Stuff I missed on Thursday

Hey everyone. So in my efforts to gain clarity on the Chaz Ramsey situation, I failed to discuss a few lighter (but still notable) Auburn developments.

Things like that happen sometimes.

• Auburn has scheduled its Fan Day extravaganza for Aug. 16. It will not be in Beard-Eaves as usual. It's going to be in Jordan-Hare this time and will run from 2-4 p.m. I didn't see much in terms of program changes, though allegedly there will be "game worn" jerseys for sale.
  
  
• California DE Joel Bonomolo committed to Les Tigres late Wednesday night, our friends at the various Auburn-themed websites report. He attends a suburban Los Angeles junior college right now, but expects to be enrolled at Auburn in January. Bonomolo stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 245 pounds. He chose Les Tigres over a bunch of West Coast schools like Arizona and Arizona State.
  
  
• Auburn is about to begin what is expected to be a significant recruiting weekend. This will be the last significant recruiting weekend until at least September. Among the most high-profile visitors will be Arkansas TB Michael Dyer, Arkansas TE Dakota Mosley, Georgia DT Jeffrey Whitaker and Greenville HS DT Kenneth Carter.

Chaz Ramsey sues two former AU employees

Hey everyone. We have some news on the Chaz Ramsey front, albeit from one side of the dispute.

Ramsey's lawyer, Steve Heninger of Birmingham, filed a complaint today in federal court (Birmingham) against former Auburn assistant coach Hugh Nall and former trainer Arnold Gamber.

Nall and Gamber left the program soon after Tommy Tuberville's resignation in December.

UPDATE: I spoke with the court clerk in Birmingham and confirmed this information.

UPDATE II: I spoke with Heninger a short time ago. Here are some things he shared with me.

• Ramsey initially injured his back around the time of the 2007 Peach Bowl.
  
  
• Ramsey first stuck with therapy. When that didn't work, he had a minimally invasive procedure (hemilaminectomy) to relieve the pain. That was on April 21, 2008. Heninger said Ramsey's doctor had no reservations about the player's ability to return to varsity action after a period of 90 days.
  
  
• Heninger said Nall and Gamber began making rigorous physical demands in May.
  
  
• Heninger said Ramsey re-injured his back during a workout on June 2, 2008. That injury, Heninger claims, eventually required an invasive surgery that ended Ramsey's football career.
  
  
• ``The coaches and Arnold Gamber knew about Chaz's injury. They knew what he could and couldn't do. They ignored that and forced Chaz to participate in exercises that ultimately cost him his career."
  
  
• Ramsey's orthopedist was Stanley Faulkner of St. Vincent's East in Birmingham. Ramsey was referred to Faulkner by Mike Goodlett, Auburn's team physician.
  
  
• NEW @ 4:10 p.m. On June 3, 2008, Goodlett made a note on Ramsey's medical chart that said: ``My extreme displeasure over the fact that Chaz was allowed to do weight-room activities on 6/2/08 was voiced at length to Arnold Gamber ..."
  
  
• NEW @ 4:15 p.m. Once Faulkner intervened and demanded that all weightlifting activity stop immediately (on 8/28/08), the complaint alleges, Ramsey was "humiliated and had his manhood called into question by his offensive line coach, Hugh Nall. A systematic pursuit was undertaken to embarrass and harass (Ramsey) because of his refusal to engage in drills ..."
  
  
• NEW @ 4:25 p.m. Ramsey underwent a second procedure, this one more invasive, on Jan. 21, 2009. That day, Goodlett petitioned the Southeastern Conference to grant Ramsey a (lifetime) medical exemption. A portion read: ``It is our fear that that continued participation in intercollegiate football would lead to further surgery and and possible long-term sequelae."
  
  
• NEW @ 4:35 p.m.
  Here are the six accusations ("counts") made:
  
  
  • Negligence. Ramsey believes Gamber and Nall's actions put him at increased risk for re-injury, which occurred. Ramsey asserts that both men acted beyond their scope of authority by forcing him to prematurely engage in rigorous drills.
    
