Here's a video from today's interviews with offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and defensive line coach Tracy Rocker. Enjoy. We talk to head coach Gene Chizik again Sunday before the team leaves for Glendale and that's it.

The Ledger-Enquirer is looking to hear from Auburn fans from the Columbus/Phenix City/Smiths Station area who are traveling to Glendale, Ariz., for the Bowl Championship Series national title game.

If you'd like to be part of a story, e-mail sports editor Kevin Price.

Five months from now, Auburn wide receiver Travante Stallworth hopes to have his father, James, a 24-year Army veteran, back stateside for good.

In the interim, Stallworth, a redshirt freshman who went to high school in Leesville, La., had to settle for a brief visit from his father this Christmas, one that unfortunately won't carry through Auburn's BCS title game against Oregon.

"I’m kind of used to it now," Stallworth said. "It’s really no big deal. It’s kind of tough for my mom, because, like I said, she’s there all by herself.

"But he’s doing well over there. He really doesn’t talk about it all that much. Overall, it’s been good over there. It’s really kind of calmed down. So I’m happy about that.”

James, a sergeant major, has made three trips before, most recently doing infantry operations in Iraq. His latest tour, which might be his last, started in August. He and his son still find time to talk, doing video chats every few days.

"He asks about football and sometimes we get a little off football and talk about life and stuff too," Stallworth said.

James also watches Auburn's game online, even though his son hasn't played this year. Stallworth is taking a redshirt year after having ACL surgery last season.

"It's not really frustrating, because I know my body and the coaches could tell that everything wasn’t right," he said. "I understand that they want me to be full-speed out there playing. I don’t want to go out there limping around and not being able to help the team with the ability I know I have.”

He'll still traveling with the team to Glendale, Ariz., for the BCS national title game against Oregon. James, who heads back overseas Jan. 6, plans to tune in, even though it's 11 hours ahead.

"He’ll be up at 3 or 4 o’clock in the morning sometimes watching, even though he has work," Stallworth said. "He just loves to see us play.”

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Here are some more notes and quotes from today's interviews. Enjoy them. They're the last until Sunday, when we only get head coach Gene Chizik. Then the team flies to Arizona:

• LB Craig Stevens had a cast on his left wrist. He said he injured it against Alabama and re-aggravated it in the SEC title game against South Carolina. He might have to wear something against Oregon, but he'll definitely play. "They're trying to get it to heal," he said. "You know, wrists move all the time. So they don't want me to move it."

• Rocker said he glanced at a picture of Nick Fairley smiling in a celebration photo from the Outback Bowl last year and laughed to himself. "I'm like, wow," he said. "No one really knew. No one knew what would Nick be."

• Rocker said the transformation started in the spring, when Fairley was so good at getting his assignments down that he began telling other people where to line up. The MSU game, where he had a pick, was the moment he lights came on. "After that I got out of coaching," Rocker said. "I was just trying to make sure he showed up at the game. But I'm proud he's evolved from last year. The biggest thing is, like I keep telling him, it's not what we did in 2010, it's what we do in 2011."

• Did Rocker see it coming? "You think they all have the potential," he said. "You just try to make sure they all can perform at their best. That's probably between him and I where I see it, but I'm like, it's in you. Now we've got to find a way to get it out of you. Now you may not like the way we're going to get it out of you, but I think that's the most important part is you want someone to be their best, and him and I, we've bickered and went back and forth, but that's part of it. That's my job is to get the best out of you."

• Fairley recently signed up for Twitter (@Nick_Fairley251). After a little over a day of near non-stop tweeting, the Lombardi Award winner already had 4,000 followers, quickly closing in on team leader Zac Etheridge (@Z_Etheridge4), who has close to 6,000 followers. Asked about it, Rocker didn’t have much to contribute. “I don’t know nothing about no Twitter,” he said. “You got me on that one. I’m simple. A caveman.”

• The NFL draft isn't in Fairley's mind, Rocker said. "That's not an issue," he said. "He is all about this game. And that would take care of itself when the time is appropriate. But we're more concerned about this situation, but that hasn't been an issue. It's not going to be an issue. But he's been great about the whole deal and he's more concerned about Auburn being successful."

• Rocker has seen some strong progress from DE Corey Lemonier, a freshman All-SEC selection. "I think he's gained the confidence that now he can play SEC football," he said. "When the first month of practice and then the second month of practice, the conversation was, 'Coach, I'm not making the plays I made in high school.' And I'm like, you're not in high school anymore. You're in college. It's a big difference. So for him, every week he's gained confidence and playing. It's been an enjoyment to watch him grow."

• FB/DL Ladarious Phillips continues to get looks on both sides of the ball. "I think he's going to help our team on either side," Rocker said. "But I'll be the first one. I won't turn him down."

• I'll just let CB coach Philip Lolley give a run down of Oregon's offense and get out of the way: "They put a tremendous amount of pressure. The main thing that you see with those guys, and we’ve looked at every ball game, people are running free. They do that because of the offense that they’re running. They’re very, very well coached. They do a tremendous job of attacking you diagonally, vertically, the whole bit. The option keeps you honest. They run it every conceivable way that you could possibly run an option. They run it from all different sets, all different types of motion. And if you try to get the extra guy to put on the quarterback and their pitch, course they’ve got their quick-throws in and they’ve got play-action where they’re running right by people because you’ve got to get the secondary involved. The secondary has to be involved to stop the run in the situation. You don’t have enough. So you have to get the quarterback and the pitch covered along with the great tailback that everybody knows about up inside. Out there, you better have your ducks in a row, as they say, or you’re going to get in trouble."

• Lolley said WR Philip Pierre-Louis was mimicking Oregon RB LaMichael James on the scout team before getting hurt. Now its walk-on Patrick Lymon.

• Lolley has been in Alabama forever, making this game all the more special. "Personally it means a whole lot because being raised in this state, to win a championship and it’s been since '57, this is the first time I know that we’ve had the chance since I’ve been here to play for this," he said. "We’ve had some great football teams here and there’s been several teams that didn’t have the opportunity to and that we felt that we were the best, but they didn’t get a chance to prove that. So it’s not like we’re just playing for this team, you know? I mean it’s for all the Auburn Family."

• Even Lolley is a little surprised how quickly Auburn got to this game. "We had some great football teams when coach (Tommy) Tuberville was here, too," he said. "I said, `I’m going to come back on coach Chizik’s staff and we’re going to get this done.’ I was anticipating that three would be fine, but we need to get it four. In four, we need to have a shot to make this run. I never questioned that we’d be good every year, but to have a shot at this, you’d think it would take a little longer. You think it’s going to take two to three good years of recruiting to beat the people in this conference, and then to have a chance to do this. We’re way ahead."

• Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, who didn't really want to talk about the Maryland job, was much more eager to talk about Oregon's defense and the odd front it throws at you. "They're not ever going to be in the same place," he said. "They're never going to be still. They're going to be moving. They do try to confuse you with their schemes. They play a lot of odd-front. They come at you from different angles. They do some very unique things." He said it's somewhat similar to what Mississippi State and a couple other SEC defenses did to the Tigers this year.

• Malzahn was highly complimentary of his senior-dominated offensive line. "I really believe this one of the best offensive lines in the country," he said. "We live and die by running the football. People know we're going to run the football. Those guys up front have done an outstanding job and they're a big reason why we're where we are today."

