for now. More after the morning practice.
Savage out for year + Powers Q/A
Tommy Tuberville confirmed that Aairon Savage will miss the season after having surgery today on the right knee he injured on Monday. Here's some of what his roommate and fellow cornerback had to say about Savage and their situation at cornerback, where it appears they'll have even more need for some youngsters to step in and play now.
On Savage's approach to coming back next season:
I don’t even know if that’s on his mind right now, just because of the situation right now. I haven’t even talked to him about it. I didn’t even want to talk football with him about it, just to get it off his mind. But he’s a competitor. I’m pretty sure we’ll see Aairon back out here. He’s a competitor.
On the young guys who might play:
From what I’ve seen, Neiko and D. Hood, they’re out here competing every day. They’re getting a lot of reps with the twos. Both of them, like when I went to take my test yesterday, I heard Neiko was out here with the first team and got two or three picks. They’re competing. That’s all we’re asking right now is just for them to compete, and the game plan and the defensive scheme, that’ll come to them.
On the worst part of having to start two-a-days tomorrow:
Just knowing that you’ve got to do it. That’s the toughest, just waking up that morning and saying, ‘Dang, we’ve got two practices today.’ But once you’re out here, you’re out here. That’s how I see it. Once we cross that bridge right there, I’m like, ‘Let’s go on. Let’s get it rolling.’ But it’s camp. It’s supposed to be tough, so it’s nothing new.
Did you play as a true freshman?
I was gonna play and then a week before Georgia Tech, I broke my foot. I was out until Ole Miss week.
Compare how these young guys are to where you were at that same point.
I think it’s more of a mindset. I came in wanting to play, not caring who was in front. I came in wanting to compete, wanting to get a chance. I knew my job wasn’t going to be a starter, but I just wanted to be in the rotation. I see it out of some guys, but it just depends on where you come from and how you were brought up in high school. It’s a couple guys out here, it’s all new and everything’s going so fast to them and they don’t know how to keep up with the speed of the game. Then you see a few guys like I said, Neiko and D. Hood out here, they’re competing every day and trying their best to keep up. It’s hard for them, but they’re trying and that’s all you can ask for right now.
How much of a concern is it that some young guys are going to have to play?
I don’t think it concerns me. It’s just they need experience. A game or two is gonna help them out. Each week they’re gonna get better. I remember my redshirt freshman year and I came in LSU week, I was the third-string corner and two guys went down. I ended up starting from the second quarter on out. I was a freshman and it was just like (the situation) they’re in right now. I wasn’t a true freshman, but I was a freshman. It’s sorta the same situation. Once they’re out there and they get the reps and the feel for the game, it’ll come naturally to them.
On Savage's approach to coming back next season:
I don’t even know if that’s on his mind right now, just because of the situation right now. I haven’t even talked to him about it. I didn’t even want to talk football with him about it, just to get it off his mind. But he’s a competitor. I’m pretty sure we’ll see Aairon back out here. He’s a competitor.
On the young guys who might play:
From what I’ve seen, Neiko and D. Hood, they’re out here competing every day. They’re getting a lot of reps with the twos. Both of them, like when I went to take my test yesterday, I heard Neiko was out here with the first team and got two or three picks. They’re competing. That’s all we’re asking right now is just for them to compete, and the game plan and the defensive scheme, that’ll come to them.
On the worst part of having to start two-a-days tomorrow:
Just knowing that you’ve got to do it. That’s the toughest, just waking up that morning and saying, ‘Dang, we’ve got two practices today.’ But once you’re out here, you’re out here. That’s how I see it. Once we cross that bridge right there, I’m like, ‘Let’s go on. Let’s get it rolling.’ But it’s camp. It’s supposed to be tough, so it’s nothing new.
Did you play as a true freshman?
I was gonna play and then a week before Georgia Tech, I broke my foot. I was out until Ole Miss week.
Compare how these young guys are to where you were at that same point.
I think it’s more of a mindset. I came in wanting to play, not caring who was in front. I came in wanting to compete, wanting to get a chance. I knew my job wasn’t going to be a starter, but I just wanted to be in the rotation. I see it out of some guys, but it just depends on where you come from and how you were brought up in high school. It’s a couple guys out here, it’s all new and everything’s going so fast to them and they don’t know how to keep up with the speed of the game. Then you see a few guys like I said, Neiko and D. Hood out here, they’re competing every day and trying their best to keep up. It’s hard for them, but they’re trying and that’s all you can ask for right now.
How much of a concern is it that some young guys are going to have to play?
I don’t think it concerns me. It’s just they need experience. A game or two is gonna help them out. Each week they’re gonna get better. I remember my redshirt freshman year and I came in LSU week, I was the third-string corner and two guys went down. I ended up starting from the second quarter on out. I was a freshman and it was just like (the situation) they’re in right now. I wasn’t a true freshman, but I was a freshman. It’s sorta the same situation. Once they’re out there and they get the reps and the feel for the game, it’ll come naturally to them.
Paul Rhoads Q/A
Practice is starting now, so I'm heading to the intramural fields.
This is some of what Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads had to say to reporters after yesterday's practice. You'll notice some of the same questions being asked repeatedly. That's because not everybody's there asking questions at the same time.
On how Ryan Williams factors in at cornerback:
He definitely can be a factor. Any time that you miss as much conditioning that he did, you’re behind other people. The game of football has changed the fact that your whole football team’s here all summer. That’s a lot of conditioning that takes place and as he gets in better shape, he’ll show up more.
On how he feels about the depth at safety and cornerback:
It takes two of each, so we’d better have at least two.
On how the freshman DBs have played thus far:
I don’t know if anybody’s stepped up head and shoulders above. I don’t know if anybody has tailed off. I think they’re all struggling, I think they’re all showing bright spots. After two days in pads and four total practices, that’s exactly how it should be.
On who has caught his eye:
I think our veteran players have caught my eye. No. 1, there’s good leadership from our veteran players. I think they’re pushing. You’ve gotta remember, all this is new to them also. They went through a hurried bowl preparation against that and then they went through spring ball. Now camp, it’s all new practicing in this kind of tempo, in this kind of format, so there’s gonna be some adjustment and transition. We’re all feeling that right now a little bit and I think they’re doing a very good job of responding to it.
On Aairon Savage's injury:
It’s a sad but true statement – when it happens at whatever position it happens to, somebody’s the backup, and somebody backs up that person. You just step up and you move on. That sounds sorta cold-hearted, but that’s just the way it is. Aairon was in a battle to see if he could start with a number of other guys, and the number of other guys will now have to step up for this football team. Tomorrow could be some other position – knock on wood, it isn’t – but that’s just the state of this sport and that’s what you do.
On whether that attitude about moving on is the same when someone decides to leave like DeRon Furr did:
Things like that happen. Whatever form of attrition, that’s all you do – you step up and move on. The thing with Aairon right now just makes you sick to your stomach because he’s such a tremendous young man and he’s worked extremely hard to be in the position that he was.
On Walter McFadden and Jerraud Powers being the presumptive starters now:
I feel very much comfortable with them. I would have felt comfortable with any of those three, and matter of fact, with all three of them healthy, it would have been a good committee and a good rotation. Preferably that’s nice. Three corners is ideal to stay fresh through the course of a game and stay fresh through the course of a season, plus nickel and dime. But Walt and Jerraud would step up and be mature in any light and they’ll continue to do that.
On starting practice in full pads Wednesday:
You know what, we do so much in shoulder pads and helmets that I don’t look at it really as any different. The place that it will be different is how they can carry them, how they bend their knees, how they sink their hips, how over the course of two hours does their condition carry them. But physically, we truly won’t do anything different tomorrow than we did today.
On what he’s seen from the freshmen:
Both good and bad, and that’s accurate to what it should be. They’re learning, they’re trying to swim and not sink. There’s bright spots, there’s hustle, there’s plays on balls and then there’s other times where they’re absolutely in the wrong position. So a lot of time being spent in the meeting room trying to get that fixed and then you go back and go at it again. They’re all very eager and I’m very pleased with their attitudes at this point.
On if there’s any significance to Neiko Thorpe running with the No. 1 defense at the end of practice, with Jerraud Powers leaving early to take a test and Aairon Savage out with injury:
No, just that I was searching to try to keep guys fresh and playing hard from snap to whistle. It’s the first time that Neiko had done that and that probably alerted some people, but so was Hood, so was Jerraud, so was Walt, so there was a number of guys that were rotating with that group.
On whether they might play three safeties sometimes when they play nickel defense:
We’ll have to sort that out. I can’t remember in the last eight years since I’ve been a coordinator that I haven’t had a true freshman playing somewhere in the secondary. If you can play somewhere early on defense, I think it is on the back end because the physical game isn’t as fierce play in and play out. This year, this scenario, there just might be more than one. We just might have a group of them – nickel, dime, corner, safety – how that all effects, we’ve still got 25 more opportunities to find out.
On which of the young guys look like they might be able to help immediately:
Nobody more than anybody else right now. I think they’re all showing bright spots and they’re also showing that they’ve got a lot to learn. The biggest thing to their advantage right now and that is they’re all staying very eager and intent trying to be that guy that stands out.
How hard is it for a guy like Harry Adams who hasn’t played much defense?
It’s hardest for him. That’s easy to answer. It’s hardest for him because everything is new. Not only the scheme, but playing a lot of technique is foreign to him and being coached at this level is foreign to him. So I’m sure he’s scratching his head right now and trying to figure out what collegiate football is all about.
Is Drew Cole still a cornerback?
He is still at cornerback. Whether he remains there or not will be determined on what’s the best fit for our football team. Drew might be as unselfish a player as we have when it would come to that.
This is some of what Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads had to say to reporters after yesterday's practice. You'll notice some of the same questions being asked repeatedly. That's because not everybody's there asking questions at the same time.
On how Ryan Williams factors in at cornerback:
He definitely can be a factor. Any time that you miss as much conditioning that he did, you’re behind other people. The game of football has changed the fact that your whole football team’s here all summer. That’s a lot of conditioning that takes place and as he gets in better shape, he’ll show up more.
On how he feels about the depth at safety and cornerback:
It takes two of each, so we’d better have at least two.
On how the freshman DBs have played thus far:
I don’t know if anybody’s stepped up head and shoulders above. I don’t know if anybody has tailed off. I think they’re all struggling, I think they’re all showing bright spots. After two days in pads and four total practices, that’s exactly how it should be.
On who has caught his eye:
I think our veteran players have caught my eye. No. 1, there’s good leadership from our veteran players. I think they’re pushing. You’ve gotta remember, all this is new to them also. They went through a hurried bowl preparation against that and then they went through spring ball. Now camp, it’s all new practicing in this kind of tempo, in this kind of format, so there’s gonna be some adjustment and transition. We’re all feeling that right now a little bit and I think they’re doing a very good job of responding to it.
On Aairon Savage's injury:
It’s a sad but true statement – when it happens at whatever position it happens to, somebody’s the backup, and somebody backs up that person. You just step up and you move on. That sounds sorta cold-hearted, but that’s just the way it is. Aairon was in a battle to see if he could start with a number of other guys, and the number of other guys will now have to step up for this football team. Tomorrow could be some other position – knock on wood, it isn’t – but that’s just the state of this sport and that’s what you do.
On whether that attitude about moving on is the same when someone decides to leave like DeRon Furr did:
Things like that happen. Whatever form of attrition, that’s all you do – you step up and move on. The thing with Aairon right now just makes you sick to your stomach because he’s such a tremendous young man and he’s worked extremely hard to be in the position that he was.
On Walter McFadden and Jerraud Powers being the presumptive starters now:
I feel very much comfortable with them. I would have felt comfortable with any of those three, and matter of fact, with all three of them healthy, it would have been a good committee and a good rotation. Preferably that’s nice. Three corners is ideal to stay fresh through the course of a game and stay fresh through the course of a season, plus nickel and dime. But Walt and Jerraud would step up and be mature in any light and they’ll continue to do that.
