Two of Auburn's position battles came to an end today, when Gene Chizik said A.J. Greene will start at right tackle and Barrett Trotter will be the backup quarterback.

Trotter, a redshirt sophomore, beat out senior Neil Caudle and redshirt freshman Clint Moseley.

"That doesn't mean that our other quarterbacks can't take snaps and win for us but those are the decisions we kind of cleared up today," Chizik said, who did not designate a third or fourth quarterback.

Trotter, who missed last year because an ACL tear the previous spring, built off of a solid spring game, during which he threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns.

"He's been very consistent," Chizik said. "He throws a really accurate ball. Great grasp of the offense. He's been very consistent when it comes to doing the things we feel like need to be done to win if you're playing the quarterback spot. All of them have competed really, really well and really, really closely. Obviously if something happens to the starter you've got to go with the next guy and that's where we're at."

Greene, a junior, battled John Sullen and Brandon Mosley for the starting job this August. He's truly a longshot to have won the job, having played in only three games in his career. In Auburn's media guide, he's one of the few veteran players who doesn't have his own page.

Greene was recruited as a defensive lineman but made his move after moving to the offensive line two years ago. He worked at right tackle all spring.

"I don't think there's any question that he's one of the most improved on our team," Chizik said of Greene. "It just appears to me that it meant a lot to him to try to win that job and he did."

Sullen, who has dealt with an undisclosed injury lately, will continue to work at different spots along the line.

Chizik said that the punting competition between senior Ryan Shoemaker and freshman Steven Clark will continue for the next few days.

Chizik also weighed in on the FWAA's decision to strip Southern California of the 2004 national title but not award it to anyone else, including the undefeated Auburn team.

"No. 1, we can't control what decisions are made," he said. "We certainly respect the decision of those individuals who made it. But that was a great team and a great year for us and it always will be here at Auburn. And I was blessed to be a part of that."

The Auburn men's basketball team hasn't released its schedule yet, but the SEC gave everyone part of the puzzle. Here's the Tigers' full SEC schedule, taken from the SEC's main website:

• Jan. 8: LSU at Auburn, 5 p.m., FSN
• Jan. 11: Auburn at Kentucky, 6 p.m., ESPNU
• Jan. 16: Auburn at Mississippi State, 1 p.m., FSN, ESPN3.com
• Jan. 20: Florida at Auburn, 6 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2, ESPN3.com
• Jan. 22: Alabama at Auburn, 5 p.m., CSS, ESPN3.com
• Jan. 25: Auburn at Arkansas, 8 p.m., ESPNU
• Jan. 29: Auburn at South Carolina, 12:30 p.m., SEC Network, ESPN3.com
• Feb. 3: Tennessee at Auburn, 8 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2, ESPN3.com
• Feb. 5: Auburn at Georgia, 12:30 p.m., SEC Network, ESPN3.com
• Feb. 12: Mississippi State at Auburn, 7 p.m., FSN, ESPN3.com
• Feb. 16: Auburn at Ole Miss, 7 p.m., SEC Network, ESPN3.com
• Feb. 19: Vanderbilt at Auburn, 3 p.m., SEC Network, ESPN3.com
• Feb. 23: Auburn at Alabama, 7 p.m., SEC Network, ESPN3.com
• Feb. 26: Arkansas at Auburn, 12:30 p.m., SEC Network, ESPN3.com
• March 2: Ole Miss at Auburn, 7 p.m., SEC Network, ESPN3.com
• March 5: Auburn at LSU, 6 p.m., FSN, ESPN3.com

What other games do we know about? A few.

• It looks like the Tigers might open the new Auburn Arena on Nov. 12 against UNC-Asheville, at least according to the Bulldogs' online schedule. Tipoff is TBA.

• Auburn plays Rutgers in the SEC/Big East Invitational in Pittsburgh on Dec. 11.

• The Tigers will also host a tournament in Auburn from Nov. 19-21 that includes games against Middle Tennessee, Campbell and Samford. This is courtesy of the Campbell website.

• Auburn hosts Georgia Southern on Dec. 29.

I had a brief chat this afternoon with Tim Griffin, the 2010 FWAA president, who talked a little bit more about the decision process for stripping USC of the 2004 national title and not awarding it to anyone else, Auburn included.