    
  • Wantonness. Similar to the negligence claim.
    
    
  • Interference with the physician/patient relationship. Alleges that Gamber/Nall "acted intentionally in bad faith, willfully, maliciously and beyond the scope of their individual and collective authority" to undermine Faulkner's orders.
    
    
  • Outrageous conduct. Alleges that Gamber/Nall "committed outrageous conduct by intentionally inflicting severe emotional distress upon (Ramsey)."
    
    
  • Civil conspiracy. Alleges that Gamber/Nall cooperated ``with each other and with others in the Auburn football program yet unknown to embark on the course of tortious and injurious conduct."
    
    
  • Violation of civil rights. Alleges that Gamber/Nall violated Ramsey's right to "health, well-being and pursuit of happiness" by interfering with Faulkner's prescribed course of action.

Here are some things Heninger said on WJOX's "The Roundtable" show:


• On why Auburn cannot be sued: ``They have sovereign immunity. Any state institute cannot be sued for negligence or gross negligence or anything like that. You can sue an agent or employee of the state if that agent acts beyond the scope of his actual authority. When you have restrictions, you can't go beyond that authority and do what you think should be done."
  
  
• Heninger said Ramsey was ``intimidated" into doing weight drills and line drills: ``The phrase `man up' was used a lot."
  
  
• ``(Nall) got the team together and told them: `Stay away from Chaz Ramsey. He's not a man.' His locker was cleaned out. His meal ticket was taken. They did everything they could to intimidate him."
  
  
• Heninger expects this case to go to trial next summer.
  
  
• Heninger believes Auburn's lawyers will play a role in defending Gamber and Nall, which will create the illusion that Auburn is involved: ``It's really not."
  
  
• In the interim, he's planning to take depositions from a lot of people involved in the Tigers' program: ``I've got to take a deposition from Coach Tuberville and a lot of assistant coaches to find out: How high did the orders come down from? From the evidence I've seen, it's Hugh Nall and Gamber.

Throw another shimp on the (television) barbe

Hey everyone. The Southeastern Conference just announced that Fox Sports Net has brokered a new television deal. FSN actually negotiated with ESPN, which bought the rights to SEC football this time last year.

Anyway, the FSN family of networks (Fox Sports South, Sun Sports and Fox Sports Southwest) now will exclusively televise nine live football games each season -- beginning this fall.

If you want to know about times, well, I don't have that information just yet.

Here's what the entire deal includes:

• Seven live, exclusive football games (presumably non-conference tilts)
  
• 20 men’s basketball games
  
• 24 women’s basketball games (16 regular season, eight tournament)
  
• 16 baseball games (10 regular season, six tournament)
  
• 24 additional Olympic sporting events (softball, volleyball, soccer, gymnastics)

Really?

Look who is on the front of this year's SEC-branded version of Sports Illustrated's preseason magazine:


Is there a more overrated coach in America?

This site here looks at the rankings made by the "major" pre-season magazines. They combine to pick Ole Miss NINTH. In the country.

Saddle up, Auburn fans. Prepare to be a (relieved) spectator for Auburn 2003 happening to another team.

Photo credit: David Brandt/Jackson Clarion-Ledger

A little Tuesday stream of consciouness

Hey everyone. I have completed the pre-edited version of my Gene/Jonna Chizik opus, which you'll be reading sometime in August. It has dominated my professional life for the past few days. Thanks for sticking with the HABOTN despite a relative dearth of useful information.

In lieu of legit news, let's just roll in free-form mode.

• Check out the pic! Everyone's favorite secretary from "The Office" and official HOTTIE Jenna Fischer participated in the All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball game last night on ESPN. I was happy.
  
