We have moved!

We still have some stragglers.

What are you waiting for?

The NEW HABOTN is now at http://www.habotn.com. Adjust your bookmarks.

You also may access the site at http://www.madvertiserblogs.com/HABOTN

See you there.

HABOTN 2.0 countdown begins

Hey everyone. The "new" HABOTN, which has been in the works for months, is going to be unveiled at some point this weekend.

It signals a major change in how we're going to operate here. While my primary focus will remain on making HABOTN.com a pool of credible and timely information, we're adding a proper forum to the festivities. Several of our most tenured posters graciously agreed to help me test the forum this week for problems, adjustments, functionality.

Things have been running smoothly over there after a rough beginning. I'm now confident enough to unveil the HABOTN's first-ever renovation.

See you at HABOTN 2.0 later this weekend.

UPDATE:

This will be our permanent home: http://www.habotn.com

If that link takes you right back here, here is a temporary solution: http://madvertiserblogs.com/HABOTN/

Still, I STRONGLY suggest you stick with HABOTN.com as your bookmark location.

Auburn goes into the third dimension

Hey everyone. ESPN announced this morning that the Auburn-Clemson game scheduled for will be televised on their new 3D channel.

I don't have ESPN 3D available to me on Dish Network. I'm curious to hear if you all have access to it.

I am not into this 3D fad. Who cares?

Here is the important portion of the release:

AUBURN—Marking the first time ever an Auburn sporting event will be
televised in 3D, the Auburn football game against Clemson on Sept. 18
will air on ESPN 3D. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN with
kickoff slated for 6 p.m CT.

ESPN was the first to announce in the United States an exclusive 3D
network in January 2010 which was the culmination of more than three
years of testing 3D television.

The Auburn-Clemson game will be the third college football game to air
on ESPN 3D this season, and just the fourth football college game ever
to be broadcast in 3D.

Fans interested in viewing the game in 3D, must have ESPN 3D service
and a 3D television.

Your new roster

Hey everyone. Auburn has released its 2010 roster with new names, new numbers, new sizes in some cases.

FRESHMAN NUMBERS
1 -- Trovon Reed, WR
3 -- Chris Davis, DB
4 -- Shaun Kitchens, WR
5 -- Michael Dyer, RB
5 -- Jake Holland, LB
6 -- Jonathon Mincy, DB
6 -- Antonio Goodwin, WR
10 -- LaDarius Owens, LB/DE
12 -- Demetruce McNeal, S
13 -- Craig Sanders, DL
24 -- Ryan Smith, DB
28 -- Ryan White, DB
30 -- Steven Clark, P
31 -- Trent Fisher, son of Tennessee Titans head coach, DB
33 -- Jessel Curry, LB
36 -- Cody Parkey, K
37 -- Ladarious Phillips, FB
38 -- Jawara White, LB
48 -- Dakota Mosley, TE/OL
52 -- Justin Delaine, DE
54 -- Jeffrey Whitaker, DT
55 -- Corey Lemonier, DE (I compared him to McGinest and he wore 55!)
60 -- Eric Mack, OL
62 -- Chad Slade, OL
65 -- Tunde Fariyike, OL
68 -- Ed Christian, OL
91 -- Joel Bonomolo, DE
92 -- Kenneth Carter, DT

OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE
**Onterio McCalebb is listed at 171. That's bigger for sure.

**John Sullen is listed at 312, which is way down from where he was a year ago. Wow.

**I knew Jawara White was a thick kid, but 6-foot-1 and 243 is really thick. Josh Bynes is an inch taller, weighs eight pounds less and has been through Kevin Yoxall's offseason program several times.

**Daren Bates, who opened 2009 between 190 and 195, now is 203. He'll need it at linebacker.

**Ladarious Phillips. That's a man right there.

**Dee Ford is up 26 pounds since last season.

**Eric Mack is 361 pounds. There's your new John Sullen ... but can he commit to reshape his body with Sullen's rigor? Who knows.

Sullivan, the basketball player, is out

Hey everyone. Guard Frankie Sullivan underwent knee surgery today in Birmingham to repair a torn ligament.

