Quick point on the academic thing

I remain suspicious of the academic scandal at Auburn right now. Aside from the revelation that former DE Doug Langenfeld received a B for a class that he began more than a month late ... I haven't seen anything damning.

Now comes word from professor Jim Gundlach that he believes the football program was steering kids to easy classes. NCAA rules prohibit Auburn's academic people from (officially) steering kids to certain classes, which Auburn wouldn't need to do anyway. Most of these kids are really into football and see academics as a second-priority kind of thing. We can argue about that if you want. I'm just telling you how it is.

When I was a student at Transylvania University and University of Kentucky, I certainly wasn't going to plow into every difficult class around. I asked my friends, my co-workers at the college newspaper, my adviser about less-challenging courses. I took a few. Here are the highlights:

Social Rec (@ Transy)

Intro to South African Fiction (@ Transy)

Into to Sociology (@ Transy)

Chemistry for the Non-Scientist (@ Transy)

Statistical Analysis (@ UK was so easy that I never studied. Ever. Got an A.)

Ethics in Journalism (@ UK, insert joke here)

I was an average student at Transy, an excellent student at UK. These easy classes listed above helped offset the more difficult journalism and psychology classes I really wanted. No student, I don't care who you are, bombards themselves with excessively challenging classes all at once. I wasn't an athlete, either. Remember that the players have all those games and all those practices.

If the player isn't gung-ho about academic achievement, it's hard to muster up a ton of effort for academic challenges when your week is jammed with athletic stuff. It's a part-time job for all those kids, a full-time gig for some. And then you expect everyone to be killing themselves with graduate-level philosophy classes, too?

That's ignorant. It just is. If you believe every/most/several athlete(s) should be studying like a National Merit scholar, you're not living in reality.

I was intrigued when Gundlach was pointing out the stuff with Petee, which deserves to be examined, but questioning the prevalence of "easy courses" in the student-athlete population is funny to me. Duh.

Auburn update, 7/29

Hey everyone.

Media Days seemed pretty average to me this season. I didn't talk with the ebullient Tom Ensey about this at all, though he arrived at the same conclusion ... which his discussed in today's Montgomery Advertiser.

What I find awkward is how the national media finds such fascination with the pagenatry of Media Days. I went to school at Kentucky, attended Media Days as a UK student and I wasn't floored then. This was my ninth Media Days as a member of the Advertiser staff (I can't believe that) and it all seems so normal to me.

It's not that way to ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski.

I was shocked to see Auburn become such an overwhelming favorite to win the SEC this season. I think AU has a very good team, but it's not ominpotent. Not at all. I'm not sold on the linebackers right now. Karibi Dede is a solid option in the middle. Will Herring himself has doubts about playing OLB. I like Merrill Johnson a lot, but it's not reasonable to think a freshman linebacker is going to dominate in the SEC right now.

Add in lingering concerns about Josh Thompson (is he meant to be a career backup?), Tex Doolittle (who?), Sen'Derrick Marks (still doesn't look big enough to be an impact guy inside) and Chris Browder (never dominated).

I believe Will Muschamp has a magical quality about him that will have a positive impact on this team. He values toughness highly. This defense has enough toughness. And speed. I just don't know if there's enough experience.

Media Days update

Hey everyone. Hope your day is going as well as mine.

Today was Auburn's go at Media Days in Hoover. It's a good time because Tuberville always is in high spirits, the kids aren't tired (yet) of the daily inquisition and it's time to write about football. You all like it most. I like it most. Everyone's happy.

Tuberville meets with the beat writers (and Associated Press ace John Zenor) before his public speech at Media Days. It gives us a chance to ask questions that are more involved, and more directed at what's happening with the team right now. Most of the questions coaches answer in the Big House (Wynfrey Hotel Ballroom B) are very general ... stuff Auburn fans knew a long time ago. Yes, Brandon Cox is back. Yes, Kenny Irons is good. Yes, the Capital One Bowl was a mess.

Anyway, here's a few things Tuberville mentioned in the beat-writer powwow that I found interesting. I'll write about these in more detail tomorrow ... in the Advertiser.

*Tray Blackmon and Kevin Sears will miss a significant number of games (I'm guessing two) for their recent arrests. Sears is replaceable. Blackmon is to a lesser degree, I suppose, with Merrill Johnson now poised to start at weak-side linebacker. Still, I know a lot of fans were ready to see Tray play. That arrival might be delayed.

*The news on recent signees WR Alex Rose and NG Greg Smith isn't good. Tuberville seemed pessimistic about Rose's ability to earn the good graces of the NCAA Clearinghouse. He mentioned a January enrollment as a possibility. Smith, the junior-college All America guy, still is trying to get eligible. Tuberville seemed to think Smith would make it, but his conditioning probably would limit Smith's ability to contribute this season.

*Steve Gandy now is playing outside linebacker. Tuberville said that was something AU did in spring drills, though it was billed as "temporary" at the time. Now it seems permanent. Gandy spent his first two years as a safety.