Tough loss for Auburn today for some very tough reasons.

Starting point guard and leading scorer DeWayne Reed was benched for being late to the arena, then benched because head coach Jeff Lebo didn't like his "energy." It cost the Tigers dearly.

Although Rasheem Barrett scored a career-high 29 points, Auburn (13-8, 2-4 SEC) couldn't keep pace with the hot-handed Commodores, who busted out of a month-long shooting funk to make 60.9 percent of their shots from the field.

Jermaine Beal was clutch, scoring 21 points on seven 3-pointers, including two in the final three minutes that would have had Bill Raftery yelling, "Onions!"

Vandy (13-8, 2-5 SEC), the SEC's second-worst 3-point shooting team (24.8 percent), went 10-for-17 from long range Saturday.

Some other thoughts on the game ...

• Reed's absence was a major blow. He only played three minutes and his teammates didn't sound too thrilled about him showing up late for the game. “There are certain things that you can’t do when you are part of a team,” Barrett said. "You may look at yourself saying, 'Oh well,' but when you're on a team, he has to realize that everything tha tyou do, good or bad, reflects the whole team and it hurts the whole team."

• Vandy coach Kevin Stallings had a good quote on the subject: “It’s just really damaging to the entire fabric of your team when a guy is careless, irresponsible or selfish like that. We’ve all had that as coaches and I feel badly for Jeff because the only choice you have is to do what Jeff did.”

• Barrett was phenomenal. His previous career-high was 28, set his freshman year against Jacksonville State. He went 10-for-17 from the field and made five 3-pointers Saturday.

• Korvotney Barber finished with 12 points and Lucas Hargrove 11, but the Tigers' shooters were off the mark. Tay Waller scored eight points on 3-for-10 shooting, including a 2-for-7 afternoon from 3-point range. Quantez Robertson missed all three of his 3-point attempts and was 1-for-6 from the free throw line.

• Bizarre disappearance by Frankie Sullivan in the second half. He was 3-for-6 for eight points in the first half but took one shot in the second. You'd figure Auburn would try to make him a big part of its game plan with Reed out of the game.

• While we're on that subject, Vot only took two shots in the second half.
  

• Rebounds: Vanderbilt 35, Auburn 22. 'Nuff said.

• Auburn free throws: 7-for-15. Inexcusable. Try them granny style for goodness sake. Anything but what the Tigers have been doing all season.
  

• Vandy center A.J. Ogilvy didn't crush Auburn like he did last season, but he did finish with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. Pretty good showing for someone dealing with a heel injury.

• Up next: at Ole Miss on Feb. 4. That's football's National Signing Day. Can't imagine anybody is going to be very interested in basketball that day, but Auburn can't afford to slip any further below .500 in the SEC. A win in Oxford would be huge.
  

Demond Washington, who said he would change his commitment from Ole Miss to Auburn two weeks ago, followed through Saturday, becoming the Tigers' 25th verbal commitment for 2009, according to AuburnSports.com and Scout.com.

Here's the Washington file:

• A Tallassee, Ala., native, he had probably the best quote of the any recruit from a couple weeks ago: "It's a small city, but there's all kinds of trouble to get into. It's easy to get into; hard to get out of."
• 5-foot-9, 185-pound athlete who could play on offense or defense.
• Attended Mississippi Gulf Coast junior college the last two years.
• He'll have three years to play two at Auburn.
• No. 91 junior college recruit in country, per Rivals.
  

His stats, courtesy of Auburn Sports.com:

• 2007 (as a running back): 1,182 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns
• 2008 (as a cornerback): 55 tackles, 3 interceptions, five punt returns for touchdowns (first-team all-conference honors and being named a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American honorable mention)

With six days until National Signing Day, Auburn is hoping for one final home run recruiting weekend. The Tigers are at 24 commitments for 2009 and will host a handful of big-name recruits this weekend.

(Yes, that's Uncle Sam to the right. We like to keep a pro-American slant to War Eagle Extra, unlike some other blogs we can think of.)

The fine folks at AuburnSports.com have been all over the weekend visitor list and really put us newspapers in our place when it comes to this recruiting business.

Here's a sampling of some of the players they say will be here. I'll throw them into star categories:

5-star

• WR Rueben Randle, 6-3, 195, Bastrop, La.: The top wide receiver recruit in the country will visit, but he's already told Rivals that he's narrowed his list to Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma.
  

4-star

• DT Corey Gaines, 6-0, 274, Tallahassee, Fla.: Rivals says Ole Miss is the frontrunner for Gaines, but he's also visisted Arkansas and will now try Auburn.
• RB David Oku, 5-10, 186, Midwest City, Okla: A Tennessee commit who is looking at all his options. Rated as the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country by Rivals.
• CB Taikwon Paige, 5-10, 175, Aiken, S.C.: Has spent the last two years at Georgia Military College. Originally committed to Minnesota when Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof was there.
• OL Aubrey Phillips, 6-6, 310, Olive Branch, Miss.: Another Tennessee commit. He's high school teammate with Auburn's most recent commit, safety Daren Bates.

3-star

• DT Nick Fairley, 6-4, 295, Mobile, Ala.: The junior college transfer has already signed a letter of intent, but according to the Press-Register, he is not currently enrolled because he didn't meet the deadline for completing a course.
• LB Greg King, 6-3, 200, Memphis, Tenn.: Had to postpone his trip from last weekend. He's drawn interest from Tennessee and Texas Tech recently.
• QB Clint Moseley, 6-4, 200, Leroy, Ala: Alabama's Mr. Football committed Jan. 18. It'll be interesting to hear his thoughts now that Auburn also added four-star Sulphur Springs, Texas, QB Tyrik Rollison to its class.

2-star

• DB Daren Bates, 5-11, 195, Olive Branch, Miss.: As mentioned before, he committed yesterday.

So much for the streak.

Following a program-defining win against Tennessee, the Auburn women's basketball couldn't avoid a letdown in Athens on Thursday night, watching its nation's-best 20-game winning streak go down the tubes in a nine-point loss to Georgia.

I wasn't there, but followed along for a while online. Sounds a lot like a one-woman show, with DeWanna Bonner scoring 27 points and not getting too much help from her friends.

Whitney Boddie struggled to a 2-for-11 night from the field, finishing with six points. Alli Smalley finished with two points, going 0-for-6 from 3-point range.

Auburn (20-1, 5-1 SEC) went 2-for-15 from long range as a team, shooting just 33.3 percent overall from the field for the game.

Georgia (14-7, 4-2 SEC) shot 51.9 percent, out-scoring Auburn 39-29 in the second half. Angel Robinson led the way with 17 points.

"On the road you have to be mentally tough," Auburn head coach Nell Fortner said. "You just have to be a tougher road team in this conference.”

The Tigers are back in action Sunday when they travel to LSU for a 3 p.m. EST game.

Daren Bates, a safety from Olive Branch, Miss., committed to Auburn on Thursday, according to AuburnSports.com.

A two-star player, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Bates was previously committed to Arkansas State. He got an offer from Auburn just recently. Alabama had reportedly also shown interest.

