Will Kodi Burns get the start against ULM?

By Acid Reign
Paraswarm@aol.com

     Here it is, game week already! After the better part of a week under dark clouds and endless rain, the sun has come out, and it feels like football weather! It's been a LONG off-season since spring ball. Where do the Auburn Tigers stand, after August football camp? As usual, some unheralded folks have made a move. Some veterans and highly touted newcomers have not. Coming up, we'll take a look!

     On defense, the story is injuries and an alarmingly thin secondary. Even before Aaron Savage was carted off for season-ending knee surgery, we knew that this would be an area of concern. As it stands now, we'll start two junior corners, and two sophomore safeties. Behind the starters, true freshmen fill a LOT of spots on the two-deep depth chart. The linebacker corps appears to be deep, and talented. The interior line looks deep, too, but attrition has hit the ends.

     Special teams look to be much improved from a year ago. Nearly every major player returns, and some new folks are making noise. We may well place totally green freshman out there to punt and return kicks.

     The biggest buzz around Auburn Football for the past six months has been speculation on the new spread offense. If camp is any indication, there are a LOT of balls being thrown. Looking at the game-week depth chart, a casual observer can easily see that there's only one tight end on the three-deep, and no fullbacks. Folks, this is an indicator that it's for real, and not just another way to disguise first-down dives up the middle.

Position by Position Outlook

Defensive Tackle: Junior SenDerrick Marks appears to be headed for a monster season, and seems to be an excellent team leader. He's a ferocious player, and awfully quick for a 300-pounder. However, he'll see a lot of double teams. Marks was largely absent from Auburn's A-day game, and we saw the rest of the depth chart struggle. This fall, stepping up to start at nose-tackle is Mike Blanc, who appears to finally be over a series of nagging injuries. By all accounts, Blanc has stepped up his game, and will be a force to be reckoned with. In a bit of a surprise, 6^th year senior Tez Doolittle has overcome a torn ankle tendon, and a bad hamstring pull this summer, and has claimed the number two spot behind Marks. Junior Jake Ricks and sophomore Zach Clayton will provide quality depth behind Blanc. This is shaping up to be a nasty bunch, and none of them weigh less than Doolittle's 283.

Defensive End: Junior Antonio Coleman was easily the Overlooked SEC defensive player of the year, last year. He's had a scare with his neck this year, and a variety of nicks and bruises, but should be ready to return to wreaking havoc on the left side of opponent offenses. Behind Coleman, sophomore Antione Carter has been a terror, this fall. Last season, Carter was linebacker-sized. This year, he's up over 250 pounds, and has been all but impossible to block. Look for Carter and Coleman to be on the field at the same time, on 3^rd and long. On the strong side, junior Michael Goggins has nailed down the starting spot. He's not as big as Marks was last year, but he showed great ability to slide off blocks during A-day, and he disrupted the running game significantly. Who'll back Goggins up is the single issue of the defensive line. Raven Gray has not recovered from knee surgery, and is headed for a redshirt. A.C. Green has been too banged up to perform well, this fall. Coming out of nowhere, to make the two-deep in less than a week, is junior tight end Gabe McKenzie. Either McKenzie's that good, or the situation is that dire. We'll see, when Goggins needs relief!

Sam Linebacker: On the strong side, sophomore Craig Stevens returns, after a solid freshman season . Coach James Willis has praised Stevens for always being in the right place, but expects Stevens to step up this year, and make more plays. Behind Stevens is veteran senior Courtney Harden, a versatile guy who can play all three linebacker positions.

Mike Linebacker: Junior Tray Blackmon returns here, looking for a break-out season. Unlike previous years, Blackmon's been a solid citizen both on and off the field. This may be the year that he becomes a superstar. Blackmon's a half-second quicker than anyone else on the team, reacting to the ball. He has a chance to really be something special. Blackmon's backup isn't too shabby, either, if A-Day is any indication. Sophomore Josh Bynes was a menace, in that game, breaking up running backs, and intercepting errant throws. Behind Bynes is another player who can play all three spots, redshirt freshman Adam Herring.