• Former Auburn head coach Pat Dye was named to the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl Hall of Fame induction class Friday, along with former Purdue and NFL cornerback Rod Woodson. They will be honored in a pre-game ceremony tonight. Dye who went 99-39-4 and won four SEC titles at Auburn, led the Tigers to the 1990 Peach Bowl (now Chick-fil-A). Auburn beat Indiana 27-23 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium that year. Established in 2002, the Chick-fil-A Hall of Fame honors former players, coaches and contributors who had a significant impact on the bowl. It has 29 members.

• Auburn has walkthroughs Saturday morning and will practice one more time Sunday before departing for Glendale, Ariz., on Monday. The Tigers’ first on-site practice for the BCS title game is Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET at Scottsdale Community College.

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn didn’t want to talk about rumors linking him to the vacant Maryland head coaching job Friday, saying he’s only thinking about preparation for Oregon.

“My only focus is helping us win a national championship,” Malzahn said in his first comments to reporters since being linked to the job. “I will have nothing else in my mind other than that.”

Malzahn, who agreed to a contract extension and raise to $1.3 million annually after turning down an offer from Vanderbilt several weeks, interviewed with Maryland 10 days ago, according to ESPN’s Bruce Feldman.

Auburn hasn’t publicly confirmed or denied that report. Tigers head coach Gene Chizik said vaguely that there are “possibilities of contact” between Malzahn and the school.

Asked specifically about the Terrapins, Malzahn didn’t give much insight, preferring to look forward to the Tigers’ matchup with Oregon in the BCS title game in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 10.

“Kind of like I’ve said all along regarding head coaching jobs, it’s got to be the right time, the right situation,” he said, not specifically mentioning the Maryland opening. “And right now my only focus is on helping us win the national championship and I’m not going to let anything distract or get in my way of helping us do that.”

Maryland, which announced it would buy out the final year of Ralph Friedgen’s contract Dec. 20, interviewed former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach for the job Thursday.

The meeting with the school’s president, athletics director and search committee went well, according to multiple reports, although the Baltimore Sun reported no offer has been made.

Maryland athletics director Kevin Anderson has said he’d like to make a hire by Jan. 4.

Here's a video from tonight's round of interviews with coaches. It's got head coach Gene Chizik, running backs coach Curtis Luper, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor and offensive line coach Jeff Grimes.

Enjoy. We'll be back at it tomorrow morning.

Auburn linebacker Josh Bynes and left tackle Lee Ziemba added one more game to their schedule: the 2011 Senior Bowl.

Both players accepted invites Thursday to play in the senior showcase, which takes place at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 29.

“I’m really, really proud of those guys,” Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. “Very deserving of that honor. I think again when you have a good team and you’re doing well, that comes with the territory. Those two guys are certainly very well deserving of that selection.”

Ziemba was a consensus All-American who was won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the SEC’s top offensive lineman.

“I think anytime you’re recognized as an All-SEC player, that says something about you,” offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said. “But when you go to that next level and people are willing to say you’re one of those best players at your position, I think that says a lot.”

Bynes was a second-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press after leading the Tigers with 71 tackles.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to showcase what I can do alongside some of the other top players in the nation,” Bynes said. “Getting a chance to work out in front of NFL scouts will be a great chance for me to show my skills, and it’s also an opportunity to have a fun time.”

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Here are some other notes and quotes from Thursday night's interviews with assistants:

• Good practice Thursday, Chizik said. Auburn went full pads, practicing out in the rain. "I thought the tempo practice was really good and I think we got a lot accomplished," he said.

• Chizik had no news on the academic front Thursday. “I’m going to stay on the same course,” he said. “If there’s a change of any sort, regarding our personnel, I’ll let you know.”

• Auburn altered its schedule over the next few days. After this afternoon’s practice, the Tigers will do a walkthrough on New Year’s Day. But they added a practice on Jan. 2, which was previously an off day. Auburn flies out to Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 3 and resumes practice the following day.

• Wide receiver Darvin Adams will handle Auburn’s punt return duties in the BCS title game against Oregon, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said. Adams handled the duties in the SEC title game after Quindarius Carr, who had the job all year, fumbled a punt against Alabama the previous week. Adams had one return for 10 yards against South Carolina. He has two this season for 21 yards. “The biggest deal is Darvin does a good job picking the ball up off the guy’s foot,” Taylor said. “It’s kind of like a baseball. You never want to catch that ball going backwards. You want to have your momentum going forward. His decision-making with the football — I think because of so much time on offense — he makes good decisions with the ball.”

• Carr will be the backup, followed by Anthony Morgan and Chris Davis. “If we have to get past Chris Davis, we’re just going to let it roll,” Taylor said.

• Running backs coach Curtis Luper and Taylor have an odd superstition before every game. Taylor parades around in Luper’s pants, something he’s done since the opener. “I was looking for my pants and he had them on,” Luper said. “I said, ‘Troop, look, give me my pants.’ The next week, Coach (Jay) Boulware said, ‘Troop, you’ve to put Loop’s pants on again.’ I reluctantly gave him my pants. That’s been for 13 consecutive (weeks). It’ll be 14 on Jan. 10. I’ve got to give my pants to Troop. He parades around in them and then I put them on. 14-0 is the goal.”

• I'm sure most of you saw the terrible celebration call against Kansas State at the end of its loss to Syracuse today. Chizik didn't, but he talked about celebration penalties in general. "We’ll actually pull out clips from different games," he said. "We constantly try to address those things. That’s all you can do. Make them very aware of it. They know how we feel about that. We try to address it every opportunity we get.” (Apparently Ben Tate and Walt McFadden didn't get that memo before last year's Outback Bowl.)

• Chizik didn't talk specifically about the Gus Malzahn-Maryland talk but said he didn't find it surprising other teams would be interested in Auburn's coaches. "As I’ve said many times, I’ve got a staff of great coaches and they’re all good I their own right at different things," he said. "They’re all going to be guys who are going to be desirable. Certainly when you’ve been successful and you’ve had a year like we’ve had now, a lot of our guys are going to get attention and rightly so. It’s flattering when you’re in those shoes, but the thing I’m most proud of about our staff is they’re very focused on one thing right now – that’s to win one more game. That’s kind of where we’re at.”

• And while we're kind of on that subject, the Washington Post reported today that Mike Leach's interview with the Maryland brass went well.

• Auburn is much bigger on the offensive line that Oregon is on the defensive line. The Tigers' coaches made it sound like not much of a big deal. Chizik called that advantage "overrated."

• Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes agreed. "If a lot has been made about that, they’re concentrating on the wrong things," he said. "Often (size is) one of the things that’s overestimated, because there are a lot of times where a defensive lineman that’s 270 pounds is a lot better player than a guy who’s 310 pounds. They play a lot bigger than they are. A guy who’s 270, quick, strong, explosive and plays hard, in a lot of ways, is better than a guy that’s 300 and can’t play as hard as long, or doesn’t have the quickness or lateral movement, that sort of thing. In no way whatsoever do I see that as a sort of deficiency in their defense."

• Grimes said he's seen leaps and bounds in progress from RT Brandon Mosley, who replaced an injured A.J. Greene early in the season. He remembers watching game tape of the first South Carolina game before the SEC championship game. "We were both going, golly, I can't believe this was the same season, because you look like a totally different player now than you did at that point," Grimes said. "But I'm really, really pleased with him and really glad I've got another year with him."