Bates is Auburn's fifth commitment this week.

He brings the Tigers' 2009 class up to 24 members. Auburn has the 19th-ranked class in the country, according to Rivals.com.

Looks like I picked the wrong business to be in.

Though the contracts have not been formally finalized, Auburn's assistant coaches have agreed in principle to their salaries.

The final damage? $2.07 million, according to a source.

Here's the tally:

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof: $370,000
• Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn: $350,000
• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor: $320,000
• Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker: $300,000
• Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes: $290,000
• Running backs coach Curtis Luper: $260,000
• Special teams coach Jay Boulware: $180,000

The lengths of the contracts have not been released. Keep in mind that Auburn still has two assistant hires yet to make -- secondary and linebackers.

Head coach Gene Chizik is reportedly set to make nearly $2 million a year.

Just for comparison's sake, Tennessee's assistant staff, which appears to have set the standard for coaching salaries, will make $3.325 million next year. That includes $1.2 million for defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin and $650,000 for uber-recruiter Ed Orgeron.

It took a week, but Brantley, Ala., athlete Anthony Gulley got the firm offer from Auburn he was seeking, according to the good folks over at AuburnSports.com.

Gulley became the Tigers' 23rd commitment for 2009. He's being recruited to play slot receiver. He scored 31 touchdowns for Brantley last season, so he seems to have a knack for finding the end zone.

It's been a busy week for Auburn, which already got commitments from defensive tackle Jamar Travis, defensive end Nosa Eguae and quarterback Tyrik Rollison.

National Signing Day is just seven days away on Feb. 4.

Late night so far, so I'll just post my lede for tomorrow's game story and add a few comments:

By Andy Bitter
abitter@ledger-enquirer.com

AUBURN, Ala. — Not even a buy-one, get-one-free bargain could convince many more than a few hundred fans to attend Auburn’s oddly-timed non-conference game against Texas-Pan American on Tuesday.

The Tigers barely showed up themselves.

Auburn didn’t breathe easy until UTPA guard Nick Weiermiller’s 25-footer drew back iron just before time expired, allowing the Tigers to escape with a less-than-impressive 66-63 victory against the Division I independent Broncs at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

“We were just happy to survive that one,” Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said. “It was not pretty by any stretch.”

DeWayne Reed scored 14 points and Lucas Hargrove added 10 for Auburn (13-7), which looked nothing like the team that traveled to Arkansas last weekend and routed the Razorbacks by 22.

Some quick thoughts ...

• Positively brutal game to watch, even though it was so close. Auburn shot 25 percent in the second half and went 2-for-14 from 3-point range. How you can do so well at Arkansas and so poorly against this team is beyond me.

• Another no-so-great night at the line for the Tigers, who were 15-for-27. Let's let Lebo have the final word on that stat: “The free throw line just about bit us again. Fifty-five percent is just terrible. It’s terrible is what it is. It’s just terrible.” Actually, it's only a shade below the team's 59.4 average, but who's counting?

• Keep in mind that UTPA was playing without leading scorer and rebounder Emmanuel Jones, who was injured. Who knows how he could have impacted the final margin.

• Rasheem Barrett was a quote machine afterward. Some samplings: “As the game went on, we just got nonchalant, basically. We just started taking them for granted, looking at the scoreboard how it was and playing real, real sloppy.” AND: “For me, I feel like it was a big letdown. I’m not going to let my teammates get comfortable with this win, because we skated by.”

• Announced attendance? 3,283. Actual attendance, I'd say less than a 1,000. This is a women's basketball school after all.

• Auburn's got Vanderbilt up next in a 2 p.m. EST game Saturday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Mausoleum ... err, Coliseum. Four of the Tigers' next five games are at home. They'll need to play better if they don't want their SEC season to go into the tank.
  

You're the next commitment to Auburn's 2009 recruiting class. So says AuburnSports.com

That's right, Rivals.com's No. 2-ranked dual threat quarterback committed Auburn today.

The Sulphur Springs, Texas, quarterback wrapped up his official visit to the Plains on Monday. He had narrowed his choices down to Kansas State and Auburn by that point.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound quarterback threw for 4,729 yards and 51 touchdowns during his senior season. He added 1,094 yards on the ground with 14 more touchdowns, leading Sulphur Springs to the Texas Class 4A Division II state title.

Rollison’s commitment brings the Tigers’ 2009 class up to 22 members. He is the second quarterback of the class, joining Alabama Mr. Football Clint Moseley of Leroy High, who committed last week.

Rollison might have to make some academic strides to qualify yet, but this is still a big addition for a program that's been needing an answer at quarterback.

For those curious, here's his Web site. Check out that Mohawk!

Some rankings for you:
Rivals No. 2 dual threat quarterback
Rivals No. 9 recruit in Texas
Rivals No. 60 recruit overall nationally
Scout No. 11 quarterback overall

And finally, a little video. This is from the U.S. Army All-American game. He's the quarterback, in case you just started reading the blog entry at this point.

The good folks at AuburnSports.com never rest. Word tonight is that Mansfield, Texas, defensive end Nosa Eguae has committed to Auburn for 2009.

Eguae, a 6-foot-3, 244-pound strongside end, visited Auburn from Jan. 16-18. At the time, I believe it was Dee Ford who said Eguae planned to commit.

He did after the Tigers' coaching staff made a fullcourt press with an in-home visit Monday to seal the deal, AuburnSports.com reported.

Eguae is ranked the No. 17 stronside defensive end in the country by Rivals. He originally committed to Colorado but re-opened his recruitment earlier this month. Auburn was a finalist, along with Texas Tech and Minnesota.

So this is the reward for beating the two-time defending national champions AND being of only two unbeaten teams left in the country -- a No. 5 ranking in the latest Associated Press poll?

Auburn is still behind three teams with at least one loss. Those are the cold, hard facts. Makes you wonder what some voters are thinking. Let's take a closer look.

No. 1 UConn (19-0) -- Greatest women's team on the planet right now. Nobody's even close. If this poll were truly accurate, it would be the Huskies, then four or five vacant spots and then the rest.

No. 2 Oklahoma (16-2) -- Losses to UConn (understandable) and North Carolina, which used to be understandable, until the Tar Heels lost three games last week. Suddenly that loss -- which came at home, incidentally -- doens't look so hot.

No. 3 Duke (17-1) -- Hasn't lost since November. A fine streak, yes, but the Blue Devils' one blemish was a loss to Hartford. Yes, the currently 9-8 Hawks.

No. 4 Baylor (17-1) -- Only loss was to Wisconsin in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Not a terrible loss, but the Badgers, at 14-7, are still not ranked.

And finally ....

No. 5 Auburn (20-0) -- Longest current winning streak in the country with wins against No. 12 Florida, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 15 Ohio State.

What exactly is preventing the voters from putting the Tigers No. 2? The coaches poll comes out tomorrow. We'll see if Auburn fares any better in that.

A day after saying he would, Brewton, Ala., defensive tackle Jamar Travis followed through and committed to Auburn on Monday morning, according to AuburnSports.com.