Griffin said there was a teleconference 10 days ago on which a good number of living past presidents of the FWAA and other board members discussed what to do about the 2004 title. He estimated there were 20 people total involved.

The group later sent their votes to FWAA executive director Steve Richardson before today's announcement. Griffin, who was just one vote, did not know how the final tally ended up.

Here's what he had to say:

(How would describe the decision?)

"This would be the equivalent of the NCAA in basketball with something being vacated. I guess that's what we're doing with this."

(Did the discussion center on stripping the title from USC or what to do with it afterward?)

"It was probably about half and half. We've awarded a championship since 1954, it would be 56 years, and it's a situation where there were some traditionalists that were on the board who thought we did need to make some kind of a determination as far as a national championship team. But the first big question was whether we were going to take the step of stripping a school of its championship. That took probably 30-35 minutes. We all had a chance to come forward and make our declarations and everything. Then we decided what we were going to do as far as awarding the championship to another team. ... It was a situation where we did decide to leave it vacant."

(What was the crux of the discussion for deciding not to award it to another team?)

"It was interesting that there was some discussion for Auburn, obviously, because they had gone through the Southeastern Conference championship and were the only other major team from a BCS conference that ended up undefeated. So yeah, they were on there. But surprisingly enough, Also Utah and Oklahoma got some talk as well, so it wasn't just Auburn, the decision. There was some serious thought that went in to perhaps giving it to more than one team, one team or then just none. And that's kind of where we got bogged down with none."

(Does it feel empty not having a champion declared for that season?)

"It all depends on your thing. I thought, this is just my own decision, and I'm just one of 20 who had a voice in this, but my thought was that it was just important that we make a stand to kind of say that we felt what went on was wrong as far as what went on with USC. Obviously they had a player who in time has gone out, turned out to be paid some improper benefits probably. So I thought it was important that we strip the championship from USC. It got to be so difficult. Obviously Auburn had a lot of support. They were undefeated at the time. What would you have said if they had played Oklahoma? We really don't know how that would have played out. What would have happened if they would have played Utah? We don't know how that would have played out. And I think in the end, that is what kind of led me to vote to not give the championship out.

"I can't speak for some others. There were some very forceful discussions on the board of people who thought that Auburn deserved the national championship. Several veteran SEC reporters stated their points rather forcefully. In the end, they didn't have enough votes to balance out some of the other people involved."

(Was this a difficult measure to take?)

"Obviously, when you look at it, it was a tough decision for us to strip the championship, first of all. This was the first time this has happened in 56 years. But also to, it was difficult for some people not to award it, while others thought that maybe the decision we made was the right one at this time."

The Football Writers Association of America stripped Southern California of its 2004 national title Thursday and asked the school to return the Grantland Rice Trophy.

But the organization will not award the title to Auburn, which went 13-0 that season and finished No. 2 in the major polls. Auburn officials were notified of the decision this morning.

"There was a thorough discussion of all the possible scenarios involving all the appropriate teams,” 2010 FWAA president Tim Griffin said in a press releasee. “The FWAA reached a very fair conclusion based on careful consideration of the strengths of all the teams. We realize there are numerous opinions on this question."

“Nonetheless, this group – which has more than three collective centuries of experience covering college football and has members representing all geographic regions in the nation – came to a decision we feel best serves the sport.”

The FWAA's decision came in the wake of NCAA-imposed sanctions against USC for illegal benefits given to star tailback Reggie Bush, who was ruled retroactively ineligible.

The FWAA is the first organization to formally strip the Trojans of their title. The spot will be vacant for the first time since the FWAA began awarding a national title in 1954.

The BCS will do so if USC loses its appeal with the NCAA. The Associated Press voted not to vacate the title.

I put together a video from tonight's round of interviews. It's got running back Michael Dyer, left tackle Lee Ziemba and quarterback Cam Newton. Enjoy.

After missing three weeks with a hand injury, wide receiver DeAngelo Benton participated in Auburn’s practice Wednesday.

The sophomore from Bastrop, La., had a cast on his right hand until recently, the result of a pass that jammed his fingers. Fellow wideout Darvin Adams said Benton broke a bone in his hand.

“The month that he had off set him back some, but he’ll work really hard to come back and he’s going to do whatever he has to do to help our team,” Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. “He came out today with a really good attitude and did whatever we asked him to do.”