• Grimes didn't have anything definitive on Greene's return this spring, although he's been pleased with the progress. "He can’t do a lot of stuff with his lower body, but I’ve seen guys who have had a particular injury where it’s upper body or lower body really increase their strength levels in other areas," Grimes said. "You can really see that on him now. He lost some weight initially, with not being able to do a whole lot, and he gained that weight back and is starting to look now like he did at the beginning of the season, after having a really good summer. I’m really pleased with what I’ve seen from him and the time he’s spent in the weight room over the past three months.”

• The end is drawing near for Grimes' time with his four seniors. "It'll definitely hit me when that game is over," he said. "That's one of the things about coaching that is tough is you really do build a relationship with these kids and you hate to see them move on, but at the same time that relationship doesn't necessarily end."

• You can count the coaches as being excited to play in this game. "Do the math," Luper said. "This is my 15th year in coaching. I'd do it for 30 to do it again."

• Grimes hears about it from everyone he talks to. "I've had people ask me before: 'Have you ever coached in the national championship game before?'" he said. "Heck, I haven't even coached in a BCS game before. Now a whole lot of years before, I was coaching at a Division III school just glad to be playing every Saturday. I'm just thrilled to have the opportunity and I think we recognize how big a deal it is once we get out there probably."

• Has it sunk in? "It hasn't really sunk in yet that we're literally playing for the national championship," Luper said. "We're trying to win the 14th game, trying to beat Oregon. All that other stuff will sink in a little bit later."

• Trooper agreed. "It really hasn’t sunk in because Coach Chizik has been so detailed with the practices working with the younger kids," he said. "It almost feels like a spring practice because we’re scrimmaging those guys and trying to help those young guys to get ready – even some of the backups who may have to play role in this game. It’s been more like a spring practice…it’s not like we’re overlooking them but we’re trying to fix some fundamental things with the young guys."

• Three young'ns who have stood out to Trooper: Davis, WR Antonio Goodwin and HB Shaun Kitchens. Grimes said OL Chad Slade is a little bit further ahead than his freshman counterparts on the line because he's worked as an emergency backup with the regular offense instead of on the scout team.

• WR Travante Stallworth, who has been trying to work back from an ACL tear last year, got a boost recently when his dad just returned from his military service overseas. "You can tell the difference in Travante," Taylor said. "That was big for him. Watching him out there, he’s such a smart kid. Now, we’ve just got his confidence back, and that will come with more touches."

• Trooper's take on Oregon's secondary: "Speed. Those guys can run and they’re not afraid to play man coverage, and they’ve done it against some really good receivers." He was also impressed by the number of passes the Ducks tip into the air. " I bet if you watch five minutes of tape you’ll six or seven tipped balls," he said.

• Doesn't sound like Auburn coaches will be doing much recruiting while they're out in Arizona. It's strictly a title game focus.

• Trooper ragged on Chizik's leather jacket choice during his ESPN rounds the other day (he joked that it was a Members Only jacket, even though it wasn't), but he said the exposure for the program is invaluable. "When you get that type of coverage, it helps in recruiting because it’s reaches all across the United States," he said. "That's not just regional; it’s all over the place."

Not a whole lot from relatively few player interviews this morning, so we'll go straight to the bullet points (Follow the blog on Twitter and Facebook):

• It's starting to hit some of the seniors that the end is near. "Yeah, I’m coming down to my last couple of practices," left guard Mike Berry said. "When they come back for the team meeting, you’re not going to be there. It’s time to move on. But at the same time, I’m just savoring the time I’ve got left."

• That goes for the national title game too. "The more you start preparing, the more you start to realize you're about to play on the biggest stage in college football," left tackle Lee Ziemba said.

• Berry, on the impact of offensive line coach Jeff Grimes: "He’s definitely set the tone for our offensive line to be one of the toughest in the nation. I think that’s what we did this year."

• A lot has been made of the four senior offensive linemen, but right tackleBrandon Mosley has made giant strides from a year ago, when he was a defensive lineman/tight end in community college. "That is kind of crazy now that you said something about it," Berry said. "He talks about all the time how he was an athlete because he played tight end. I was like, ‘Brandon, they didn’t throw you the ball.’ He’s definitely excited about it. I talked to him the other day. He said it’s unbelievable."

• Mosley was the outsider to the group of seniors on the line but has fit in well. "He's part of us," Ziemba said. "Maybe in the spring, we were a little tough on him because he was new and everything. Now, he's just it's like he's been here the four years we have. It's been great having him."

• The linemen are close, despite their relatively different backgrounds. "We're all different people," Ziemba said. "Pugh is from Birmingham. I'm from Arkansas. Isom's from Atlanta. Mike's from Nashville. It's four different people, but I think we bring a lot to the table as far as complementing each other and learning from each other."

• What's the music situation like in the locker room, though. "It's frustrating," Ziemba said, joking. He said Berry and Byron Isom don't listen to country music too much. "Rarely," Ziemba said. "They usually win that battle. We'll usually put the hunting channel on the TV. We win that one."

• Ziemba and Pugh have tried to take Berry and Isom hunting. No dice. "I was going to try and go until they said we had to get in some trees," Berry said. Ziemba said former DT Sen'Derrick Marks used to go, though.

• RB Onterio McCalebb, he of the Mohawk haircut, said he has something in mind for the national title game. "It's going to be a special one," he said. We asked if he could give us a hint of what it would look like. No luck. "I can't tell you," he said.

• WR Emory Blake said he's envisioned making the play to win the title game. He said everybody does. "You just have little flashes of what if you make this play or what if you make that play," he said. "Things pop up in your head. You’ve got to work so hopefully you’ll get those chances in a game."

• Blake's from Texas. He heard a lot of questions when he signed with Auburn. When he went home for Christmas, there was a lot less of that. "I remember people asking me why was I signing with Auburn when I first left," he said. "Now, they’re like, `I can see why you signed with Auburn.’ It’s good going back home knowing I made the right decision and the right choice."

• Bowl trips are usually all about the off-field activities for the players, although that seems to be less so at the BCS title game, where, obviously, a lot is on the line. "If you go out there just looking to have a good time, you’re going to leave with a loss and you’ll look back and be disappointed," Berry said.

Bonus video from tonight's interviews. It has got quarterback Cam Newton and defensive coordinator Ted Roof. Enjoy. We'll be back at it tomorrow.

Auburn quarterback Cam Newton spent his Christmas Day at Turner Field in Atlanta, donating his time to the Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless program.

The quarterback, a native of nearby College Park, Ga., spent about two hours on the feeding line, dishing out green beans to the homeless.

“I think more people really don’t even sit down and appreciate what Christmas really is until you have to go through that type of situation and see people that really don’t have nothing,” he said. “And for me to view that, man, it was just another reason for me to count my blessings.”

Newton got recognized a few times. Several people asked for pictures with him, but he didn’t want his newfound celebrity to get in the way of the real reason he was there.

“I had to step outside Cam Newton the athlete and step into Cam Newton the human being, the person that is very caring,” he said.

Newton said it cleared up a lot of misconceptions for him.

"These people aren't just average homeless people," he said. "These people have jobs. They have families. They have so many things that we have. But it's just something that the cards that they were dealt, they were just not lucky. These aren't just people on the side of the street with their hand out. These people are continually trying to help themselves. But sometimes they get the short end of the stick."

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And then read some more notes and quotes from interview with Newton and defensive coordinator Ted Roof:

• Newton, like Nick Fairley, said he hasn't submitted his name to the NFL draft advisory committee, which assesses where a player might be selected in the draft should he declare early. “I don’t think we got around to that,” Newton said. “Honestly, I’m not even really focused on that right now. I still have one game to accomplish and I think everything else will fall into place.” He doesn't have too much time to think about it after the BCS title game. The deadline to declare is Jan. 15, although players can withdraw their names by Jan. 18.