The 6-foot-1, 312-pound Travis originally committed to Southern Miss on Dec. 14, but switched his allegiance after a weekend visit to the Plains. He left Sunday after getting an offer from Auburn, with the intentions of discussing his decision with his family before going public with it today.

Travis came away from his visit particularly impressed with defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, with whom he'll work directly.

"He has an impressive resume," Travis said Sunday. "He was just saying if you work hard, you get what you put into it."

Travis' former W.S. Neal High teammate Jared Cooper is a rising sophomore offensive lineman at Auburn.

Travis' commitment brings Auburn's 2009 total back to 20. That number could rise today. There is some speculation -- if you consider Facebook status speculation -- that four-star Sulphur Springs, Texas, quarterback Tyrik Rollison could make a decision today.

Rollison told AuburnSports.com that he had narrowed his choices down to Auburn and Kansas State. He made a weekend visit to Auburn that started on Saturday, so he wasn't wrapping up until today. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: AuburnSports.com reports nothing has changed on the Rollison front. He's still got Auburn and Kansas State as his top two schools and might not decide until after the Feb. 4 National Signing Day.

There's a new queen in SEC basketball.

All those questions folks had about the Auburn women's basketball team were answered in full after Sunday's 82-68 win against the reloaded two-time defending national champion Lady Vols.

The largest Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum basketball crowd ever (men's or women's) was there to witness it (check out the line below) and give the Tigers a homecourt advantage rarely seen in the women's game.

"For Auburn, it was truly a magical day; from walking out there at the beginning of the game and seeing the arena with that many fans and playing a game of that magnitude," Auburn coach Nell Fortner said. "I know Pat Summitt has played in a lot of big games and the Tennessee program and staff; Auburn’s team has not. I think we played some very good basketball, some very inspired basketball and I am very proud of these kids today."

DeWanna Bonner came out with her very best, scoring a career-high 35 points.

Auburn denied Summitt her 999th career victory, snapping a 16-game losing streak to Tennessee in the process. It was the first time the Tigers beat Tennessee in Auburn since 1991.

"It’s about time those Auburn fans got in the gym to watch their women play basketball,” Summitt said. “This community needs to get behind their team; not just while they are winning, but every time they play. They have a special team."

Some other thoughts from the game ...

• Bonner was spectacular. She had nine rebounds and six steals, nearly all of which she converted into fastbreak points at the other end. She was 14-for-16 from the free throw line. Tennessee was 10-for-13 as a team. It's amazing to see the kind of impact Bonner has on a nightly basis with this team.

• Whitney Boddie made Tennessee look several steps slow on defense. The senior finished with 17 points and nine assists, adding five rebounds and three steals. She had eight turnovers, getting a little careless when Auburn tried to work the clock with a big lead near the end, but when the tempo was at its highest, Boddie ran around and through the Lady Vols' defense with ease.

• Big-shot Alli Smalley scored 16 points, hitting three 3-pointers. One was a prayer from well beyond the line as the shot clock expired during a possession in the first half. She buried it, bringing to life what had been a mostly docile crowd to that point.

• Ugly game for the first 16 minutes or so. Auburn really opened it up at the end of the first half, scoring nine straight points before Tennessee made a halfcourt heave before the buzzer go into the break down 31-26.

• Great moment in the hallway at halftime. Summitt strolled slowly to the locker room, pausing to remark briefly to a security guard about the free throw disparity, which was Auburn 12, Tennessee 0. "What do you have to do to get to the free throw line in this place?" she asked. "We're Tennessee. It's B.S."

• The Tigers really put the game away early in the second half, using a 13-3 run to take a 13-point lead. That lead grew to as many as 24, an unheard of margin against Tennessee.

• I'll say this: the Lady Vols are young, but they are going to be outstanding. This team starts two sophomores and three freshmen. If it's not a factor come NCAA tournament time this season, they're going to be a force next season. Tennessee doesn't rebuild; it just reloads.

• Shekinna Stricklen (26 points) especially. She's going to be great.

• Curious to see what this does for Auburn in the Associated Press poll, which comes out tomorrow. North Carolina, last week's No. 2, will obviously drop after a two-loss week. UConn is the clear-cut No. 1. That leaves No. 3 Oklahoma (14-2), No. 4 Duke (15-1) and No. 5 Baylor (15-1) as teams that could still be ahead of Auburn (20-0). I'm not a voter, but it would be hard for me to keep a team that's undefeated below a bunch of one- or two-loss teams, regardless of reputation.

For the second straight week, we've decided to pass on sleeping in Sunday morning to bring you some reactions from the second to last recruiting weekend before the Feb. 4 National Signing Day.

I'll be updating this throughout the day when I get more information on players.

The official number of visitors this weekend is nine, according to our good friends at AuburnSports.com. Memphis linebacker Greg King and Athens, Ga., linebacker DeDe Lattimore did not make the trip.

We're also hearing that four-star Sulphur Springs, Texas, quarterback Tyrik Rollison did not arrive until Saturday, and therefore his trip will not be over until tomorrow.

Three-star Atlanta recruit Jonathan Atchison, an Alabama commit, made a visit but wasn't talking. His uncle spoke for him while walking out of the complex, hardly stopping on his way through the parking lot. He didn't have much to say other than Atchison is still considering Auburn.

A few players already came and went without me getting a chance to talk to them. Those players include Leesville, La., wide receiver Travante Stallworth (an Auburn commit), Lithonia, Ga., linebacker Joel Kight, and Mobile, Ala., quarterback Robert Cooper.

Bastrop, La., wide receiver DeAngelo Benton, a late addition to the weekend roster, managed to elude the media following his visit. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound four-star recruit has twice committed to LSU but has had trouble making the grade.

Here are the folks who were nice enough to speak with us:

Izauea Lanier -- S, Gordo, Ala. (Gordo), 6-1, 185, 3-star (AUBURN COMMIT)

What position have they talked to you about playing?
"Safety."

How do you feel about that?
"It really don’t matter because I played it. Whatever they think I’m best at."

Did you visit make your commitment any stronger?
"Yeah, it made it stronger than what it was. But I always planned on coming here. It wasn’t like shocking when they offered, because I’ve been here since my ninth grade. So it ain’t that new to me."

Lanier appeared to be wearing a black-and-white Alabama hat, but he clarified it was a STATE of Alabama hat, not a school of Alabama hat.

Jamar Travis – DT, Brewton, Ala. (W.S. Neal), 6-1, 298, 4-star

Did you get an offer this weekend?
"Yes sir. I have been offered. At first I did not think I was going to get offered. I was sitting down talking to coach (Gene Chizik) and he just offered me. I was excited I've been waiting on an offer from Auburn. I'm not sure whether I'm going to commit or not yet. I'm committed to Southern Miss. I'm just going to see how it goes."

When are you going to make a decision?
"Probably Monday."