Benton was working behind Adams at one of the outside receiver sports prior to the injury.
Auburn’s coaches plan to slowly get Benton back in the fold, meaning his availability for the opener against Arkansas State game is unknown.

“We’re not throwing that many balls at him in practice right now,” Chizik said. “It’s going to be kind of getting back into the process, as you imagine it would be.”

Benton had six catches for 88 yards last season, all against Furman, a Football Championship Subdivision school.

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Here are some more notes and quotes from tonight's round of interviews:

• Did you really think we'd find out who the starting right tackle or backup quarterback would be? Please. "We’re getting closer,” Chizik said. “You are tired of hearing that, aren’t you? But we really are.”

• Those right tackle competitors are (in order of how likely I think they'll start): A.J. Greene, John Sullen and Brandon Mosley. Another candidate, junior college transfer Roszell Gayden, has been slowed by a knee injury this August." Roszell has been in the rotation at different times, but again, he's beat up, he's a little banged up, and I think that's slowed him down some," Chizik said. "But he's really tried hard. He's given us great effort and we'll continue to see how he helps us at some point and in some way."

• Doesn't sound like there's a Wildcat quarterback chosen yet. Incumbent Kodi Burns and freshman Trovon Reed have worked there this August. "We've got some different options there," Chizik said. "And Kodi is obviously the guy that's done it, knows it, and we know that. But you've always got to have backups and you've always got to have guys who can compete at that position, and I think we have some guys that will do that."

• Tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen has dealt with a right shoulder injury recently. The sophomore had a wrap on it Tuesday during practice. “It’s new in that it’s happened in college,” he said. “It happened a few times in high school. We’re just trying to keep it safe.”

• Likely starting punt returner Quindarius Carr on how he's gotten better at shagging punts. "Coach Trooper always tells me, to be a punt returner you’ve got to be a man," he said. "The thing about it is finding confidence and knowing that all eyes are on you. That’s the only thing I think of every time I’m back there catching a punt. They trust me enough to put the ball in my hands, so I can’t let my other teammates down, and make a play."

• Sounds like there's a lot of camaraderie in the running back group. "We just go with the flow," freshman Michael Dyer said. "However a person plays and how a person does in a game, we're going to go with that. If he needs a break, the next back goes in. That's how we see it. We don't see a specific person, we see a person going in and doing what he's asked to do. When he's done with that, the next person goes does what he has to do. We rotate in and listen to the coaches."

• Dyer didn't take many breaks as a standout prep running back, but getting some against a college defense doesn't sound like a bad idea. "When you run a rotation like that and the system we're in now, I feel like none of us should be that tired that we couldn't put up a fight against a defense that's well-rested," he said. "I feel like our legs will always be able to recuperate and be ready in a moment in time."

• Freshman DE Corey Lemonier continues to work behind Antoine Carter at the quick end position. Dee Ford, Justin Delaine and Joel Bonomolo are also working there.

• Safety Mike Slade has left the program, according to AuburnUndercover.com. Slade, a junior, was relegated to the scout team Tuesday.

• LT Lee Ziemba estimated that Auburn has 75 percent of its game plan installed for Arkansas State.

• Interesting takes on Gus Malzahn's offense by Ziemba and quarterback Cam Newton. Ziemba was quick to correct a questioner about calling it the spread. "This isn't a spread offense," he said. "This is a two-back offense we run and then play-action pass. That's what we are. A lot of people like to call us a spread because we're no-huddle but if you look at last year, we were 55-45 run to pass. It's a good balance." Asked about it about 10 minutes later, Newton said, "It's all spread, but different philosophies." Glad you could clear that up.

• Ziemba, a Rogers, Ark., native, got his first scholarship offer from Arkansas State. "Sophomore-junior year of high school," he said. "I was real excited back then, too. Just big getting your first scholarship offer. I had the NCAA '07 game and I set my favorite school to Arkansas State. It was just neat getting that first scholarship offer. You always have a soft place in your heart for the first school that offers you. I'm real glad they get to come in here and play."

• By the end of the recruiting process, Ziemba, a four-star prospect, got at least 30 offers from major schools. Arkansas State quickly faded from the pack. "Probably a little bit," Ziemba said. "It was a fun ride being recruited and getting to see all the schools and I appreciated all the offers I got."