Will Linebacker: This position will be filled by two stellar senior co-starters, Merrill Johnson and Chris Evans. Both hit hard, and are quick. If there is a difference, it would be that Evans really displayed a knack last season for tracking down runners, and Johnson appears to be our best linebacker in coverage.

Cornerbacks: On the strong side, getting his first starting action will be junior Walter McFadden. He's got blazing speed, and good height, at 6 feet even. The knock on McFadden in the past has been consistency. This year, he'll be matched up frequently on the opponent's deep threat, and will not be able to take plays off. On the boundary side, junior veteran Jerraud Powers returns. Powers' excellent play last season, has accorded him a number of pre-season honors. While he's maybe not quite fast enough, and not quite tall enough, he always seems to be in the right place to make a play on the ball. Filling in behind the two junior starters are a pair of true freshmen, D'Antoine Hood, and Neiko Thorpe. Hood's a shifty, smallish corner, while Thorpe is a tall, lanky guy who can run. The next corner on the list is converted wide-receiver Harry Adams, a redshirt freshman. Adams is still learning the position.

Strong Safety: True sophomore Michael McNeil has taken the starting slot here. He backed up the free safety spot as a true freshman, last year. McNeil has good size, and great closing speed. Depth behind McNeil is senior walk-on Jonathan Vickers, and true freshman Christian Thompson.

Free Safety: 3^rd year sophomore Zach Etheridge moves over after an all-SEC Freshman Team year, to take the free safety spot. Etheridge was one of the top tacklers on the team a year ago, and has great speed. Behind Etheridge is redshirt freshman Mike Slade, a promising underclassman. Slade was impressive during A-day.

Punter: Redshirt freshman Clinton Durst is on the verge of taking the starting job away from pre-season All-SEC punter, sophomore Ryan Shoemaker. Shoemaker has been hampered by a hamstring this fall, and Durst can really boom it, as we saw during the A-Day game. A soccer standout, Durst had evidently never kicked a football seriously before last summer. The story of him buying a discount-store football, so he could practice to try out for the Auburn football team, is one that will be re-told for years to come! Lurking behind Durst and Shoemaker is sophomore Patrick Tatum, who punted well last season, when called on.

Punt Returner: For now, senior Robert Dunn holds onto that position. Dunn has a lot of experience, and broke several important long returns. Better still, he did so without turnovers. Auburn goes with a punt-block scheme, most of the time. The returner's job is primarily to avoid a turnover, and keep the ball from being killed inside the 10. Dunn has become adept at that. Behind Dunn are sophomore Chris Slaughter, who fair caught a few punts last season, and incoming freshman Phillip Pierre-Louis. Louis has been a sensation, this camp, with his shifty moves and great speed. He'll probably get a crack at a return early, this year. Don't fumble. Don't fumble. Don't fumble...

Kick Returner: In Auburn's scheme, two are listed, but it's really a return man and a lead blocker. Senior Tristan Davis was the nation's leading kick returner in 2006, but the foot is acting up again. Davis has had great difficulty staying healthy. To hedge his bets, Tuberville lists true freshman Phillip Pierre-Louis as a co-number one. Junior Ben Tate is a starter, likely to block. Should additional returners be needed, senior James Swinton and freshman Harry Adams are next on the chart.

Place kicker: Sophomore Wes Byrum is the man, here. There have been indications that Wes Byrum is nursing another leg injury, this week. He'll not kick till the game, from what I've heard. Sophomore Morgan Hull is the backup, and he does have a pretty strong leg.

Tackles: The freshman terrors from a year ago, Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh, reprise their roles again this fall. After a year of Yoxercise, both appear to be a lot bigger, stronger, and nastier. Ziemba will have the QB's blind side. So far this fall, Ziemba's neutralized his man, which has allowed Auburn quarterbacks to complete a lot of passes. Pugh has split time between tackle and center, and in his absence at right tackle, sophomore journeyman Mike Berry has filled in well. Berry, who has played every position on the line, started several games last season, at right guard. Backing up Lee Ziemba will be junior Andrew McCain, who has improved greatly. Thrust into the spotlight too early last summer, McCain has become a much more consistent blocker this year.

