Don't Do It!

 I want to talk to these high school superstar athletes on twitter. I really do. I want to tell them to take a good look at the school, not the coach who is recruiting them. That coach could be gone next month. It happens.

 I want to tell them to concentrate on their school work starting from the 1st grade, but especially once they get into the 7th grade and beyond. That advice is not so they can qualify at any university that recruits them, but so that they can handle the attention better when it comes. Learn from your history books, it repeats its self.

 I want to tell them to be more forgiving of others when they respond emotionally to the change of heart most kids have whenever they face tough decisions. 

 I wish I could send them tweets that would get their attention, and seek better advice for their futures. I would like to influence them to be better human beings first, and put their faith above all else. Work hard, play hard, prepare even harder!

 There is so much I want to tell these young student athletes about to enter their college lives, but until the rules change, I have to tell myself - DON'T DO IT!

Athletes & Coaches Need to Grow Up

Dominic Walker with Tony Stevens courtesy of Orlando Sentinel

In an article by the Orlando Sentinel's Chris Hayes, the total story of the nasty breakup between Dominic Walker and the Nebraska Cornhusker coaching staff is revealed. 

 Most guys know the term breakup, and realize it is usually not a good ending to any relationship. Nebraska coach Bo Pelini took things even further, when he gave Walker his thoughts on flipping his commitment to Auburn.

“It was a very tough decision. They were [mad]. They were very mad. But I thought I had to call them like a real man should,” Walker said. “But yeah, they were mad. Coach Pelini said, ‘Best of luck, you’re going to need it.’ ”

Further in the story the author lets us know his opinion of Walker...

"I can vouch for Dominic Walker. He does not have character issues. He may have issues with indecision, but that comes with the territory. He's young." 

Yes, 17 and 18 year old humans are immature decision makers. Bo Pelini proved that not all of us mature with age. 

 Welcome to the Auburn family Mr. Walker.

Gus Malzahn - Celebrity Letter

Quick Update on Auburn

 While not what I would reference as a "good thing", Rich Bisaccia leaving for another NFL gig, hurt Auburn a little, but was NOT the devastating blow that losing any of the other coaches would have been.

 Had Auburn somehow convinced Tracy Rocker to come back, and Rocker leave for the Cowboys, that would have been devastating. So I look at Coach Bisaccia's leaving as the best of all the scenarios  
that could have happened. It's not like we didn't already have an experienced RB's coach on the staff. 

 The final recruiting push will be coming next weekend. Gus Malzahn and his staff have done a pretty good job of holding the 2013 class together considering the events of the previous season. Major staff changes are difficult, complete staff changes really hurt the overall way recruits look at a school. Some of the recruits have even said as much.

 Don't forget that I will be doing a simul-post of sorts when I blog the entire National Signing Day events on both ATB and Track Em Tigers. It will be taxing, but I am looking forward to it.


WAR EAGLE!

Note to Auburn Basketball

 I want to post this quick note to the Auburn basketball teams. It's a personal note, that I hope each of you will endorse. If you feel like I do, maybe you can copy and paste it to your email, and send it to the teams.

 Dear Auburn Basketball teams and coaches,
I want to let each of you know, that in spite of all the past trials and tribulations, I still love and support you. You don't have to win every game, you just have to keep trying to win every game. Keep getting better, and work on the things that matter most. 

We the fans, will be there filling out the Jungle, or supporting you through the many viewing options available.

WAR EAGLE!

Auburn Baseball 2013 Commercial

Recruiting Finish

 I am asked more times than not what I think Auburn's new staff will do in recruiting. Most of the questions center around where I think Auburn will end up ranked in the national recruiting polls. 

 The answer is more one of not knowing. Looking into some of the variables, we can start to understand exactly what a potential recruit might face when picking Auburn as his school.

 Lets face it. Auburn football was a disaster the last season and even going back as far as the last half of 2011, Auburn was struggling to produce a competitive football team. We are not here to examine why, and doing so now serves no justice. You know that every single recruiter for other schools in our conference are using this fact as ammunition against Auburn. Who can blame them.

