I'll be out of town one more day tending to a family matter (Auburn's off today anyway), but I did pre-write an Eltoro Freeman story for today's newspaper.

Of course, when you pre-write something, it's inevitable that the player gets hurt before the story runs. Freeman had his right foot in a boot and missed Thursday's practice with what he called turf toe. Doesn't sound serious, but it's still not encouraging for Auburn.

Anyway, here's how the story starts.

AUBURN, Ala. — Perhaps the hype was too much, the anticipation too great, the expectations too high.

Linebacker Eltoro Freeman, an instant fan favorite for his energetic comments, massive biceps and catchy nickname (“The Bull”), was pegged for greatness before he ever stepped onto the Plains.

So when success didn’t come instantly, he slipped into a spiral of self doubt that derailed most of his season.

No, 2009 didn’t go exactly as Freeman planned, but he wouldn’t change it one bit.

“I don’t think it was a lost year,” he said. “I learned a lot from the ’09 year, mentally, how to handle things. … If I could change ’09, I wouldn’t. I would want it to be the way that it happened. I think that made me the person and the player that I am today.”

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I'll be back tomorrow for both of Auburn's practices.