Guards: Chaz Ramsey, a freshman starter a year ago, is likely to be sidelined with a bad back, this season. His replacement at right guard is sophomore Byron Issom, who played well in the A-Day game. Senior Tyrone Green is poised for an NFL career, holding down the left guard spot. Green is a stout, large, powerful guard who habitually muscles opposing defensive tackles backwards 5 to 10 yards. Depth at guard will come from sophomore Bart Eddins, and redshirt freshman Jared Cooper.

Center: Senior Jason Bosley is the leader of the line, and is on the Remington Award watch list. Should Bosley go down, Ryan Pugh will move over from the tackle spot. Mike Berry has also worked at center, this fall.

Tight End: In the Franklin offense, this position is called the "Y" position. Junior Tommy Trott sits atop the depth chart, here. Trott has had problems with his hands in the past, but under the Franklin system, he has flourished, and is poised to become a dynamic threat. By looking at the remaining depth at this position, it is clear that Auburn is not gearing up to be a power-running offense. Sophomore Tim Hawthorne, and freshman Derek Winter are listed at numbers two and three. Freshman Vance Smith will line up as a second tight end on short-yardage situations.

Outside Receivers: In the Franklin system, these are the "X" and "Z" receivers. As is typical with many offenses, there appears to be an effort to group a possession receiver, and a deep threat, on the field together. The starters are senior Rod Smith, and senior James Swinton. Smith has indeed proved to be an excellent possession receiver over the past two seasons he has started, but he also has shown great ability to go up and get deep balls, as well. Swinton has been lauded as the best performer in camp, this fall. One of the fastest players on the team, Swinton has thrived under the new offense. Junior Montez Billings, a starter from a year ago, has developed leg problems, and likely won't play in the opener. Off the bench behind Swinton, sophomore Chris Slaughter appears poised to become a great weapon, too. He's tall, fluid, fast, and has great hands. Backing up Smith is true freshman Phillip Pierre-Louis, a camp sensation. He's a small, ridiculously elusive and fast receiver. Redshirt freshman Quindarius Carr is a more traditionally-sized option at the "Z."

Inside Receiver: This position is dubbed the "H" receiver, in Franklin's scheme. After a great spring, senior Robert Dunn was leading here. Alas, Dunn has earned the dreaded "doghouse" status from Coach Tuberville, and is now listed as 4^th team. Whether this is a temporary motivational tool, or a sign that Dunn's on the outs, has yet to be determined. Elevated to starter is sophomore Terrell Zachary, a former doghouse inhabitant. Zachary was a standout performer in spring drills, and is working hard this fall. Behind Zachary is listed true freshman Darvin Adams, a tall speedster. Sophomore Mario Fannin is listed at 3^rd team H receiver, likely due to various ailments. I think the coaches would like to line Fannin up in a variety of positions, from outside receiver, to the slot, to running back.

Fullbacks: On the official Auburn depth chart, there are none. However, there WILL be some 3^rd and ones, where we need to jumbo-up and make a first down. Scanning the Auburn roster, likely candidates for the thankless lead blocker post are redshirt freshman John Douglas, and senior Ryan Hastie. Neither has any experience, but they do have that 240-pound body so necessary to an SEC fullback!

Running Back: Listed as co-number ones are senior Brad Lester, and junior Ben Tate. Both are experienced and dangerous, bringing different styles to the table. Lester is the slasher with ridiculous acceleration. He hits the hole at full speed. Tate is a bigger body with deceptive speed, and he runs tough. Senior Tristan Davis is listed third. When healthy, he's probably Auburn's fastest back. Likely, true freshman Eric Smith will get more duty than Davis. Comparisons to Rudi Johnson have been made, as Smith is a stocky, muscular back with great balance. It's also worth noting that Smith's the only Auburn back not to miss time in practice with injuries...

Quarterback: I think the vast majority of Auburn writers would like to have a clearly delineated number one quarterback. Folks, that's not going to happen yet. With a spread offense, and all those alphabet receivers splayed out, the quarterback is going to get hit. I think playing two, or even three, against Louisiana Monroe is a good idea. From all indications, sophomore quarterback Kodi Burns has continued the excellent play he showed near the end of spring drills. Junior newcomer Chris Todd seems largely recovered from a shoulder injury, and seems to be a high-percentage pocket passer. Sophomore Neil Caudle continues to improve. All three quarterbacks are mobile, something that's been missing since Jason Campbell left for the Redskins.