• Newton has gotten a haul of awards this offseason. He just hasn't received them yet. "I don't got nuthin'," he said. "People have been mentioning awards and this and this and that, so if you're out there and you're listening to this, I want my award." (He said this while pointing at the cameras. Jokingly, of course.)

• Newton's take on Oregon's defense? "This is one of the teams that has blitzed more than any team we have seen on film," he said. "Not only do they blitz but they have so many packages that can be very confusing for the opposing offense. They play so many people."

• Informed that offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has said Newton's footwork has gotten better, the quarterback said he never hears about it. "Coach Malzahn never tells me any of the good things, man. Never," he said. "This is always new to me to hear a positive from coach Malzahn, but without coach Malzahn I wouldn't be where I am right now and I think we all know that."

• Newton hasn't lost much in his career. The last one came a little over a year ago while at Blinn College. "Navarro Junior College. Halloween 2009. I'll never forget it. We lost by four points."

• Roof talked plenty about the pace of practice. How fast is it? "Fast," he said. (OK, glad we cleared that up.) But the important part comes in communication. "You've got to do that because you've got to get into a fatigue position and then you have to be able to function and communicate," he said. "That's what they do -- they limit your time to process formations and the pre-snap information that some teams give you. You have to process the information faster. You have to communicate. It's tougher communication. It's tough for communication and to get our guys to talk when they're uncomfortable."

• That puts some pressure on the coaches to be ready too. That means having calls in mind for the next play before it happens, something Roof, as a rule, likes to try to do anyway. "We're going to get quick calls to them," he said. "If you're waiting to get the perfect deal, they're going to snap the ball and somebody is going to be running free. A big deal is getting yourself alignment and everybody putting their eyes where they're supposed to be and everybody playing the same call. As elementary as that seems, that's a big deal."

• It helps to have senior Josh Bynes at middle linebacker. "His role and what he's done for us is really special," Roof said. "He's a guy who studies the game. He's a guy that keeps things, the poise comes from the middle. He keeps us poised on the field -- along with some other guys. To get everybody on the right situation. As a coach, I value that tremendously. He's an extension of us on the field."

• So Bynes thinks like Roof, right? "That would be kinda scary, huh?" Roof said. "I feel very fortunate to have coached him."

• Roof's heard the haters of his defense. He doesn't really care. "I could spin statistics to make things look one way," he said. "Somebody else could spin them to look another way. This is a bottom-line business. The bottom line is that we have to do what we have to do to win football games. Up to this point, we've done that. There were some games where people said: 'Wow, they played great.' The tape says: Eh. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle."

• The coaching staff has watched a ton of game tape. They started by watching from the start of the season to the finish. Then they do cut-ups, which organizes plays into situations. "You get an overall flavor of how they want to attack things," he said.

• That's a lot of plays to devour. Over 900 in fact. "They can do anything in games – they can’t do it all – but they can do anything," Roof said. "When you have this much time, you have to prepare for it all. That’s the good and the bad news with bowl games. Usually you do a four-game breakdown. You’ve got your 350-or-whatever plays, and you base your game plan on that. Now, we’re up to the gazillions. There’s good and bad with it. There’s a different theme for each game, and we’re just going to have to wait and see what it is and adjust to it and keep going."

• Roof thinks the exposure from being in the national title game has helped recruiting considerably. "It unlocks a couple of doors that were shut," he said.

• Granted, there are some tradeoffs. The Tigers essentially lost two weeks of recruiting (one during the SEC championship week and one next week, when they are in Arizona practicing). "I would trade a week of it if you’re playing for a championship any time," Roof said. "When you win championships, it helps your recruiting for the 20 high schools you could have been in because of the exposure you get and being a champion."

Here's a video from this afternoon's interviews with linebacker Josh Bynes, defensive end Nosa Eguae and cornerback T'Sharvan Bell. Minor editing problems again. (I swear I'll get the software figure out soon enough.) Enjoy it anyway.

I'll be back with more a little later. Ted Roof and Cam Newton are on the interview docket.

One player came to mind when Auburn linebacker Josh Bynes and defensive tackle Zach Clayton were asked to think of someone similar to Oregon's LaMichael James — West Virginia's Noel Devine.

"They're like replicas of each other," Bynes said.

That's true of their size. James, the Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman finalist who led the nation with 1,682 rushing yards, is 5-foot-9, 185 pounds.

Devine, who torched Auburn for 335 yards and four touchdowns in two games in 2008 and '09, is 5-foot-8, 180.

But it's more than their size that's similar. It's their tenacity.

"Just the way they run, the way they handle their game for their size," Bynes said. "They take a lot of big hits and just keep on moving."

The Tigers will go into the BCS title game with a stout rushing defense that allows 111.7 rushing yards per game, which ranks 11th nationally.

But they realize James is a threat to go the distance on every play.

"If he breaks free and gets through there, that's a touchdown," Bynes said. "I think he's definitely going to be the one we're going to have to stop."

"He's the motor for the offense," defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker said. "I think everybody knows that."

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Here are some more notes and quotes from today's pre-practice player interviews:

• The NCAA has been in the business of statements lately and felt prompted to do so today, following the Ohio State ruling recently. The crux of the statement? The NCAA doesn't play favorites. It clarified (for some reason) that Cam Newton was not suspended because no actual extra benefits were received. Had Newton's father received money, even if Cam didn't know, he would have been suspended. I feel like everyone knew this already.

• Defensive tackle Nick Fairley said he hasn't submitted his name to the NFL draft advisory board, which assesses where an underclassmen might go in the draft should he declare a year early. Fairley, who won the Associated Press' SEC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league in sacks and tackles for a loss, is a projected top-10 pick in some mock drafts. "I haven’t even thought about it, to be real, you know what I'm saying?" he said. Underclassmen must declare for the NFL draft by Jan. 15, although they have until Jan. 18 to withdraw their names.

• What would be a positive about coming back for his senior year? "Staying around these guys another year," Fairley said. "The Auburn family, the love they show. That would be a plus for me."
  

• Fairley said facing Oregon's fast offense will be tough, especially from a conditioning standpoint. "It’s very hard. You get tired," he said. "You try to catch wind while they running the plays. You probably take a couple plays off."

• DE Nosa Eguae, on how he approached the season: "What we said at the beginning of the season, we wanted to make sure that this season is memorable for the seniors, because it’s their last go around. As far as us young guys, we just want to make sure we can keep going out there and doing what we have to do, just make sure we keep getting wins and send those seniors off right."

• Oregon runs a lot of read options, meaning it will be an important game for the defensive ends. "You really have to listen to your coaches, play your technique and go out there and play pretty much a perfect game, because they’re reading you every play," Eguae said.

• The key? About every defensive player that came in today had the same answer. "You definitely have to get aligned," Eguae said. "It’s all about getting in your alignment and making sure everybody’s on the same page. When people are on different pages, that’s when mistakes happen. That’s when big plays happen with their offense."

• As reported earlier, Auburn has added pace periods to its practices to get used to Oregon's speed. T'Sharvan Bell said it helps, especially to get in the mindset of playing that fast. "You know, every nine seconds it’s kind of hard to play with great technique, hard to get lined up and get the call," he said. "So it’s just a big learning process for us right now and I think by the time the 10th comes we’ll have it down to where we need to have it."