 When Jay Jacobs decided to fire Gene Chizik, he set in motion an entire array of emotions in the fan base, and also in the recruits. Some of whom were very loyal, and attached to the previous coaching staff. As Gus Malzahn went about his business of hiring his new staff, he decided an entire sweep of the previous staff was in order. There had been speculation that some members of Gene Chizik's staff would be retained. That was not to be.  Recruiters are using this against Auburn as well. 

 The same scenario played out in 2009, when Auburn hired Gene Chizik, and he went about salvaging  an Auburn recruiting class, that was started by Tommy Tubberville and his group. Auburn finished ranked 19th according to Rivals.com. Many fans that follow recruiting at Auburn were somewhat pleased, but were not buying that Chizik line that Auburn could recruit with anybody in the country. Gene Chizik and his staff proved that they could with the next couple of recruiting classes.

 Auburn is recruiting from a huge disadvantage as we speak. Gus and his staff have evaluated many needs that the team faces, and won't know the true needs until after getting to practice the team, and work with them one on one in the spring. That means the true test of recruiting for this staff will be going forward into 2014.

So, when asked where Auburn will finish in recruiting, my answer has been somewhere between Top 10, and Top 25. Next year though, Auburn should be head to head with every top program in the country, and finish within the top five or six places on the recruiting trail.

WAR EAGLE!

Scheduled Hiatus

We will be taking a few days off in the coming weeks. Don't be alarmed. We are close by, just extra busy the last two weeks of January.

 We will devote our undivided attention to you and to Auburn sports when we return full time in February.

 I hope that this is not an inconvenience to any of you.

WAR EAGLE!

Auburn Hangs Tough in Loss to Vols

 I'm sitting here at my desk tonight, watching women's basketball, excuse me, Auburn women's basketball, and I find myself comparing the play of these wonderful ladies to what I expect our offense under Gus Malzahn will look like. 

 I see a style of play that is fast paced, but not too fast. A controlled explosion if you will. Take the last play that ended in an Auburn bucket. Auburn got the defensive rebound, then passed the ball out to Ouardad who took the ball down the court, and found a wide open Tyrese Tanner for an easy layup.


 Tennessee then takes the ball back down the court, and makes a basket. Before the UT defenders get all the way back, Auburn has the ball in bounds, and down at the UT side of the court for another easy basket. That makes the score 43-33 in Auburn's favor. 

 Basketball can be a game of momentum, and it swings many times in each game. I'll be the first to admit my limited knowledge of the game, although it looks to me that this hurry up style of play increases the chances of the momentum staying with you. 

 Of course by the time I type his out, and start getting it ready to post, Tennessee has taken the momentum and a six point lead at 65- 59 with 3:47 to go in the game. UT goes on to win the game 75-66. 

 Auburn is now 13-5 2-3 in SEC play with Kentucky and then Alabama due up next.

 Still, I see this Auburn team improving, and making some noise down the stretch in conference play.

Chip Kelly's Success In NFL: Not Best for Auburn

Gus Malzahn at the AHSAA Super 6 in 2012

 Look, I don't wish Chip Kelly any ill will in his bid for NFL success. I really don't. I just see a scenario that this won't turn out well for Auburn. I'll try to explain.

 Lets say that Kelly has moderate success at Philadelphia, and takes the Eagles to the playoffs the next season.  In his second season, the Eagles are expected to return to the playoffs, right? What if they not only make the playoffs, but they play in the NFC Championship game? That would mean that his style of play works in the NFL. So, how does that affect Auburn you ask?

 What if, in that same time frame, Auburn has the resurgence we all hope that it does? What if Malzahn can somehow win the SEC West, and get Auburn into the college football playoffs in 2014? Lets just go ahead and say that does happen, and Auburn fans everywhere are ecstatic about their future. 

 If the above scenario comes to fruition, and Chip Kelly is seen as the model of the new breed of offensive mind in the NFL, and Malzahn is as successful at Auburn. You can bet that Auburn University would be fending off the callings of NFL teams wanting Gus Malzahn.

 I would be really interested in your comments on this. 

WAR EAGLE!

