AUBURN, Ala. — If everything goes to plan Saturday against Louisiana Tech, Auburn will use as few offensive linemen as it can and as many defensive linemen as it has on the two-deep.

Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said if it’s a competitive game, he would prefer to keep his veteran starting five in tact, rather than dipping into his relatively inexperienced backups.

His top three reserves, in no particular order, are oft-injured center Bart Eddins, freshman guard John Sullen and converted tight end Vance Smith at tackle.

“Offensive line is sometimes musical chairs,” Grimes said. “You might move someone else over in order to get the next best guy in the game, but then you might feel like this guy can handle a defensive end so you don’t want to move this guard. There could be some shuffling going on based on the situation.”

Despite having two true freshmen (Nosa Eguae, Dee Ford) as his backup ends, defensive line coach Tracy Rocker is taking an opposite tack. Asked who he would like to get on the field, he didn’t leave any wiggle room.

“All of them,” he said. “Everybody plays. I don’t where, I just know everybody plays. The biggest thing is, just play hard. Play hard and do your best.”

Rocker doesn’t want to give his youngsters a short leash, either.

“You don’t want the kid all of a sudden, if he makes a mistake, to get frustrated and lose his spirit — that’s the thing I don’t want,” Rocker said. “But I keep stressing, ‘You’re going to be fine. Just keep battling and battling and we’ll see what happens.’”

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• That picture, by Todd Van Emst, is of the new banners hanging on the back of the scoreboards at Jordan-Hare Stadium. There are banners of Bo Jackson, Pat Sullivan and Tracy Rocker in the south end zone. On the north side will be banners of Zeke Smith and Carlos Rogers.

• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said a while ago he would like to have six receivers in his playing rotation. Right now, he’d take six healthy ones. Taylor cited a team policy about not going into specifics on injuries, but he said almost every one of his receivers is slowed by something right now. “I’d be a little bit more excited if I had all my bullets going into this game that were 100 percent,” he said. “I’m sure everybody in the country is going through the same things. When you come out of two-a-days there’s going to be some nicks and bruises and things like that, that slow skill guys down a little bit.”

• Taylor didn't sound so convinced that projected starter Darvin Adams would play. “I’m hoping to see him out there,” Taylor said, not giving specifics. “Keeping my fingers crossed.”

• Taylor said the lack of bodies might mean true freshmen Anthony Gulley and Travante Stallworth will see some action Saturday. He’ll have a better idea of who will play after talking to the trainer Friday. “Right now I’ll be honest, I don’t know,” Taylor said.

• One last thought from Taylor on the Final 6: "I’m praying for the Final Six. I’m ready to put that six out there and go to work with them. This weekend will say a lot on who’s tough enough to step up when you’re sore or you have a nagging injury coming out of camp. That to me is as important as a guy knowing what to do. How tough is he? Anybody who isn’t playing in pain probably hasn’t gone through a tough two-a-days and probably not ready for this league."

• Taylor on what he's looking for Saturday: "I think going into this game, that’s the thing I’m looking forward to. See who’s going to react in a positive way as far as execution and just being calm under pressure. It’ll be pressure, I promise you, with all those fans in the stands. Most of them probably played in front of 1,000 or 2,000 fans at their high school and now they’re getting ready to walk in front of (90,000). That’s going to be exciting for them."

• Trooper defined what his Assistant (to the) Head Coach title means: "A lot of it is checks and balances. Coach and I sit down and we go over a lot of the different details with game management as far as two-minute drills, substitutions. Anything that has come up. We’ve watched tape on the final minutes of a half or end of a game going over all the different scenarios that have come up in my past, his past, other guys on the staff’s past, a lot of it is just that deal. Obviously, I have a lot to do with recruiting, making sure that we’re getting all that lined up. We can’t slack on that. There will be recruits here this weekend and we have to make sure there at the right places with the right people and they have their time with coach. There’s a lot going into it. That’s real important for us to make sure we manage all of it. Winning and losing is the bottom line but there’s a lot that goes on on game day outside of the X’s and O’s."

• He also said he was swayed by the fact that Chizik was only going to have one assistant head coach. "You look at most staffs, there’s an assistant to this, there’s an assistant to that, an assistant head coach this," Taylor said. "There’s only one, and that’s me. It helps me define my responsibility, it’s clear-cut, there’s no question and there’s no gray area with the rest of the guys on the staff. They know when he’s not here, those responsibilities fall on me, and that’s big."