On starting practice in full pads Wednesday:
You know what, we do so much in shoulder pads and helmets that I don’t look at it really as any different. The place that it will be different is how they can carry them, how they bend their knees, how they sink their hips, how over the course of two hours does their condition carry them. But physically, we truly won’t do anything different tomorrow than we did today.
On what he’s seen from the freshmen:
Both good and bad, and that’s accurate to what it should be. They’re learning, they’re trying to swim and not sink. There’s bright spots, there’s hustle, there’s plays on balls and then there’s other times where they’re absolutely in the wrong position. So a lot of time being spent in the meeting room trying to get that fixed and then you go back and go at it again. They’re all very eager and I’m very pleased with their attitudes at this point.
On if there’s any significance to Neiko Thorpe running with the No. 1 defense at the end of practice, with Jerraud Powers leaving early to take a test and Aairon Savage out with injury:
No, just that I was searching to try to keep guys fresh and playing hard from snap to whistle. It’s the first time that Neiko had done that and that probably alerted some people, but so was Hood, so was Jerraud, so was Walt, so there was a number of guys that were rotating with that group.
On whether they might play three safeties sometimes when they play nickel defense:
We’ll have to sort that out. I can’t remember in the last eight years since I’ve been a coordinator that I haven’t had a true freshman playing somewhere in the secondary. If you can play somewhere early on defense, I think it is on the back end because the physical game isn’t as fierce play in and play out. This year, this scenario, there just might be more than one. We just might have a group of them – nickel, dime, corner, safety – how that all effects, we’ve still got 25 more opportunities to find out.
On which of the young guys look like they might be able to help immediately:
Nobody more than anybody else right now. I think they’re all showing bright spots and they’re also showing that they’ve got a lot to learn. The biggest thing to their advantage right now and that is they’re all staying very eager and intent trying to be that guy that stands out.
How hard is it for a guy like Harry Adams who hasn’t played much defense?
It’s hardest for him. That’s easy to answer. It’s hardest for him because everything is new. Not only the scheme, but playing a lot of technique is foreign to him and being coached at this level is foreign to him. So I’m sure he’s scratching his head right now and trying to figure out what collegiate football is all about.
Is Drew Cole still a cornerback?
He is still at cornerback. Whether he remains there or not will be determined on what’s the best fit for our football team. Drew might be as unselfish a player as we have when it would come to that.
Weather delay
Practice time was moved up to 4:15 today, but we've got a weather delay going on right now. I drove through some extremely heavy rain on the way here, but I don't know if that was moving this way. I imagine they'll be 30 minutes or so late onto the practice field, but we'll update you later once they finish. They said the earliest time practice would start is now 4:25
For now, I'm transcribing Paul Rhoads' post-practice interview yesterday. I'll post it in a bit.
For now, I'm transcribing Paul Rhoads' post-practice interview yesterday. I'll post it in a bit.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Tuesday practice notes
Here's what I've got for Wednesday's paper:
* Deron Furr leaving Auburn
* Notebook: Leads with how Aairon Savage will be examined tomorrow and might need surgery. Quoted Tommy Tuberville and Paul Rhoads about what they'll do at CB in Savage's absence.
* Feature on Raven Gray
Speaking of Raven Gray, DE coach Terry Price didn't seem to be riding him as much today. As is the case with a lot of JUCO players when they start their time at a four-year school, it's apparent he has a lot of habits Price wants to break. He certainly hasn't been blowing anyone away thus far, but that's probably pretty common for a guy in his situation. Particularly after missing so much time with a knee injury. He might become a productive college player, but people will have to be patient with him.
Here are some other random observations and comments from the day:
* I enjoy watching Eric Smith run with the ball. He's like a little bowling ball. Kind of reminds me of a pudgy Rudi Johnson. Not sure how much opportunity exists for him right this second, with Lester, Tate and Davis all in the mix, but I think he's going to wind up being a player.
* Tyronne Green is gonna have a great year. I watched that blocking drill I mentioned yesterday again today and he again stood up Sen'Derrick Marks. He also took it to Zach Clayton three straight times.
* Jake Ricks had a couple of really good reps in that drill.
* There was a pretty good standoff in the drill between Jomarcus Savage (Tuberville complimented Savage and Cameron Henderson after practice for their play today) and Mike Berry. Savage outran Berry to the QB one time, but Berry fought off Savage's bull rush on the next play. Hugh Nall was pleased with that rep, going so far as to sing a few bars of "War Eagle" to Berry after the play.
* Watching Nall coach his guys up is highly entertaining to me. He's extremely tough, but it's interesting listening to him tutor them about what they're doing right and wrong. I'm not even a novice when it comes to blocking techniques, so I couldn't tell you what they did wrong most of the time while I'm watching -- I can only tell you they either got beat or didn't -- but you watch him and you learn a little something. And maybe a few new vocabulary words, too.
* Injuries were the hot topic today after practice. Tuberville said Aairon Savage will be evaluated tomorrow, presumably in Birmingham, and he wasn't ruling out the possibility of surgery. Didn't want to speculate, though. Charles Olatunji broke his collarbone when he crashed to the ground in that passing drill yesterday. Obviously he'll be out for a while.
* OT Lee Ziemba missed today's practice with a knee strain. Tuberville said he's getting an MRI, but he didn't seem to think it was especially serious.
* Also, he said Andre Wadley has been in and out of the hospital after that heat-related scare he had this summer, but that he's out now. I don't believe Tuberville had said before today that Wadley had been in the hospital more than once. Doesn't sound like he's going to practice anytime soon. That's kind of scary for Wadley if what we've heard is the whole story -- that he had some sort of heat stroke that kind of shut his body down and they can't figure out exactly what happened.
* He said they're hoping Chaz Ramsey will be able to practice some soon, although they want to take things slowly with him and doctors don't want him trying to do too much, like go through two-a-day practices.
* Speaking of injuries, Doolittle, Goggans, T'Sharvan Bell and Mike Slade were all off to the side riding the exercise bikes and whatnot today. Antonio Coleman was watching, too, but he wasn't doing the conditioning stuff with those guys.
* Chris Slaughter made another really nice TD catch in 11-on-11 practice, beating Drew Cole for a long TD from Chris Todd.
* Kodi Burns had a nice completion to Tim Hawthorne. Burns also was victimized on a pick by Walter McFadden near the goal line, which McFadden would have taken back for a nearly 100-yard score if they'd allowed the play to finish.
* Slaughter, Philip Pierre-Louis and Robert Dunn, in no particular order, were the guys catching punts when they were working on that particular skill.
* Deron Furr leaving Auburn
* Notebook: Leads with how Aairon Savage will be examined tomorrow and might need surgery. Quoted Tommy Tuberville and Paul Rhoads about what they'll do at CB in Savage's absence.
* Feature on Raven Gray
Speaking of Raven Gray, DE coach Terry Price didn't seem to be riding him as much today. As is the case with a lot of JUCO players when they start their time at a four-year school, it's apparent he has a lot of habits Price wants to break. He certainly hasn't been blowing anyone away thus far, but that's probably pretty common for a guy in his situation. Particularly after missing so much time with a knee injury. He might become a productive college player, but people will have to be patient with him.
Here are some other random observations and comments from the day:
* I enjoy watching Eric Smith run with the ball. He's like a little bowling ball. Kind of reminds me of a pudgy Rudi Johnson. Not sure how much opportunity exists for him right this second, with Lester, Tate and Davis all in the mix, but I think he's going to wind up being a player.
* Tyronne Green is gonna have a great year. I watched that blocking drill I mentioned yesterday again today and he again stood up Sen'Derrick Marks. He also took it to Zach Clayton three straight times.
* Jake Ricks had a couple of really good reps in that drill.
* There was a pretty good standoff in the drill between Jomarcus Savage (Tuberville complimented Savage and Cameron Henderson after practice for their play today) and Mike Berry. Savage outran Berry to the QB one time, but Berry fought off Savage's bull rush on the next play. Hugh Nall was pleased with that rep, going so far as to sing a few bars of "War Eagle" to Berry after the play.
* Watching Nall coach his guys up is highly entertaining to me. He's extremely tough, but it's interesting listening to him tutor them about what they're doing right and wrong. I'm not even a novice when it comes to blocking techniques, so I couldn't tell you what they did wrong most of the time while I'm watching -- I can only tell you they either got beat or didn't -- but you watch him and you learn a little something. And maybe a few new vocabulary words, too.
* Injuries were the hot topic today after practice. Tuberville said Aairon Savage will be evaluated tomorrow, presumably in Birmingham, and he wasn't ruling out the possibility of surgery. Didn't want to speculate, though. Charles Olatunji broke his collarbone when he crashed to the ground in that passing drill yesterday. Obviously he'll be out for a while.
* OT Lee Ziemba missed today's practice with a knee strain. Tuberville said he's getting an MRI, but he didn't seem to think it was especially serious.
* Also, he said Andre Wadley has been in and out of the hospital after that heat-related scare he had this summer, but that he's out now. I don't believe Tuberville had said before today that Wadley had been in the hospital more than once. Doesn't sound like he's going to practice anytime soon. That's kind of scary for Wadley if what we've heard is the whole story -- that he had some sort of heat stroke that kind of shut his body down and they can't figure out exactly what happened.
* He said they're hoping Chaz Ramsey will be able to practice some soon, although they want to take things slowly with him and doctors don't want him trying to do too much, like go through two-a-day practices.
* Speaking of injuries, Doolittle, Goggans, T'Sharvan Bell and Mike Slade were all off to the side riding the exercise bikes and whatnot today. Antonio Coleman was watching, too, but he wasn't doing the conditioning stuff with those guys.
* Chris Slaughter made another really nice TD catch in 11-on-11 practice, beating Drew Cole for a long TD from Chris Todd.
* Kodi Burns had a nice completion to Tim Hawthorne. Burns also was victimized on a pick by Walter McFadden near the goal line, which McFadden would have taken back for a nearly 100-yard score if they'd allowed the play to finish.
* Slaughter, Philip Pierre-Louis and Robert Dunn, in no particular order, were the guys catching punts when they were working on that particular skill.
Furr to transfer
I'm sure it's up in about 17 different places already, but I'm just getting back from practice. Tommy Tuberville told reporters after practice that DeRon Furr will in fact transfer to another school. I'd heard they had some meetings about it today, so it sounded like it was only a matter of time. I've been trying to call them all afternoon and continue to get no answer.
At least it's settled now. They know how to reach me if they have a comment. My number has shown up in their cell phone about 473 times in the last 48 hours.
At least it's settled now. They know how to reach me if they have a comment. My number has shown up in their cell phone about 473 times in the last 48 hours.
Local boy makes good
In case you missed it, and I did, Columbus' Steven Register, who played for Auburn between 2002-04, made his major league debut last night for the Colorado Rockies. He came on in relief of Aaron Cook in the top of the sixth inning against the Washington Nationals and struck out the only batter he faced, Lastings Milledge. Good stuff. I've enjoyed interviewing him in the past.
He was 5-2 with 16 saves and a 3.28 ERA in 48 games with the Class AAA Colorado Sky Sox prior to his promotion.
I worked at another paper when Register was in high school at Shaw here in Columbus, but I saw his team play in the playoffs the year that they won a state title. Maybe 2001? Their top two starting pitchers were Nick Long, who played for a while in the Expos organization, and Register. Their No. 3 starter was Edwin Jackson, who is currently 7-7 with a 4.20 ERA for the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. Needless to say, I don't recall them giving up many runs.
He was 5-2 with 16 saves and a 3.28 ERA in 48 games with the Class AAA Colorado Sky Sox prior to his promotion.