• Bell on Oregon's receivers: "They’ve got good receivers across the board. They do a great job of catching the ball in open space and getting up the field. They’re not really guys that just try to make you miss, they get what they can get and that’s all to it. I think they’ve got a good wide receiver coach, they run good routes, they block probably the best I’ve seen of any opponent downfield this year. I think it’s going to be a big key for us getting off the blocks of the receivers when it’s time to."
  

• Bynes is kind of sick of hearing about how Auburn's defense is lacking. "We're not worrying what everyone is saying about our defense," he said. "We're going to go out there and play football regardless. Because at the end of the day, it's all going to be settled in between those white lines."

• Bynes said Auburn's opponents went away from their tendencies a lot this year, which is why the Tigers struggled so much early in games. "When we figure out what they're doing in the first half, the second half we go out there and just be dominant," he said. "That's why we've been efficient in the second half. ... I think guys just went out there and fought their behinds off for four quarters. It might not have looked good for one or two quarters, maybe three, but in the fourth quarter, some way, somehow we found a way to win and get the victory. We've got guys on this team who are willing to fight adversity, to do the things that we've been doing all year is insane."

• Whitaker didn't play a whole lot this year, but he got his feet wet, which will be important next year. If Fairley enters the draft, he could be in a prominent role, with Clayton and Mike Blanc graduating. "I'm learning how to be a great leader," he said. "I'm learning how to be a great player. I'm learning how to be a great champion."

• Has Auburn's success made an impact on potential recruits? DE Corey Lemonier thinks so. "It does because it shows that we’re winning and it shows that freshmen can come in and play so that helps us in recruiting," he said, "entice them even more to come here.”

• T-Bell summed up a point special teams coordinator Jay Boulware made in a meeting this week: "Everybody is saying we’re going to try to win the national championship, but the question he asked us is what are we going to do to win the national championship. So I think that’s the question now — what are we going to do? Going to go the extra mile and do whatever you can, have no regrets."

Here's a video from tonight's interviews. It's got head coach Gene Chizik, right guard Byron Isom and wide receivers Kodi Burns. Gus Malzahn declined to show up for interviews, which probably would have been entertaining. This is what you get instead. Enjoy.

Auburn returned to the practice field Tuesday night to resume preparations for its Bowl Championship Series title game matchup with Oregon.

There was no rust this time.

A day after reporting to campus for weight-lifting and conditioning, the Tigers had a two-hour workout in shells at the school’s soccer complex, their first time on the practice field since Dec. 22.

“I thought it was a really, really good first day back,” head coach Gene Chizik said. “I really thought today was very energetic. I thought the focus was there. It was probably one of the better practices we’ve had so far.”

After winning the SEC championship game against South Carolina, Auburn had two weeks off before resuming practice, accumulating considerable rust during the downtime.

“You could tell we hadn’t practiced for two weeks,” safety Zac Etheridge said.

But the four days of practice the Tigers had before the holiday break got them back in the flow of the game. There was no adjustment period Tuesday.

“It really felt like we just got right back on track,” right guard Byron Isom said. “It was actually a different tempo at practice today. It wasn’t that sluggish, first-practice-back tempo.”

It was the first of five on-campus practices Auburn has before flying out to Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 3. The week will be a balancing act for the Tigers.

“We’re going to continue to have some physical days as we continue through this week for sure,” Chizik said. “That’s just the way we need to practice.

“Obviously, as we get closer to true game week it will turn into more of that. But right now, we need the physicality in practice. We need the high tempo, the fast pace in practice, so we need to keep on that pace. ...

"They need to be ready to play on the 10th. Anything before or after is not helpful.”

By the time Auburn and Oregon meet, 37 days will have passed since the Tigers’ last game. To put that in perspective, that’s longer than the entirety of Auburn’s spring drills last April and March.

“It’s a lot of time off, and you can get distracted by a lot of things,” Etheridge said. “But I think a lot of guys’ mindset will be right and we’ll be ready to play.”

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Not a great night for notes (well, other than the Malzahn news). Here are a few items, though:

• Chizik had nothing new to report on the academic front, saying there are still “a couple issues that we’re working through.” He declined to get into any specifics or mention names. Auburn’s last day of classes was Dec. 3, with final exams wrapping up Dec. 13. “If the roster changes at (any) point in time we’ll let you know,” he said.

• Chizik celebrated his 49th birthday Tuesday, although he declined to give reporters the scoop about how he planned to celebrate. Jokingly asked where the party was and if reporters were invited, Chizik didn’t bite. “It depends on how many of you brought gifts and where the party’s at,” he said.

• Bowl games are usually filled with fun activities, although when the BCS title is on the line, it's probably harder to do things of that nature. "I’m always into saying the same thing in terms of balancing working, doing your job and having fun," Chizik said. "This is the game of a lifetime. There’s no question there’s a lot at stake. In the same sense you have to give them a chance to enjoy the week, enjoy the fruits of their labor. There’s a fine line in there.”

• Is there SEC pride in the title game? Yup. "We definitely feel like we;re taking the SEC on our back into the national championship game," Isom said.

• Players had some good things to say about WR coach Trooper Taylor. "You can walk by his office anytime," Isom said. "If you don't come in and say something to him or sit down with him, he'll let you know about it. He wants to talk to you and spend time with everybody. He treats everybody equally."

• Etheridge's take on Trooper: "He's always excited. You hear him every day in practice. You know he's there. Every day he walks in, you know he's in the building."

• Is Trooper ever relaxed? "Never," Isom said. "I've never seen him subdued at all."

• Isom on QB Cam Newton's huddle presence: "In practice he does (joke around). In the games, once we have it pretty much squared away, he'll give you a little more joking out there. He's usually pretty much all-around focused on the job at hand. South Carolina game, we had a play where I had pulled out front. He had some words to say afterward. I remember us laughing. It was a good time."

• Isom said Newton isn't afraid to say what needs to be said. "If he feels, just like the coaches, we all expect production from everybody," Isom said. "You don't get to a point in this season without expecting everybody's best. If someone's no producing like we feel he should, (Cam) is definitely one to jump on him. It's all constructive."

• Players said Chizik wants the players to be aware that they're playing for the national championship, so he puts it out there. "Like coach Chiz said, just make sure you've got your mind set that you're playing for it," Etheridge said. "Don't let it hit you when you get to Arizona."

• We asked Kodi Burns to do his impersonations of Malzahn, Chizik and Co. He politely declined. "I'm not in the mood," he said. "But, yeah, I do do a good one."

• He did say Malzahn and Chizik are his best and that he doesn't shy away from doing them. "I'll do it in front of them," he said. "I really don’t care. (Malzahn) calls me Funny Man, as a joke, being sarcastic. I'm just that kind of person, so it really doesn't matter, whoever's watching."

Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said Tuesday there are "possibilities" Maryland has spoken with offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn about its soon-to-be-vacant head coaching position.

Comcast SportsNet Washington reported Tuesday that Maryland athletics director Kevin Anderson and his search committee has met with several candidates to replace Ralph Friedgen, whose final contract year was bought out by the school last week.

The report said Malzahn, former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and SMU head coach June Jones have met with the committee.

Chizik said no one from Maryland had contacted him about talking with Malzahn, the Tigers' second-year coordinator who reportedly turned down the Vanderbilt job earlier this month and received a substantial raise from Auburn.

But asked if anyone from Maryland had interviewed Malzahn, Chizik said there's a chance.

"To the best of my knowledge, there are possibilities of contact," Chizik said. "I have not talked to anybody personally but there is a possibility of contact. Again, without me giving any details, because I don't have any, I'll kind of say the same thing I did about academics: when I know more, I'll let you know."

