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Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Live blogging Gene Chizik's press conference

Auburn coach Gene Chizik has come and gone. Here's what he had to say:
  • "Great day for Auburn football today."
  • "We feel like we scratched all the itches." Mentions offensive and defensive lines. Thinks quarterback and secondary will big areas to address as well.
  • "As we know in this league, offense and defensive lines are where it all starts."
  • Handed an official sheet of Auburn signees. Cyrus Kouandjio not on it.
  • Called Columbus' Gabe Wright the "best defensive tackle in the country." Said he was a huge part of the puzzle. "Things get confusing in the end, but I felt like in his heart of hearts, he was Auburn through and through," Chizik said.
  • On the secondary: "Erique Florence is a huge get. A great student. One heck of a football player." Thinks he'll make a great safety.
  • Excited about CB Jermaine Whitehead, who has played some offense. "Our idea is the more athletes, the more they've had their hands on the football, then you build in the ability back there to get turnovers."
  • On LaGrange, Ga., athlete Quan Bray: "Quan is one of the most exciting players in the state of Georgia. He can do it all." Said other teams will have to account for where he is on the field at all times.
  • Said they'd figure out where to put Kris Frost once he gets here. Could be LB or WR.
  • Said C.J. Uzomah can be a tight end/H-back. "It's a unique blend for him of size and speed."
  • Didn't go into details of original misunderstanding with Frost. "We just had to make sure we were all on the same page." Said everybody had to get "on the same page."
  • On the OL signees and if they could play right away: "We had to do a great job of evaluating ... what is the opportunity they could come in and play young." Thinks every one of these players have ability to help immediately. Said that was the idea with every linemen coming in.
  • Thinks these young guys will have to contribute immediately. "I think we're to the point now where I feel really good about how we're building the roster."
  • On Shon Coleman's status: "We're going to wait on that." Said medically they're "going to let time go by and see how he progresses. There's no rush."
  • Chizik said Coleman is a "medical hardship" right now. Doesn't look like he'll count against this year's numbers
  • On RB Tre Mason: "Just a kid we really felt like was a great complement and great mix with what we're trying to do" at running back. Thinks he'll be a 200-plus pound running back by the time things are done.
  • Said he's going to expect Mason to come in and play. Says he does that with all players until determining they're not ready.
  • Said Devaunte Sigler, Jabrian Niles, Keymiya Harrell and Angelo Blackson are big guys but are also athletic. Can move around on the line. Likes their upside.
  • On QB Kiehl Frazier: "He is one of the heart and souls in this class." Said he never wavered on his commitment.
  • On players who haven't signed: "I'm only going to talk about the ones we've got the paperwork on and who have signed."
And that's a wrap.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

what do you think about this? someone has tweeted the following re Cyrus: Vols signee Clear told ESPN some Alabama media members tried convincing him to sign with Tide /// doesn't that make these "media" "boosters"

Johnny Smith said...

Anonymous, has Alabama EVER shown any regard for the rules and regulations that the rest of us abide by? They've been on NCAA probation three times in the past decade. Nick Saban was busted for illegally recruiting a high school senior in Oklahoma City a few weeks ago, so I wouldn't be a bit shocked if Alabama wasn't tweeting to Cyrus as we speak.

Tar Heel Tiger said...

Thanks AB!

George G. said...

To be fair, coaches can only comment on guys whose LOIs are in. So, Cyrus Kouandjio couldn't be listed with the other signees, and Chizik could not make a comment about his situation even if Chizik wanted to.

You'd think CK showed up today and announced he's going to play at BYU. Not sure why it caught everyone so off guard. It's like it was okay for him to make his own decision as long as that decision was bama.

Anonymous said...

Andy: New Subject....I see that USC is shown with 31 recruits now. I thought they were on probation and limited to 15 and even if I'm wrong there, what happened to the 25 or 28 limits?