I worked at another paper when Register was in high school at Shaw here in Columbus, but I saw his team play in the playoffs the year that they won a state title. Maybe 2001? Their top two starting pitchers were Nick Long, who played for a while in the Expos organization, and Register. Their No. 3 starter was Edwin Jackson, who is currently 7-7 with a 4.20 ERA for the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. Needless to say, I don't recall them giving up many runs.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Etheridge comments + Savage injured + other practice stuff
First things first, here's the last thing I intend to type about this DeRon Furr thing until I hear from him/his family or until Tommy Tuberville announces what he's doing. I'm brand new on this beat and I can't say I fully understand what's going on. If he was officially off the team, I'd think Tuberville would have said that today, but he didn't. I don't understand how the guy handles this stuff like the guys who've been around the beat for a while -- and they don't seem to have a firm grip on it this time, either. Based on the responses thus far, it appears the ball is in DeRon's court -- or at least they're not comfortable saying anything's final yet.
The only person who has really addressed this whole thing (at least to me) was Zac Etheridge. Montgomery's Jay G. Tate and I (there might have been someone else there, too, but we were the ones asking about the fight) asked Etheridge this evening what was going on with DeRon and here's what he said:
"I actually haven’t talked to him. I don’t know the situation with that or anything. But I’m sure whatever he’s gonna do, he’s gonna make that decision himself."
On what happened:
"It was just setting an example to the freshmen. It wasn’t nothing like bumping heads. It was just showing them that we’re here to work and get to the championship."
More on what caused it:
"It’s just that everyone was tired. The heat was bothering everyone. He just didn’t push himself hard, but other than that, (it) got the other freshmen to learn and they picked it up today."
Now on to some random observations from today's practice:
* The big thing from today's practice was that cornerback Aairon Savage was injured in a passing drill. The trainers stabilized his right leg in a big blue cast that ran the length of his leg and they carted him off the field very slowly. Tuberville didn't want to speculate on the severity of the injury, but it didn't look good.
* They hadn't even gotten Savage on the cart yet when another player was injured. Receiver Charles Olatunji went up for a jump ball with Neiko Thorpe on a Kodi Burns bomb toward the end zone. It was anybody's ball when they hit the ground, although Thorpe came down with it (I think he's gonna be good). Olatunji hit the ground awkwardly on his left shoulder and eventually got up and walked off under his own power. Tuberville said he didn't know the severity of that one either.
* I saw all four quarterbacks make some really nice throws at points today:
Chris Todd and Chris Slaughter hooked up on a couple of great throw-and-catches for TDs in both one-on-one drills and pass skeleton. Tony Franklin told me after practice today he's been especially pleased with some of the things Slaughter has done.
Philip Pierre-Louis hooked up on nice touchdowns from both Kodi Burns and Barrett Trotter in one-on-one drills. Burns also hit Darvin Adams for a nice long TD over Mike Slade in that set of drills.
Burns also threw interceptions on consecutive plays in pass skeleton. Before he was injured, Aairon Savage made a nice read on a pass and picked Burns off. Then on the next play, a linebacker (Blackmon?) tipped Burns' throw and Chris Evans hauled it in.
* I didn't take a lot of notes during 11-on-11 drills, although that's when both Savage and Olatunji were injured. I did jot down a couple of plays, though -- an Adam Herring interception off a tipped Barrett Trotter pass and a really nice one-handed catch that Brad Lester made off a Neil Caudle pass for a TD.
* One of the entertaining drills of the day was a blocking drill the offensive and defensive linemen were doing. Basically it boiled down to two guys in the middle squaring off for three straight plays. I walked up just after freshman Jomarcus Savage planted Lee Ziemba on his rear end with a bull rush. Some of the writers were still talking about it when I got there because it was kind of a 'whoa!' moment. I missed some other good efforts by the defensive linemen, although I heard the other writers say Antoine Carter had done well. I saw a good speed rush around the end by Cameron Henderson just as I arrived.
* There was a good standoff between Tyronne Green and Sen'Derrick Marks right when I got there. On the first go, Green stonewalled Marks and Sen'Derrick kind of deflected backwards and told Green he did a great job. Marks fought past him to the quarterback on the next one, setting up what Hugh Nall said would be the rubber match. On the third go-round, Marks tried to bull rush Green, who stood his ground enough for Marks to fall down before he made it into the backfield. Those guys were going hard. It was very entertaining to watch and I think the coaches were enjoying that one as well.
* Speaking of enjoying the drill, I know Hugh Nall got a big kick out of walk-on OL Andrew Parmer's effort on the last two reps. He attacked the defender both times, wrestling him down the first time and then drilling him inside the shoulders the second. Nall, you could tell, was pleased with the effort. He's not a big guy, but he packed a wallop on those two plays.
That's more than enough for today, I reckon.
The only person who has really addressed this whole thing (at least to me) was Zac Etheridge. Montgomery's Jay G. Tate and I (there might have been someone else there, too, but we were the ones asking about the fight) asked Etheridge this evening what was going on with DeRon and here's what he said:
"I actually haven’t talked to him. I don’t know the situation with that or anything. But I’m sure whatever he’s gonna do, he’s gonna make that decision himself."
On what happened:
"It was just setting an example to the freshmen. It wasn’t nothing like bumping heads. It was just showing them that we’re here to work and get to the championship."
More on what caused it:
"It’s just that everyone was tired. The heat was bothering everyone. He just didn’t push himself hard, but other than that, (it) got the other freshmen to learn and they picked it up today."
Now on to some random observations from today's practice:
* The big thing from today's practice was that cornerback Aairon Savage was injured in a passing drill. The trainers stabilized his right leg in a big blue cast that ran the length of his leg and they carted him off the field very slowly. Tuberville didn't want to speculate on the severity of the injury, but it didn't look good.
* They hadn't even gotten Savage on the cart yet when another player was injured. Receiver Charles Olatunji went up for a jump ball with Neiko Thorpe on a Kodi Burns bomb toward the end zone. It was anybody's ball when they hit the ground, although Thorpe came down with it (I think he's gonna be good). Olatunji hit the ground awkwardly on his left shoulder and eventually got up and walked off under his own power. Tuberville said he didn't know the severity of that one either.
* I saw all four quarterbacks make some really nice throws at points today:
Chris Todd and Chris Slaughter hooked up on a couple of great throw-and-catches for TDs in both one-on-one drills and pass skeleton. Tony Franklin told me after practice today he's been especially pleased with some of the things Slaughter has done.
Philip Pierre-Louis hooked up on nice touchdowns from both Kodi Burns and Barrett Trotter in one-on-one drills. Burns also hit Darvin Adams for a nice long TD over Mike Slade in that set of drills.
Burns also threw interceptions on consecutive plays in pass skeleton. Before he was injured, Aairon Savage made a nice read on a pass and picked Burns off. Then on the next play, a linebacker (Blackmon?) tipped Burns' throw and Chris Evans hauled it in.
* I didn't take a lot of notes during 11-on-11 drills, although that's when both Savage and Olatunji were injured. I did jot down a couple of plays, though -- an Adam Herring interception off a tipped Barrett Trotter pass and a really nice one-handed catch that Brad Lester made off a Neil Caudle pass for a TD.
* One of the entertaining drills of the day was a blocking drill the offensive and defensive linemen were doing. Basically it boiled down to two guys in the middle squaring off for three straight plays. I walked up just after freshman Jomarcus Savage planted Lee Ziemba on his rear end with a bull rush. Some of the writers were still talking about it when I got there because it was kind of a 'whoa!' moment. I missed some other good efforts by the defensive linemen, although I heard the other writers say Antoine Carter had done well. I saw a good speed rush around the end by Cameron Henderson just as I arrived.
* There was a good standoff between Tyronne Green and Sen'Derrick Marks right when I got there. On the first go, Green stonewalled Marks and Sen'Derrick kind of deflected backwards and told Green he did a great job. Marks fought past him to the quarterback on the next one, setting up what Hugh Nall said would be the rubber match. On the third go-round, Marks tried to bull rush Green, who stood his ground enough for Marks to fall down before he made it into the backfield. Those guys were going hard. It was very entertaining to watch and I think the coaches were enjoying that one as well.
* Speaking of enjoying the drill, I know Hugh Nall got a big kick out of walk-on OL Andrew Parmer's effort on the last two reps. He attacked the defender both times, wrestling him down the first time and then drilling him inside the shoulders the second. Nall, you could tell, was pleased with the effort. He's not a big guy, but he packed a wallop on those two plays.
That's more than enough for today, I reckon.
Quick golf note
I was just wading through my e-mail for the day and saw that two folks from Auburn qualified for the U.S. Amateur at a sectional that concluded today at the Auburn University Club.
Auburn grad assistant Jay Moseley carded a two-day 5-under 139 to take first place. Auburn's Will Swift and Cory Gilmer tied for third, with Gilmer winning a sudden-death playoff between the pair to clinch the final U.S. Amateur bid handed out at the sectional.
Georgia Southern's Jordan Johnston took second to also earn a bid.
Auburn has two other players who have qualified for the U.S. Amateur -- junior Cole Moreland, who qualified in Keller, Texas, and freshman Kyle Kopsick, who qualified in Watertown, Wis.
The U.S. Amature will be held Aug. 18-24 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.
Auburn grad assistant Jay Moseley carded a two-day 5-under 139 to take first place. Auburn's Will Swift and Cory Gilmer tied for third, with Gilmer winning a sudden-death playoff between the pair to clinch the final U.S. Amateur bid handed out at the sectional.
Georgia Southern's Jordan Johnston took second to also earn a bid.
Auburn has two other players who have qualified for the U.S. Amateur -- junior Cole Moreland, who qualified in Keller, Texas, and freshman Kyle Kopsick, who qualified in Watertown, Wis.
The U.S. Amature will be held Aug. 18-24 at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C.
ESPN releases top 150 prospects list
ESPN sent out a release listing its ESPNU 150 Class of 2009 (formerly the ESPN 150) today. Figured some folks might like to see the list. There are six players from Alabama and 16 from Georgia on there. I'll highlight the guys from those two states.
We have a couple of local and semi-local guys on that list: Jarvis Jones from Columbus-Carver (No. 63) and Chris Burnette from Troup in LaGrange (No. 55).