No timetable has been given for his return.

The success was deemed a "success," though I don't even know what that means given the context. Mack McGadney had "successful" surgery in 2000 and you know how that ended.

Not saying Sullivan is finished like McGadney was. I'm just saying: There's no way to know.

Sullivan was supposed to be the de facto star of Tony Barbee's first Auburn team. Looks like that plan has changed. It'll be a long year in Auburn Arena.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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

Auburn: Soon to be a second-time champion?

Hey everyone. So Tommy Tuberville, he of Texas Tech fame, has been talking in recent months that Auburn should become the 2004 national champions if Southern Cal is forced to vacate wins from that era.

That happened. The NCAA took action against the Trojans this summer.

So what now? Though the AP said it won't take any retroactive action, the Football Writers Association of America is open to changing its 2004 champion.

The group's director said yesterday that he's going to talk with several former FWAA presidents and see what they think.

"I'm sensing that people, when they look at the situation, that is a distinct possibility that Auburn thing can come into play," FWAA president Steve Richardson said. "I haven't had anyone convince me why we shouldn't do it."

I know what you may be thinking. The FWAA title?

It's at least as good as Parke Davis, Houlgate and the College Football Researchers Association.

Cotton not as tall in Mississippi

Hey everyone. So we now know that Raymond Cotton, the former Auburn commitment who instead signed with Ole Miss, has announced plans to leave Ole Miss.

To be fair, I'd be upset as well if the Rebels' No. 1 quarterback rolled on down to the Manning Love Fest Academy and I wasn't invited ... surgically repaired labrum or not.

This odd turn for Cotton adds intrigue for me. Everyone who knew about Cotton in 2008, when he was a high prospect, understood that his top priority was playing time. He walked away from a mid-level SEC program that needed a quality quarterback and landed at a mid-level SEC program that didn't need a quality quarterback as badly.

As decisions go, that won't be nominated for the Hall of Fame.

Either way, I'm hoping Cotton finds what he's seeking.

Also: Jeremiah Masoli?

SNAPSHOTS: Ziemba has seen agent runners at Auburn

Hey everyone. In talking with Lee Ziemba today, he said something very interesting.

The senior said he's seen agent runners, the guys who do an agent's dirty work, around campus before. How does he know them?

"They usually introduce themselves," Ziemba said.

Isn't that weird?

``You know who you're dealing with," he said, ``and you also know those rules. Not a lot goes unnoticed around Auburn. We know what's going on, what the rules are. Auburn does a great job of telling us."

***********

Josh Bynes said the team has adopted an interesting theme this season.

Eight ain't it.

What does it mean? Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall developed the phrase to remind players to strive for more than eight wins this season.

``Eight ain't it because eight ain't going to get you nowhere," Bynes said. ``Eight wins might get us to an Outback Bowl or a Champs Sports Bowl. That's not our plan this year. The games we lost -- Georgia, Alabama and Kentucky -- that easily could have changed our season to 11-2. That could have put us in the one of the BCS bowls. Obviously, we didn't finish strong enough. That's why we have to do a better job finishing because eight definitely ain't it."

***********

Ziemba said he looked into the possibility of buying private insurance to protect himself (financially) in the event of injury. One glance at the informational handout ended that idea.

``The premiums are extremely high," he said. ``And it only covers you where you can't play the game again -- not an ACL injury or something like that. I'd have to get a second job (to pay the premiums). I looked at the NCAA policy, too, but once I saw the private premiums, I was like: No."


***********

Bynes was asked about newcomers who have impressed him.

His list included CB Jonathan Mincy, LB/DE LaDarius Owens, LB Jake Holland, DL Jeffrey Whitaker and DL Kenneth Carter.

``(Mincy) has come in and understands a lot of the stuff," Bynes said. ``He's been out there doing his thing. Defensive line, Whitaker and Carter. Carter, for his size, can run. When we do a lot of our sprints, he's up in the front because he can run for his size."

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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

Media Days: LSU

LSU
The coach is Les Miles.

• He has arrived.
  
