After the splintered horrors of 2008–with its rifts behind the quarterback situation, the open disgust from the players with the offensive coordinator (and the losing), the well-documented conflict between the offensive staff and that same coordinator–perhaps Gene Chizik’s greatest accomplishment was persuading the Auburn program to rally to the flag he’d planted.
Sign No. 1,931 that the thirst for college football coverage in the state of Alabama knows no bounds: yesterday’s Auburn Pro Day was a big deal. Every writer on the Auburn beat was there, Tweeting and writing and snapping photos and shooting video.
Nevermind that it amounts to nothing more than “departed Auburn players go through drills.”
There was a blueprint for an Auburn NIT bid: sweep the remaining home games, win one road game, and win two SEC tournament games. The first part went according to plan. The third part we’ll get to in a moment. They had four different chances at fulfilling the second part. After last Saturday’s loss to Alabama, though, they finished the season having whiffed on all four.
The first goal the season? Win more games than you lose. For the men, it has only happened twice in the past six season. For the women, the loss of four starters and a roster with just one senior meant that just keeping their heads above water while waiting for better times would be an accomplishment. And while neither team is exactly a good bet to reach the .500 mark, thanks to a pair of big wins both still have shots.
“Thomas Hawley Tuberville” is the name of a man chopping wood outside a prairie cabin, happy with the warm burn in his shoulders, oblivious to the black clouds hung with snow in the distance. He could see them if he took the moment to look up from his work, but the sledge feels good in his hands and the maul sings in the wood and he doesn’t.
Ben Bartley goes one on one with Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn to find out his power animal, his thoughts on Chris Todd’s pump fake, and how much he listens to Wu-Tang Clan.
(And to try to make him promise to stay at least two more years.)
Answering interview questions on her cell phone while confidently haggling with a Miami cabby in between A-list pre-parties on the Thursday night before the Super Bowl…
If she thinks it’s all a bit surreal, or at least thinks that her career thus far has been maybe just a little meteoric, 22-year-old Lindsay McCormick isn’t letting on.
Last time was the offensive position coaches, this time is the defensive position coaches, next time are the coordinators, and the final time will be Gene Chizik his own self.
So don’t take these grades too seriously, please; it’s primarily an attempt to simply recap the season and spotlight what specifically went wrong and what went right. Your mileage will vary.
As if to confirm for all of us that one Signing Day is only a brief rest stop on the way to the next one, Auburn grabbed their first commitment of 2011 today: Izauea Lanier, the ‘09 athlete/DB out of Gordo who spent his single season at East Mississippi C.C. (and first as a full-time defensive back) fruitfully, racking up 66 tackles, four picks, and nine pass breakups. He’ll redshirt this fall and enroll next January with three full years of eligibility.
The updates, the reaction, the liveblog … it’s all here.