1. Matt Barkley QB Mater Dei High School Santa Ana CA
2. Russell Shepard ATH Cypress Ridge High School Houston TX
3. Aaron Murray QB Plant Senior High School Tampa FL
4. Devon Kennard DE Desert Vista High School Phoenix AZ
5. Dre Kirkpatrick CB Gadsden High School Gadsden AL
6. Manti Te'o OLB Punahou School Honolulu HI
7. Jacobbi McDaniel DT Madison County High Greenville FL
8. Craig Loston S Dwight D. Eisenhower High Aldine TX
9. Jelani Jenkins OLB Good Counsel High School Wheaton MD
10. Rueben Randle WR Bastrop High School Bastrop LA
11. Jaamal Berry RB Miami Palmetto High School Miami FL
12. Trent Richardson RB Escambia High School Pensacola FL
13. Mason Walters OT Frenship High School Wolfforth TX
14. Bryce Brown RB East High School Wichita KS
15. Damario Jeffery S Columbia High School Columbia SC
16. Dorian Bell OLB Gateway Senior High School Monroeville PA
17. Marlon Brown WR Harding Academy Memphis TN
18. Ray Ray Armstrong ATH Seminole High School Sanford FL
19. Devonte Holloman S South Pointe High School Rock Hill SC
20. Vontaze Burfict ILB Centennial High School Corona CA
21. Shaquelle Evans WR Inglewood High School Inglewood CA
22. Sam Montgomery DE Greenwood High School Greenwood SC
23. Cierre Wood ATH Santa Clara High School Oxnard CA
24. Nico Johnson ILB Andalusia High School Andalusia AL
25. Darius Winston CB West Helena Central High School Helena AR
26. Garrett Gilbert QB Lake Travis High School Austin TX
27. Paden Kelley OT Lake Travis High School Austin TX
28. Eric Fields OLB Northside High School Warner Robins GA
29. Stavion Lowe OT Brownwood High School Brownwood TX
30. Andre Debose WR Seminole High School Sanford FL
31. John Martinez OG Cottonwood High School Salt Lake City UT
32. Tyler Stockton DT The Hun School Of Princeton Princeton NJ
33. Kevin Graf OT Agoura High School Agoura CA
34. Richard Brehaut QB Los Osos Rancho Cucamonga CA
35. Washaun Ealey RB Emanuel County Institute Twin City GA
36. A.J. McCarron QB Saint Pauls Episcopal School Mobile AL
37. Jheranie Boyd WR Ashbrook High School Gastonia NC
38. Darren Myles Jr. S Carver High School Atlanta GA
39. Frankie Telfort OLB Gulliver Prep School Miami FL
40. Kendall Kelly WR Gadsden High School Gadsden AL
41. Jarvis Giles RB Gaither High School Tampa FL
42. Prince Kent S Norcross High School Norcross GA
43. Branden Smith ATH Booker T. Washington High School Atlanta GA
44. Montrell Conner RB Ouachita Parish High School Monroe LA
45. Randall Carroll WR Cathedral High School Los Angeles CA
46. Austin Long OT Briarcrest Christian High School Memphis TN
47. Morrell Presley TE Carson High School Carson CA
48. Morgan Moses OT Meadowbrook High School Richmond VA
49. Jamarkus McFarland DT Lufkin High School Lufkin TX
50. Xavier Nixon OT Jack Britt High School Fayetteville NC
51. Corey Adams DT Saguaro High School Scottsdale AZ
52. Xavier Su'a Filo OG Timpview High School Pleasant Grove UT
53. Je'Ron Stokes WR North East High School Philadelphia PA
54. Chris Davenport DT Mansfield High School Mansfield LA
55. Chris Burnette OG Troup County Comprehensive High Sch La Grange GA
56. Barrett Matthews TE North Shore High School Houston TX
57. Chris Payne S Columbia High School Columbia SC
58. Nick Alajajian OG Naples High School Naples FL
59. Darrell Givens CB Lackey High School Indian Head MD
60. Brandon McGee ATH Plantation High School Fort Lauderdale FL
61. Demonte McAllister DE Alonso High School Tampa FL
62. Chris Whaley RB Madisonville High School Madisonville TX
63. Jarvis Jones OLB Carver High School Columbus GA
64. Christine Michael RB West Brook Senior High School Beaumont TX
65. Bryce McNeal WR Breck School Minneapolis MN
66. David Wilson RB George Washington High School Danville VA
67. Craig Drummond DE Morgan Park High School Chicago IL
68. Chris Watt OG Glenbard West High School Glen Ellyn IL
69. David Barrent OT Valley High School Clive IA
70. Byron Moore Jr. ATH Narbonne High School Harbor City CA
71. Gerald Demps S Lowndes High School Valdosta GA
72. Eric Shrive OT West Scranton High School Scranton PA
73. C.J. Barnett CB Northmont Senior High School Clayton OH
74. Darius Jones ATH Marshall High School Marshall TX
75. Thomas Ashcraft OG Cedar Hill High School Cedar Hill TX
76. Janzen Jackson CB Barbe High School Lake Charles LA
77. Gabe Lynn S Jenks High School Jenks OK
78. Marcus Hall OT Glenville High School Cleveland OH
79. Quinton Washington OG Timberland High School Saint Stephen SC
80. Marcus Davis CB Clear Creek High League City TX
81. Joshua Downs DT Bastrop High School Bastrop LA
82. Tom Wort OLB New Braunfels High New Braunfels TX
83. Terry Hawthorne WR East Saint Louis Sr. High School East St. Louis IL
84. Gary Brown DT West Gadsden High School Quincy FL
85. Stephon Gilmore ATH South Pointe High School Rock Hill SC
86. Craig Roh DE Chaparral High School Scottsdale AZ
87. Steve Williams CB Skyline High School Dallas TX
88. Donavan Tate ATH Cartersville High School Cartersville GA
89. T.J. McDonald S Edison High School Fresno CA
90. Josh Nunes QB Upland High School Upland CA
91. Isaiah Bell S Liberty High School Youngstown OH
92. Logan Heastie WR Great Bridge High School Chesapeake VA
93. Jamie Wood S Pickerington Central High School Pickerington OH
94. Justin Chaisson DE Bishop Gorman High School Las Vegas NV
95. Zach Mettenberger QB Oconee County High School Watkinsville GA
96. Victor Marc ATH Hallandale High School Hallandale FL
97. Alshon Jeffrey WR Calhoun County High School Saint Matthews SC
98. Tom Savage QB Cardinal O'Hara High School Philadelphia PA
99. Logan Thomas ATH Brookville High School Lynchburg VA
100. Dexter Pratt RB Navasota High School Navasota TX
101. Dexter Moody OLB Emanuel County Institute Twin City GA
102. Jamal Reid WR Lafayette High School Mayo FL
103. Kevin Brent S South Oak Cliff High Dallas TX
104. Jon Bostic OLB Palm Beach Central High School Wellington FL
105. Zach Martin OT Bishop Chatard High School Indianapolis IN
106. Tana Patrick OLB North Jackson High School Stevenson AL
107. Melvin Fellows DE Garfield Heights High School Garfield Heights OH
108. Kraig Appleton WR East Saint Louis Sr. High School East St. Louis IL
109. Edwin Baker RB Oak Park High School Oak Park MI
110. Patrick Hall ATH Saint Bonaventure High School Ventura CA
111. Keenan Davis WR Washington High School Cedar Rapids IA
112. Ryne Giddins DE Armwood High School Seffner FL
113. Greg Reid ATH Lowndes High School Valdosta GA
114. Jamal Patterson WR Henry County High School McDonough GA
115. Lamar Miller RB Miami Killian High School Miami FL
116. Blaine Dalton QB Blue Springs South High School Blue Springs MO
117. Rolando Jefferson WR Edison High School Fresno CA
118. Tariq Allen ILB MacArthur High School Irving TX
119. Moses Alipate QB Jefferson High School Bloomington MN
120. Antwan Lowery DT Christopher Columbus High School Miami FL
121. Tajh Boyd QB Phoebus High School Hampton VA
122. Jack Mewhort OC St. John High School Toledo OH
123. David Oku RB Carl Albert High School Midwest City OK
124. Bryn Renner QB West Springfield High School Lorton VA
125. Mike Gillislee RB Deland High School Deland FL
126. D.J. Fluker DT Foley High School Foley AL
127. Alex Mascarenas ATH Mission Viejo High School Mission Viejo CA
128. Malliciah Goodman DE West Florence High School Florence SC
129. Drayton Calhoun ATH Tucker High School Tucker GA
130. Kevin Minter OLB Peachtree Ridge High School Suwanee GA
131. E.J. Banks ATH Montour High School Mckees Rocks PA
132. Eugene Smith QB Miramar High School Miramar FL
133. D.J. Adams RB Norcross High School Norcross GA
134. Denard Robinson ATH Deerfield Beach High School Deerfield Beach FL
135. Chad Bumphis ATH Tupelo High School Tupelo MS
136. Eddie Lacey RB Dutchtown High School Geismar LA
137. J.K. Jay OT Christ Church Episcopal High Greenville SC
138. Cliff Harris CB Edison High School Fresno CA
139. Michael Ford RB Leesville High School Leesville LA
140. Chris Bonds DT Richland Northeast High School Columbia SC
141. Tate Forcier QB Scripps Ranch High School San Diego CA
142. Dyron Dye DE Seminole High School Sanford FL
143. Jon Budmayr QB Marian Central Catholic High Woodstock IL
144. Kendrick Hardy RB Lawrence County High School Monticello MS
145. Morgan Newton QB Carmel High School Carmel IN
146. Donte Moss DE Northside High School Jacksonville NC
147. Kevin Newsome ATH Hargrave Military Academy Chesapeake VA
148. Jerrod Askew OLB Oscar Frommel Smith High School Chesapeake VA
149. Alex Okafor DE Pflugerville High School Pflugerville TX
150. Duron Carter WR Saint Thomas Aquinas School Fort Lauderdale FL
We have a couple of local and semi-local guys on that list: Jarvis Jones from Columbus-Carver (No. 63) and Chris Burnette from Troup in LaGrange (No. 55).