• To the best of head coach Gene Chizik’s knowledge, Auburn and Louisiana Tech will not shake hands before the game as part of the American Football Coaches Association’s effort to promote sportsmanship. Some coaches, particularly Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, have expressed concerns that the timing of the hand shake could lead to altercations between a field full of overly-excited football players. Chizik didn’t have an opinion either way but had concerns that a potential hand shake could disrupt important pre-game rituals. “I’m sure that logistically the issues of timing and getting the game started and just all of that, the general public wouldn’t really take into consideration,” he said. “Those things do occur, especially when you have great traditions before the game, when you run out, all the things that happen. I’m sure it’s not just as easy as you walking out and doing a hand shake.”

• Redshirt freshman DL Cam Henderson wasn’t on the two-deep released Tuesday and it doesn’t appear that he’ll play Saturday. “He’s not quite there yet,” Rocker said. “Just ain’t there yet. I feel good with what we’ve got.”

• Grimes said it’s too early to tell if freshman Andre Harris will redshirt this year. Sullen, a fellow freshman, will at the very least play on special teams.

• Grimes on how he grades film: "Yeah. We take a look at how many times they knock a guy down and how many times they commit one of the egregious errors that you certainly don't want to see -- a sack, a pressure where the quarterback gets hit, a penalty, a missed assignment. So the biggest thing for me, a numerical grade gives you a little bit of information, but if you want to know how physical a guy is being, you look at how many times he's putting his man on the ground. If you want to know how consistent a guy is being, you look at how many times he commits one of those really big negatives that can hurt the team. Those are the biggest things I look at."

• Chizik said the team will have a shorter practice today that’s heavy on situations and special teams. “It’s a polish day on all sides of the ball,” he said.

• Safeties coach Tommy Thigpen said he's started a true freshman before, so he knows what he might be in store for with freshman Daren Bates Saturday. "They have their peaks and highs – highs and lows – and it’s tough," he said. "The first game you always want to be good but here’s it’s different because my first game I was in front of maybe 55,000 and his will be in front of about 90-plus. It’s a different atmosphere. So for my young guys and some of the other young guys, we just hope they don’t go deer-in-the-headlights."

• Thigpen said T'Sharvan Bell, who has been slowed by a knee injury in the preseason, could play Saturday. No word on Phenix City's D'Antoine Hood (high-ankle sprain).

• Chizik said he's done Tiger Walk before. "I did. It's pretty amazing," he said. He did not say whether or not this group of assistants will do it. "I can't tell you something they don't even know yet," he said.

• Several coaches commented on the atmosphere at Jordan-Hare Stadium and around Auburn during game week. Here's a sampling:

• Thigpen: "I’ve seen it on videos and people just say you can’t fathom it. You just have to live it. I’m as excited as any of you guys because at least you guys have done it. Every day is a different experience with me. They tell me Wednesdays you can drive around and just see RVs all over the place, so I’m thinking once I leave here I’ll just drive around and see how much more crowded the city gets as the week goes on."

• Rocker: "It's been a long time since I've stood on the home sideline. I've been away at previous universities standing on the visitor's side. It's a great moment. I still pinch myself. I still remember the day I set foot here as a freshman. And now I'm still living the -- I don't know if it's a dream, but it's something special. Who knew? It happens, and it's a great moment. I'm looking forward to it, but everyone keeps asking, 'Are you looking forward to it?' It's not so much me. My deal is, if the players are excited, I'm excited. I know what Tiger Walk is. I know what the spirit and the passion is all about. Tiger Walk has nothing to do with me. It has to do with the spirit of those players and the focus of the game."

• Rocker on if he's told his players about it: "I haven't told anybody anything. I'm going to let them figure it out for themselves. I just think the most unique thing I keep reminding them that, 'You going to get in that stadium and you going to be in awe about the passion, how loud it is, how unique and all the colors, seeing that eagle fly.' We go to a lot of different venues as a coach, but now you get to be the home coach and you get to see how your home performs."

Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples had an interesting of phrasing the uncertainty of Gene Chizik's head coaching credentials in an article today. He used The Peter Principle by Canadian duo of teacher Laurence J. Peter and journalist Raymond Hull to illustrate his point:

That principle, according its namesake, is this: "In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence." In other words, any competent worker will continue to be promoted until he eventually reaches a job he isn't capable of performing.