Reuben Foster interview 1-16-13

Jonathan Wallace: Forgotten Man

photo courtesy of Inside The Auburn Tigers

 It's easy to pick on someone, especially in this age of internet sports writing. It becomes even easier when the person being picked on, in this case Mark Schlabach of ESPN, paints a target on their forehead. Sorry Mark, you asked for it and I honestly have nothing else to write about this evening. So, thanks for the inspiration.

 In case you missed it, Schlabach's article from earlier today gave some bold predictions heading into the 2013 college football season. Many of his predictions we can talk about all year, but until the season actually starts, were just wasting air. My contention comes when he discusses the Auburn football program. He writes...

"The Tigers can't get any worse after finishing 3-9, 0-8 in the SEC this past season. Things were so bad that coach Gene Chizik was fired only two years after guiding the Tigers to a BCS National Championship.

Auburn hired former Arkansas State coach Gus Malzahn to fix things; he directed Auburn's offense during its national championship season in 2010. Malzahn has already found his quarterback of the future: former Georgia defensive back Nick Marshall, who threw for 2,837 yards with 18 touchdowns, while running for 949 yards with 18 scores at Garden City (Kan.) Community College this past season.

Marshall, who was dismissed from Georgia two years ago, will beat out Kiehl Frazier for Auburn's starting job in preseason camp and will become one of the country's most exciting dual-threat quarterbacks in Malzahn's spread offense."

 Seems every sportswriter in the country has forgot, or just doesn't care, that Jonathan Wallace ended the season as the starting quarterback for Auburn University. Besting the numbers of both Clint Moseley, and Kiehl Frazier all while facing the most difficult challengers on the schedule.

 Wallace had the better passing stats with a 158.7% passing efficiency rating. With 66 completions on 41 attempts with 4 TD's vs. 2 INT's and an average of 9.8 yards per pass. 

 Look for Wallace to assert himself as the candidate to beat for the QB job at AU this year. If were Jonathan Wallace, this would give me all the incentive I need to make sure after 2013, everyone will know the name of the starter at the quarterback position at Auburn.

WAR EAGLE!

A message from Coach Flo

Meeting The New Tigers - Nick Marshall

 “He’s the best athlete I’ve ever seen,” said Marshall’s high 

school coach Mark Ledford, Wilcox County’s head 

coach since 2001.


 Nick Marshall is an interesting story. One that will be worth

keeping an eye on in the coming spring practices.


 Apparently, Gus Malzahn feels the need to bring in another

quarterback prospect...


 “Yeah, I’m playing quarterback. 100 percent,” Marshall told 

the Ledger-Enquirer Monday night. “That is what I’m 

made for.” You can read the entire story HERE.

Read more here: http://www.wareagleextra.com/#navlink=subnav#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.wareagleextra.com/#navlink=subnav#storylink=cpy

Toomer's Corner Trees are Poisoned but Auburn Spirit is Not, Alabama fan...

Dreams Are Made of These

 There is a line in a song that goes - "Sweet dreams are made of these".  My thoughts went to this song when thinking of the start Auburn Men's basketball is off to. Of course we are in heady territory for a "football school" when our basketball team starts league play at 2-0.



 While the conference wins are a welcome sight, it will take many more for the team to achieve its goal of going dancing in the post season. A month ago it seemed nearly impossible. Then without warning, things started to click. A very close call with the 12th ranked team in the country, and victory over the defending ACC Champs gave us some hope and evidence of elevated play on the court. 

 Then the start of SEC play against an LSU team picked to finish 11th in the league, and we the fans started thinking that maybe we are getting better. But road woes have doomed such hopes in the past. This Auburn team however did not disappoint on its first road trip to conference play beating South Carolina.

 Future contests will become more difficult as Auburn's schedule does not get easier. If this team can manage to keep getting better, and keep winning, maybe we can realize our dreams of post season play. After all "Sweet dreams are made of these".....

WAR EAGLE!

Auburn Basketball Highlights at South Carolina

AUHD Game Recap: WBB vs. Ole Miss

Men's Basketball vs LSU Highlights

Men's Basketball vs FSU Highlights

Would You Like To Be a Part of Tiger Walk?