1. Matt Barkley QB Mater Dei High School Santa Ana CA
2. Russell Shepard ATH Cypress Ridge High School Houston TX
3. Aaron Murray QB Plant Senior High School Tampa FL
4. Devon Kennard DE Desert Vista High School Phoenix AZ
5. Dre Kirkpatrick CB Gadsden High School Gadsden AL
6. Manti Te'o OLB Punahou School Honolulu HI
7. Jacobbi McDaniel DT Madison County High Greenville FL
8. Craig Loston S Dwight D. Eisenhower High Aldine TX
9. Jelani Jenkins OLB Good Counsel High School Wheaton MD
10. Rueben Randle WR Bastrop High School Bastrop LA
11. Jaamal Berry RB Miami Palmetto High School Miami FL
12. Trent Richardson RB Escambia High School Pensacola FL
13. Mason Walters OT Frenship High School Wolfforth TX
14. Bryce Brown RB East High School Wichita KS
15. Damario Jeffery S Columbia High School Columbia SC
16. Dorian Bell OLB Gateway Senior High School Monroeville PA
17. Marlon Brown WR Harding Academy Memphis TN
18. Ray Ray Armstrong ATH Seminole High School Sanford FL
19. Devonte Holloman S South Pointe High School Rock Hill SC
20. Vontaze Burfict ILB Centennial High School Corona CA
21. Shaquelle Evans WR Inglewood High School Inglewood CA
22. Sam Montgomery DE Greenwood High School Greenwood SC
23. Cierre Wood ATH Santa Clara High School Oxnard CA
24. Nico Johnson ILB Andalusia High School Andalusia AL
25. Darius Winston CB West Helena Central High School Helena AR
26. Garrett Gilbert QB Lake Travis High School Austin TX
27. Paden Kelley OT Lake Travis High School Austin TX
28. Eric Fields OLB Northside High School Warner Robins GA
29. Stavion Lowe OT Brownwood High School Brownwood TX
30. Andre Debose WR Seminole High School Sanford FL
31. John Martinez OG Cottonwood High School Salt Lake City UT
32. Tyler Stockton DT The Hun School Of Princeton Princeton NJ
33. Kevin Graf OT Agoura High School Agoura CA
34. Richard Brehaut QB Los Osos Rancho Cucamonga CA
35. Washaun Ealey RB Emanuel County Institute Twin City GA
36. A.J. McCarron QB Saint Pauls Episcopal School Mobile AL
37. Jheranie Boyd WR Ashbrook High School Gastonia NC
38. Darren Myles Jr. S Carver High School Atlanta GA
39. Frankie Telfort OLB Gulliver Prep School Miami FL
40. Kendall Kelly WR Gadsden High School Gadsden AL
41. Jarvis Giles RB Gaither High School Tampa FL
42. Prince Kent S Norcross High School Norcross GA
43. Branden Smith ATH Booker T. Washington High School Atlanta GA
44. Montrell Conner RB Ouachita Parish High School Monroe LA
45. Randall Carroll WR Cathedral High School Los Angeles CA
46. Austin Long OT Briarcrest Christian High School Memphis TN
47. Morrell Presley TE Carson High School Carson CA
48. Morgan Moses OT Meadowbrook High School Richmond VA
49. Jamarkus McFarland DT Lufkin High School Lufkin TX
50. Xavier Nixon OT Jack Britt High School Fayetteville NC
51. Corey Adams DT Saguaro High School Scottsdale AZ
52. Xavier Su'a Filo OG Timpview High School Pleasant Grove UT
53. Je'Ron Stokes WR North East High School Philadelphia PA
54. Chris Davenport DT Mansfield High School Mansfield LA
55. Chris Burnette OG Troup County Comprehensive High Sch La Grange GA
56. Barrett Matthews TE North Shore High School Houston TX
57. Chris Payne S Columbia High School Columbia SC
58. Nick Alajajian OG Naples High School Naples FL
59. Darrell Givens CB Lackey High School Indian Head MD
60. Brandon McGee ATH Plantation High School Fort Lauderdale FL
61. Demonte McAllister DE Alonso High School Tampa FL
62. Chris Whaley RB Madisonville High School Madisonville TX
63. Jarvis Jones OLB Carver High School Columbus GA
64. Christine Michael RB West Brook Senior High School Beaumont TX
65. Bryce McNeal WR Breck School Minneapolis MN
66. David Wilson RB George Washington High School Danville VA
67. Craig Drummond DE Morgan Park High School Chicago IL
68. Chris Watt OG Glenbard West High School Glen Ellyn IL
69. David Barrent OT Valley High School Clive IA
70. Byron Moore Jr. ATH Narbonne High School Harbor City CA
71. Gerald Demps S Lowndes High School Valdosta GA
72. Eric Shrive OT West Scranton High School Scranton PA
73. C.J. Barnett CB Northmont Senior High School Clayton OH
74. Darius Jones ATH Marshall High School Marshall TX
75. Thomas Ashcraft OG Cedar Hill High School Cedar Hill TX
76. Janzen Jackson CB Barbe High School Lake Charles LA
77. Gabe Lynn S Jenks High School Jenks OK
78. Marcus Hall OT Glenville High School Cleveland OH
79. Quinton Washington OG Timberland High School Saint Stephen SC
80. Marcus Davis CB Clear Creek High League City TX
81. Joshua Downs DT Bastrop High School Bastrop LA
82. Tom Wort OLB New Braunfels High New Braunfels TX
83. Terry Hawthorne WR East Saint Louis Sr. High School East St. Louis IL
84. Gary Brown DT West Gadsden High School Quincy FL
85. Stephon Gilmore ATH South Pointe High School Rock Hill SC
86. Craig Roh DE Chaparral High School Scottsdale AZ
87. Steve Williams CB Skyline High School Dallas TX
88. Donavan Tate ATH Cartersville High School Cartersville GA
89. T.J. McDonald S Edison High School Fresno CA
90. Josh Nunes QB Upland High School Upland CA
91. Isaiah Bell S Liberty High School Youngstown OH
92. Logan Heastie WR Great Bridge High School Chesapeake VA
93. Jamie Wood S Pickerington Central High School Pickerington OH
94. Justin Chaisson DE Bishop Gorman High School Las Vegas NV
95. Zach Mettenberger QB Oconee County High School Watkinsville GA
96. Victor Marc ATH Hallandale High School Hallandale FL
97. Alshon Jeffrey WR Calhoun County High School Saint Matthews SC
98. Tom Savage QB Cardinal O'Hara High School Philadelphia PA
99. Logan Thomas ATH Brookville High School Lynchburg VA
100. Dexter Pratt RB Navasota High School Navasota TX
101. Dexter Moody OLB Emanuel County Institute Twin City GA
102. Jamal Reid WR Lafayette High School Mayo FL
103. Kevin Brent S South Oak Cliff High Dallas TX
104. Jon Bostic OLB Palm Beach Central High School Wellington FL
105. Zach Martin OT Bishop Chatard High School Indianapolis IN
106. Tana Patrick OLB North Jackson High School Stevenson AL
107. Melvin Fellows DE Garfield Heights High School Garfield Heights OH
108. Kraig Appleton WR East Saint Louis Sr. High School East St. Louis IL
109. Edwin Baker RB Oak Park High School Oak Park MI
110. Patrick Hall ATH Saint Bonaventure High School Ventura CA
111. Keenan Davis WR Washington High School Cedar Rapids IA
112. Ryne Giddins DE Armwood High School Seffner FL
113. Greg Reid ATH Lowndes High School Valdosta GA
114. Jamal Patterson WR Henry County High School McDonough GA
115. Lamar Miller RB Miami Killian High School Miami FL
116. Blaine Dalton QB Blue Springs South High School Blue Springs MO
117. Rolando Jefferson WR Edison High School Fresno CA
118. Tariq Allen ILB MacArthur High School Irving TX
119. Moses Alipate QB Jefferson High School Bloomington MN
120. Antwan Lowery DT Christopher Columbus High School Miami FL
121. Tajh Boyd QB Phoebus High School Hampton VA
122. Jack Mewhort OC St. John High School Toledo OH
123. David Oku RB Carl Albert High School Midwest City OK
124. Bryn Renner QB West Springfield High School Lorton VA
125. Mike Gillislee RB Deland High School Deland FL
126. D.J. Fluker DT Foley High School Foley AL
127. Alex Mascarenas ATH Mission Viejo High School Mission Viejo CA
128. Malliciah Goodman DE West Florence High School Florence SC
129. Drayton Calhoun ATH Tucker High School Tucker GA
130. Kevin Minter OLB Peachtree Ridge High School Suwanee GA
131. E.J. Banks ATH Montour High School Mckees Rocks PA
132. Eugene Smith QB Miramar High School Miramar FL
133. D.J. Adams RB Norcross High School Norcross GA
134. Denard Robinson ATH Deerfield Beach High School Deerfield Beach FL
135. Chad Bumphis ATH Tupelo High School Tupelo MS
136. Eddie Lacey RB Dutchtown High School Geismar LA
137. J.K. Jay OT Christ Church Episcopal High Greenville SC
138. Cliff Harris CB Edison High School Fresno CA
139. Michael Ford RB Leesville High School Leesville LA
140. Chris Bonds DT Richland Northeast High School Columbia SC
141. Tate Forcier QB Scripps Ranch High School San Diego CA
142. Dyron Dye DE Seminole High School Sanford FL
143. Jon Budmayr QB Marian Central Catholic High Woodstock IL
144. Kendrick Hardy RB Lawrence County High School Monticello MS
145. Morgan Newton QB Carmel High School Carmel IN
146. Donte Moss DE Northside High School Jacksonville NC
147. Kevin Newsome ATH Hargrave Military Academy Chesapeake VA
148. Jerrod Askew OLB Oscar Frommel Smith High School Chesapeake VA
149. Alex Okafor DE Pflugerville High School Pflugerville TX
150. Duron Carter WR Saint Thomas Aquinas School Fort Lauderdale FL
Tuberville talks Furr (not really) and other stuff
Here's the entirety of Tommy Tuberville's postpractice comments today. Have to say I'm confused by how they're playing this thing with DeRon Furr. I think some of the older guys who've been covering this team a heck of a lot longer than I have don't know what to make of it either. However, Zac Etheridge, whom Furr first squared off with in the practice brawl before other players jumped in, addressed the subject with me and another writer or two. He said they were sending a message about not loafing. I'll post some of what he had to say later.
Opening comments:
First day of shoulder pads, had some pretty good contact. Had a couple of injuries – one shoulder, one knee – don’t know any specifics. We’ll know more tomorrow. We’ve just gotta learn to practice. With so much time left till we get to the first game, we’ll have plenty of contact. It’ll slow down tomorrow, but good intensity. I thought the offensive and defensive line really competed well. Then I watched the receivers. They were really catching the ball well, catching it better than they have in a long time. We’ve got to just keep getting better, getting more consistency. But we’ll start doing a few more team drills. Once we get to Thursday, we’ll start two-a-days on Thursday. Good start to our kicking game. I thought our punters did good and I thought our field goal guys did good. You can tell they’ve worked hard this summer. They were a little bit nervous going into today, but that’s what it’s about.
Y’all take Savage to the hospital?
Oh yeah. I guess they took him over to evaluate him first. If they think they need to, they will.
Did you see what happened to him?
He said he’d just come down wrong, twisted it a little bit. Said he had a little pain down there. Don’t want to speculate good or bad.
If it is something serious, is that the position where you can least afford something like this happening?
We’re gonna have to play some young guys anyway. We can’t afford to lose anybody, especially a guy with that experience.
Were you able to find DeRon Furr?
Have not.
Is he still on the team, Tommy?
Nothing’s changed.
Is he on the team?
Nothing’s changed.
So you haven’t spoken to him in two days?
No.
His father was quoted in some precincts saying…
Next question. Next question.
Anybody miss for exams today?
We had a couple miss today. We’ll have a half-dozen tomorrow and then Thursday we should be free and clear.
Is Bailey Woods one of those that missed today?
Yeah.
Goggans? His hip?
Bruised ribs.
Opening comments:
First day of shoulder pads, had some pretty good contact. Had a couple of injuries – one shoulder, one knee – don’t know any specifics. We’ll know more tomorrow. We’ve just gotta learn to practice. With so much time left till we get to the first game, we’ll have plenty of contact. It’ll slow down tomorrow, but good intensity. I thought the offensive and defensive line really competed well. Then I watched the receivers. They were really catching the ball well, catching it better than they have in a long time. We’ve got to just keep getting better, getting more consistency. But we’ll start doing a few more team drills. Once we get to Thursday, we’ll start two-a-days on Thursday. Good start to our kicking game. I thought our punters did good and I thought our field goal guys did good. You can tell they’ve worked hard this summer. They were a little bit nervous going into today, but that’s what it’s about.
Y’all take Savage to the hospital?
Oh yeah. I guess they took him over to evaluate him first. If they think they need to, they will.
Did you see what happened to him?
He said he’d just come down wrong, twisted it a little bit. Said he had a little pain down there. Don’t want to speculate good or bad.
If it is something serious, is that the position where you can least afford something like this happening?
We’re gonna have to play some young guys anyway. We can’t afford to lose anybody, especially a guy with that experience.
Were you able to find DeRon Furr?
Have not.
Is he still on the team, Tommy?
Nothing’s changed.
Is he on the team?
Nothing’s changed.
So you haven’t spoken to him in two days?
No.
His father was quoted in some precincts saying…
Next question. Next question.
Anybody miss for exams today?
We had a couple miss today. We’ll have a half-dozen tomorrow and then Thursday we should be free and clear.
Is Bailey Woods one of those that missed today?
Yeah.
Goggans? His hip?
Bruised ribs.
Commit No. 22
Add another name to the tote board.
Auburnsports.com is reporting (going to report?) that defensive back David Conner is now Auburn's 22nd commitment. The Batesville (Miss.)-South Panola High DB receives a three-star grade from Rivals and Scout.com. He's also got offers from Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Linkage
Auburnsports.com is reporting (going to report?) that defensive back David Conner is now Auburn's 22nd commitment. The Batesville (Miss.)-South Panola High DB receives a three-star grade from Rivals and Scout.com. He's also got offers from Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
Linkage
Couple things
The recruiting sites are reporting Auburn gained a commitment today from Garden City (Kan.) Community College wideout Cameron Kenney. The Dacula, Ga., native is Auburn's 21st commitment. He's also a stud kick returner, kicker and punter who finished last season with 1,139 all-purpose yards.
Rivals
Scout
Also, Georgia coach Mark Richt suspended LB Darius Dewberry today for the first two games of the season. Dewberry went to St. Mary's Hospital with his teammates who were injured late Saturday night in a bar brawl in downtown Athens and admitted doing some damage around the hospital grounds. Dewberry is the sixth Georgia player suspended by Richt this offseason.
Rivals
Scout
Also, Georgia coach Mark Richt suspended LB Darius Dewberry today for the first two games of the season. Dewberry went to St. Mary's Hospital with his teammates who were injured late Saturday night in a bar brawl in downtown Athens and admitted doing some damage around the hospital grounds. Dewberry is the sixth Georgia player suspended by Richt this offseason.