Chizik's 5-19 record in two seasons as Iowa State head coach led many underwhelmed Auburn supporters to suggest he was the living embodiment of the Peter Principle. Maybe Chizik reached his ceiling as the defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas. Maybe his next job, as Cyclones head coach from 2007-08, was above his level of competence.

He goes on to point out that the same thing could have been said about Pete Carroll before he had a string of success at USC. The key for Carroll? Recruiting. No wonder Chizik is throwing so much effort into hauling in a top-notch initial class.

Read the rest of the story here.

I'll have a full update after practice tonight.

Today's live chat was a great success. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with questions. Sorry I couldn't get to all of them.

You can read the replay of it by clicking here.

What did everyone think of the starting time? Is there a time that would work better. Leave a comment if you have a strong opinion on the matter.

And thanks again for showing up.

It's luuuuunch time. Here are some links I found interesting. Enjoy.

• Jimmy Watson of the Shreveport Times writes that Louisiana Tech junior quarterback Ross Jenkins is a game manager. Normally that's backhanded compliment, but the Bulldogs feel confident Jenkins, who went 6-2 as a starter last year, will evolve into a big-play quarterback in the long-term.

• This story is from the summer, but it still applies, since the economy hasn't exactly completely rebounded yet. ESPN.com's Graham Watson writes that Louisiana Tech is one of the few schools plunging money into their athletic programs right now. The Bulldogs added a state-of-the-art scoreboard to their field this year, in addition to other upgrades across campus. Here's a great quote by head coach Derek Dooley, who doubles as the athletic director:

  "You look at the companies that came out of the Great Depression, and it's the ones that invested in their marketing and advertising that were able to get stronger," Louisiana Tech athletic director and football coach Derek Dooley said. "You can look at it one way and say, 'Well, we don't have money to invest in these things.' Or you can look at it how I look at it, and that's when you make small investments, you get big returns. And certainly it's a risk. But if you're going to survive, you're willing to take a little risk."

• Here's an interesting graph for you from ESPN.com listing the number of games each team in the country has played against ranked non-conference opponents in the last five years. Who has the most? Louisiana Tech is one of three teams with nine. The least? Auburn is one of six teams with zero. Now, scheduling is a difficult process. I'm sure when the Tigers scheduled Washington State for 2006 and Kansas State for 2007 they didn't think those programs would be in the dumps. Plus, South Florida did pretty well for itself in 2007 and West Virginia did last year, even though those teams weren't ranked at the time they played Auburn. That said, it's interesting how different these Week 1 opponents are in scheduling philosophies.
  

• By the way, here's Louisiana Tech's bold scheduling the last few years, and this doesn't count six games it played against ranked teams from the WAC (Boise State, Fresno State and Hawaii). The Bulldogs lost all nine of these games:
  

• 2008: No. 14 Kansas, No. 17 Boise State
• 2007: No. 8 California, No. 2 LSU
• 2006: No. 18 Clemson
• 2005: No. 10 Florida, No. 20 Nebraska
• 2004: No. 4 Miami, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 6 Auburn
  

• ESPN.com's Chris Low lists each SEC team's key to the season. Naturally, depth is Auburn's biggest concern. I don't think anybody disagrees with that.

• Alabama's Brandon Deaderick actually returned to practice yesterday after being shot during a robbery attempt. Amazing.

• David Hale of the Macon Telegraph writes that Oklahoma State surely can't know what to expect from Georgia's offense come Saturday, because the Bulldogs hardly know what to expect form their offense.

• It seems like every day something new gets piled on Michigan's Rich Rodriguez. First its his players, now its his business investments. Anybody else think he might be out if the Wolverines stink again this year? Maybe he should have stayed at West Virginia.

• Here's an oddity: Ohio State players actually coming to Michigan's defense. This would never happen in Alabama.

• Notre Dame's Charlie Weis must be the best-paid intern in the country. Actually, considering the times, he might be the only paid intern in the country.
  

• This is a few days old but worth noting: Bobby Lowder, Auburn's most famous donor, lost almost $164 million in the collapse of Colonial Bank's stock, according to Cosby Woodruff of the Montgomery Advertiser. That's a lot of moolah. I guess you've got to hand it to him for not bailing and selling off all his stock when things started to tumble.