 This is a post that I hope makes its way to the desk of Jay Jacobs. It will need plenty of help. Your help. I have a feeling it will get there if all of you push this via social media.

 Dear Jay Jacobs,
A couple of Auburn fans were having a discussion on twitter that you might like to know about. We were welcoming new Auburn football coach Tim Horton to Auburn, and wishing him the best in his efforts here. We also told him that we could not wait for his first Tiger Walk.

That is when an idea was born. One that would elevate the experience even more for the fans. Each home game, select a small number of fans to participate in Tiger Walk. Let them have the experience of that first time ever just like the true freshmen, and the new coaches.

I know as an Auburn fan, I have wondered what that experience was like to be able to walk with the team. I am getting goose bumps just thinking about it.

Please Mr. Jacobs, make this happen. Auburn fans everywhere would be thrilled beyond your imagination.

Sincerely War Eagle,
Klell Lawrence

Friday Ramblings - Championship Simulpost

This sign says it all!

 Hello once again Auburn fans and War Eagle. Today we are going to look all around our football world, and look into the future just a bit. So, tighten up your seat belts and let's ride.

SEC, SEC, SEC...
This past week we once again saw the dominance that the SEC has over the rest of the college football world. Not every team is dominant every season, but the champion from our conference every year has been able to vanquish all comers from the best the other conferences can muster.

OUT WITH THE OLD...
The grand old sports writers have been chomping at the bit for decades trying to place this dream matchup of Notre Dame and Alabama in the BCS title game, alas it was not a contest. The first quarter alone saw what is arguably not the best Crimson Tide team that Nick Saban has developed, produce over 200 yards of offense, and hold the then ranked #1 team to just 23 total yards. It was as lopsided as that throughout the game.

TRADITION? WHAT TRADITION?...
I have been saying for years, that the AP and some of the coaches have been giving entirely too much credit to those schools with a long tradition of winning prior to the BCS era. The remarkable difference is clearly seen each year when the title game is played. The 2010 game being the exception, when two teams that historically were looked over wound up in the game for all the "Tostitos". That match up produced one of the most exciting BCS Championship games.

OVER-RATED...
The other tidbit that keeps cropping up in my addled mind, is how many good teams besides Auburn have been screwed out of playing in a major Bowl game because of the ill conceived notion that a traditional powerhouse deserves the nod over a team which had a very good season. We may never know, but the effects of a Notre Dame being ranked, sure cost America a truly contested BCS title match up this season.

RECRUITING...
Auburn has really stepped up in the recruiting department. With Coach Malzahn's staff bringing in some defensive linemen, that should send a message to those already on the roster. Get your butt in gear, or sit on the bench. This has clearly been the biggest area of disappointment for this Auburn team in the past two seasons. The numbers are there, the production is not. Hopefully this will change.

Speaking of recruiting, this a reminder that on National Signing Day(NSD) we will be here to keep all informed as to what goes on in the land of Orange and Blue. All of you that wish to participate are welcome, and if you will shoot me an email at sonoficecream@yahoo.com, I will gladly relay to you what we will be looking for. I hope this is the best NSD that is provided on the blogAUsphere. Make sure you label your emails "TET Recruiting".

FUTURE PLAYOFF....
The upcoming playoff system is one that I believe will make a big splash with the fans. I look for the format to be expanded to eight teams in just a few short years. This will hopefully weed out the pretenders early, and the best two teams at that time should end up in the title game. We shall see, but I think it will be a huge improvement going forward. One thing is for sure, once the playoff begins, the pollsters & voters are powerless to affect an outcome. That is a huge plus for this writer.

WAR EAGLE!

Meet The New Tigers - Coaches part3

 Coach Charlie "Cheese" Harbison comes to Auburn from Clemson University. The same Clemson that has been a sore spot for Auburn fans recently. Coach Harbison's former boss at Clemson, Dabo Swinney, relished a victory over Auburn a little too much for our taste, when his Tigers beat our Tigers in 2011. It happened again when Clemson bested Auburn in 2012.

 Coach Cheese is a no nonsense disciplinarian who likes to think of himself as a teacher. Enjoy the video courtesy of al.com...