     Against Louisiana Monroe, expect Auburn to come out and try to dictate the tempo on both sides of the ball. A perfect scenario would be the starting offense and defense getting a chance to jell against a respectable opponent, then some opportunities to play younger backups while holding a big lead. We'll see if Tuberville means what he says about turning over a new leaf, and playing freshmen early. Look for Phillip Pierre-Louis to get some early opportunities to break one.

     War Eagle, everybody! Let's all get fired up, and enjoy the opening week of the season!

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

It's already starting to look like game day on the Plains. RV's have started pulling in and the city of Auburn is getting ready to welcome back 86,000 friends. On Wednesday, the team entered the final stages of its preparation for Saturday's opener with Louisiana-Monroe.

For the record, the Louisiana school has requested that it be referred to as ULM for now on. That's fine with us. It's doesn't take as long to type.

Auburn worked out in shorts yesterday at both the athletic complex and at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The majority of practice was spent working on game day timing. Tommy Tuberville noted at his press conference on Tuesday that he has some concerns about shuffling players in and out so frequently with the Spread Offense. You'll see Auburn go a lot deeper into the depth chart with this new offense. The Tigers will dress out close to 90 players Saturday.

The team was given a screening of the pregame video that will be played at Pat Dye Field before the players take the field. This year's video is a remix of the song, "Are you ready?" by Three Days Grace.  As usual, the video will show tons of highlights from last season.

Here are some Auburn game day facts to get you ready...

• Auburn has an 88-25-2 record in season-opening games. Auburn has won 17 of its last 22 openers, and has a 6-3 mark under head coach Tommy Tuberville with two straight wins.
• Auburn's 88 season-opening victories is just one win behind Alabama for the most among the 12 Southeastern Conference schools.
• Auburn returns more than 80 percent of its rushing, receiving and all-purpose yards from last season, as well as more than 90 percent of its scoring.
• Auburn will surpass the 20 million mark in all-time total attendance at Jordan-Hare Stadium during the game against Louisiana-Monroe. The Tigers have drawn 19,986,213 fans in 68 seasons at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
• For the sixth consecutive year, Auburn is nationally ranked to begin the season. The Tigers are 10th in the Associated Press preseason poll, and 11th in the preseason USA Today coaches poll.
• Auburn has been tough to beat in night games at Jordan-Hare Stadium in recent seasons, accumulating a record of 14-2 since the 2000 season in home games starting at 6 p.m. or later. That stretch includes a 4-0 record against ranked opponents, with wins over No. 1 Florida in 2001, No. 2 Florida in 2006, No. 7 Tennessee in 2003 and No. 14 Georgia in 2000. The Tigers currently own a two-game winning streak in home night games.
• Head Coach Tommy Tuberville has a senior class that includes 16 players at Auburn in 2008. The Tigers' group of 16 seniors is the fourth most during the Tuberville era. The largest group of seniors was 21 in 2006, while the 2004 group had 18 and last year's squad had 17. During Tuberville's tenure, Auburn's other senior classes have consisted of: 15 in 2005, 13 in 2003, 15 in 2002, 10 in 2001, 14 in 2000 and 14 in 1999.
• Defensively in 2007, Auburn must replace four starters from last year's squad that led the SEC and ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense (16.9), including two interior linemen and two members of the secondary. Defensive tackles Josh Thompson and Pat Sims combined for 104 tackles including 16 for losses, while safety Eric Brock and cornerback Patrick Lee ranked fifth and sixth on the team with 59 and 55 tackles, respectively.
• In addition, NFL draft picks Quentin Groves and Jonathan Wilhite were seniors in 2007. However, three of the top four leading tacklers return in sophomore safety Zac Etheridge (65), senior linebacker Chris Evans (64) and junior cornerback Jerraud Powers (63). Powers also shared the team lead with four interceptions. Other key returners include juniors Antonio Coleman and Sen'Derrick Marks on the defensive line. Coleman had team highs of 18.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks, while Marks has been named to several preseason All-America teams. Other returning starters are junior linebacker Tray Blackmon and sophomore linebacker Craig Stevens. In addition to ranking sixth in the nation in scoring defense, the 2007 Auburn defense also ranked sixth nationally in total defense (297.9) and pass defense (173.2).
• A number of players have changed positions from last year entering the 2008 season. Junior Sen'Derrick Marks moved back to defensive tackle, where he started all 13 games as a freshman before starting every game as a defensive end last year. Sophomore Mario Fannin, who played running back last season, will split out as a wide receiver in Auburn's new spread offense this year. Sophomore tackles Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh switched spots on the offensive line, with Pugh moving to the right side and Ziemba to the left.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