• Oh yeah, did you know we were having a live chat today at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT? You can access it here. Be sure to come with your best Auburn questions.

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn head coach Gene Chizik spoke with optimism about the start of the season at his first weekly press conference Tuesday, eager to see his team in action nearly nine months after he was hired.

But even he had to admit he has no idea how things will click right away.

“The great thing about the first game is you always get a starting point,” Chizik said. “You know where you are going to be starting it. And to be honest with you, I don’t know where we’re at right now. It’s going to be interesting.”

Per NCAA rules, the Tigers have only been able to practice against themselves in the preceding four weeks, an exercise that for players quickly grows stale.

“We know everything they do on defense, they know everything we do on offense,” center Ryan Pugh said. “We’ve been practicing against them for a month so they can probably line up and tell what’s coming before we call it, same as with them for us. It’s kind of like beating your head against a wall when you against your defense all the time. I think everybody’s excited just to go out and play against somebody else.”

Of particular interest is how Gus Malzahn’s offense will fare. Fans have high hopes for what has been promised to be one of the fastest offenses in the country, a claim also made during Tony Franklin’s ill-fated tenure as coordinator last year. Coaches are confident this time is different.

“To be honest, I feel good about it,” wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said. “Here’s my deal. It’s kind of like you get a toy for Christmas and it snowed that day and you’re trying to get out and play with it and you haven’t had a chance to. You’ve been playing with it in the house; I’m ready to put it out in the yard and see what they’ll do.”

Be sure to follow the blog on Twitter. And remember tomorrow's LIVE CHAT at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT that you can get to by clicking here.

• Those expecting freshman quarterback Tyrik Rollison to get on the field soon might be disappointed. “Neil Caudle is our No. 2 going into this game,” Malzahn said. “If something were to happen to Chris (Todd), you would see Neil. Tyrik, we just have to have him ready. He’ll have kind of a shorter playlist if he had to play. But he’s our No. 3 guy now and that’s the way we’re going into the season.” Asked if he’d prefer to redshirt Rollison this year, Malzahn said yes. “I think that would probably be the best-case scenario if our starter stays healthy and does well,” he said. “That would probably be the best-case scenario.”

• Monday night's news that Alabama defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick had been shot in apparent robbery attempt hit close to home Todd. The two were classmates at Elizabethtown (Ky.) High, where they won the Kentucky Class 2A state championship their senior year. “I talked to his mom earlier today and I think he’s going to be OK,” said Todd, who still hangs out with Deaderick when they’re back home. “It’s a really serious situation and not one to be taken lightly. It was very unfortunate, but I was talking to his mom, she was very thankful and I’m thankful that he’s OK because that situation could have come out a lot worse. It’s crazy how stuff like that works out.” The bullet entered Deaderick’s forearm but missed vital organs, according to reports. He was released from a Tuscaloosa hospital Tuesday evening.

• CB Neiko Thorpe says he's grown a lot since his freshman season, learning several important lessons along the way that have set him up to start this year. "I'd say the LSU game when I got scored on," he said. "That was my first time. I'd say going into those games I was a little nervous and stuff, but after that one play it was like all went away. I was mad that it happened, but at the same time, I needed that to kind of grow up and just play the game and not worry about all that stuff."

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof thinks highly of Louisiana Tech's offense. "I tell you what, they're a good offense," he said. "They're very physical up front, very experienced, and I expect they'll be more physical than they were last year. (Daniel) Porter the running back makes a lot of people look bad, real bad. We have a lot of respect for him. Obviously, the receiver (Phillip) Livas is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball, whether it's kickoff or punt or pass. He's heavily involved in a lot of aspects of their offense. And just watching their offense mature last year, after he started (quarterback Ross) Jenkins, they went 6-2. You saw him get better and better each week and more confident. He can keep the chains moving with his feet and they're not afraid to throw the field out with him. The stretch you with the play-action game and we've got to do a great job with our eyes making sure we don't give up any deep balls on the play-action."

• Curious comment by Roof about expecting a close game. "We're expecting to have to win this thing on the last drive, in the fourth quarter," he said. "We want to make sure we have our best players fresh in the fourth quarter." Asked to clarify a little later, he gave this answer: "It's been my experience over the years that when you win your close games, you're going to have a good year, and when you lose your close games, it's a disappointing year. Just looking at the track record, we have got to win our close games. Louisiana Tech's a very fine opponent that we have a lot of respect for offensively and we're going to have to play well to put ourselves in a position to win."