Who was your host?
"Jared Cooper. Me and him played for two years together. I hung out with him a lot. That was a lot of fun. It's a lot better because you know he's going to tell you the straight out truth how it is. He just said he loves it. I know if he loves it, hey, we're from the same town and the same team. I know I would too."

Hunter Stout – OL, Tampa, Fla. (Wharton), 6-4, 266, 2-star

React to the trip
"I really like the coaches and all the facilities are great. Everything here is to win. Some winning’s going to go on here, definitely."

Has Auburn offered?
"They said wait until the end of this week to get an offer, so right now I don’t have an offer to Auburn. They said they've got some other linemen they've been recruiting for a month now, and they just started recruiting me, so I guess they're going to wait for those other linemen to see their direction."

Anything bad about the Auburn trip?
"Naw, it's jus too late in teh game for them not to offer. I feel like I can't lose Louisville's offer. That's a great school and I feel comfortable there."

Stout said he hasn't made a decision yet, but Louisville remains at the top of his list.

The Auburn men's team pulled off a huge road win Saturday afternoon, winning in Arkansas for only the third time in its history.

Sadly, I watched all go down from my couch, not from Fayetteville, but here are some of the essentials from the game:

• Auburn shot 40 percent from 3-point range, going 10-for-25. I guess Jeff Lebo's plea to find some more scorers was answered.

• DeWayne Reed scored 16, Korvotney Barber 15 and Tay Waller 14 in the win. Lucas Hargrove added 10 points.

• Barber had another monster day on the boards, hauling in 18 rebounds, nearly half of Auburn's 38 total boards. Vot added three blocks and two assists.

• Not a huge offensive night for Quantez Robertson, but he took two shots -- both 3's -- and hit both. For somebody who's struggling with his shot, that's important. He also had four rebounds and four assists.

• Arkansas was brutal from outside, going 5-for-24. The Razorbacks shot 30.2 percent from the field for the game. Not their best offensive showing.

• That makes Auburn 12-7 on the season and 2-3 in the SEC. The Tigers host Texas-Pan American on Wednesday in a rare non-conference game this late in the season. They then have a favorable stretch in the SEC, hosting Vanderbilt and traveling to Ole Miss before a three-game homestand that includes Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Saw this the other day and thought it was a very well done piece by Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples, who undoubtedly had plenty of help putting stuff together.

Of special interest to Auburn recruiting fans and general map aficionados like myself was this: a map of the Tigers' recruits from 2004-08 on display thanks to the power of our future overlords, Google.

The general theme of the story is that schools recruit close to home more than anything else, hence Gene Chizik's statement earlier this month that Alabama will be a priority. This is true of almost any school, except, of the maps I've looked at, Southern California and Notre Dame, which have a more national scope to their targets.

BUT, take a look at Auburn's targets this year, many of which are from Texas, a state Auburn hasn't gone near in the last four years (according to the map, 2005 DT Brian West is the only Texas recruit). Obviously, the Tigers coaches are using their connections from their time in those areas to get through to some of these kids, something I wouldn't imagine would continue for too long in the future considering the importance of competing with Alabama on the homefront.

Again, this is nothing groundbreaking, just an interesting visual way to present Auburn's recruiting focus the last five years.

Our good friends at AuburnSports.com are all over this recruiting weekend, so we'll defer to the experts when it comes to pretty much anything recruiting related. Here's a list of players expected to be in town this weekend:

Position, Player, Height, Weight, Hometown, Rivals.com rating (Other interested schools)

• QB Robert Cooper, 6-4, 204, Mobile, Ala., 2-star (UAB, South Alabama)
• LB Joe Kight, 5-9, 200, Lithonia, Ga., 3-star (Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, BC, Ga. Tech)
• LB Greg King, 6-3, 200, Memphis, Tenn., 3-star (Tennessee, Texas Tech)
• ATH Izauea Lanier, 6-1, 185, Gordo, Ala., 3-star (Auburn commit)
• LB DeDe Lattimore, 6-0, 226, Athens, Ga., 3-star (South Florida)
• QB Tryik Rollison, 6-2, 185, Sulphur Springs, Texas, 4-star (Kansas State)
• WR Travante Stallworth, 5-10, 180, Leesville, La., 3-star (Auburn commit)
• OL Hunter Stout, 6-4, 266, Tampa, Fla., 2-star (Louisville, W. Kentucky, Fla. Atlantic)
• DT Jamar Travis, 6-1, 298, Brewton, Ala., 4-star (Southern Miss commit)

After a victory against rival Alabama, the Tigers can now officially began thinking about defending national champion Tennessee, although it appeared for most of the first half Thursday they were doing that anyway.

Auburn (19-0, 4-0 SEC) looked sluggish for most of the first half against an inferior Alabama team, going into halftime with just a 39-36 lead. But the Tigers turned it on in the second half, pulling away for an 18-point victory.

Were the Tigers looking ahead?

"As much as we wanted to say it's Alabama, it's Alabama, for this team, I"m sure maybe Tennessee was looming in the back of their heads," Auburn head coach Nell Fortner said. "I know we worked hard to prepare them for this game and focus them on this game, but kids are kids. And sometimes it takes a little bit more get them focused. And the halftime score got them a little more focused."

Forward DeWanna Bonner may have said it better: "You can’t help but think about it. It’s Tennessee for God’s sake."

This sets up Saturday's Mega-Showdown with the No. 10 Lady Vols, what Fortner called the biggest game of her Auburn tenure.

The Tigers have never beaten Tennessee under Fortner's watch and have never had a better opportunity. Though they are the defending national champions, the Lady Vols are young. They already have three losses this year. But it is Tennessee. And that means a heck of a lot in the women's college basketball world.

Tip-off Sunday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum is at 3 p.m. EST.

Some other thoughts from Thursday's game ...

• Auburn wouldn't have won if not for Bonner, who scored 19 of her game-high 24 points during the first half. She was the lone Tigers offensive highlight and the Crimson Tide didn't have an answer for her.

• Sherell Hobbs had a Jekyll-and-Hyde game, going scoreless in the first half before scoring 15 points in the second half. I feel she's the X-factor on this team. When she's playing well, this is a tough team to beat.

• Whitney Boddie quietly reaches double digits in assists in every game. She had 12 Thursday to go with 12 points. Auburn, in fact, had 25 assists for its 34 baskets.

• Alli Smalley was another player who stepped up, hitting three 3-pointers when nobody else on the team was connecting from long range.

• Got to give Alabama (12-8, 0-5 SEC) some credit in this one. The Crimson Tide went 5-for-9 from 3-point range. It had made only five 3-pointers in its previous three games.

• Auburn shot 74 percent in the second half (17-for-23). Nobody's beating this team if it shoots 74 percent in a half.

• For those historians, Auburn is 19-0 for the third time in school history, matching the 1986-87 team. The 1988-89 squad remains the standard bearer with its 28-0 start.

Certainly not the first to get this, but I just got off the phone with Clinton Durst, who confirmed he is leaving the football team.

Durst said he was told he would be awarded a scholarship if he won the starting punting job. After beating out Ryan Shoemaker in August, Tommy Tuberville's staff told Durst he would get a scholarship after the season. Obviously, things changed on the coaching front.