• Ziemba gave almost a tutorial about how to block with leverage, lunging forward in his seat a few times to show what he shouldn't be doing. Lunging had been a problem of his since high school, but he had a bigger problem with his feet. "My base, I'd always come together when I was hitting linebackers," he said. "It made it really tough. If you didn't just physically dominate a guy, you'd get thrown off that block and you weren't sustaining your blocks very long. So that was the biggest problem and that dates back until when I was playing pee-wee football just bad habits and things like that. I think we're finally getting that corrected."

• Ziemba credits offensive line coach Jeff Grimes for a lot of that. "I feel like I don't have to think about my technique as much as I did in the past," he said. "I've spent the last year, year and a half with coach Grimes. I think he's instilled the way he wants things done in me. That's one less thing to think about during a play. Also, I feel like I know the game of football a little bit better as far as what defenses are going to try to do to us so I don't have to think about as much pre-snap. I can look at it, see it, feel it and know. That's just a testament to coach Grimes, how much he's done for us and just not only teaching us our positions but the game of football itself."

• An exchange between a reporter and Newton about Malzahn:

• (Reporter: Gus Malzahn is soft-spoken to us ...)
• Newton: "Coach Malzahn?"
• (Reporter: Yes)
• Newton: "Coach Gus MAL-zahn? [Guffaws!] Soft-spoken, by no means. You might now him differently than I do, but he's definitely a coach that gets after it at all costs and he pumps up the guys. He just raises the level of any athlete. If you're good, he wants to see you gooder. If you're gooder, which is not a word, he tries to make you great. But he's always expecting the best out of all his athletes, and that's a good thing."

• Needless to say, Newton is looking forward to a big-game atmosphere at Auburn after a year at Blinn (Texas) Community College. "Oh no, this does not compare," he said. "We had more folks at practice than a Blinn College homecoming game."

• And lastly, it's no secret that Newton drives a moped around campus. He's shocked that no one else does. "It's really popular," he said. 'When I first got here, I was shocked to see that no one really had a moped, but if you go anywhere else over the country, there are a lot of people where it is very popular. You look crazy if you don't have one. You come here and you have one and everybody is looking like, 'Oh, who is that? 'Oh, it's Cam. Ahhhhhh!' But it's funny when they're looking at you and I'm laughing, riding by them going to class and they're late."

Senior running back Mario Fannin was one of six SEC players named to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the nation's top running back.

Fannin, Auburn's starting running back entering the season, ran for 296 yards on 34 carries last year, serving as the team's H-back for most of the year before emerging as Ben Tate's primary backup the final few games. He averaged 8.4 yards per carry.

He was also second on the team with 42 catches for 413 yards and three touchdowns last season.

Fannin could reach 1,000 career yards in rushing, receiving and returns this year. He enters the season with 971 career rushing yards, 812 receiving yards and 944 return yards.

Other SEC candidates for the award include Alabama's Mark Ingram, Florida's Jeff Demps, Arkansas' Dennis Johnson, Kentucky's Derrick Locke and LSU's Richard Murphy.

There are 49 total candidates on the list. Some notables include Wisconsin's John Clay, West Virginia's Noel Devine, Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis, Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers and Virginia Techs' Ryan Williams.

The winner will be announced Dec. 9.

I put together a video from tonight's interviews. It features head coach Gene Chizik, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, quarterback Barrett Trotter, safeties coach Tommy Thigpen, special teams coordinator Jay Boulware and place-kicker Wes Byrum. Enjoy.

Gene Chizik didn’t have any announcements to make Tuesday regarding Auburn’s position battles at right tackle, backup quarterback and punter.

But the Tigers did identify which players will help out in a scout team capacity heading into Arkansas State preparation.

“It’s really hard, so we try to make sure there’s no surprises,” Chizik said. “We do it in advance so everyone knows where their place is. Again, we told them that doesn’t mean where you’re going to end up the year. That’s just where we’re starting today and we’ve made that very clear to everybody.”

Among the notable names on the scout team are wide receivers Philip Pierre-Louis and Travante Stallworth, offensive linemen Eric Mack and Ed Christian, defensive end Joel Bonomolo, linebacker LaDarius Owens and defensive backs Ryan Smith and Demetruce McNeal.

Freshman Ryan White, who has dabbled as a quarterback and defensive back, will work as a scout team quarterback. He wore an orange non-contact jersey Tuesday but will also get some defensive reps in when he has time.

For some players, getting that news isn’t pleasant.