Jay Jacobs Emails Students

 Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs responded to the unusually high request for student admission to home basketball games. After turning away hundreds of students at the Auburn Arena Wednesday night, which was the SEC home opener against LSU, the students voiced their opinions via social media. It seems that message was heard loud and clear.

 The following is an email sent from Jay Jacobs to the Auburn students, courtesy of War Blogle.

Dear Auburn students,

I am pleased to announce changes to our student admission policies for men’s basketball games. I instructed our staff to make the changes this morning based on your input following last night’s home opener against LSU.

Thank you for the feedback you provided through social media. It was instructive and helpful in our efforts to allow as many students as possible to support our basketball team.

We will continue to admit the first 1,500 students free of charge for all home games. We are now making an additional 500 free drink rail tickets available to students for the upcoming game against Kentucky, which we expect to be a sellout.

On a game-by-game basis moving forward, we will admit all students free of charge until the arena is filled to capacity. We will no longer charge $5 to students for admission after the student section fills up. This was a policy we put in place before the 2010 season as an incentive for students to show up early and support the team. Until last night, it worked well and did exactly what we intended it to do.

It is important to remember that prior to opening Auburn Arena, only the first 500 students were admitted free of charge at men’s basketball games. After hiring Coach Barbee, we changed our policy to admit the first 1,500 students free of charge. That change was made to enhance the atmosphere at Auburn Arena and increase student attendance.

I hope this new change makes it clear that student support at basketball games is of the utmost importance to our team and to me personally. We designed Auburn Arena to put you as close to the floor as possible. A student-only entrance and student concessions were added to make your gameday experience as good as it can possibly be.

I want to thank the 2,000 students who helped create a great atmosphere for last night’s win over LSU. As the games get bigger, I would encourage you to become a member of The Jungle, the official student section of Auburn basketball, so you can get into the arena 15 minutes prior to the gates opening. You can join The Jungle by visiting www.auburntigers.com/jungle/.

Thanks again for your support. Let’s keep Auburn Arena rockin’ the rest of the year. War Eagle!

Jay Jacobs

Director of Athletics

Meet The New Tigers - Coaches part2

 My personal favorite hire has to be Dameyune Craig. Most of this staff left me saying wow, Gus hired him? The DC hire had me jumping and shouting with joy! 

 Listen to Coach Craig as he talks about his time here as a player, talking with Cam today, and just when he found out he wanted to be an Auburn Tiger...

Video courtesy of al.com 

Meet The New Tigers - Coaches

 New offensive line coach J. B. Grimes met with the media  today. He impressed this writer with his understanding of the run game. Something Auburn is well known for. Coach Grimes stated
the "football is a tough game for tough people" - sounds like my kind of coach.

Enjoy the video courtesy of al.com..



War Eagle!

Recruiting & Goodbye Mr. Moseley

Gus Malzahn 

 The final push is on! The new coaching staff at Auburn is working diligently to put the 2013 recruiting class together, and finish with a resounding BOOM!

 There are four weekends left before National Signing Day (NSD) and the pieces of the puzzle are starting to take shape. Signing JUCO athletes was something that Gene Chizik and his staff did their first year at Auburn, but stayed away from in the following classes. Gus Malzahn and his current staff have made it a point of emphasis to attract and sign quality JUCO talent.

 Make no mistake about it, there has been several really good recruiting classes brought into AU by the former staff, but there is a real need for some experienced players at key positions. Plus the mentality has to change, and we don't know who on the current team will be able to adapt. It would be nice if all of the current players could evolve into what Gus wants them to become. In reality several will not.

 Clint Moseley has decided not to continue his AU football career, although I suspect it is because of his recurring injuries, not his willingness to get better, that is the major factor in his decision. Clint always seemed to do whatever was asked of him, even if he was emotional in his doing so. This writer would like to take this space to say "Thank You" to Clint Moseley for all that you have done for Auburn. Seeing him limp onto the field this past season to take over for Kiehl Frazier told me all I need to know about his desire to win. Moseley was playing hurt, but answered the call anyway. 

War Eagle Clint!