Durst said the new staff gave him the option of competing for a scholarship over the summer, but he has to find a job to help pay for tuition as he enters his final year at Auburn (he can graduate in December if he takes enough summer courses).

"I’ll respect the coaches," Durst said. "The coaches are good coaches and good people. They’re just doing their job. It just sucks how it works out, you know?"

As for the future, Durst said he's working with a "guy who worked in the NFL" to see if he might not get a tryout with some team in the future.

"Everybody may laugh, but they all laughed at me before when I said I was walking on at Auburn," Durst said. "Who knows what can happen? They could tell me I'm not good enough or something could happen. Who knows? So I figured I'd give it a shot and then I can say I tried, you know?"

Yes, says Mobile Press-Register scribe Evan Woodbery, who got his information from a pretty good source: Durst himself.

AuburnSports.com is also reporting that Durst, a walk-on punter, has left the team, saying he was not being given a scholarship by the new coaching staff after being promised one by the old staff.

Auburn, through a team spokesman, said Durst is still a member of the team right now, but I think I'll trust Durst on this one.

Durst finished last season fifth in the SEC and 26th nationally in punting with a 42.1-yard average. Ryan Shoemaker, a scholarship punter who Durst beat out for the starting job in August, is expected to be Auburn's punter next season.

James Willis is switching sides. The only Auburn assistant coach retained from Tommy Tuberville’s staff has been hired by Alabama as an associate head coach and linebackers coach.

Willis, an Auburn alum, coached linebackers for the Tigers last season and was instrumental in holding together their 2009 recruiting class in the wake of Tuberville’s resignation.

He was retained as an assistant by new Auburn coach Gene Chizik on Dec. 26, although his role was never specified.

It'll be interesting to see what affect this has on Auburn's efforts to recruit the Mobile area. Seven of the Tigers' 19 commits for 2009 had Willis as their primary recruiter, according to AuburnSports.com.

Plus, he replaces Lance Thompson, who used to recruit the Mobile area before he left last week for an assistant job with Tennessee.

Official statements from Alabama:

Alabama coach Nick Saban:

"I'm extremely pleased and happy to have James join our staff. We tried to go out and hire the best possible coaches when this process started and I'm confident we've done that. James has everything you would want in terms of finding an outstanding coach and an outstanding recruiter with a lot of enthusiasm and intensity. He's played in the SEC and the NFL, and grew up and coached in the state of Alabama so he will be able to contribute in many areas and make a positive impact as we continue to build a championship program here at Alabama. We're glad to have the Willis family here with us at the University of Alabama."

Willis:

"I'm excited about the opportunity to come and work with Coach Saban at the University of Alabama. He is one of the best defensive coaches in the game and this is a chance to gain some great experience and learn from the best. You don't get many chances like that in the coaching business. When you combine that opportunity with the history and tradition at Alabama, it was a decision that was best for me personally as well as professionally. I know my wife and the kids are as excited as I am to join Coach Saban's staff."

The Clarion-Ledger reported today that former Auburn wide receivers coach Greg Knox has taken a position as running backs coach on Dan Mullen's staff at Mississippi State.

“I’m really excited about it,” Knox told the paper. “I always thought Mississippi State was a gold mine. Great place. Kids are going to want to come there.”

The 45-year-old Knox, who spent 14 seasons on Tommy Tuberville's staff, coached running backs back when he was a graduate assistant from 1988-89 for his alma mater Northeastern State.

Defensive line coach Don Dunn is the only former Tuberville assistant whose future is uncertain. Dunn has been linked to several jobs, including Iowa State, where former Tuberville assistant Terry Price left after less than a month on the job to return to Ole Miss.

(UPDATED) Brantley, Ala., athlete Anthony Gulley isn't committed to Auburn quite yet.

Several recruiting sites said the 5-foot-11, 185-pound all-purpose back committed Tuesday, but his high school coach said he does not have a firm offer from Auburn's current coaching staff, according to AuburnUndercover.com.

Gulley is being recruited as a slot receiver. He scored 31 touchdowns his senior season at Brantley as a multi-purpose back who also returned kicks and punts.

The Tigers currently stand at 19 commitments for 2009.

Garden City (Kan.) Community College four-star wide receiver Cameron Kenney, a former commit, recently dropped Auburn from his list of schools, narrowing his choices to Georgia and Oklahoma, according to Rivals.com.

Auburn received its 21st commitment for 2009 from Leroy High quarterback Clint Moseley on Sunday night, according to AuburnSports.com.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Moseley was named Mr. Football in Alabama after throwing for 3,749 yards and 35 touchdowns last season. He won his final 25 games at Leroy, winning three straight state championships and finishing fifth in Alabama High School state history with 8,413 passing yards.

The three-star recruit reportedly had offers from Marshall, Arkansas State, South Alabama and Alabama-Birmingham.

He is ranked the No. 19 dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals.com.

Gene Chizik named Jeff Grimes as his offensive line coach, the school announced Sunday.

Grimes, 40, served as the assistant head coach, running game coordinator and offensive line coach at Colorado the last two seasons. The 16-year coaching veteran has had stints at BYU, Arizona State, Boise State, Texas A&M and Rice.

He is the eighth assistant coach hired by Chizik, leaving one spot — secondary — still vacant.

Had a chance to talk to a couple recruits who visited Auburn this weekend. Here what a few of them had to say:

John Sullen, 6-5, 338 OL from Auburn, committed this weekend

What was it like visiting a place you've lived near your whole life? "It was a great experience for me. It was a side of Auburn I hadn't seen yet. It was like a complete different world."

How excited are you about visiting? "I was very excited. My first SEC offer just happened to be my school."

You committed to Southern Miss last week. Do you dread telling them the news? "Yes sir, I do. Because I really loved it down there also. It's home and since my mother got sick, I really didn't want to go too far."

What position will you play in college? "Coach Malzahn said that as of now he sees me as a tackle, but that could change. They said I can come in and compete early. I was planning on competing anyway, so it's great, to have a chance to play early as a starter in the SEC. So you really can't beat it."

Anthony Gulley, 5-11, 185 ATH from Brantley, Ala., plans to commit to Auburn

So what are your plans? "I'm going to commit next week to Auburn. I've got to go visit Troy. I don't want to disappoint coach (Shayne) Wasden. He told me they might make me change my decision.""

What stood out at Auburn? "The field. The coaches, pretty much. All of their coaching staff is Christians and I was grown up in church and that's all I've known. It's a good thing."

Got a position in mind? "They just said that coach (Gus) Malzahn has got a new offense. I'll go in motion, jet, run reverses and all that. They said that's what I'd be doing."

You mighttry to play baseball too? "I talked to coach (James) Willis about that and he said all you've got to do is talk to the baseball coach."

Demond Washington, 5-9, 185 ATH from Tallassee, Ala., JUCO transfer down to Ole Miss and Auburn

What position are they saying you'l play? "As of right now, they're still saying I can play any position. Offense, defense, I'm still in that mix. Running back, receiver, corner."