  
• "Some things, we need to fix and put in the right perspective. We're working toward making real quality adjustments on our team."
  
  
• "We're a better offense. We're stronger; we can run the ball better."
  
  
• "I think we'll be a team that has a very talented, young group of me in there with some veterans that comes together quickly and plays one of the most ambitious schedules." (They're playing North Carolina and West Virginia out of conference.)
  
  
• (Jabbering about his team. Too technical.)
  
  
• On if this is an Alabama-Florida league: ``I don't have anxiety about that. My want is to prepare my team."
  
  
• He likes his 2011 recruiting class. Shocking.
  
  
• On Ken Adams, the former Auburn signee from Enterprise: ``He showed a toughness and an athleticism. He runs very fast, long arms. He's a very, very good defensive end. We expect him to play virtually every game if not start in most."
  
  
• On not messing up games from the sideline: ``I scrutinize the coaching, me and others. In some of those situations, I was prepared for them but ... not the time constraints."
  
  
• They're going to spend far more practice time this season perfecting their two-minute offense and clock-management stuff. "It's not just lip service; we really have changed."
  
  
• On the oil spill: ``I hope the cap stays on. The people of Louisiana -- they handle it by being strong, standing tall, working hard. This is just another example of that. I hope that our government, and the powers that be, give us the power to affect the people. Just to help the people. If they do that, I think they'll be fine."
  
  
• Great question: "Comment on the Western Division, the SEC, from Alabama all the way on down to the Mississippi schools."
  
  
• Thanks, guys. See ya."
  
  
• That's a wrap.
  
  

Media Days: AUBURN

AUBURN
The coach is Gene Chizik.

• He's now at the main podium.
  
  
• On last season: ``We'll never pin success on a number of wins. The foundation of what we were trying to do was extremely important."
  
  
• "We spent the majority of the off-season figuring out how we can be a more consistent football team. That's everywhere on our football team. Look at our offense last year. There are a lot of things we did well. We had some landmarks. What was glaring to us is that we were very inconsistent. There were times when we couldn't run the football. First downs ... there were times when we put pressure on our defense. When you commit to a fast-tempo offense, that's what you do to you defense. There were times on defense when we played really well."
  
  
• "Wins and losses is not something we can pin a number to and say: We're successful."
  
  
• "Lee (Zimeba) is a tremendous Auburn man. He's as happy as he's ever been. He's probably going to break most of the records for consecutive starts at Auburn. We're expecting a big year from Lee."
  
  
• On Bynes: "He played relentlessly through all 13 games. Didn't miss a game. Didn't miss a practice."
  
  
• On Savage: ``He's the epitome of a young guy who fought through so many things ... that could bring you down. He's done everything we've asked him to do. I'm just glad we have him back on the team. The leadership he brings ... is second to none."
  
  
• Is Auburn like Arkansas? "I know Arkansas is returning a very, very good football team. All my effort goes into what Auburn does. I don't know what people are saying. I'm not sure what everybody thinks about the status of Auburn or Arkansas. I don't have time for that."
  
  
• He supports legislation that would prevent players from receiving scholarship offers before their junior year ends: "It's the way recruiting is right now. Technology ... has sped up the recruiting process. Right now, literally you're evaluating sophomore. You're sitting down there talking to a 15-year-old about what it's going to be like 15 years from now. That's really weird. It's like trying to take sand out of the sandbox. It's already out."
  
  
• Does Auburn's offense score too quickly? "When you have explosive plays, it was a different dynamic for us. We scored fast and quick. I'm good with that; that's not a problem. What we need to address that we saw in the offense ... is how can we sustain longer drives. From a team concept, that's where we needed to continue to improve. That means getting first down, driving the football, running the football. We have to do things to keep our defense off the field."
  
  
• On Cam Newton: ``He's done everything we've asked him to do -- on an off the field. When he walks through the door, you can tell he's an athletic young man. The fact that he went to a junior college and was able to guide them to a national championship. That's part of the recipe. He's really, really worked at it ... and a lot on his own. That's what excites me about him."
  