• Malzahn had a shorter take on Louisiana Tech's defense: "They’re going to make you earn it. That’s kinda their forte, their defensive coordinator’s forte, make you earn it. Last year, they were very good against the run and they got a lot of those guys back."

• Besides a winning score, here's what Malzahn wants to see in the first week: "We want to protect the football. We want to have no stupid penalties. And we want to play at our pace. That’s about it, really. If we do those three things, we have a decent chance to be successful."

• DE Dee Ford, who is a slight 220 pounds, says he'll have to use his hands more to be effective in a pass rush situation. He's definitely playing, at least in a special teams capacity.

• DE Nosa Eguae had a great quote about getting into his first game action. "I just want to go out there and knock a head off," he said. "I think just going out there, every chance I get is to just show coach Chiz that I want it. And just go down there and just knock a head off, that's what I want to do."

Auburn didn't release its depth chart publicly until Tuesday, but freshman safety Daren Bates has known for 2½ weeks that he would start the season opener against Louisiana Tech.

Bates, who didn’t get approval from the NCAA Clearinghouse until shortly after August practice began, quickly impressed teammates and coaches, leaping Mike Slade and Drew Cole on the depth chart after the second scrimmage to gain a spot in the starting lineup opposite junior safety Zac Etheridge.

"If you want to name anybody else (he's like), it’s Junior Rosegreen," cornerback Walt McFadden said, referring to the former Auburn safety who stood out on the undefeated 2004 team. "A big-time hitter."

"He did some things that kind of make you go, ‘Wow,’ and he has continually gotten better every practice," head coach Gene Chizik said. "There are some challenges for any freshman that plays at this level in this league, but we just thought he could handle it. He’s going to make his share of mistakes, and there will be growing pains with that, we know that. But all the indications that we get from a young guy, we feel confident about it."

Chizik said he and safeties coach Tommy Thigpen "force-fed" Bates football once he got on campus to see what the freshman could handle mentally.

"I'd get here at 7 o'clock in the morning and wouldn't leave until midnight during camp," Bates said of his time with Thigpen. "We'd watch film. He'd give me quizzes on the plays and what La. Tech was doing. He kept on me and got me to where I needed to be."

As for Saturday, Bates has a few goals in mind.

"Just not getting beat," he said. "The first thing is not getting beat or run over."

Here are some other news and notes from before practice ...

• Chizik was not too clear about DE Antoine Carter's situation. Carter was not on the depth chart released and will not play Saturday. Chizk said he doesn't expound on injuries but did not say definitively that Carter is in fact injured. Weird situation. Here's what DE Michael Goggans had to say: "I'm not sure when he's going to come back, but he's out there every day, he's just trying to get mental reps and I know he's eager to get back out there."

• That leaves the Tigers with two true freshmen as their top reserves at defensive end — Nosa Eguae and Dee Ford. Eguae is raw but a quick study. Ford, meanwhile, weighs in at only 214 pounds, about 50 less than starters Antonio Coleman and Goggans, which might limit him to pass-rushing situations. “(They're) both young guys who we think have bright futures that are different kinds of players — one’s a little bit bigger, one’s a little bit more sleek and brings a little bit more of the speed element to the game," Chizik said. "But we feel good about both of those guys."

• Center Ryan Pugh on the importance of a strong start: "We've got to get started fast on offense. There's no time to play around and feel your way around. You've got to come out firing, because we need to start good. We have a chance the way our schedule sets up to start good early. If you catch fire early, you never know what happens later in the year when you get into conference play."

• Count Pugh as one who's impressed by Louisiana Tech's no-frills defense. "Overall, they're just a sound defense," he said. "They don't do a lot, but what they do they're good at."

• Pugh didn't really buy into the notion that playing in front of a stadium full of fans has too much of an effect on young players because, honestly, you don't notice it too much. "Sometimes you get down there on the field and you play and you don't really notice the 90,000 people in the stands," he said. "Some people would find that hard to believe, but you really don't notice it as much as you notice the 6-7 coaches that are on the field at all times. What's really weird is during the game, it's almost like you can hear their voice on the sideline even with all the 90,000 people screaming. It's something that you just get used to playing. Yeah, we'll feed off their energy as much as we'll feed off theirs."

