AUBURN TIGERS FOOTBALL

Auburn University football news, schedule, recruiting, stats and more

Just you and me talking football. I give the question. You provide the answer. If you don't like preseason speculation, move on.

The SOS Preseason Survey
1. Which team will be the biggest surprise this season?
2. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?
3. Who will be the breakout player?
4. Name a program on the rise.
5. Name a program on the decline.
6. Finally, if you could be perched on the 50-yard line for any game this season, which one would it be?

Pick one, pick all.
Answer from an SEC perspective or a national perspective.
Remember, kickoff is now a week away.

Some quickie notes from Wednesday's media briefing:

* RB Brad Lester practiced, but RB Tristan Davis did not. Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said Davis' injury is hamstring-related. I believe he originally said it was a foot injury. In any case, I don't get the sense that it's serious.

* QBs Chris Todd and Kodi Burns are still getting the same number of reps, Tuberville said, and a starter should be picked next week. He joked that he would flip a coin to name a starter.

* Sen'Derrick Marks (strained calf) and LB Craig Stevens (toe) are also injured, although presumably not seriously. Injured players don't talk to the media, so we didn't get any more details.

* First reported by our friends at AuburnSports.com, Daphne RB Reggie Hunt did not qualify academically and is headed to Copiah-Lincoln CC in Wesson, Miss.

Continue reading "Auburn Wednesday night notebook: Brad Lester practices, Tristan Davis still out" »

Auburn talks running backs

Tailback Reggie Hunt won't be playing for Auburn this season.

The freshman from Daphne was not cleared academically by the NCAA Clearinghouse, so he's bound for Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi, reported AuburnSports.com Wednesday night. The website said Hunt is expected to redshirt this fall.

Another true freshman running back, Eric Smith, is bound for playing time, however.

``Eric has had a really good camp. There's no question he's going to play for us,'' said running backs coach Eddie Gran.

Continue reading "Reggie Hunt headed to junior college, not Auburn" »

Former Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan is bringing his Samford Bulldogs to Jordan-Hare Stadium to play the Tigers in 2011.

The Samford head coach told the Samford Business Network that Wednesday morning, according to fellow Birmingham News scribe Mike Perrin. Sullivan won his Heisman in 1971, and was an All-American quarterback and the SEC Player of the Year in 1970 and '71.

Continue reading "Pat Sullivan bringing Samford to Auburn in 2011" »

Auburn will play Samford at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2011, according to a news release from the Birmingham school.

The coolest storyline: Samford coach Pat Sullivan won the 1971 Heisman Trophy as a quarterback at Auburn.

Samford and Auburn have met 26 times, most recently in 1993. Auburn is 25-0-1.

The Auburn game in 2011 is expected to be the first weekend in November, although formal contracts have not been finalized.

Samford is a member of the Southern Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).

Tigers return to practice

Auburn made its biggest player personnel move of fall practice Tuesday when tight end Gabe McKenzie showed up at defensive end at practice.

Coach Tommy Tuberville said McKenzie made the decision to try the defensive line, seeing it as the fastest time to playing time. McKenzie was running behind Tommy Trott at tight end. He'll have a lot to learn in two weeks to play defensive end.

Tuberville said McKenzie, a junior, will keep his hand in the tight end mix. But the opportunity on defense came about, partly, because junior college transfer Raven Gray has been slow to come around from a bad knee.

Tuberville said McKenzie can make the move.

Continue reading "Auburn moves McKenzie from TE to defensive end" »

Auburn junior tight end Gabe McKenzie has agreed to move to defensive end to help shore up Auburn's weakness at the position, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said.

The move had been whispered about for almost as long as McKenzie's been on campus, but recent events have added urgency to the move. There are few options behind current strong-side end Michael Goggans.

Juco transfer Raven Gray is still recovering from a knee injury and A.J. Greene isn't ready.

Continue reading "Gabe McKenzie moves to defense" »

Y'all realize it's just nine days until SEC football kicks off, starting with the Thursday night games between N.C. State and South Carolina, plus Vanderbilt at Miami (Ohio)?

It's amazing how a new perspective can change your enthusiasm for the season. In previous years as a beat writer -- covering practice daily and writing 2-3 stories per day -- you're pretty much fried by this point.

It probably also helps that my new role as SEC writer/columnist for The Huntsville Times has me keeping an eye on the league as a whole rather than one team.

Anyway, enough rambling and on to some reading material to distract your work day.

Hope you've been reading our series of stories at The Times on each of the SEC teams. Today we looked at top-ranked Georgia. We've also had stories so far on Vandy, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee .

I also did a story in Monday's paper focusing on some key issues for teams around the SEC (LSU isn't close to getting a QB and Florida's Percy Harvin isn't close to playing).

Continue reading "Tuesday picks to click" »