What's your recruiting status? "Still the same. I haven't decided yet. I'll know before the 3rd. ... I'll have a decision before then, but nobody will know before that day. I don't want this buried on my back. I hope it won't go long."

Is being close to home a draw? "Being close to home, that's not always good. You can go home and get in trouble. If I decided to come here, that won't be a factor. I'll be here on the weekends."

What kind of trouble can you get into in Tallassee? "It's a small city, but there's all kinds of trouble to get into. It's easy to get into; hard to get out of."

Tana Patrick, 6-3, 215 LB from Stevenson, Ala., interest from Alabama, Miami, USC, Tennessee

What did you do all weekend? "Met all the coaches, ate a whole bunch of food. I'm tired of eating food right now."

Who did you meet with? "I got to know (defensive coordinator Ted) Roof a lot. Talked about myself a little bit and he got to know me a little bit and I got to know him. So it was pretty good. All of them are great guys. Real family-oriented. I'm all about family. It helps down the line."

You've spoken with director of NFL relations and recruiting aid Phillip Lolley a lot. What's your relationship with him like? "He coached my brother (Dedrick Hardick), so I've known him ever since I was young, so getting to know him a lot better. Plus it helps since he's already here and where I'm from."

When are you going to announce a decision? "It will be signing day for me."

Early greetings from the recruiting trail today. I got myself out of bed to talk to some recruits and the move paid off.

So far this morning, we've learned that John Sullen, a 6-foot-5, 338-pound offensive lineman from Auburn committed to the Tigers this morning. Sullen had committed to Southern Miss.

Also, 5-foot-11, 185-pound athlete Anthony Gulley said he plans to commit. The Brantley, Ala., native still has a visit to Troy next week that he would like to fulfill, but said he will commit to Auburn after that.

Both are three-star recruits.

I'll get some more quotes up later. We're still trolling for recruits right now.

When the Tigers are on, they're on. And they were definitely on Saturday afternoon.

Auburn scored a season-high 85 points, getting a career-best 22 points from guard Tay Waller to win the first half of the Iron Bowl of basketball.

Waller was the man. He made his first five 3-pointers and finished with six in the game. It was part of the Tigers' 10-for-20 afternoon from 3-point range.

“If you make shots, it’s contagious,” Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said. “When you miss them, they’re the same way. If you’re going to ask me what the difference was from one night to the other, I don’t know. I wish I knew.”

Both teams are now 11-6 overall and 1-2 in the SEC.

Some quick thoughts ...

• Just a monster offensive night for Auburn, especially the first part of each half. In the first five minutes of each half, the Tigers out-scored Alabama 42-10. You just can't come back from that.

• Another solid game from Korvotney Barber, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. He got T'd up for hanging on the rim a bit too long late in the game. I question the call, although I do think he could have earned one for a little bit of an extra hang on a dunk earlier in the game.

• DeWayne Reed scored 19 points and Rasheem Barrett scored 12 in his first start of the season. Barrett, who has been slow to come back from a groin injury suffered in the preseason, has been splitting his time between the three and the four. Today he started at the four. "He is a hard matchup for big guys, so I think he is starting to find his niche," Lebo said.

• Back to Waller, who was 1-for-8 from 3-point range against Florida earlier this week and was stuck in a 6-for-29 slump from outside in the last four gamess. "It’s been a while since I had a good game,” he said. "That gave me my confidence back and my teammates kept getting me the ball, so I kept shooting.”

• Auburn hounded Alabama with its fullcourt trap. The Crimson Tide committed a season-high 20 turnovers, which the Tigers turned into 34 points. Now that's how you capitalize.

• Very impressed by Tide guard Mikhail Torrance, who scored a game-high 24 points. It seems like he should be in the starting lineup, doesn't it?

• Bama sorely missed Ronald Steele, who is out indefinitely with a heel injury. He's made 37 of Alabama's 79 3-pointers this year. Without him, the Tide went 2-for-11 from 3-point range Saturday, not making its first one until well into the second half.

• There might be hope yet: Auburn went 15-for-21 from the free throw line.

• Not a great offensive night for Quantez Robertson, who finished with just three points. But he had a team-best seven assists and had four steals in his 32 minutes. When Waller, Reed and Co. are scoring the way they did, Auburn doesn't need hiim to shoulder too much of the offensive load.

Couple of updates on some coaches from Tommy Tuberville's old staff:

• Eddie Gran has been hired by Tennessee as running backs coach. the 43-year-old Gran spent 14 seasons with Tuberville, first at Ole Miss and then Auburn.

• Terry Price's saga took an odd twist. After being hired on Paul Rhoads' staff at Iowa State, Price changed course and took a job with Houston Nutt at Ole Miss. Price replaces Tracy Rocker, who took the defensive line coach job at Auburn earlier this week. Price coached at Ole Miss when Tuberville was there.

For those keeping track, here's your Tuberville staff scorecard:

• HC Tuberville: Has spent time on TV for ESPN, skiing in Aspen
• DT Don Dunn: On the market (I hear Iowa State has an opening)
• TE Steve Ensminger: Hired as quarterbacks coach/PE teacher at Smiths Station High
• OC Tony Franklin: Planning to buy back into his football consulting business, experiencing the true Auburn
• RB Gran: Hired by Tennessee as running backs coach
• WR Greg Knox: On the market
• OL Hugh Nall: Chief operating officer at Southern AG Carriers, Inc.
• DE Price: Hired by Ole Miss as defensive line coach
• DC Rhoads: Hired by Iowa State as head coach
• LB James Willis: Retained by Gene Chizik as defensive assistant

There are only four more weeks and three more recruiting weekends before the Feb. 4 National Signing Day, so Auburn expects to have a busy weekend.

Our good friends at AubnrnSports.com are all over this recruiting stuff and are kind enough to help us print folks along in the lead-in to what some people consider the biggest day of the football season.

(Quick aside No.1: I, on the other hand, think it's kind of ridiculous to get too hyped up about players who probably won't make make any big contribution for two or three years. But I digress.)

(Quick aside No. 2: Is "Johnny Be Good" the only movie made about football recruiting? Somebody help me out here, but I can't think of another one. Basketball has "Blue Chips" AND "He Got Game." I guess "The Program" deals with recruiting briefly, but that's not the focus of the movie. Doesn't it seem like the football recruiting process would lend itself to a very entertaining movie? I mean, "Johnny Be Good" came out in 1988. We're talking 20-plus years here. Get on top of that, Hollywood.)

(UPDATE: This doesn't count, although I'm sure Riley Smith turned in an Oscar-worthy performance as quarterback Matt Sabo, who recruiting services said lacked the arm strength and field recognition to project to anything more than a backup in college.)