Before we get to football today, I want to say congratulations to my father, Sonny Coulter on his election to mayor of Phenix City, Alabama. This will be his fourth-term as the city's leader. He didn't run for re-election four years ago and decided to get back in it this go around. 

He defeated another fine Auburn man, Gene Oswalt. Gene has served Phenix City in many capacities over the past thirty years and I'm proud to call him a friend.

Congratulations Dad, we are proud of you.

Now on to football.  Auburn shifted into game week preparation on Tuesday, practicing for nearly two hours behind the athletic complex. Most of practice focused on scout team work as they get ready for Saturday's opener with Louisiana-Monroe.

Tommy Tuberville held his first game week press conference of the year and talked about fall camp and this week's season opener.

"It has been a good, hard, long camp and our guys are ready to play," said Tuberville. We need to play and need to find out where we're at. We've taken a little bit different approach this year with two new coordinators. We obviously have had a lot of new things to work on.

"Louisiana-Monroe is a football team that's gotten much better over the years," said Tuberville. "They run a little bit of the spread. I don't think they run as much fast-tempo as we run. But they've got a quarterback that's athletic, they have a lot of starters back and they have a very fast player on their football team that they move and put in certain situations. And I'm sure they're coming in here knowing that they've played in this league before, and they've been successful, and they're coming in to play as well as they possibly can, and we're going to do the same thing. So it should be a good game."

Tuberville has focused all summer on the Tigers getting off to a good start, something they failed to do last season when they dropped two of their first three games.

"We felt like we needed to go back and look at the little things that we were doing," said Tuberville. "And I think a lot of times you look at your inexperienced players and you work with them a lot and you look at some of the possible weaknesses you might have and you don't work enough on your strengths, because they can always get better. And that's really what we've done these last two weeks.

"After we got everybody in camp and got everybody in their right positions, we've really worked hard on trying to make our experienced players better and the guys that have been around, and trying to make the football team better. I think that we even got a lot of room for improvement there, but it's very important that we all, as a team, play well. But we do understand that we've got some younger players we're going to be playing."

With much anticipation, Tuberville released the depth chart heading into Saturday and the starting quarterback is... either/or.  He said it would be a game time decision as to who starts behind center. If Kodi Burns or Chris Todd knows, they are not letting on.

Tuberville responded to comments he made earlier in the summer about a quarterback being named within the first 10 days of practice. "You don't know what is going to happen," said Tuberville. "I'm one of those that I like definite things. I like to, as a coach, know where our hat is going to be hung, so to speak, and this is pretty unique to all of us, even Coach Franklin. He probably told you the same thing.

"Usually you can look and point and say `Hey, this is the guy we can look at and feel can do a much better job for us'. That hasn't been there and it hasn't been that both have done badly or both have done great. It's just that both have done well and been very consistent. All the players rally around them. They both get a tremendous amount of reps in practice so sometimes it's kind of like going to this offense.

"I had to change. I had to change my personality and coaching style pretty much over night. It's the same thing with this situation. I think it's a great situation for us. Both will be hungry to play, and I want it that way. I want them both to be very competitive, but I also want both of them to know that hey we're on the same team now. You know they are not competing against each other. When we go out there on Saturdays, you've got to learn from the other guys' repetition and what he saw and what he did, communicate on the sideline. I think that is very important. Again, I think it is a very good situation."

Don't take Louisiana-Monroe for granted.

By Acid Reign
paraswarm@aol.com

The fun begins at last, on August 30th, against Louisiana Monroe, at Jordan Hare Stadium. As any Alabama fan could tell us, this is a team that definitely should not be overlooked.