Ex-Auburnite sighting
I was reading this column by Jason Cole about Antonio Cromartie and came across a reference to former Auburn quarterback Jeff Klein, who helps train Cromartie in the offseason.
Cromartie credits a trampoline drill he runs with Klein for the crazy interception he made last year that he returned 109 yards for an NFL-record touchdown.
Cromartie credits a trampoline drill he runs with Klein for the crazy interception he made last year that he returned 109 yards for an NFL-record touchdown.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Skip Caray dies at 68
I'll step away from the DeRon Furr watch for a bit to point out a sad story I just read. Braves announcer Skip Caray died today at age 68. I've always enjoyed listening to that guy. I know his health had declined in recent years, but it's still hard to hear this sad news.
I wrote a column when Jim Fyffe died several years back about how you feel like you know these guys when you grow up listening to them for so many years. It's a weird phenomenon, I guess. Same thing with Larry Munson for Georgia folks. They're icons as well as broadcasters. To this day, I'd say the highlight of my career is doing a segment on the pregame radio show with Munson preceding the 2006 Auburn-Georgia game (I completely and totally sucked...and my AU grad mother still gives me a hard time for telling him that I thought Georgia had a very good chance to win that game despite losing to Kentucky the previous week). But I was excited to do it and I'll never forget it.
In the same vein, Skip Caray and his dad were two unforgettable baseball broadcasters. This Bud's for the both of them.
Here's a must-read obit on Skip from the AJC's excellent Tim Tucker.
I wrote a column when Jim Fyffe died several years back about how you feel like you know these guys when you grow up listening to them for so many years. It's a weird phenomenon, I guess. Same thing with Larry Munson for Georgia folks. They're icons as well as broadcasters. To this day, I'd say the highlight of my career is doing a segment on the pregame radio show with Munson preceding the 2006 Auburn-Georgia game (I completely and totally sucked...and my AU grad mother still gives me a hard time for telling him that I thought Georgia had a very good chance to win that game despite losing to Kentucky the previous week). But I was excited to do it and I'll never forget it.
In the same vein, Skip Caray and his dad were two unforgettable baseball broadcasters. This Bud's for the both of them.
Here's a must-read obit on Skip from the AJC's excellent Tim Tucker.
Thoughts from today
We've got a bunch of Sherlock Holmeses in the writers room trying to figure out what's going on with DeRon Furr right now. He wasn't at practice today and Tommy Tuberville's answer when asked his whereabouts was just plain odd:
"I don't know," adding that he hadn't seen him. Hadn't seen him? Those were an uncomfortable few seconds. It made all of us a bit suspicious.
I've been trying to make some calls and find something out, but nothing just yet. DE Raven Gray, a friend, said he thought Furr was sick. His dad told one of the Auburn web sites that he's studying for a test. The Scout site said a program source says they don't expect Furr back. Not sure what the correct answer is, but I do know that he barely practiced yesterday after getting his bell rung in a brawl among the DBs and he didn't show up for practice today. We'll see what tomorrow brings, I guess. Could be something, could be nothing.
EDIT: Here's what I know late Sunday: DeRon has finals tomorrow to wrap up some summer school classes. His dad said he was studying. My read on this situation is his status with the team is very much up in the air right now, but I'm not sure it's 100-percent decided yet. We'll see where it goes. I'm sure I'll find out more in the next day or two. I found out a little more about the brawl from Saturday, but I'm going to wait to hear more about that before I go posting here about it.
On the injury front, Antonio Coleman and Tez Doolittle worked on the side again today, both rehabbing hamstring injuries. I spoke with Doolittle for a minute today and will do a note on him tomorrow. He thinks he might be ready by the first game, which would be well ahead of what was originally expected.
T'Sharvan Bell and Justin Albert again worked on the exercise bikes and did other conditioning things on the side.
* Witnessed another brawl today -- this one between offensive lineman Ryan Pugh and linebacker Merrill Johnson. This one wasn't nearly as brutal as the one yesterday. It was over before it started.
Saw a couple of really nice plays today:
* Chris Slaughter made a beautiful leaping 35-yard touchdown grab over Marcus Jemison and Neiko Thorpe.
* Tray Blackmon dropped into coverage nicely one time and made a near interception.
I guess that's all for now. I'll update with anything I get on the Furr situation if something arises.
"I don't know," adding that he hadn't seen him. Hadn't seen him? Those were an uncomfortable few seconds. It made all of us a bit suspicious.
I've been trying to make some calls and find something out, but nothing just yet. DE Raven Gray, a friend, said he thought Furr was sick. His dad told one of the Auburn web sites that he's studying for a test. The Scout site said a program source says they don't expect Furr back. Not sure what the correct answer is, but I do know that he barely practiced yesterday after getting his bell rung in a brawl among the DBs and he didn't show up for practice today. We'll see what tomorrow brings, I guess. Could be something, could be nothing.
EDIT: Here's what I know late Sunday: DeRon has finals tomorrow to wrap up some summer school classes. His dad said he was studying. My read on this situation is his status with the team is very much up in the air right now, but I'm not sure it's 100-percent decided yet. We'll see where it goes. I'm sure I'll find out more in the next day or two. I found out a little more about the brawl from Saturday, but I'm going to wait to hear more about that before I go posting here about it.
On the injury front, Antonio Coleman and Tez Doolittle worked on the side again today, both rehabbing hamstring injuries. I spoke with Doolittle for a minute today and will do a note on him tomorrow. He thinks he might be ready by the first game, which would be well ahead of what was originally expected.
T'Sharvan Bell and Justin Albert again worked on the exercise bikes and did other conditioning things on the side.
* Witnessed another brawl today -- this one between offensive lineman Ryan Pugh and linebacker Merrill Johnson. This one wasn't nearly as brutal as the one yesterday. It was over before it started.
Saw a couple of really nice plays today:
* Chris Slaughter made a beautiful leaping 35-yard touchdown grab over Marcus Jemison and Neiko Thorpe.
* Tray Blackmon dropped into coverage nicely one time and made a near interception.
I guess that's all for now. I'll update with anything I get on the Furr situation if something arises.
Tuberville talks
After a rain/lighting delay, Auburn practiced for around two hours this evening. Tommy Tuberville talked with reporters for a few minutes afterward.
Here's what he had to say:
We had a little delay, but we got most of it in. We cut our kicking out. Tomorrow we’ll put on shoulder pads and go with it. You can tell guys are anxious to hit somebody. But it was a pretty good day considering you couldn’t do anything but run plays and teach steps. But tomorrow we start the real thing, tomorrow afternoon. We have meetings in the morning, we have tests most of the day. We’ll probably miss a couple guys tomorrow afternoon because of summer school tests that end Thursday, so we’ll be hit and miss with those guys. But we hope to get in by Saturday to have a nice little scrimmage.
Is the scrimmage Saturday gonna be in the stadium?
Yeah, unless it rains a bunch.
Have you been able to watch much of Raven Gray so far in the first two days?
I don’t watch many linemen during practice without shoulder pads on. I’ll start watching them tomorrow. I’ve been watching mostly the quarterbacks and receivers. They don’t do much more than that even with pads on. We’ll start watching the line of scrimmage tomorrow.
What were your impressions of the quarterbacks and receivers?
Yeah, Kodi’s throwing the ball much better than he did last year. He’s much-improved. There’s gonna be a good battle there. That’s good. Both guys are helping each other out. Neil Caudle’s throwing the ball well. It’s fun to watch them with no shoulder pads on. Now the pressure starts tomorrow and we’ll see. We’ll start watching a little bit different attitude in terms of knowing the guys are coming at ‘em pretty good.
Have any of the newcomers done anything to get your attention?
Christian Thompson is looking real good. You can tell he covers a lot of ground. He was on a state championship team last year and he was the guy on defense that made it work for St. Thomas. He’s really the only guy I’ve watched much. The younger guys, we’ll start watching them more tomorrow.
DeRon Furr wasn’t out here today. What’s his status?
Yeah. Don’t know. Don’t know.
Here's what he had to say:
We had a little delay, but we got most of it in. We cut our kicking out. Tomorrow we’ll put on shoulder pads and go with it. You can tell guys are anxious to hit somebody. But it was a pretty good day considering you couldn’t do anything but run plays and teach steps. But tomorrow we start the real thing, tomorrow afternoon. We have meetings in the morning, we have tests most of the day. We’ll probably miss a couple guys tomorrow afternoon because of summer school tests that end Thursday, so we’ll be hit and miss with those guys. But we hope to get in by Saturday to have a nice little scrimmage.
Is the scrimmage Saturday gonna be in the stadium?
Yeah, unless it rains a bunch.
Have you been able to watch much of Raven Gray so far in the first two days?
I don’t watch many linemen during practice without shoulder pads on. I’ll start watching them tomorrow. I’ve been watching mostly the quarterbacks and receivers. They don’t do much more than that even with pads on. We’ll start watching the line of scrimmage tomorrow.
What were your impressions of the quarterbacks and receivers?
Yeah, Kodi’s throwing the ball much better than he did last year. He’s much-improved. There’s gonna be a good battle there. That’s good. Both guys are helping each other out. Neil Caudle’s throwing the ball well. It’s fun to watch them with no shoulder pads on. Now the pressure starts tomorrow and we’ll see. We’ll start watching a little bit different attitude in terms of knowing the guys are coming at ‘em pretty good.
Have any of the newcomers done anything to get your attention?
Christian Thompson is looking real good. You can tell he covers a lot of ground. He was on a state championship team last year and he was the guy on defense that made it work for St. Thomas. He’s really the only guy I’ve watched much. The younger guys, we’ll start watching them more tomorrow.
DeRon Furr wasn’t out here today. What’s his status?
Yeah. Don’t know. Don’t know.
Sunday stories
Here's what I've got for Sunday's paper.
* Quarterbacks. It's only Day 1 of preseason practice and Chris Todd and Kodi Burns both know they're going to have to hear a lot more playing-time questions before the coaches make their choice on the starter.
* Notebook. A few odds and ends. Injuries and stuff I posted Saturday afternoon.
They're back on the intramural fields at 3:45 (Central) Sunday. Wear sunscreen.
* Quarterbacks. It's only Day 1 of preseason practice and Chris Todd and Kodi Burns both know they're going to have to hear a lot more playing-time questions before the coaches make their choice on the starter.
* Notebook. A few odds and ends. Injuries and stuff I posted Saturday afternoon.
They're back on the intramural fields at 3:45 (Central) Sunday. Wear sunscreen.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
More problems at Georgia
I've been someone who dismissed a bunch of Georgia's offseason arrests as "boys being boys" but man, they're really piling up over there. Two players, Donavon Baldwin and Jeff Henson -- both of whom had already been arrested on alcohol-related charges within the last year -- were involved in some more trouble involving booze last night.
Baldwin and freshman Marcus Dowtin were both apparently hit in the face with bottles in a bar fight downtown early Saturday morning and had to seek medical treatment. Henson was arrested separately for public intoxication and public urination.
They've had eight players arrested this year: offensive linemen Clint Boling, Justin Anderson and Trinton Sturdivant; fullback Fred Munzenmaier, defensive back Baldwin, snapper Henson, defensive end Jeremy Lomax and defensive end Michael Lemon.
Lemon (who was also involved in the brawl early Saturday) faces felony battery charges and has been dismissed from the team. Charges against Lomax were dismissed. Mark Richt suspended Baldwin and Henson indefinitely tonight. None of these are especially debilitating arrests, but they've really got to get it together if they're going to come close to living up to their promise this year.
Baldwin and freshman Marcus Dowtin were both apparently hit in the face with bottles in a bar fight downtown early Saturday morning and had to seek medical treatment. Henson was arrested separately for public intoxication and public urination.