• Pugh deadpanned the biggest understatement of the day: "There'll be some coaches jumping around probably, coach (Trooper) Taylor mainly."

• Running back Eric Smith will not play, Chizik said.

• McFadden, a first-team Media All-American, had this to say about his advice to young players on the eve of their first game: "A lot of guys just can’t wait to get to the hotel because there will be a lot of great food there. They’ve been talking about the chicken wings lately, so I’ve been giving them advice how to eat a couple of wings, and take a couple to your room, a couple for snacks after that." Very wise words from a very wise man.

• McFadden also legitimately said he thinks Auburn shouldn't lose to anyone it plays. We'll disagree slightly and say the Tigers will finish 6-6 this year.

• Bonus Etheridge quote on Bates: "The first scrimmage, we were on the sideline watching him, like wow. Out of everybody, he had that motor, he didn’t stop at all. He was hitting everything. He's a person that will hit you full speed."

• Etheridge on Aub urn getting its swagger back: "Yeah, that's one of the things coach has been trying to put to us: Forget about everything that happened last year. Right now, every team is undefeated. The only thing you can do is look forward. You can't keep thinking about last year. That was a hard season for us. We want to go out there and just prove to everyone that we know who we have and we can do some things around here."

• We'll have more after a second round of interviews tonight.

Here are some quick hitters to come out of Gene Chizik's first weekly press conference:

• DE Antoine Carter is not on the depth chart and Chizik wasn't saying why. "Right now we're not anticipating him playing Saturday," Chizik said.

• Freshman Daren Bates will start at safety. Chizik said they force fed him a lot of football in the last month, but he caught on quickly. "The thing that we looked for in young guys is guys being able to come in and grab your attention early," Chizik said. "He came in late, but immediately when he got on campus here, he got our attention. And he's really done some things that make you say, 'Wow.' ... We just thought he can handle it. And we just thought that he's our best option back there right now. He's a guy who's aggressive. All the indications we get from the young guy, we feel confident about it. We'll see how he operates under pressure."

• Chizik said "if he were a betting man," he'd say 10 to 12 true freshmen would play this year.

• Even Chizik isn't quite sure how the team will fare this Saturday. "It's going to be one of those first games where you get a lot of questions answered," he said. "Two-a-days is different because all you know is going against each other all the time. It's going to be very interesting. I don't know. To be honest with you, I don't really know where we're at right now."
  

• Chizik on Louisiana Tech: 'This is a great challenge. We're going to find out where we're at."

• The two things that stand out about Louisiana Tech to Chizik: it is a physical team and it is well-coached. "Any time you play a physical team that you think is well-coached, it's a handful," Chizik said.

• Chizik on the differences in coaching his first game at Auburn vs. his first game at Iowa State: "A lot different. All that stuff's behind me now. I'm excited because this is my first game as the coach of Auburn. That's what excites me. Also, to be back to what I consider home. It's really night and day."

• On if the team has gotten its swagger back: "I don't know. I think you'll find out on game day."

I'll get the whole thing up in a second. Here are some interesting parts:

• Freshman Daren Bates is listed as a starting safety.

• Freshman Onterio McCalebb is listed as the backup running back. Mario Fannin tops the list of fullbacks (which I'm assuming also covers H-backs).

• Terrell Zachery and Darvin Adams are listed as starters at wide receiver. Only two receivers spots are listed. (There's also a tight end and a fullback). I can't imagine this will be a common formation for the Tigers.
  

• Jorell Bostrum is listed as the backup left guard. John Sullen is the backup right guard.

• Your kick returners are Zachery and McCalebb. Fannin's the punt returner, followed by Anthony Gulley.

• Byron Isom is apparently the left guard and Mike Berry is on the right. I swear it's been the opposite this August.

• One notable absence: DE Antoine Carter. We'll see why that is the case.
  

UPDATE: Here's the whole thing.

Offense

QB: Chris Todd, 6-4, 210, Sr.
Neil Caudle, 6-3, 200, Jr.
Tyrik Rollison, 6-0, 194, Fr.

RB: Ben Tate, 5-11, 218, Sr.
Onterio McCalebb, 5-10, 164, Fr.

FB: Mario Fannin, 5-11, 225, Jr.
John Doulgas, 6-2, 241, So. OR
Gabe McKenzie, 6-5, 252, Sr.