When we last played Monroe, coach Charlie Weatherbie had just taken over the moribund squad, and we hung 73 points on them in a homecoming laugher. Louisiana Monroe would give up 467 points that year, an average of almost 39 points per game. That 1-11 squad is no more. The Warhawks have improved quite a bit under Coach Weatherbie.

.....Charlie Weatherbie is now in his 6th season with Louisiana Monroe, and the Warhawks have risen to the upper echelon of the Sun Belt Conference. Weatherbie is a veteran, hard-nosed coach, with previous head coaching stints at Utah State, and Navy.

Coach Weatherbie has emphasized defense, and the running game. The Warhawks finished second in points allowed, 332 for the season, in the Sun Belt Conference, last year. That trailed only Troy. ULM had a penchant for creating turnovers, as witnessed against Alabama last season.

On offense, ULM ran the ball 46 times per game, and threw it 28 per game. They had the leading rushing attack in the Sun Belt, averaging 209 yards per game, and 4.5 yards per carry. Overall, the Warhawks averaged 384 yards per game.

.....Charlie Weatherbie faces personnel challenges this year, having had to replace 4 departed assistant coaches, as well as a number of key players. Steve Farmer will take over coordinating the offense, moving up from the offensive line.

The line that paved the way for the best rushing attack in the Sun Belt, loses three starters, as well as the team's top rusher, to graduation. Sophomore Frank Goodin should be a capable replacement in the backfield. He rushed for 596 yards as a freshman, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

The starting defensive front seven will be solid, if unspectacular. There is almost no depth behind them.

.....All of ULM's starting receivers return, and they'll be bolstered by the return of speedster J. J. McCoy, who was out last season with an achilles injury. ULM also has a veteran senior quarterback, Kinsmon Lancaster.

Lancaster will be going into his third season as a starter. Last season, he completed 59% of his passes, for a respectable 6.3 yards per attempt. He threw 13 touchdown passes, against 10 interceptions. Lancaster was only sacked 14 times all season.

Continue reading this post »

I want to put a plug in for a cool website that's gone live today. AlabamaFB.com is unique in that it's the only website to my knowledge dedicated to covering all the college and high school football teams in the state of Alabama.

Along with feature stories and game coverage, the site also includes video highlights of action from around the state.  This kind of website is long overdue in Alabama.

"We are very excited to get AlabamaFB.com launched and out to football fans," said managing editor David Wasson. "This site will offer everything a football fan could want. Football fans built the site, football fans will maintain it and football fans statewide are sure to enjoy it."

The site is a daily multimedia sibling of the successful debut of Alabama Football Magazine, which hit bookstores and newsstands throughout the state earlier in August.

David has promised to give Auburn plenty of coverage and he's even linked Track'em Tigers prominently on his site. Make sure you check it out and bookmark it so that you can visit daily.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

We've waited a long time to say these words: Game week is here! All is right with the world.

It looks like Auburn will be dealing with more than a difficult schedule this year. They now must contend with the Corso curse. Over the weekend, ESPN Game Day did its preseason show and Lee Corso boldly predicted that Auburn would surprise everyone and win the SEC. Kirk Herbstreit picked the Tigers to win the SEC West and 104 year-old Lou Holtz said Auburn would beat Georgia at home. God help us!

And just when we thought things couldn't get any worse, our old friend Trev Alberts has left the witness protection program to predict that Auburn will face Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.  See for yourself...

It looks like we'll have to wait a little longer to see who the starting quarterback will be. Prior to fall practice, Tommy Tuberville said he wanted to name a starter after the first scrimmage. Now it looks like it may be Saturday before we know. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin does not seem concerned.

“As far as who will start I don’t know," said Franklin. "They are both good. For me it’s a very unique situation. I have never been in it before. I have never had anything like it before to where you’ve got two quality Division I quarterbacks that are both good leaders and both good players.

“Neither one of them have wilted under the pressure,” Franklin continued. “They have both gotten better. As of right now and picking one and saying this guy is the starter, we haven’t done that yet. We’ll have somebody that will go out there first on Saturday but the good thing is we’ve got Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s more time to put into it. We’ll see what happens from there.”