Malzahn was scheduled to speak to reporters Tuesday night but did not show up.

On Dec. 20, Maryland bought out the final year of the contract of Ralph Friedgen for close to $2 million. The 10th-year coach will be on the sideline for his final game with the Terrapins tomorrow in the Military Bowl against East Carolina.

Malzahn, who strongly considered an offer from Vanderbilt two weeks ago, is set to receive a $1 million salary from Auburn next season, with a chance at $300,000 in incentives.

Vanderbilt ended up hiring James Franklin, who was Maryland's offensive coordinator and designated coach-in-waiting behind Friedgen.

UPDATE: Jones did meet with Maryland, his agent confirms, but he has withdrawn his name from consideration.

I had a great holiday break in Richmond, Va., complete with about six inches of snow. It was the perfect kind. Looks good on Christmas; off the roads two days later when I had to drive back. I hope everyone else's time off was just as enjoyable.

Auburn is on a break until Dec. 28 and so am I, getting some vacation time in with my fiancee's family in Richmond, Va. Here's hoping the projected snowstorm on Christmas day isn't too bad.

I put up some quick notes before. Here's some longer ones now that we've typed out some quotes:

• Head coach Gene Chizik on what Auburn did before the holiday break: "We wanted to get back to the fundamentals of football — blocking and tackling. It wasn't so much scheming although we looked at some general things. For the most part, we were trying to get back into the flow of fundamental football. We felt like we needed to get in the swing of things. That's what we've done for the past four games. We've still got some improving we can do, we can have."

• Can you blow your conditioning in one five-day break? "I hope not," Chizik said. "You probably could, but I hope not. It's like anything else: These guys have to be different than anybody else out there. They've got to always keep in mind what they have at stake that nobody else has at stake. We've got to hope they understand that. The next four or five days when they go home and they're around all their friends and nobody has the same thing riding on it, they need to remember it."

• Auburn has added some pace drills at the end of its practices, trying to run a play in under 10 seconds. It's both for conditioning and to prepare for Oregon's fast-paced attack. “It’s really important," defensive coordinator Ted Roof. "You can talk about it all you want but until you do it, you don’t get it. But to have the ability to get your people aligned, formation recognition, because that’s what that tempo does to you. So many times teams just turn to survival mode and just line up be somewhere close to the right spot. All that stuff has to happen quicker. That’s where it puts the stress on you and the only way to do it is to practice it, like most things.”

• The Tigers have also added some scrimmage time to the most recent set of practices to get the younger players some looks. "We've got a lot of our redshirt guys in there playing," Chizik said. "We probably went 15-20 plays today; probably a little more yesterday. They like it. It's fun for them."

• Auburn's defense gets a bad rap for where it ranks nationally, but Chizik thinks the group has made strides. "There's times when we didn't play as well as we would have liked," he said. "If you go back and look at the whole thing, from beginning to end, there were a lot of things we accomplished defensively. When it was time to step up and make plays, we had to have plays, they've done it. Whether it was a stop, whether it was an interception, we've been able to do that."

• A couple of juniors (Cam Newton, Nick Fairley in particular) will have to make a decision about entering the NFL Draft. Chizik said he'll talk with them about it at the appropriate time, but he hasn't done so yet. "We're focused on one goal," he said. "That's everybody on the team, and that is to go out to Arizona and win. All those other things, those discussions, will have a lot of merit at the right time."

• Gus Malzahn's take on Oregon's defense: "They’re very aggressive. They play a lot of people so they stay fresh. They play extremely hard, they gang tackle. And their scheme really helps them out too. They’re a big pressure team out of the odd front. And really I think their defense compliments their offense. They’re used to playing a lot of plays. They don’t slow down and they get better as the game goes on."

• Roof watched every Oregon game this year to get some insight to how teams defended the Ducks. But he's not going to overhaul Auburn's defense for the BCS title game. "You can’t reinvent the wheel and do things you haven’t done before," he said. "Because you’ve got to do what you do. But at the same time, things that you pick up, how they do things, how they block certain things, factor into it. You can’t just scrap what you’ve done and what you’ve got so many reps in because we’re all creatures of habit. We’ve got so many reps in what we do to be able to pick and choose from what we’ve done in the past what might be applicable to this offense.”

• Roof, on the similarities between Auburn and Oregon's offenses. "The big similarities are that they score a lot of points and go up and down the field really fast. But there are some things within the spread that are constant with most spread teams with obviously each team having their own variation of it.”

• Lots of praise for Oregon RB LaMichael James. "I tell you it’s like he goes through the eye of the needle sometimes with some of his cuts," Roof said. "You’re watching the end zone tape and there’s absolutely no hole there. All of sudden, here comes this guy squirting out of there who goes 80 yards. He’s a guy who stays alive, keeps his feet moving and as he moves laterally, looks for creases. When he sees a crease, he hits it, and people don’t catch him. But I can tell you how durable he is and how physical he is. You can see that he’s really, really competitive on tape. We have a lot of respect for him.”

• Malzahn was proud of longtime protege and graduate assistant Rhett Lashlee, who agreed to be Samford’s offensive coordinator earlier this week. Then he remembered that Auburn plays Samford next season. “The stress level has already kicked in for me,” Malzahn joked. “He knows all the signals.”

• The 27-year-old Lashlee has been at Malzahn’s side for years. He played at Shiloh Christian High in Arkansas, where, under Malzahn’s tutelage, he finished as the national record holder for touchdown passes in a prep career with 171. Lashlee walked on at Arkansas and served as a GA to Malzahn in his one year as the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator in 2006. After a two-year stint as a marketing director for VYPE Magazine in Arkansas, Lashlee re-joined Malzahn as a GA at Auburn prior to last season. “He’s got a great mind, he’s going to be a great coach,” Malzahn said. “His best days are ahead of him. I ask a lot of him. He’s not a normal GA.”

• Lashlee plays a prominent role in the Tigers’ sideline operation, in charge of the communication. He aids in the game planning and helps serve as a conduit to the quarterbacks. “He can relate to the quarterbacks away from me about what I’m like, how I work,” Malzahn said. Lashlee will stay on staff through the BCS title game. “I don’t want him thinking about that other job either,” Malzahn said. “He will be locked in ready to go.”

A few editing glitches (and lighting issues) exist, but I'm getting closer to understanding how this new software works. But here's a video of this morning's interviews anyway. It's got head coach Gene Chizik, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and defensive coordinator Ted Roof.

Add another award to Cam Newton's postseason haul.

Newton was named the Associated Press' Player of the Year on Wednesday.

Newton received 51 first-place votes from the 60-member AP panel. Boise State's Kellen Moore was second with three. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck was third with two. Four ballots were unreturned.

Newton has won the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien and Maxwell awards. He also was named Walter Camp player of the year.

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Only got head coach Gene Chizik, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and defensive coordinator Ted Roof today. Here are a few quick notes:

• After four practices, Auburn goes back on a break for the holidays. The Tigers practiced Wednesday morning and won't be back on the field until Dec. 28. "They'll spend some times with their families, which is well-deserved and needed," Chizik said. "And we'll come back and be ready to crank it up again."

• Auburn had two weeks off before resuming practice last Saturday. There was a little bit of rust, which the coaches said they knocked off pretty quick. Now, they have another five-day break. "We'll have to get after it when we come back," Malzahn said. "I think our guys understand that. We have another break. Our goal when we come back is to be locked and loaded and get them back in playing shape. I think after those two weeks these four practices have been pretty good. We'll have to be the same once we come back."