Auburn 6th, Bama 8th in Latest Poll

 According to an article published by the Wall Street Journal ranking the total worth of each of 115 schools athletic programs. This was first posted by our friends at THE WAR EAGLE READER . 

"Among other factors, the study looked at each program's revenues and expenses and made cash-flow adjustments, risk assessments and growth projections for each school. The resulting figures represent what the teams might fetch if they could be bought and sold like pro franchises. (As a point of reference, the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars sold in late 2011 for about $760 million.)" the author states.



 The question I posed there, and for you now is this. Is this an indicator that Jay Jacobs is doing a good job at AU, on the financial aspect of Auburn athletics?

Please feel free to leave your comments below.

WAR EAGLE!

New Tigers - Ben Bradley

 

 Meet Auburn's newest signee from Hutchinson Community College. Big Ben Bradley comes in at 6' 3" and 315 pounds. He's a four star defensive tackle out of Norcross, GA originally, which is where the above video came from. 

 The next new Tiger is safety Brandon King. King comes out of Highlands Community College in Kansas. Brandon went to high school in Alabaster, AL and is rated a two star prospect by 24/7sports.com

 We are unable to find any video of Brandon King. 

 Welcome to Auburn men, and as always...

 WAR EAGLE!

Best of The Best - Mom

 Every year we are amazed at some of the sports commercials that are made. Most we see once, and just forget them. The next time they come up we either mute the sound, or change the channels. This past year there were notable exceptions to that rule. 

 In a recent USA Today article the Top 15 sports commercials were ranked. My favorite from the humor side was the ESPN commercial seen below.


 I was actually moved by this following commercial I first saw during the Olympic Games.


 You will have to click on the link we provided to see which one topped all the rest. I promise you this, you will be glad you saw it. You can thank me in the comments.

WAR EAGLE!

AU's Richardson Wins Bowden Award

ASHTON RICHARDSON courtesy of AU Family

 Ashton Richardson wins prestigious award for outstanding student athlete named after former FSU coach Bobby Bowden.

“It’s definitely humbling to receive this award, especially since it is named for a man like coach Bobby Bowden,” Richardson said in a statement. “Our campus and community pastors have been great mentors to me during my time at Auburn, and the Auburn family has always been supportive of me in my faith journey, as well as in academics and athletics. This is a tremendous honor.”

 Our congratulations go out to Richardson who was also a Rhodes Scholar finalist.

WAR EAGLE!

The Sum of The Parts

Driven and focused. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn.

There is an old adage that states that the one is not greater than the whole. This true with anything to do with team sports. Like a well built engine, take away a part and the performance will not be optimum. For peak efficiency, every part is needed. Auburn needs one more part to complete its coaching staff for the football program.

 Since being named the head coach of Auburn University, Gus Malzahn has been tireless in his efforts of hiring the best of the best when it comes to coaches. No matter what it took, there was not a hurdle too tall, nor an obstacle too difficult that could prevent him from building an exceptional coaching staff here at Auburn.

 Yesterday was like Christmas morning for a six year old for all Auburn fans with news of the hiring of former San Diego Chargers coach Rich Bisaccia(Be-sach-ia) to be the new Running Backs coach and Special Teams coordinator. 

 Bisaccia brings to Auburn 11 years NFL experience, a Super Bowl title, and is widely regarded as the best Special Teams coach in all of football. In addition he has three years of SEC coaching experience at Ole Miss and 5 years at Clemson. Read more about him HERE.

 As if that wasn't enough, late yesterday we found out one of Auburn's prodigal sons would be returning home to coach wide receivers. Former Auburn star quarterback Dameyune Craig agreed to return to Auburn. 

 You can look HERE for his bio. Suffice it to say that Craig has been a thorn in the side of Auburn recruiting efforts for years. He is known as a relentless and shrewd recruiter, who will win more recruiting battles than most others.

 With the addition of these two gentlemen, this Auburn staff is now a force on the recruiting trail, and proven to be leaders of men. The amount of young men they have coached who have made their living in the NFL is astounding. The total years of coaching experience is astronomical at around 161 years at the college or professional level.