The odds of offensive lineman Chaz Ramsey playing this year grow smaller by the hour. He hasn't practiced all year and continues to nurse a bad back.

"We don't have to make that decision for about three more weeks," Tuberville said. "He's totally resting right now. He's rehabbing and not doing anything in terms of physical work with his back because he's trying to get it calmed down." Look for Byron Isom to start in Ramsey's spot.

For a recruiting class that was deemed middle of the road by the experts, this year's freshmen group has looked anything but average through four weeks of practice. After playing 12 freshmen last year; Tuberville will likely play at least six on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe.

Most of those snaps will come in the defensive secondary, where the injury to Aaron Savage has created havoc for an already thin unit. Look for cornerbacks D'Antoine Hood and Neiko Thorpe along with safety Christian Thompson to see lots of playing time Saturday night. A third cornerback, Harry Adams is on the bubble and could face a redshirt season.

On the other side of the ball, look for two speedsters, wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis and running back Eric Smith to see action. Pierre-Louis, who hails from Fort Lauderdale, may be the fastest player on the team. Don't be surprised to see him also lineup as a punt and kick returner.

Smith's status has improved after Tristan Davis suffered another foot injury. He hasn't practiced in two weeks and is questionable for this weekend. That means Smith becomes the third tailback on the depth chart. The Seffner, Florida native has impressed coaches this year and Running Backs Coach Eddie Gran says he's comfortable giving Smith a shot. He was the number 15^th ranked running back in the country last year according to Scout Inc.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

One of the more enjoyable things I take part in each season is The SEC Power Poll. It's the brainchild of Brandon Larrabee over at Garnet and Black Attack, the excellent South Carolina blog that's part of SB Nation. Each week, close to 30 bloggers from around the conference rank each school from top to bottom.

There's an equal number of bloggers representing each school. Also voting from the "Auburn block" are the guys at Joe Cribbs Car Wash and The Auburner. The rules are simple: rank each team regardless of division from one to 12. If you rank your school too high or your rivals too low be prepared to catch hell (see yesterday's story).

Unlike those ridiculous preseason polls, we wait until after the season starts before turning in our first ballot.  I'll share my picks with you each week. But to kick things off, we decided to rank the SEC's coaches from best to worst. Is there really a bad coach in the conference?

In the graphic above you'll see how the voting turned out. Tommy Tuberville may not get a lot of headlines compared to his counterparts, but he sure gets respect in this poll. He ranked third overall and placed ahead of four coaches who've won national championships. It's good to see that others give him credit for the 2004 season. And let's not forget that he's the only coach to run the table in the SEC since Fulmer in 1998.

Below is how I ranked them. I placed Tuberville third behind Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. No coach in the SEC has come close to matching Spurrier's success in the 90's and he's getting close to putting it together in Columbia. It was an easy choice for me.

I ranked Urban Meyer second for several reasons. You have to give him credit for the national title two years ago, even if he did go down at Pat Dye Field. He's also done a masterful job of recruiting. Give Meyer credit for bringing the school back after the Ron Zook debacle. Plus, he's developed Tim Tebow into a monster quarterback.

Let me know what you think. Have a great weekend - the last weekend of no Auburn football. War Eagle!

Ranking the SEC Coaches

1. Steve Spurrier (South Carolina)
2. Urban Meyer (Florida)
3. Tommy Tuberville (Auburn)
4. Mark Richt (Georgia)
5. Phil Fulmer (Tennessee)
6. Les Miles (LSU)
7. Nick Saban (Alabama)
8. Houston Nutt (Ole Miss)
9. Rich Brooks (Kentucky)
10. Bobby Petrino (Arkansas)
11. Sylvester Croom (Miss State)
12. Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt)

Auburn will face Samford on the Plains in 2011

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

While there's still no word from Auburn, it appears the University has reached an agreement with Samford to play at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2011. Speaking to a group in Birmingham today, Samford Head Coach Pat Sullivan said his team will travel to the Plains for the first time since 1993.

The former Auburn Heisman Trophy winner also announced games with Central Florida in 2009 and Florida State during the 2010 season. It's also rumored the Bulldogs will travel to Tuscaloosa in 2012 to face Alabama.