• Still no news on the academic front. Chizik said he doesn't know when all the information would be in to make any decisions if players have eligibility issues.

• Graduate assistant Rhett Lashlee, who played for Malzahn in high school, recently took the job as Samford's offensive coordinator. Malzahn called him a great coach with a bright future. "His best days are ahead of him," Malzahn said.

• Malzahn had some pause, though. "We play him next year. So the stress level's already kicked in. He knows all the signals," Malzahn joked. Lashlee will stay on the staff through the BCS title game.

• Roof on Oregon RB LaMichael James' ability to get through a hole that's not very big: "It's like he goes through the eye of a needle sometimes."

Here's a video from tonight's interviews with wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor and safeties coach Tommy Thigpen. Only one minor editing glitch at the end. Improvement!

Enjoy. Auburn has one more practice tomorrow morning before taking a break for the holiday.

Ladarious Phillips played on both sides of the ball in high school. The Tigers are seeing if the 6-foot, 291-pound freshman can do the same at the college level next year.

Phillips, a fullback who redshirted this year after suffering an ankle injury on the eve of the season, got a look as a defensive lineman Tuesday at practice, with an eye on the future, not the BCS national title game.

“He moved around,” defensive line coach Tracy Rocker said. “He may be on both sides of the ball. We got a look at everybody today. You’ve got to help the team.

“He may end up back up on offense, but we looked at him on defense today. He made a play, but he’s got a long way to go.”

Phillips was a load to take down as a running back at Handley High in Roanoke, Ala., finishing with 2,982 yards and 49 touchdowns in his prep career. That’s where the Tigers originally planned for him to help this year, before an ankle injury set him on a course to redshirt.

But he also played defensive line in high school, a position of need for Auburn next season. Tackles Mike Blanc and Zach Clayton both graduate and All-American Nick Fairley is likely to throw his name into the NFL Draft pool a year early.

“He looks like a real defensive lineman now,” Rocker said. “I like him as a player and I think he’s going to be a good player on either side of the ball. I feel good about it.”

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Here are more notes and quotes from Tuesday night's interviews:

• Auburn had a two-hour workout at the soccer complex Tuesday night. It was the second straight day the team went in full pads. "Today’s practice was actually better than the first couple,” wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor. “I think it took a little while. I know everybody talks about rust but you have to get back out there and get into the swing of things. We were back on pace, getting it where we want it. Today was a lot similar or closer to a game. Guys were flying around and they were really attentive.”

• Auburn's older players still get flashback to practicing on the intramural fields when they go across the street to the soccer complex. Former coach Tommy Tuberville used to hold two-a-days over there. "I used to hate those days on that intramural fields," linebacker Craig Stevens said. "Two-a-days, no shade, potholes. Killing me.”

• Trooper said the biggest challenge is keeping players on the ball during the long layoff. "I think the biggest thing is that the team that manages the decision-making between now and then, whose guys will be on the team by the time you get to the bowl game, who's not going to be on the bottom of that ticker," he said. "Who's going to make sure they're making good choices when they're at home and not here with us. Things like that. I think that's going to be the big difference. And it may be how much an offensive lineman eats when he's not around you. Obviously coach (Jeff) Grimes is on top of them every day, but when they go home for Christmas, who's really going to push away from that turkey or from that pie? You have to make sure that your decision making, your choices, is something that's going to help us win this championship. If you're not doing that, you're probably setting us back."

• Safeties coach Tommy Thigpen is incredibly impressed by Oregon's offense. He separately referred to the Ducks' speed, running game, quarterback athleticism, perimeter running, passing and fast-paced offense as being as good as Auburn will see this year. The pace really stands out. "You're gassed," he said. "They run you, they run you, they run you, then all of a sudden you're eyes start looking in the backfield and then guys are running down the field wide open. You see that every week."

• As a result, conditioning will be a focus. Rocker said it always is. "The deal up front is we condition year around," he said. "We’ve been conditioning since the beginning of the season so for us it’s nothing new. When I walk out there they all know what we’re going to do. It’s nothing new to them. It’s just making sure that at the speed of the game – at their pace –it’s going to be important that we get lined up. If we can get lined up, we can play. If out there running around with our heads cut off, it could be ugly.

• Thigpen on Oregon RB LaMichael James: "One minute there's a hole about that small, and then he slices right through it. He don't need much space. This guy can be full speed going on the zone, what we call the outside zone, he puts the breaks on and be vertical, and be zero to 100 in three steps."

• Thigpen on Ducks QB Darron Thomas: "It'll create a lot of different challenges for us because do you hold, when you're playing that edge, do you lose him on contain, do you play him on the zone. It's a nightmare to try to defend him. Then he sits back and throws as good of a ball as you're going to see."

• That's not to overlook Oregon's defense, which gets lots in the shuffle with the offensive fireworks the Ducks put up. "The first word is athletic. They're not on the ground," Taylor said. "Their secondary's as athletic as anybody I've ever seen, because they've got speed. They can make up ground. They may make you think you're open and the next thing you know they've closed. ... You'd better not tip a ball up in the air against this team. It will be picked off.

• Rocker said freshman DE Justin Delaine got some looks Tuesday as well. Delaine redshirted this year.

• Taylor said WR Trovon Reed (knee) hasn't practiced since suffering a knee injury that's kept him out for all but two plays this year. Because he hasn't practiced and was injured so early in the season, Reed is eligible for a medical redshirt. Auburn would need to petition the NCAA to get the year back.

• More than one person has now identified senior WR Kodi Burns as being the best at doing impressions of coaches. "He's really good. It's sickening," Taylor said. "He's got the (Gus) Malzahn, and you would think it was Gus if you just close your eyes and listen. He's got coach Chizik, and I'm sure he's got me too. If you've got a role on this team ... The best one he probably does is Yox (strength coach Kevin Yoxall). He doesn't want Yox to find out. Sorry, Kodi. No, he's really good. His personality brings a lot to our meeting room. He's fun to be around. He also understands when it's time to work, it's time to work."

• Talked turned to superstitions today. Lots of players have them. "Not as bad as (Lee) Ziemba," left guard Mike Berry said. "He even gets superstitious with other people. If you tell him you did something before a game and we got a win, you've got to do the same thing around him the next week. It's the worst case I've ever seen."

• But Trooper said there is a big-time superstition that goes on with running backs coach Curtis Luper and his pants before every game. He declined to give specifics. Any theories out there for what it could be?

• Berry was asked to rank the top Cam Newton plays this year: he said the Ole Miss touchdown catch, the weaving touchdown run against LSU and the Superman dive into the end zone against South Carolina.

• Berry said he watched the Heisman ceremony on TV. "Grimes sent me a text right after that was like: You'll forever be a big part of the Heisman," Berry said. "It was cool. I think he very much deserved it. Being able to help him achieve that is a big deal."

• Berry said the offensive linemen are good enough friends, but he doesn't go out hunting like Ziemba and center Ryan Pugh. "Noooo. I don't do woods," Berry said. "Neither does Ice (Byron Isom). It's not like I'm the biggest city guy. They're going out there at 4 o'clock in the morning and they wash their clothes in this non-scented stuff. That's too much. Then they said they get up in trees. I don't do heights. That's not me."