“I’m pretty sure it’s tough when you see your name up there,” linebacker Craig Stevens said. “You just have to accept it and play your role and try to get better every day.”

Others think it’s a valuable experience.

“If you’re going to be third or fourth on offense and you’re standing around not doing anything and watching everyone else get reps and throw, I’d much rather be on scout team over there slinging the ball around and having fun and getting to see an SEC defense every day of the week,” sophomore quarterback Barrett Trotter said.

“That’s what you’re going to be up against in the upcoming years, so it can’t do anything but help you.”

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Here are some more notes and quotes from tonight's round of interviews:

• Lots of scout team talk tonight. So much in fact, that all of it couldn't fit in the lead note. We asked safeties coach Tommy Thigpen if he was ever on scout team. He was quick with a "Nooooo." Of course, he was a pretty highly recruited player to North Carolina. But from the sounds of it, being on scout team and redshirting wouldn't have been so bad for him. "Of course when you get older, you always wish you could have that year back," he said. "As a young guy, four-, five-star guy, you're supposed to come in and start right then and you get humbled. Then if you try to come in and play, you do special teams, and you lose a year. If I could go back and do it again I would like to redshirt."

• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor offered some more insight to the process of telling the scout team payers what team they're on: "We don’t just do it individually, we do it as a group. coach (Curtis) Luper, myself and coach (Phillip) Lolley all visited with the freshman class before anybody did about which guys have redshirted and gone onto play pro ball. And we also talked about guys that have taken it the other way, where they redshirted and had all the hype and couldn’t handle it and had to take a knee. Basically just giving them an attitude adjustment before it ever happened. And then each position coach met with him and then the head coach met with them. I really didn’t see a lot of long faces. Obviously there were some kids that were disappointed because of the competitive nature in them, but they take that role now a little more seriously. I think some young guys found out how quick that window can close."

• It might be surprising to see Owens on the scout team list. But he's transitioned from defensive end to linebacker in college. "It's a process that he's really handled well," Chizik said. "It's a learning experience. It's a difficult transition to put your hand on the ground and then you move back and your vision changes and there are so many moving parts."

• Bonomolo is another surprise on the list. But he has been "dinged up," to quote Chizik, so that can explain his spot on the scout team.

• Anthony Morgan remains a cornerback by trade, according to the coaches, despite us seeing him getting work on offense at practice. (I'm guessing he'll get the ball on some handoffs regardless). “With Anthony right now, he’s played a little bit of both,” Chizik said. “He played some defense, he played some offense. ... Just trying to cover our bases with depth.” Said Taylor: "You get two players in one."

• Still no decision on the backup quarterback front, but Trotter said the participants still look for clues as to who it might be. "Naturally you're going to look for them," he said. "Really you can't take much stock into it. It's not going to get you anywhere but presuming things that might not be true. That's something you try to work away from."

• Here is an actual three-question sequence with Chizik about injuries. You can see why it's so hard to quote anybody about injuries:

• (Ladarious Phillips?)
• "Day-by-day. It really is. We just don't know."
• (DeAngelo Benton?)
• "That's getting closer. That's getting much closer. I think we're a month out now as to when he got hurt. That one's going to be a little more day-by-day but that one's getting closer. That's for sure."
• (Eltoro Freeman?)
• "Same. Practice, ran around today more than he has. Again, that's going to be a wean-him-in-type-process and see if he stays healthy."

• No clue how severe Phillips' ankle/foot injury is right now. But as I've written before, a boot is sometimes as a precautionary measure.

• Taylor dropped a quick word about freshman WR Antonio Goodwin being injured and unable to practice. No news on the nature or severity of the injury.

• Thigpen said he hasn't determined which two safeties will start in the opener. He has plenty of candidates, the most likely to start being Zac Etheridge, Aairon Savage and Mike McNeil. "We're going to let those guys compete the next two weeks," he said. "The best man will win." Etheridge and Ikeem Means are at strong safety, while Savage and McNeil are at free safety, but those designations won't matter. "Whoever the best two guys are at the end of this camp, those will be the two who start," Thigpen said.

• Junior Drew Cole was the fifth guy in the rotation Tuesday, but Thigpen said don't rule out McNeal and Smith.

• Thigpen doesn't think it will be a case where only two guys will get the majority of snaps. "You always feel like if a guy got a hot hand, you keep him in there," he said. "But as the season goes on, back on that back side, there's a lot of reps and a lot of running. You like to give guys breathers and get a nice little rotation where you don't run them down during the season. The more guys you can play, the better off we'll be in the long run."