"First, I want to thank these schools for giving us the opportunity to play," Sullivan said. "It's very special to our team and to our Samford family to be able to go to those places, and it's also exciting for our players to go to those venues. This will help us in recruiting, and for us to build our program to where we want it to be, this is what we need to do."

Samford will likely travel to Auburn during the first week of November and serve as its homecoming opponent. Believe it or not, the two schools have played 26 times. As you would expect, Auburn holds a 25-0-1 advantage over the Bulldogs.

Sullivan starts his second season in Birmingham on August 28^th when he welcomes West Georgia. Last year, he posted a 4-7 record. Scheduling these big name schools makes you wonder if Samford is not trying to go the route of Troy and move up to Division I-A at some point.

We can all agree there are some big idiots who cover college football. But I think I've found the biggest. His name is Taylor Zarzour and he's host of a radio program called The Big Tailgate Show on WPTF-AM in Raleigh, N.C.

It seems that somehow Zarzour was granted a vote in this year's AP College Football Poll. When he turned in his preseason ballot, Auburn was not in his top 25.

Why?

Paul Gattis of The Huntsville Times wanted to know the same thing. So he did some research and found Zarzour's bio on the show's website. In it, Mr. Zarzour describes himself as "An avid Alabama fan" and says his greatest sports moment was Alabama's win over Miami in the 1992 Sugar Bowl.

But the plot thickens. After Gattis reported this, the station removed the Alabama references from Zarzour's bio. For the record, he ranks Alabama 23^rd to start the season.

I don't blame Zarzour for this incident. He's a complete moron and obviously shouldn't be taken seriously by the media if he has crap like that written in his bio. I blame the Associated Press. How far down do you have to reach to find someone of this caliber to vote in your poll? Thank God it no longer factors in the BCS.

The AP should do the right thing and pull this bozo from its panel. Better yet, the poll should go the way of newspapers and just call it a day. What a joke.

Will Chris Todd get the starting nod on opening day?

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

It took less time to determine the 2000 presidential election than it has taken for Auburn to name a starting quarterback. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin assures us this is a good thing. Most Auburn fans will tell you they feel more comfortable with Kodi Burns. He's an easy choice considering we know very little about challenger Chris Todd.

But those who've spent the summer and fall camp practicing with Todd will tell you that he's more than capable of holding his own. "Those two guys are neck-and-neck right now," said wide receiver Rod Smith.

"Like Coach Franklin says every day, we have a major problem. We have two great quarterbacks, and don't know who's going to pull ahead of one another."

Who actually starts against Louisiana-Monroe really means more to fans than coaches. Franklin has been out front about the plan to play both of them extensively in the game.

So what do we know about Chris Todd? So far, he's best known for having a sore arm during the spring and not being able to compete one-on-one with Burns. Franklin obviously thought enough of him to keep the competition open through the summer and into fall practice.

Todd threw for nearly 11,000 yards during high school in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, setting the all-time state passing record. During his senior campaign he led his team to the Kentucky Class 2A State Championship after throwing 38 touchdowns. Highly recruited, Todd chose Texas Tech and Coach Mike Leach's run-and-gun offense.

He appeared to be the quarterback of the future for the Red Raiders. He played in five games as a redshirt-freshman, throwing for 241 yards and a touchdown. However, as the season progressed it became clear that he would not win the quarterback battle.

Todd rolled the dice and enrolled at Hutchinson Junior College in Kansas. He already had a plan. He would play a year in Kansas and then reunite with Franklin at Troy. Franklin served as a consultant to Todd's high school team and taught his system to him in Kentucky. Troy's quarterback, Omar Haugabook was graduating in 2007 and Todd was planning to step in at that position.

You know the rest of the story. Franklin comes to Auburn in December and his first call is to Todd. So here we are. Questions abound about both quarterbacks. Can Todd stay healthy? Can he compete in the SEC? Does his arm strength offset Burns ability to run?

Because scrimmages have been closed, these are questions we really don't know the answers to yet. We'll certainly know soon. Let's hope they are ready to play. My guess is we'll need them both.