TE: Tommy Trott, 6-5, 243, Sr.
Philip Lutzenkirchen, 6-4, 262, Fr.
Jay Wisner, 6-2, 194, Jr.

WR: Terrell Zachery, 6-1, 203, Jr.
Kodi Burns, 6-2, 208, Jr.

WR: Darvin Adams, 6-3, 185, So.
DeAngelo Benton, 6-2, 192, Fr. OR
Emory Blake, 6-1, 192, Fr.

LT: Lee Ziemba, 6-8, 308, Jr.
Jared Cooper, 6-4, 295, So.

LG: Byron Isom, 6-3, 281, Jr.
Jorell Bostrum, 6-3, 362, Jr.

C: Ryan Pugh, 6-4, 289, Jr.
Bart Eddins, 6-4, 297, Jr.

RG: Mike Berry, 6-3, 311, Jr.
John Sullen, 6-6, 346, Fr.

RT: Andrew McCain, 6-6, 299, Sr.
Vance Smith, 6-2, 281, So.

Defense

LE: Antonio Coleman, 6-3, 261, Sr.
Nosa Eguae, 6-2, 244, Fr.

LT: Mike Blanc, 6-4, 288, Jr.
Nick Fairley, 6-5, 293, So.

RT: Jake Ricks, 6-4, 292, Sr.
Zach Clayton, 6-3, 281, Jr.
Derrick Lykes, 6-2, 284, rFr.

DE: Michael Goggans, 6-3, 264, Jr.
Dee Ford, 6-4, 214, Fr.

LLB: Craig Stevens, 6-3, 223, Jr.
Jonathan Evans, 5-11, 207,, Fr.

MLB: Josh Bynes, 6-2, 239, Jr.
Harrison Gaston, 6-1, 219, Fr.

RLB: Eltoro Freeman, 5-11, 222, So.
Adam Herring, 6-1, 216, So.
Wade Christopher, 6-1, 215, So.

LCB: Walt McFadden, 6-0, 175, Sr.
Harry Adams, 6-0, 183, So.

S: Daren Bates, 5-11, 195, Fr.
Drew Cole, 5-11, 182, So.
T'Sharvan Bell, 6-0, 192, So.

S: Zac Etheridge, 6-0, 212, Jr.
Mike Slade, 6-3, 192, So.
D'Antoine Hood, 5-10, 187, So.

RCB: Neiko Thorpe, 6-2, 176, So.
Demond Washington, 5-9, 185, Jr.

Special Teams

PK: Wes Byrum, 6-2, 209, Jr.
Morgan Hull, 6-3, 199, Jr.

P: Clinton Durst, 6-1, 191, Sr.
Ryan Shoemaker, 6-0, 184, Jr.

LS: Josh Harris, 6-1, 220, So.
Bailey Woods, 6-5, 237, So.

H: Clayton Crofoot, 6-6, 191, Sr.
Neil Caudle, 6-3, 200, Jr.

KR: Terrell Zachery, 6-1, 203, Jr.
Onterio McCalebb, 5-10, 164, Fr.
Neiko Thorpe, 6-2, 176, So.
Mario Fannin, 5-11, 225, So.

PR: Mario Fannin, 5-11, 225, Jr.
Anthony Gulley, 5-9, 176, Fr.

Let's get right to the links. We'll be back with press conference information this afternoon:

• I will be doing a LIVE chat tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT on our main sports Web site. Here's a link to join the fun. I appreciate any and everyone who will come and ask a question or two.

• And if you have interest in Georgia, David Hale of our sister paper the Macon Telegraph will have a chat right before mine at noon ET/11 a.m. CT. Here's a link for that.

• Auburn RB Eric Smith countered last week's third-degree assault charges with a harassment claim of his own, writes Andrew Gribble of the Opelika-Auburn News. Police have made arrangements for Decari Jenkins, the alleged victim of the assault, to surrender this week.

• Eight freshman, including Louisiana Tech's kicker and punter, will play Saturday against Auburn, writes Jimmy Watson of the Shreveport Times.

• This is from a few weeks ago, but it still applies. Bulldogs RB Daniel Porter wants to be a complete back, writes Joseph Schiefelbein of The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La.

• The betting line for the Auburn-Louisiana Tech game looks like it's right around 13. Of course, this would only matter if gambling were legal.