  
• We talk often here about credibility. Here's another example of why we care. The sleuths over at BleacherReport.com "reported" on Sunday that Califorina junior college DE Joel Bonomolo committed to Auburn. Since the site doesn't credit another news outlet for this information, we are supposed to believe they scooped the world. One problem: Bonomolo hasn't committed.
  
  Will he commit? That's what our friends at AuburnSports, AuburnUndercover and ITAT believe. They think it'll happen soon.
  
  Still, it sounds like "SECSportsHub.com", aka University of Florida junior Thomas M. Goldkamp, made a little mistake there. Crediting your sources might be a good idea in the future, kid.
  
  
• You all saw the video I posted last week from the new basketball arena. What you don't know is how flabbergasted I am about the whole project. That building is going to be something special and, honestly, I didn't think Auburn had the guts to dedicate $90 million toward an athletic facility that doesn't involve football.
  
  
• Jonna Chizik is a trip. She's definitely a Type A personality and someone most fans are going to enjoy as her profile rises. She said a bunch of funny stuff in my 45-minute interview with The Chiziks last month.
  
  On her relationship with Gene: "He likes to say I hit the lottery when we met. I just let him think that. I'd hate to hurt his ego."

Photo credit: Jeff Roberson/AP

State of the HABOTN

Hey everyone. Sorry I didn't update yesterday. News was light and I viewed a new movie at the cinema. It's called "Bruno." You may have heard of it.

Here's our first-ever State of the HABOTN address.

• I can't believe how faithful you all have been through the offseason. June 2009 visits were up 3,000% over June 2008, which is just nutty.
  
  
• We've had 1.7 million pageviews since Media Days 2008.
  
  
• The biggest traffic days in HABOTN history came on 12/3/08 (Tuberville resignation) and 2/4/09 (Signing Day). Interestingly, those two events drew almost the exactly same number of visitors: 23,098 and 24,193.
  
  
• HABOTN videos dominate. I don't track video views very closely, but those numbers easily set the Advertiser's pace. I like that.
  
  
• We added 10 members to the Ring of Fire. Each of them are adored and loved with a vigor rarely seen since the 1820s.

So what's next?

• Just today, I received a brand-new copy of Final Cut. That's the most powerful video-editing application created by Apple. It's one used by movie studios and television production companies. HABOTN videos are going to get more plush, but it'll take me a while to learn Final Cut's complexities.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE ABOUT BLOG VIDEOS?

I started producing videos last summer with the goal being simple: Get footage out there. I just wanted them to work. I've got that down. Are there other features/elements you'd like to see in the videos?

Video report: Inside the new basketball arena

Enjoy.

NOTE: I removed auto-play at 10 p.m.

You now may watch the video by clicking this link. Thanks!

ALSO: I (again) will be on WMSP's afternoon show tomorrow. Seriously. If you're interested, you know where to find it.

Player spotlight: Neil Caudle

NEIL CAUDLE
Age: 21 (born 5/19/88)
Class this season: Junior
Hometown: Birmingham

Playing career:
•2008, sophomore: Saw limited action behind Chris Todd and Kodi Burns. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin disparaged Caudle during two-a-days for being prone to interceptions.
•2007, redshirt freshman: Saw limited action playing behind Brandon Cox and Kodi Burns.
•2006, true freshman: Redshirted while ostensibly rehabilitating knee injury suffered in high school.

The basics: Caudle played at Spain Park High, where he was phenomenal as a junior. He missed most of his senior season with a torn knee ligament. He still had a fairly high profile among some big college programs after his senior season concluded.

He never found a role during the Tommy Tuberville regime. It was reasonable to assume he'd get a shot in 2008, but Tony Franklin terminally soured on Caudle. The offensive coordinator deemed Caudle "unreliable" and that was the end of the story.

Caudle found new life under Gene Chizik and, more important, new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. The Tigers' new regime has a more developed appreciation for Caudle's passing ability and overall decision-making.