ANYWAY, here's a list of recruits Auburn is expecting this weekend, and keep in mind that we're dealing with football coaches and 18-year-old kids, two extremely unpredictable groups, so things can change at a moments notice:

Position, Player, Height, Weight, Hometown, Rivals.com rating (Other interested schools)

• WR DeAngelo Benton (PREP), 6-3, 210, Bastrop, La., 5-star (Committed to LSU) -- (UPDATE: AuburnSports.com says he will not be able to make it this weekend)
  
• WR Emory Blake, 6-1, 194, Austin, Texas, 4-star (Colorado, Texas Tech)
• DE Nosa Eguae, 6-3, 234, Arlington, Texas, 3-star (Minnesota, Colorado, Nebraska)
• LB Donald Ford, 6-2, 190, Odenville, Ala., 3-star (Committed to Auburn)
• ATH Anthony Gulley, 5-11, 185, Brantley, Ala., 3-star (Troy)
• WR Cobi Hamilton, 6-3, 190, 3-star (Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas)
• DT DeQuinta Jones, 6-4, 305, Bastrop, La., 4-star (Soft verbal to Michigan, Arkansas)
• OL Brandon Moore, 6-5, 313, Montgomery, Ala., 4-star (Alabama, Florida, Miami)
• LB Tana Patrick, 6-3, 215, Stevenson, Ala., 4-star (Alabama, Miami, USC)
• OL John Sullen, 6-5, 338, Auburn, Ala., 3-star (Soft verbal to Southern Miss)
• ATH Demond Washington (JUCO), 5-9, 185, Tallasee, Ala., 3-star (Soft verbal to Ole Miss)

Auburn is at 20 commitments for 2009 so far.

In coaching news, Gene Chizik appears to be getting closer to hiring an offensive line coach. Auburn has reportedly interviewed J.B. Grimes and Steve Campbell.

Grimes spent the last five years at Mississippi State and has coaching stints at Arkansas, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and East Carolina.

Campbell has spent the last five seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he is 40-11. He won a Division II national championship in 2000 with Delta State University, winning national coach of the year honors. He was offensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State in 2002 and offensive line coach at Mississippi State in 2003.

Auburn guard Quantez Robertson cannot be accused of not caring.

After the Tigers' 68-65 loss to Florida on Wednesday night, the senior, who went 0-for-6 from the free throw line, missing the front end of two one-and-ones in final four minutes, walked home to his Auburn apartment.

"I just had to try to take it off my mind, because I felt like I let my team down, and they look for me to make them shots," Robertson said. "I just had to walk home and get them off my chest, try not to worry too much about it."

Teammate DeWayne Reed said Robertson lives about four blocks away from the stadium. Not a great distance, but it was fairly cold out last night.

Robertson said he's done it before. He missed a free throw with 21 seconds left of an eventual one-point loss to LSU last year. He said it helped him focus for the rest of the season.

Auburn, as a team, went 10-for-21 from the free throw line Wednesday. It is shooting 59.2 percent for the season.

Tough one to swallow for the Auburn men's basketball team tonight. It basically came down to two stats. You decide which was more detrimental. Auburn was ...

• 5-for-27 from 3-point range (18.5 percent)
• 10-for-21 from the free throw line (47.6 percent)

I vote for both. It was a dreadful offensive showing all around against a Florida team that, despite now being 16-2, was definitely beatable.

"The worst feeling is that we gave it away," forward Rasheem Barrett said.

This makes the Tigers 10-6 overall and 0-2 in the SEC. They play Alabama on Saturday before traveling to Kentucky and Arkansas next week. There is a definite possibility of starting the conference season 0-5.

Some thoughts from the game ...

• Auburn looked good defensively. It made Florida, a team averaging almost 80 points per game, look extremely average offensively. The Gators weren't much better from 3-point range (5-for-23) but made them when they counted, hitting three in the final four minutes.

• The free throw thing is mind-boggling. The Tigers are shooting an SEC-worst 59.2 percent from the line this season. “It’s been my experience that when you really have to focus on free throws, there is a problem, because it becomes a mental problem,” Auburn head coach Jeff Lebo said. “At least four of our losses, if we shoot just average from the free throw line, we would have won those games. It is disheartening.”

• Quantez Robinson had the roughest night from the line. He was 0-for-6 and missed the front end of two one-and-ones when Auburn trailed by only two points in the final few minutes. Lebo had some harsh words afterward: “When you are out on the floor, you have to step up, especially seniors. You have to be able to make those shots. You can’t do that in this league and expect to win.”

• Barrett stepped up for the Tigers. The senior, who was hampered early in the season by a groin injury and hasn't really hit his stride, scored a season-high 15 points Wednesday. He seemed to be the only player who could make a shot for Auburn down the stretch.

• Korvotney Barber and Lucas Hargrove were active on the offensive end in the first half, combining to go 11-for-13 from the floor for 23 points. The second half? They were 1-for-5 for two points.

• Shooters Tay Waller and DeWayne Reed really struggled. The guards combined to go 6-for-24, including 4-for-16 from long range. Two of Reed's 3-pointers came in the final five seconds, when the Gators weren't even guarding him.

• Florida, which was out-rebounded 46-22 by Ole Miss its last time out, held a 46-36 advantage on the boards Wednesday.

• Oh, and Johnnie Lett isn't necessarily this team's saving grace. After missing the SEC opener because of an academic issue, Lett returned Wednesday. He played seven minutes, didn't score, missed both of his shots and grabbed one rebound.

Gene Chizik got his first commitment as Auburn’s head coach Wednesday, securing Gordo High athlete Izauea Lanier for the 2009 class, according to AuburnSports.com.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Lanier had offers from Kentucky, Mississippi State and Troy.

He helped Gordo High reach the third round of the Alabama state playoffs this season, finishing with 871 rushing yards and 870 receiving yards, according to Scout.com. He also played in the defensive backfield, making seven interceptions.

Lanier’s official visit at Auburn is scheduled for the weekend of Jan. 23-25.

Auburn’s 2009 class now has 20 commitments.

Auburn's basketball team got a boost when Johnnie Lett was declared academically eligible for Wednesday's game against Florida, a school spokesman confirm Tuesday.

The 6-foot-8 Lett missed the South Carolina game while an academic issue was being resolved. Auburn's frontcourt suffered, with Korvotney Barber having to play 36 minutes.

Lett is averaging just 3.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 13.7 points per game off the bench, but he provides a big body that is able to defend opposing post players, something the Tigers are lacking.

In football news ...

• Auburn has interviewed Mississippi Gulf Coast head coach Steve Campbell spoke with Auburn about its offensive line coach vacancy, according to multiple reports. Campbell has been at MGCCC since 2004. He was Mississippi State's offensive line coach in 2003 and was Middle Tennessee State's offensive coordinator in 2002.

• Major kudos to fellow beat writer Evan Woodbery of the Mobile Press-Register for his story on (former?) Auburn offensive lineman Chaz Ramsey, who had issues with the way his rehabilitation from back surgery was handled by the Tigers' medical staff. Definitely worth a read, so click on it. We'll see how this one plays out.
  

Auburn's sports information staff was kind enough to set up a teleconference with newly hired defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, who by no exaggeration is a Tigers football legend.

Here are the highlights:

• Rocker will coach the entire front four. The previous staff split up tackles and ends.