They've had eight players arrested this year: offensive linemen Clint Boling, Justin Anderson and Trinton Sturdivant; fullback Fred Munzenmaier, defensive back Baldwin, snapper Henson, defensive end Jeremy Lomax and defensive end Michael Lemon.
Lemon (who was also involved in the brawl early Saturday) faces felony battery charges and has been dismissed from the team. Charges against Lomax were dismissed. Mark Richt suspended Baldwin and Henson indefinitely tonight. None of these are especially debilitating arrests, but they've really got to get it together if they're going to come close to living up to their promise this year.
Kodi Burns Q/A
I spoke with Kodi Burns for a couple minutes after practice today. Couple other writers came up while we were talking and I'll include his response to one of their questions as well...
On whether he can empathize with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as far as having to discuss what’s happening with his position EVERY…SINGLE…DAY:
We definitely talk about it all the time. We’re just used to it. That’s part of it. Everybody’s gonna ask who’s gonna start, who’s gonna be the man, who’s better than who. They’re gonna go to the backup quarterbacks and ask them who’s the better guy – who do you think the better guy is. That’s part of it. A big part of playing quarterback is just having a strong head. Ultimately we’ve got to play a season and whether it’s Chris or me, it’s about Auburn, it’s not about the quarterback position. They may choose one or play both, but either way it goes, it’s about the team and that’s all we can worry about.
Do you get worn out of having to discuss this stuff every single day?
Yeah definitely. We worn out about it, but people want to know about it. People are gonna talk on the Internet about it. That’s just what they want to hear. That’s part of it. They want to hear, instead of me and Chris being friends, they want to hear controversy so they can have something to talk about. There’s nothing like that between me and Chris. We’re friends and we talk outside of football, inside of football and we help each other out on the field.
How did you feel about how today went for you?
I felt like it went real good. I started off a little rusty. Tried to start off where I left off in spring, and I think I did a little bit. Started off just a little bit rusty, but the biggest thing was spring gave me my confidence back so when I step out here now, it’s just another day of practice. It’s nothing to me no more. It’s just coming out here and making plays.
Talking about the Internet stuff, is it a surprise to you that there’s that much interest in you and what you do and say?
Not too much of a surprise because in high school, I was sort of highly recruited and people were already talking on the Internet about it. I got to Auburn and it was the same thing. People are gonna talk. They want something to write about and that’s a whole new world now. Anything you do, anything you say is gonna get blown up, so you’ve just gotta be careful what you say and compliment the team before you compliment yourself.
On whether he can empathize with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers as far as having to discuss what’s happening with his position EVERY…SINGLE…DAY:
We definitely talk about it all the time. We’re just used to it. That’s part of it. Everybody’s gonna ask who’s gonna start, who’s gonna be the man, who’s better than who. They’re gonna go to the backup quarterbacks and ask them who’s the better guy – who do you think the better guy is. That’s part of it. A big part of playing quarterback is just having a strong head. Ultimately we’ve got to play a season and whether it’s Chris or me, it’s about Auburn, it’s not about the quarterback position. They may choose one or play both, but either way it goes, it’s about the team and that’s all we can worry about.
Do you get worn out of having to discuss this stuff every single day?
Yeah definitely. We worn out about it, but people want to know about it. People are gonna talk on the Internet about it. That’s just what they want to hear. That’s part of it. They want to hear, instead of me and Chris being friends, they want to hear controversy so they can have something to talk about. There’s nothing like that between me and Chris. We’re friends and we talk outside of football, inside of football and we help each other out on the field.
How did you feel about how today went for you?
I felt like it went real good. I started off a little rusty. Tried to start off where I left off in spring, and I think I did a little bit. Started off just a little bit rusty, but the biggest thing was spring gave me my confidence back so when I step out here now, it’s just another day of practice. It’s nothing to me no more. It’s just coming out here and making plays.
Talking about the Internet stuff, is it a surprise to you that there’s that much interest in you and what you do and say?
Not too much of a surprise because in high school, I was sort of highly recruited and people were already talking on the Internet about it. I got to Auburn and it was the same thing. People are gonna talk. They want something to write about and that’s a whole new world now. Anything you do, anything you say is gonna get blown up, so you’ve just gotta be careful what you say and compliment the team before you compliment yourself.
First practice notes
Auburn practiced for approximately three hours this morning in what became oppressive heat. Lordy, I'm too fat to be out in the sun that long. It was a largely uneventful practice. Watched a lot of quarterback stuff, as I'd seen only a little of Kodi Burns and had never seen Chris Todd throw a pass until today. They both had their moments. Both completed some nice deep throws in 11-on-11. Also talked to them for the first time. They're good interviews -- express themselves well and aren't real dry. I always appreciate it when someone doesn't go straight into cliche mode, which you'd think might be tough considering how many of these interviews they've had to do, and will continue to do.
Anyway, some quick observations:
* For those of you who enjoy the practice scraps, the defensive backs gave us one today. I think Luke Brietzke from Auburn Undercover and I might have been the only media folks to have seen it...and we didn't really see much of it. All of a sudden there was a pileup during a DB-only drill of about six or seven people. You could see arms wailing but couldn't tell exactly who they belonged to. Well, freshman safety DeRon Furr was on the bottom of the pile and got his bell rung pretty good. After they broke it all up, he was on his hands and knees for a couple minutes before needing major assistance from a trainer to walk back to a nearby tent set up for the players' water breaks. Furr spent the rest of practice sitting in the tent, but seemed to be OK by the end. He eventually put his jersey back on and jogged out to the team grouping when Tuberville addressed the team at the conclusion of practice. Someone requested him for post-practice interviews, but they never brought him to the media tent, so we'll have to find out more about that later. Not a big deal, really, I wouldn't think. Fights happen in practice, especially in the preseason.
* Ryan Williams did practice and Tuberville said he appears to be OK academically, although he said he's not in great shape right now.
* Antonio Coleman and Tez Doolittle both worked on the side with what Tuberville said were hamstring injuries. I'm not sure whether Doolittle is fully recovered from that Achilles injury, either. We'll see about that.
* Freshman DB T'Sharvan Bell spent a lot of time during practice on the side riding an exercise bike. Joining him was No. 40, which is either Justin Albert or Anthony Jemison (they're both listed as No. 40). I didn't ask which one it was.
* Chaz Ramsey and Andre Wadley did not practice.
* While everyone else practiced in shorts and helmets, Mario Fannin practiced in shoulder pads. Tuberville said it was protect his previously injured shoulder.
* Talked to Neiko Thorpe (formerly Lipscomb) about the name change deal. He said he's always gone by Lipscomb, his mother's name. He said his parents have been married for several years and he decided he'd start going by his dad, Glenn Thorpe's, surname when he started college. He's had it legally changed and everything. So there you have it.
Anyway, some quick observations:
* For those of you who enjoy the practice scraps, the defensive backs gave us one today. I think Luke Brietzke from Auburn Undercover and I might have been the only media folks to have seen it...and we didn't really see much of it. All of a sudden there was a pileup during a DB-only drill of about six or seven people. You could see arms wailing but couldn't tell exactly who they belonged to. Well, freshman safety DeRon Furr was on the bottom of the pile and got his bell rung pretty good. After they broke it all up, he was on his hands and knees for a couple minutes before needing major assistance from a trainer to walk back to a nearby tent set up for the players' water breaks. Furr spent the rest of practice sitting in the tent, but seemed to be OK by the end. He eventually put his jersey back on and jogged out to the team grouping when Tuberville addressed the team at the conclusion of practice. Someone requested him for post-practice interviews, but they never brought him to the media tent, so we'll have to find out more about that later. Not a big deal, really, I wouldn't think. Fights happen in practice, especially in the preseason.
* Ryan Williams did practice and Tuberville said he appears to be OK academically, although he said he's not in great shape right now.
* Antonio Coleman and Tez Doolittle both worked on the side with what Tuberville said were hamstring injuries. I'm not sure whether Doolittle is fully recovered from that Achilles injury, either. We'll see about that.
* Freshman DB T'Sharvan Bell spent a lot of time during practice on the side riding an exercise bike. Joining him was No. 40, which is either Justin Albert or Anthony Jemison (they're both listed as No. 40). I didn't ask which one it was.
* Chaz Ramsey and Andre Wadley did not practice.
* While everyone else practiced in shorts and helmets, Mario Fannin practiced in shoulder pads. Tuberville said it was protect his previously injured shoulder.
* Talked to Neiko Thorpe (formerly Lipscomb) about the name change deal. He said he's always gone by Lipscomb, his mother's name. He said his parents have been married for several years and he decided he'd start going by his dad, Glenn Thorpe's, surname when he started college. He's had it legally changed and everything. So there you have it.
Gene Stallings quote
I was just reading the press release Alabama sent out today about the death of John Mark Stallings, former Alabama coach Gene Stallings' son who had Down syndrome. He died today at age 46 from complications related to a congenital heart defect.
They included a quote by Gene Stallings from earlier this year about how his son's life affected the way he handled his players:
"I had a whole lot less tolerance for the gifted and a whole lot more tolerance for the guy that wasn't quite as gifted," Gene Stallings told a reporter in January of 2008. "With Johnny, I saw him struggle to walk, struggle to kick a ball, struggle to do everything that he did. So, I had a little tolerance for the guys that had to struggle. If you had talent and didn't lay it on the line, I didn't have much tolerance for you. The less talented guy can't play on Saturdays. But he can get you ready to play on Saturdays. I wanted the guys who played on Saturday to have an appreciation for that guy who got them there."
I liked that. There's our thought for the day. I think there's some application in that statement for all of us in our everyday lives about appreciating what we've got...or something like that...
They included a quote by Gene Stallings from earlier this year about how his son's life affected the way he handled his players:
"I had a whole lot less tolerance for the gifted and a whole lot more tolerance for the guy that wasn't quite as gifted," Gene Stallings told a reporter in January of 2008. "With Johnny, I saw him struggle to walk, struggle to kick a ball, struggle to do everything that he did. So, I had a little tolerance for the guys that had to struggle. If you had talent and didn't lay it on the line, I didn't have much tolerance for you. The less talented guy can't play on Saturdays. But he can get you ready to play on Saturdays. I wanted the guys who played on Saturday to have an appreciation for that guy who got them there."
I liked that. There's our thought for the day. I think there's some application in that statement for all of us in our everyday lives about appreciating what we've got...or something like that...
Friday, August 1, 2008
Saturday's story + extra quote
Here are my stories for the Saturday paper:
* D'Antoine Hood feature
* Short notebook on players reporting, etc.
Here's a quote I didn't use from DeRon Furr, who let's remember just joined the team in January.
"All them corners are pretty good, especially them young ones – I call them young since I’ve been here (since spring practice)."
They grow up quickly these days, don't they?
* D'Antoine Hood feature
* Short notebook on players reporting, etc.
Here's a quote I didn't use from DeRon Furr, who let's remember just joined the team in January.
"All them corners are pretty good, especially them young ones – I call them young since I’ve been here (since spring practice)."
They grow up quickly these days, don't they?
Q/A with freshman CB D'Antoine Hood
I met D'Antoine Hood, a true freshman corner from Phenix City, for the first time today. For those that don't know, he's the cousin of former Auburn walk-on and current Arizona Cardinals CB Roderick Hood. We talked about going against all-everything WR Julio Jones in all-star game practice and how that helped him gain the attention from places like Auburn. He said working against former Auburn commit Jarmon Fortson, who switched to Florida State on signing day, in the summertime is what prepared him for going against Julio...and I guess you could sort of say, what helped him be good enough and ready enough to do well against Jones and get that offer from Auburn.