The skills: Caudle has what I'd consider an average SEC arm. He can make commanding throws inside of 25 yards without much issue. His deep balls lack the zip you'd see from Kodi Burns. Still, Caudle is more accurate. His throwing motion is refined. It's repeatable. His footwork is refined.

Caudle is not immobile. He lacks Burns' speed, but Caudle has little problem extricating himself from standard pocket pressure. I watched carefully when Caudle was asked to throw on the run. I wasn't impressed. His throws tended to float in those scenarios.

We're talking about a small sample size, though.

He is not a hyper player on the field.

The man behind the mask: Caudle is a fairly quiet kid who carefully measures the things he says. A lot of kids in his situation -- left for dead by a coaching staff -- would have sought a transfer to escape feelings of failure. Caudle didn't. He remained confident that continued improvement would give him a reasonable shot at playing time, which now looks like a shrewd decision.

Auburn wrapped spring practice without a clear No. 1 atop the depth chart at quarterback, which has to be considered a victory for Caudle. Armed with confidence, accuracy and an unusual drive to revive his career, Caudle is expected to be a major player in the quarterback race during two-a-days.

It's my opinion that Caudle's interception problems of 2008 were a function of compromised confidence. Franklin's approach to coaching football, which includes surprisingly blunt assessments, clearly didn't work well for Caudle. He lost his swerve. He has regained most of it.

The crystal ball for 2009: Caudle begins the season as Auburn's No. 1 quarterback.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.

Player spotlight: Kodi Burns

KODI BURNS
Age: 20 (born 10/24/88)
Class this season: Junior
Hometown: Ft. Smith, Ark.

Playing career:
•2008, sophomore: Played in 10 games. Began the season as a backup. Became a full-time starter after Chris Todd's struggles. Played well at times, played very poorly at times.
•2007, true freshman: Played in 10 games as a rushing complement to struggling senior Brandon Cox. Wasn't allowed to show much.

The basics: Burns was a highly touted signee in 2007, when he became coach Tommy Tuberville's favorite recruiting target. Tuberville saw greatness in Burns and vowed to make the Arkansas schoolboy a major cog of an Auburn revival.

Burns shared time under center with Brandon Cox as a freshman and Chris Todd as a sophomore. Burns finally earned full-time work during the second half of 2008, though the team was in free fall after Tony Franklin's departure.

Burns currently is competing for the starting job along with Neil Caudle and Chris Todd.

The skills: Burns has a strong arm. Nobody disputes this. Burns also has refined running instincts for a quarterback. Though he tends to flee the pocket too quickly at times, Burns is a good ball-carrier and shows little fear when attacking defenses that way.

Burns is fast for a quarterback. He is not fast when compared to wideouts or tailbacks.

Burns' accuracy wanes because of imprecise mechanics. Burns doesn't repeat his throwing motion from one play to the next. During games, it seems like he's in scramble mode too often. He makes rash throwing decisions that contort his body because he wasn't planning to throw two seconds ago.

I've also noticed that he throws with a lot of weight on his front foot in practice, which creates the appearance that he's aiming the ball.

Teammates say Burns is sufficiently intense on the field.

The man behind the mask: Burns is a bright and introspective kid. He's not particularly chatty with strangers. He loves shooting pool near the locker room and will challenge all comers with surplus bravado. Ask him about pool and his eyes will light up.

I don't consider Burns a commanding leader. He isn't an angry person. I'm not saying he's lazy or apathetic. He just isn't the guy who will roll through the locker room and blast a teammate who needs blasting.

Some coaches want that in a quarterback. Some don't.

I've heard some people suggest, based on the way Al Borges used Burns in 2007, that Burns struggles to understand the playbook. I never have heard that from anyone inside the program. Intellect isn't a problem. Learning to make serially accurate throws and feeling comfortable in the pocket are where he needs improvement.

The crystal ball for 2009: Burns again plays second fiddle.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.