• A lot of special teams talk today, which I plan to use in a story for Thursday, so I won't spoil too much of it. But Taylor said Quindarius Carr would probably be the starter at punt return if the team played tomorrow. "He just worked at it, and he hasn’t put the ball on the ground," Taylor said. "You’ve got to have the trust factor back there when it comes to that guy."

• Special teams coordinator Jay Boulware said punters Ryan Shoemaker and Steven Clark are engaged in a tight battle. Shoemaker has the better distance, but Clark has better get-off time and hangtime. The battle will continue this week.

• Splitting the duties doesn't seem to be an option. "I prefer not to," Boulware said. "I prefer to let a guy go and get into a rhythm or not get in a rhythm, depending on what it is, and work their way through it, just like everybody else. Obviously, if it's shank after shank, you've got two guys who really and truly get the job done. It's just a matter of if they can do it consistently in front of 90,000 or in front of a road crowd that's ringing bells."

• The kick returners, mentioned by Boulware in order: Demond Washington, Onterio McCalebb, Trovon Reed, Mario Fannin, Terrell Zachery and Neiko Thorpe. Does that mean Demond and Onterio will be out on the field first? Not exactly. "Demond and McCalebb are lead returners, but we usually put an off returner with those guys," Boulware said. "So you'll have to see."

• PK Wes Byrum missed on kick last year. Think he remembers it? "I pushed it a little bit. Got a little underneath it and pushed it right. Tennessee. 43, left hash." Yup, I'd say he remembers it.

• And lastly, center Ryan Pugh was named one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, which is given each year to a Division I senior who excels in the community, class room, character and competition. Pugh has 31 career starts and was a second-team All-SEC pick by the Associated Press last season. Pugh has a 3.56 GPA, majoring in building science, and is a two-time SEC honor roll selection.

Short viewing period today but we had a lot of observations. Let's get to them:

• A.J. Greene worked with the first team at right tackle during offensive line drills, while John Sullen wore an orange, non-contact jersey and was with the third team at right guard (don't know what is bothering him right now). Brandon Mosley and Roszell Gayden were working as backup left tackles. This competition might not be officially over, but it looks like it's close.

• LB Eltoro Freeman (turf toe) was suited up and taking part in linebacker drills. He had a noticeable limp, and defensive coordinator Ted Roof obviously wants him to be careful. "Be smart," he told Freeman before stretching. "I don't want you pushing it."

• WR DeAngelo Benton had the cast off of his right hand, but he did not dress out and did not practice today.

• Anthony Morgan, who spent the spring and summer at cornerback, looks like he might be back on offense. He wore a blue jersey (that's the offense) today and took handoffs on end arounds during skeleton drills before the practice started. When the team stretched, he cradled a ball in his arms to work on protection. Even defensive GA Travis Williams commented on the jersey change. "He's the enemy now," he joked.

• FB Ladarious Phillips was on crutches and had a foot in a boot. I thought I saw him after the scrimmage the same way but wasn't sure it was him. (It was him or an offensive lineman, I thought.) Doesn't look like he'll practice for a while.

• Morgan, Trovon Reed and Kodi Burns all stood together during the pre-practice skeleton drills. Good chance that those are your Wildcat candidates.
  

• Freshman Ryan White was back in orange and appears as though he'll be working on the scout team at quarterback. Here's an unofficial list of some scout team notables (they were wearing different jerseys than normal): WR Philip Pierre-Louis, WR Travante Stallworth, OL Eric Mack, OL Ed Christian, OL Andre Harris, TE Dakota Mosley, DE Joel Bonomolo, S Demetruce McNeal, DE Justin Delaine, LB Ladarius Owens, DT Jamar Travis, DB Ryan Smith, S Mike Slade and Morgan, as a cornerback.
  

• Freshman OL Tunde Fariyike didn't have pads on and was working on the side. DL Derrick Lykes also did not practice.

• You can tell the season's getting closer. During a linebacker drill, Josh Bynes tore into Harris Gaston after the redshirt freshman made a mistake. The cleaned-up message: Quit messing up. PK Wes Byrum was close by on the field and liked the enthusiasm. "Game week, baby," he said with a big smile. "Game week."