• It's about halfway through, but La. Tech coach Derek Dooley says he's not trying to mimic the Boise State model, writes ESPN.com's Graham Watson. Honestly, Boise State is pretty dang good. That's not a bad model to follow.

• Alabama defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick was shot after an apparent robbery attempt last night. Michael Casagrande of the Decatur Daily has been following the story all day on his blog. Good news: Deaderick is in "good condition" and could be released today.

• ESPN.com's Chris Low ranks the SEC's special teams. Auburn is 9th, much to special teams coordinator Jay Boulware's chagrin, I'm sure. That seems pretty low for a team that returns the preseason second-team All-SEC punter, a returner as dynamic as Mario Fannin and a few coverage units that ranked among the best in the conference and country last year. I guess Wes Byrum's struggles last year are the trump card in this equation.

• The Browns released former Auburn cornerbacbk Rod Hood.

• And lastly, I'd like to thank the visitors to this blog for making August the best month we've had so far. We finished with 86,666 page views last month. Our previous high was 43,766. That's quite a jump, as this graph captured right before the end of the month indicates. So thank you and keep coming back for your Auburn coverage, and, as one more reminder, don't forget about tomorrow's LIVE chat.
  

I wrote a story for the newspaper today about the freshman class and who has a good chance of playing this year. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Ask an Auburn veteran how his first action at the college level went and you'll likely get a funny tale.

Antonio Coleman felt like his feet were stuck in mud. Kodi Burns didn't know he'd play until he heard coaches yelling in his direction. And Walt McFadden cut short his duties on kickoff coverage.

"I was supposed to run down the field like 40 yards and I ain't even make it down there because I was so excited just looking in the stands," he said. "I got in a lot of trouble for that."

Of the 19 true freshmen on Auburn's roster, the majority might have an experience of their own this Saturday against Louisiana Tech. Faced with depth problems up and down the roster, the Tigers could play as many as 14 true freshmen in various roles this season, a concern for first-year head coach Gene Chizik.

Read the rest here.

Here's how I broke down the freshman class, and keep in mind this was an educated guess (the depth chart won't be released until later this week, and even then it might not provide all the answers we're looking for:

Will play

• S Daren Bates: A late arrival who impressed coaches quickly, he could jump past Mike Slade and Drew Cole into the starting lineup.

• WR DeAngelo Benton: Two years removed from high school, he'll likely start at one of the outside receiver spots in Week 1.

• WR Emory Blake: Polished former high school star has the maturity to be an option in the receiving rotation right away.

• DE Nose Eguae: Rangy lineman has impressed coaches with ability to not make the same mistake twice.

• TE Philip Lutzenkirchen: Utility back has size and speed to play a variety of roles as pass catcher or blocker.

• RB Onterio McCalebb: A transfer from Hargrave Military Academy, he's a home run threat who could be Ben Tate's primary backup.

Likely to play

• LB Jonathan Evans: Has been slowed by a preseason injury but might be needed to provide depth at the linebacker position.

• LB Harris Gaston: Anybody who plays linebacker will get a serious look at playing time at some point this season.

• WR Anthony Gulley: Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn likes his players to be versatile, and Gulley has shown a knack for doing it all.

• WR Travante Stallworth: Similar to Gulley; the former high school quarterback could be an option in the Wildcat formation.

• OL John Sullen: Has emerged as a top reserve on a thin offensive line. If a starter goes down, he could be the first man up.

Might play

• RB Dontae Aycock: Chances to play increased now that Eric Smith's status on the team is in limbo following his arrest for third-degree assault.

• DL Dee Ford: Dabbled at linebacker briefly but moved back to the line, where he needs more size to fit in.

• OL Andre Harris: Hasn't gotten as much pub as Sullen, but help on the line is scarce, meaning every able body is an option.

• QB Tyrik Rollison: Didn't win the backup job, but he is talented and intriguing enough that coaches might consider easing him into action as the season progresses.

Redshirt candidates

• TE Robert Cooper: Converted quarterback is still adjusting to a new position.

• QB Clint Moseley: Crowded quarterback competition means he'll wait until 2010 for a chance.

• OL Aubrey Phillips: Hasn't practiced since suffering a medical episode earlier this August; the transfer might not be cleared by the NCAA to play immediately anyway.

• DT Jamar Travis: Crowded defensive line rotation could be a tough one to crack.

Anybody you think I missed the mark with?