 As we found out on January 3rd, 2013 Gus is a driven recruiter. His ability to get the best coaches has been proven. If he  continues this effort in recruiting the very best athletes to Auburn, then Katy bar the door.

WAR EAGLE!

Recruiting Primer - Revisited

 Two quick things here. 

 First thing is that an eyewitness tweet yesterday revealed that Reuben Foster's family was decked out in AU apparel while attending the events at the Under Armor All-American. AL.com is reporting that 4 star safety Antonio Conner has stated that Reuben Foster and others have been telling him about Auburn, and trying to get him to come down there.

 The other is that Carl Lawson has recently mentioned the good players that would be coming to Auburn around him would help make him a better player. This was the message he conveyed while being interviewed at the Skills Challenge on ESPN2. Not exactly a reconfirmation of his commitment, but it looks better each day as he develops relationships with the new staff at AU.

 I will be running an all day recruiting coverage event on Track Em Tigers and here simultaneously on National Signing Day (NSD) So you can keep up with everything that happens at either site.

 Now let's take a realistic look at January and what all this means. 

 It appears that Auburn is planning a really big recruiting weekend on January 11th. That is where AU will make a stand with most of the big name recruits, I'm guessing. From there the Auburn coaches must decide who will be offered scholarships, and who will put in a holding pattern waiting to hear whether they will get an offer.

 We need to understand that there will be tons of rumors, and many story lines as we march toward National Signing Day. So many in fact that we can't possibly report all of them. We will not report rumors at all. I would rather be the last person to tell you anything, than tell you something that is untrue. Besides, we don't break stories here. We just offer our impressions on the happenings in Auburn sports.

 So, buckle your seat belts, secure the hatches, and man your battle stations. The recruiting push of every programs life is upon us. 

 WAR EAGLE!

Satisfying Victory

 In a strange yet satisfying twist, the Auburn Men's basketball team spent a lot of time at the foul line as the game was drawing to its conclusion Wednesday night. The Tigers came away with an impressive win against FSU by the score of 78-72.

 Strange because it happens when teams are leading convincingly yet the game is not a complete blowout. That is a situation this Auburn team has not found its self in very often over the last 5 years. Satisfying because the game was against an ACC opponent that handled the Tiger last season. FSU won that contest 85-56.

 Frankie Sullivan led the Tigers in scoring with 27 points, 18 of which came in the first half. The key to victory may have came with the play of Allen Payne. Payne finished the game with 9 0f 13 from the free throw line and 17 points, along with three assists and six rebounds.

 This should be the confidence booster to jump start the conference schedule, which starts next Wednesday against LSU. After coming up just short against #12 Illinois just four days ago by the score of 81-79 this victory proves that this Auburn team can play good basketball. They need to keep working at getting better, and who knows what will happen. 

WAR EAGLE!

New Tigers

We will start with Cam, er excuse me, Cameron Artis-Payne the #1 rated Running Back out of the JUCO ranks. First the video. 



 Impressive enough? I thought you would like it. after further evaluation, Rivals.com has vaulted Cam's rating to the 4 star level. I mean after all he is the #1 rated JUCO RB in this class.

 I was fortunate enough to listen to his radio interview with Justin Hokanson and Rob Pate of "Eyes on Auburn" and came away impressed with this young man. He sounded mature, and answered all of his questions with the savvy of a veteran player. 

 At 5' 11" and 210 pounds, and with 4.5 second speed in the forty yard dash, he has the body style of Mike Dyer who was listed as 5' 9" at 215 ponds. Cameron should fit in well with the Gus Malzahn style of offense, and be a very productive member.

 Devonte Danzey signed with Auburn after announcing on Christmas Day that he would play for the Tigers. At 6' 3" and 285 pounds, he is a piece to the puzzle at the Guard position that should compete right away for playing time.

 While You Tube doesn't show any available video of Danzey, we have this scouting report courtesy of ESPN:
Danzey is an aggressive offensive lineman who won't turn down an opportunity to try and knock someone on their butt. He plays tackle but will likely end up sliding inside at the next level. He has good size for the guard position.

 Welcome to the Auburn family men, and as always...

WAR EAGLE!

Those were the days....