• A broken ankle suffered against Arkansas on Oct. 16 ended safety Aairon Savage’s career. The sixth-year senior had battled back from ACL and Achilles’ injuries, but a third round of rehab proved to be too much. “He says, ‘Coach, it’s not the surgery that gets me, it’s the rehab that’s killing me,’” Thigpen said. “And if you’ve ever gone through one rehab, from an ACL to a Achilles’, most guys would understand that going through one is challenging, two is almost impossible and the third one we all understand.”

• Savage has stayed with the team, however, helping out on the sidelines when he can. He’s talked about being a coach in the future, something Thigpen said he has “a passion” for. “He’s still getting the joy of being on the sideline and knowing he contributed to where we are right now,” Thigpen said.

• Oregon’s Chip Kelly edged BCS title game counterpart Gene Chizik for Associated Press Coach of the Year honors Tuesday. Kelly, Oregon’s second-year coach, received 24 of 55 first-place votes. Chizik was second with 17. Kelly, whose Ducks went 12-0 this season, has already been named the recipient of the Eddie Robinson, Sporting News and Walter Camp national coach of the year awards.

• Auburn’s players already picked out their gifts for the bowl game. They chose from a list of items that each had an assigned point value. Their merchandise was capped at eight points. Berry picked out a sound bar for his TV (5 points) and a new iHome (3 points). “Eight was a (PlayStation) 3. I’ve already got one of those,” he said. “The HD camera, too. It was real nice, but it’s just a camera.”Stevens went with the PS3. “Just used all my points on that one,” he said. “I figured it was worth it.” A reporter jokingly asked if there was a Lamborghini on the list. “Lamborghini? I ain’t see that,” he said. “Must have been 20 points.”

• Stevens is from Tallahassee, Fla. He'll be heading back there soon for Christmas break, and probably will talk a little junk to his friends. "Yeah," he said. "I’m going to wear all my (Auburn) stuff when I go back this time.”

• Before he left, Stevens, Trooper and special teams coach Jay Boulware all made reference to "Craigin'." It's in reference to how Stevens stood out in a drill. "Just 2-gap and drive, just manhandling somebody," Stevens said. "That’s Craigin’.”

Here's a video from today's pre-practice interviews. Didn't completely iron out the editing kinks. The software is brutal to use. But I'm getting closer.

This one's got head coach Gene Chizik, quarterback Cam Newton, running back Mike Dyer and tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen.

Freshman running back Mike Dyer hoped to play in a national championship game sometime during his career at Auburn. He didn't know the opportunity would come so fast, though.

"I just wanted to come in here and be part of something special," Dyer said. "I think that we are and I think our team has just done a tremendous job of winning and coming back for wins. There's a lot of things that happened this year for a freshman and I'm just really happy to be in this position and coming out and play for a national championship my first year."

It's been more than two weeks since the Tigers found out they would play Oregon in the BCS national championship game in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 10.

The ides is still sinking in with most of them.

"It's something that I haven't really sat down and thought about it," redshirt freshman defensive end Nosa Eguae said. "Being able to play in the biggest game in my career and and pretty much everybody's career, I mean, it's the Super Bowl of college football. It's something that's going to be big and that I'm looking forward to."

Head coach Gene Chizik said this is the goal of every team in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Getting here is a boon to the team's exposure.

"I think it’s obvious what it does for your program in terms of exposure, in terms of young guys saying, ‘Wow, this is a place that is going to have a chance to be in contention. This is a team that’s in a great league that’s on the rise,'" he said.

"I think it helps in every way, shape and form for our program, both the players that are here and the ones that are considering coming. I think it’s huge.”

Auburn's not getting overwhelmed by the moment, though.

“Coach (Gus) Malzahn always says, ‘The moment can never be too big for a player to make a play,’" quarterback Cam Newton said. " We have to believe that as much as anything for this game. It’s probably the biggest game of everybody’s career right now, but we can’t look at it as if it’s something with that great magnitude. We just have to go out and play Auburn football like we’ve been playing every week in the past.”

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Here are some more notes and quotes from Monday's interviews:

• Plenty of praise for Oregon all around Monday. "Just getting a chance to look at them again more and more as the days go by, it becomes increasingly clear that this is not a good team but a great team," Chizik said. "We have our work cut out for us."

• The Ducks play fast. So does Auburn's offense (sometimes). This might help the Tigers in their preparation. "It’ll be one of those things we’re practicing for right now," defensive tackle Zach Clayton said. "Obviously we go against our offense when they do their pace. It’s similar in a lot of aspects, but you don’t quite get the feel for the pace just watching film. You see a couple teams that won’t be quite lined up when they’re ready to snap the ball and everything. Obviously they’ve got a pretty good pace, and it’s worked well for them this season. It’s something we’ll definitely have to watch out for.”

• How does Auburn combat it? "They make sure that the stuff that we can handle, as far as being in shape and doing those type of things, making sure we're aligned and we know our assignment and we communicate," Eguae said. "That's stuff I think you can take care of before the game even starts. So that's stuff we try to make sure we stay oempo is fast but it's stuff that we have seen, so we know. I feel we have to come out there and n top of and make sure we can handle."

• Dyer on what he thinks his first carry will be like: "It's going to be an anxious moment. I'm ready to just go out there and just play hard, just try to get about 4 yards."

• Apparently Lache Seastrunk, a highly ranked running back recruit last year, is playing Dyer on Oregon's scout team. The two got to know each other well during the recruiting process. "It's the same thing about Marcus Lattimore, going against him in the championship," Dyer said. "This is even better. It's just one of those things where top running backs seem to play each other in special games. It's just fun right now."

• Tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen has lined up in a blocking position, almost as another tackle, in many situations this year. "You're not getting a running start like you do from the fullback spot, getting to get some momentum," he said. "You've just got to brace in for the d-lineman coming at you from the get-go." Lutzenkirchen was mostly a receiving threat when he arrived. Could he have handled such a role two years ago? "Not at all," he said.

• Here's how Lutzenkirchen identified his position: "I'd say a tight end. If you look in the NFL now, there's a tight end and then there's kind of an H-back guy that's in motion and kicking out ends. I feel like I'm kind of a combo of those two."

• Chizik commented about unscrupulous NFL agents contacting potential draft-bound players. What's the key to preventing it? "Education," he said. "That’s what we have to do. We have to educate them, and they have to have a commitment and an allegiance to the people on their football team, to their university, to their coaches. It’s just that simple. We have to educate them, and they have to do what’s right and it’s no more difficult than that.”

• The offensive players were obviously glad to get Malzahn back for at least another year. "I think he's going to probably spend another year here and then probably weigh his options," Dyer said. "But he's a real great guy. I really appreciate all the hard work he's put in and we just kind of support him either way."

• Dyer said Malzahn is a perfectionist. "If the play he called doesn't work, and he drew it up, he's going to go back and fix it," he said. "I think he's going to be a little harder on himself than normal coaches. I think he's been that way through his whole lifetime. I've seen him getting upset about a marker not working because he needed a marker so he could draw a play up. It's just little things that you'll be like shocked, because it's easy to get another marker. But he wanted that marker. He's a great guy. We just love him, because he cares about us and about the game."

• Lutzenkirchen on Malzahn: "When coach took us to the water park, he was just going around on the rides talking to people about football, picking people out and telling them what they did wrong on this or what they did wrong on that and how to get better. He's definitely an interesting personality where he is just always on his business."

• Auburn has a long layoff until the game, which doesn't take place until Jan. 10. That's a 37-day break from the Tigers' last game. "As far as being that far off from the next game, you just have to stay focused," Eguae said. "It does no good to be ready to play right now. Just remain focused and make sure we stay on top of our keys and we know the game will come, and it will come faster than we expect."