Here's what he had to say:
On Tommy Tuberville saying last week that he might be one of the freshmen who plays this year:
It just made me feel good that he sees potential in me to play my freshman year. It showed me that he has faith in me. Obviously him talking about me in the media was a blessing and I thank him for that, but overall I think it’s me … how well I play in practice will determine how much I play. In order to get that playing time, we have six corners so my opportunity to play’s gonna be short, so when the opportunity comes for me to make that play, I have to make that play. Basically I just want to get in there, get the playbook down and get familiar with my surroundings so I can be the best Auburn football player I can be and produce on the field for Auburn.
On how working with Fortson helped him:
Working with Jarmon was good because he’s real physical. He’s kind of like the bull-rush wide receiver. He’s real quick and he’s got good hips. He got me prepared to go down to the all-star game and play with Julio (Jones). So working with him, I loved it. He got me ready, he got my technique right, he got my feet quick, everything. He’s actually one of the best wide receivers I’ve ever had to face besides Julio and I wish him the best of luck. He’s definitely like a top receiver.
On whether Auburn's coaches watched him going against Julio Jones in Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game practices and whether that put him on Auburn's radar:
I don’t really know if they came down and watched me. Coach Willis called me and said they were gonna be watching the game, but I really don’t know what they really watched. I basically started picking up interest after the all-star game. That’s when I started picking up interest and got a lot of offers from everybody else. Working with Julio, he really challenged me. He gave me a mindset of where I’m at and what to get better on. He’s fast, he can jump, he’s also physical. So basically he gave me a mindset of what I need to work on and what I need to take to college. I liked facing Julio. I like top competition and I consider myself as one of the best cornerbacks to come out of this class, so I figured to consider yourself the best, you play against the best and hopefully we’ll meet up and we’ll both compete sometime.
On whether how he fared against Julio Jones got him additional attention:
Yes sir. I think covering him, like when I got to the all-star game, I wasn’t rated. Not many people knew about me. So my mindset was to go against the best because I wasn’t even predicted to start that game. I really wanted to just go down there and prove I’m not just an unrated player. I can play despite what Rivals rated me. I basically wanted to go down there and just show I’m a good corner overall, a good athlete, I’m a good player. Really I just wanted to prove myself, my skills.
On how Rod Hood's example as a player who was kind of under the radar out of high school helped prove to him that he could do it too:
Yes sir. Rod came up under the radar and I was coming up under the radar too. He kinda instilled in me to have the mindset that he might be the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation, but he hasn’t faced me. He kinda instilled that go-get-it attitude in me to be the type of athlete that I am today. Yes, I’m undersized as a corner at 5-9, but I believe my skills, my athletic ability and my speed can make up for it. When I step on the field, I try to take every play like it was my last play. I try to play with ability that nobody’s seen. Obviously when I play top-notch wide receivers, I like to get focused, block out everybody and just play. That’s the best way I feel like I can get good.
Here's what he had to say:
On Tommy Tuberville saying last week that he might be one of the freshmen who plays this year:
It just made me feel good that he sees potential in me to play my freshman year. It showed me that he has faith in me. Obviously him talking about me in the media was a blessing and I thank him for that, but overall I think it’s me … how well I play in practice will determine how much I play. In order to get that playing time, we have six corners so my opportunity to play’s gonna be short, so when the opportunity comes for me to make that play, I have to make that play. Basically I just want to get in there, get the playbook down and get familiar with my surroundings so I can be the best Auburn football player I can be and produce on the field for Auburn.
On how working with Fortson helped him:
Working with Jarmon was good because he’s real physical. He’s kind of like the bull-rush wide receiver. He’s real quick and he’s got good hips. He got me prepared to go down to the all-star game and play with Julio (Jones). So working with him, I loved it. He got me ready, he got my technique right, he got my feet quick, everything. He’s actually one of the best wide receivers I’ve ever had to face besides Julio and I wish him the best of luck. He’s definitely like a top receiver.
On whether Auburn's coaches watched him going against Julio Jones in Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game practices and whether that put him on Auburn's radar:
I don’t really know if they came down and watched me. Coach Willis called me and said they were gonna be watching the game, but I really don’t know what they really watched. I basically started picking up interest after the all-star game. That’s when I started picking up interest and got a lot of offers from everybody else. Working with Julio, he really challenged me. He gave me a mindset of where I’m at and what to get better on. He’s fast, he can jump, he’s also physical. So basically he gave me a mindset of what I need to work on and what I need to take to college. I liked facing Julio. I like top competition and I consider myself as one of the best cornerbacks to come out of this class, so I figured to consider yourself the best, you play against the best and hopefully we’ll meet up and we’ll both compete sometime.
On whether how he fared against Julio Jones got him additional attention:
Yes sir. I think covering him, like when I got to the all-star game, I wasn’t rated. Not many people knew about me. So my mindset was to go against the best because I wasn’t even predicted to start that game. I really wanted to just go down there and prove I’m not just an unrated player. I can play despite what Rivals rated me. I basically wanted to go down there and just show I’m a good corner overall, a good athlete, I’m a good player. Really I just wanted to prove myself, my skills.
On how Rod Hood's example as a player who was kind of under the radar out of high school helped prove to him that he could do it too:
Yes sir. Rod came up under the radar and I was coming up under the radar too. He kinda instilled in me to have the mindset that he might be the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation, but he hasn’t faced me. He kinda instilled that go-get-it attitude in me to be the type of athlete that I am today. Yes, I’m undersized as a corner at 5-9, but I believe my skills, my athletic ability and my speed can make up for it. When I step on the field, I try to take every play like it was my last play. I try to play with ability that nobody’s seen. Obviously when I play top-notch wide receivers, I like to get focused, block out everybody and just play. That’s the best way I feel like I can get good.
Quick notes
Just got to talk to a couple of the freshmen for the first time. I spent most of my time talking to our local guys from the Columbus area, DeRon Furr and D'Antoine Hood, because, frankly, they're the ones I need to get to know the best. Had good conversations with both of those guys, some of which will even make it to print. Got a story on Hood coming tomorrow that I found fairly interesting about how workouts with former Auburn commit Jarmon Fortson, who switched to Florida State on signing day, prepared him for covering Alabama WR Julio Jones in practices for the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game in Mobile -- a set of performances that Hood believes earned him extra notice as a college prospect.
*In total, 29 newcomers officially reported today. That included nine invited walk-ons:
Justin Albert (ATH, 5-8, 168, Prattville, Fr.)
Charles Bates (OL, 6-4, 281, Gadsden, Fr.)
Kevin Carroll (OL, 6-1, 263, Lassiter, Ga., So.)
Clay Clark (OL, 6-1, 253, Auburn, Fr.)
Watson Downs (LB, 6-0, 215, Dothan, Fr.)
Bryan Harris (TE, 6-3, 242, Florissant, Mo., Sr.)
Cameron Hunt (OL/DL, 6-0, 215, Auburn, Fr.)
Andrew Parmer (OL, Dalton, Ga., Fr.)
Brent Poole (QB, 6-2, 216, Troy, Fr.)
* DE Andre Wadley and RB Reggie Hunt did not report. Tommy Tuberville said last week that Wadley was in Auburn, but said they were taking things slowly with him after he suffered a serious heat-related illness earlier this summer. So he was not among the players to officially report. As I mentioned yesterday, Tuberville said Hunt is still waiting to hear from the NCAA Clearinghouse.
* I didn't hear this myself, but Charles Goldberg from the Birmingham News was telling the other beat writers about how freshman safety Neiko Lipscomb now wants to be known as Neiko Thorpe. I spoke with Neiko for a minute, but believe it or not, his name change didn't come up. We talked about his high school, Tucker High near Atlanta, and one of his former
classmates, Asher Allen, whom I used to cover at Georgia.
* Philip Pierre-Louis surprised me with two things he had to say. One, that he's not related to Wondy, the all-SEC cornerback at Florida. I would have thought that was the case for sure. Two, they don't even pronounce their names the same. I believe Wondy pronounces his name Loo-is. Philip said his name is Loo-Wee. So there's your little pronunciation guide for the day.
Since I'm talking about our local guys, here are some pics, courtesy of Auburn University photographer Todd Van Emst. Two are of Mr. Hood, talking to reporters and moving into his room at Sewell Hall. The other is of, from left to right, Darvin Adams, Derrick Lykes and DeRon
Furr:
*In total, 29 newcomers officially reported today. That included nine invited walk-ons:
Justin Albert (ATH, 5-8, 168, Prattville, Fr.)
Charles Bates (OL, 6-4, 281, Gadsden, Fr.)
Kevin Carroll (OL, 6-1, 263, Lassiter, Ga., So.)
Clay Clark (OL, 6-1, 253, Auburn, Fr.)
Watson Downs (LB, 6-0, 215, Dothan, Fr.)
Bryan Harris (TE, 6-3, 242, Florissant, Mo., Sr.)
Cameron Hunt (OL/DL, 6-0, 215, Auburn, Fr.)
Andrew Parmer (OL, Dalton, Ga., Fr.)
Brent Poole (QB, 6-2, 216, Troy, Fr.)
* DE Andre Wadley and RB Reggie Hunt did not report. Tommy Tuberville said last week that Wadley was in Auburn, but said they were taking things slowly with him after he suffered a serious heat-related illness earlier this summer. So he was not among the players to officially report. As I mentioned yesterday, Tuberville said Hunt is still waiting to hear from the NCAA Clearinghouse.
* I didn't hear this myself, but Charles Goldberg from the Birmingham News was telling the other beat writers about how freshman safety Neiko Lipscomb now wants to be known as Neiko Thorpe. I spoke with Neiko for a minute, but believe it or not, his name change didn't come up. We talked about his high school, Tucker High near Atlanta, and one of his former
classmates, Asher Allen, whom I used to cover at Georgia.
* Philip Pierre-Louis surprised me with two things he had to say. One, that he's not related to Wondy, the all-SEC cornerback at Florida. I would have thought that was the case for sure. Two, they don't even pronounce their names the same. I believe Wondy pronounces his name Loo-is. Philip said his name is Loo-Wee. So there's your little pronunciation guide for the day.
Since I'm talking about our local guys, here are some pics, courtesy of Auburn University photographer Todd Van Emst. Two are of Mr. Hood, talking to reporters and moving into his room at Sewell Hall. The other is of, from left to right, Darvin Adams, Derrick Lykes and DeRon
Furr:
AU 11th in preseason coaches poll
USA Today released its preseason coaches poll this morning and Auburn comes in at No. 11. That sounds just about right to me. I think they might wind up being better than that, but they've got enough question marks coming into the season that I don't know that they belong higher than 11th just yet.
Interestingly, Georgia is No. 1 -- the first time in school history the Bulldogs have been the top-ranked team in a major preseason poll -- and yet they weren't picked to win the SEC East recently at Media Days. UGA received 22 first-place votes to second-ranked USC's 14.
Third-ranked Ohio State also received 14 first-place votes, fourth-ranked Oklahoma got three, fifth-ranked Florida got five and sixth-ranked LSU got three. Along the same lines as at media days, the coaches also differ here with the SEC media, who picked Auburn over LSU in the SEC West. All that voting stuff really means nothing. We're just making conversation here.
Only one other SEC team, No. 18 Tennessee, cracked the top 25. Leading off the "others receiving votes" category, just behind No. 25 Fresno State, were Alabama and South Carolina.
Interestingly, Georgia is No. 1 -- the first time in school history the Bulldogs have been the top-ranked team in a major preseason poll -- and yet they weren't picked to win the SEC East recently at Media Days. UGA received 22 first-place votes to second-ranked USC's 14.
Third-ranked Ohio State also received 14 first-place votes, fourth-ranked Oklahoma got three, fifth-ranked Florida got five and sixth-ranked LSU got three. Along the same lines as at media days, the coaches also differ here with the SEC media, who picked Auburn over LSU in the SEC West. All that voting stuff really means nothing. We're just making conversation here.
Only one other SEC team, No. 18 Tennessee, cracked the top 25. Leading off the "others receiving votes" category, just behind No. 25 Fresno State, were Alabama and South Carolina.
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