  
• "We recruit against everybody. There's no question that the productivity of us on offense helps us sell Auburn University to a young man who wants to play. There are a lot of things we did last year that we feel were just a glimmer to what we could be. The fact that there are opportunities, the fact that we were an explosive offense ... I think those are intriguing things. I want to make sure nobody outworks us."
  
  
• On Zac: "He eats, sleeps and drinks football."
  
  
• On if energized Auburn fans translates into pressure for the coaching staff: "More pressure for coaches in self-imposed more than anything else. I'm just excited that the Auburn family. It's the same passion and energy and excitement at every place. I wanted to pull the Auburn family back together. The pressure that's involved -- we're in an age when everybody wants to win. Your self-imposed pressure maybe is the biggest part."
  
  
• He said Trovon Reed could play a few roles (wideout, Wildcat). ``We've got to see how fast he develops and see where he feels most comfortable."
  
  
• "We're going to continue to fight every week in the league. It's challenging ... from top to bottom."
  
  
• That's a wrap. For now.
  
  

Chizik speaks ... early

Hey everyone. Here is a closed-door run with Your Head Coach.

• On his summer: ``We were busy with a lot of camps. Recruiting is an op-going process. We've had a ton of recruits coming through. We've had a very busy summer."
  
  
• "We're extremely, extremely excited about August 4."
  
  
• "The majority of our football team have never had ... the same coordinator twice. We were able to keep the continuity of our staff, which was a priority for me. A lot of teams weren't able to do that. We know the players; the players know us. This time last year, we were trying to break the huddle and learn what our team was."
  
  
• On the new guys: ``I met with all the freshmen yesterday. The message was: We recruited you guys and we expect you to play. If you prove to me that you can't, we'll proceed form there."
  
  
• On Zac Etheridge: ``He's very blessed. It's been a journey. A lot of ups and downs. We're going to take this one step at a time. We're going to be very prudent. He has a high level of respect from his teammates. It was big for this team. We'll always be on constant consultation (with the doctors). It will always be hand-in-hand with our medical staff."
  
  
• On almost everyone qualifying: ``That's a rarity. We're looking for the right guy. It was a highly ranked class on paper. We know that. What we're excited about is that they're student-athletes. They've all been doing really, really well this summer. Hopefully, that's the way it's going to be every year."
  
  
• On being near the 85 limit: "We're really close. We're not quite there yet. We brought in 30 and we're still not at 85. We'll be losing a class of 20+ seniors. We have a small class behind him. Next year, we'll be in that same situation where we sign 25 again. We need multiple years like this."
  
  
• On Aairon Savage: "We brought him (to Media Days) because he's a great story. Aairon has a very special place in my heart because of what he's been through."
  
  
• On linebackers: "We'll want to set our three guys in there and say: These are the three we'll play. Last year, it was getting real challenging going two deep. It was a revolving door. We're hoping it won't be like that. You don't know how it unfolds in this league. We're not out of the woods when it comes to depth. We have young guys."
  
  
• On agents: "Our compliance staff ... do a great job of agent education. We've taken extra measures with outside people coming to talk with our guys. We're probably not any different than anyone else. A lot of this has to go back on the young guy. He's got to have an allegiance ... to his university. If they know right from wrong and they choose wrong, they don't really have an allegiance. You have to look at the young man. They know right from wrong."
  
  
• More on that: ``This is not a new problem. It's an ongoing issue that everyone is aware of."
  
  
• On meeting with fans and gauging expectations: "It's been awesome going around talking to all our fans. I know there's a sense of excitement. It seems like to me an extreme sense of excitement ... in terms of how they feel about the future of Auburn football. I think it's rightly so. I'm glad the Auburn people have something to be excited about. Obviously, we have to go on the field and give them something to be excited about."
  
  
• Can Auburn get to Atlanta? ``If you have half the penalties we had at critical times, we win more games. It's that simple. It's a consistency issue. I've been on undefeated teams. It's team chemistry. It's how well your team comes together. There are times in that season where there's the one time when it changes this season. Maybe it's that one loss. Our team changed today. There's a lot of potential variables."