• Rocker knows Gene Chizik from early in his coaching career, back in the mid-'90s. Rocker was at Troy State with Larry Blakeney and Wayne Bolt. Chizik was defensive coordinator at Central Florida, and they would meet every now and then.

• He has a couple other staff connections. He was a freshman at Auburn when defensive coordiantor Ted Roof was a senior linebacker at Georgia Tech. He knew James Willis from his time at Auburn. And he was on the same staff as Gus Malzahn at Arkansas.

• While he and Roof have never crossed paths in the coaching professions, Rocker said he's heard Roof "is a great guy to work for."

• Rocker coached with Houston Nutt for six years -- five at Arkansas and one at Ole Miss. "Working for Houston Nutt, Houston provides a family environment, a very coachable environment for you," he said. "You're able to work, do your job and get it done and enjoy it. And that was hard to do. He's very family oriented. He's all about the players. I enjoyed working with him. It was a great six years. ... I enjoyed it but it comes a time when we all have to part ways and move on in this type of business."

• Rocker said he watched Pat Dye carefully when he played for him from 1985-88, studying his methods to understand why he made certain decisions, something that's helped him as a coach.

• Here's his general philosophy on coaching defensive line: "One thing I know about playing down there is that you don’t really get an off down. You’ve got to lay it on the line on every snap. And the most important thing, it’s not so much as always talent, but the thing is doing your best and leaving it on the field and not getting back and saying, well, coulda, shoulda, woulda. I did my best and I left it all out there on the field. And you’re going to have to play hurt sometimes down there, and those are the things that sometimes playing defensive line, a lot of people don’t quite understand that you run into people every day. And you’re expected to run into them even harder on the weekend. So when coaches say, well, today they just took off the pads and everyone just kind of …. Well, there’s only a few guys that get to play flag football. And defensive linemen and offensive linemen don’t get to play flag football. They run into people."

• Rocker said he hasn't had time to do much personnel research on Auburn. "It's a clean slate right now," he said.

Just got official confirmation from Auburn that Tracy Rocker will coach defensive line on Gene Chizik's staff. Here are some quotes to tide you over. More to come a little later.

Rocker:

"I'm glad to be welcomed back to Auburn, where I have a lot of fond memories and had many great experiences. There are three things that I've learned you need to be successful in football, and those are hard work, patience, and team work. I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead and working for Coach Chizik and the entire staff."

Chizik:

“It’s a tremendous privilege to be able to add to our staff one of the greatest players to ever wear an Auburn uniform. Tracy’s ability as an All-American player and his reputation nationally as a defensive line coach will provide instant credibility to our players and recruits.”

Are you ready for some spring football! Well, if you are, you'll have to wait a little bit longer still. Please be patient.

Auburn moved its annual A-Day game back from March 28 to April 18 at 2 p.m. EST.

The Tigers are tentatively scheduled to start spring practice March 24.

“Moving A-Day to mid-April will allow the football staff more time to evaluate each player so that we have a better idea of where we are as a team headed into spring practice,” Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. “The later start will also give our players an additional month of winter conditioning to prepare for the contact period. We appreciate the fan’s understanding and support, and look forward to seeing them at A-Day.”

We take a break from this regularly scheduled football blog post to inform you that, hey, the Auburn women's basketball team is pretty darn good.

The Tigers are up to sixth in the latest Associated Press poll. They were ninth last week.

Also, forward DeWanna Bonner was named SEC Player of the Week for the second time this season. The senior scored 29 points in each of the Tigers' wins last week against South Carolina and No. 18 Florida. She had 11 rebounds against the Gators, making it her fifth double-double this season.

The Tigers (17-0, 2-0 SEC), who are off to their best start since going 28-0 to start the 1988-89 season, do not play again until Sunday, when they travel to Arkansas.

The real countdown is to the Jan. 25 showdown with perennial power Tennessee at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. If Auburn is still undefeated at that point, I can't imagine a more anticipated women's game here in recent memory, if ever.

There are multiple reports this morning that Tracy Rocker has accepted a position as Auburn's defensive line coach. Several cite anonymous sources. This one in the Clarion Ledger seems pretty accurate, since the news is coming from Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt.

“It was a tough decision for him because we’ve had a great working relationship for six years,” Nutt said. “But it’s his alma mater and he’s got family less than an hour away, so it was something he felt like he needed to do. It’s a tough loss, but I understand why he did it.”

Rocker was a two-time All-American and three-time All-SEC selection at Auburn, Rocker was named SEC Player of the Year his senior season. He won both the Outland and Lombardi trophies in 1988. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

He played two years for the Washington Redskins and was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in 1990.

He returned to Auburn to finish his degree in 1992 and began his coaching career at Auburn High School.

Rocker has had coaching stints at West Alabama, Troy, Cincinnati, Arkansas and most recently, Ole Miss.

Big win at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum this afternoon for the No. 9 Tigers, who remain unbeaten at 17-0. That's their best start since 1988-89, when they reeled off 28 straight to start the season.

Auburn (2-0 SEC) got big-time games out of DeWanna Bonner, who makes scoring 29 points look easy, Sherrell Hobbs, who scored a season-high 23 after making her first eight shots, and Whitney Boddie, who had 14 points, 11 assists and four steals.

Start paying attention folks. This is shaping up to be a special team.

Some other thoughts:

• KeKe Carrier came up huge for Auburn. The 6-foot-7 reserve blocked seven shots Sunday, keeping the No. 18 Gators out of the paint all day. She added eight points and six rebounds. “She came out like a warrior today,” Tigers head coach Nell Fortner said. “She’s just such a defensive presence inside. And offensively you have to respect her, whether she touches the ball or not, you have to respect her. She just gives us a whole different dimension.”

• Since Jordan Greenleaf went down with a knee injury in early December, Carrier has avearged 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. She played a season-high 21 minutes Sunday. With Auburn lacking a deep bench (it only played seven players Sunday), she could be instrumental in how far the Tigers go this year.

• One concerning stat: Florida, which didn't start anyone over 6 feet tall, won the reboudning battle 39-32.

• Hobbs is a streaky shooter. When she's on, she's fun to watch. But here are her last eight point totals: 20, 3, 9, 13, 8, 19, 8 and 23. I bet Auburn would like to see a little more consistency.

• No-show night for Alli Smalley, who scored two points on 1-of-4 shooting in 32 minutes.

• Auburn used a 2-3 zone defense for most of the day that confused Florida. The Gators shot just 35 percent for the game. Guard Sha Brooks, the team's leading scorer who just dropped 31 on Mississippi State earlier this week, was 3-for-18 from the field for 11 points.

• There was an announced crowd of 6,090, the seventh-largest in school history. It seems some people are starting to catch wind that this team is pretty good.

• Bad news for people who like big-hype games. Vanderbilt beat Tennessee by 16 today, which throws off what would have been some great timing. If they had won all of their games prior to their Jan. 25 meeting with Auburn, Pat Summitt would have been shooting for her 1,000th career victory at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. That won't be the case now. Bummer for everyone, but it should still be a great game.