News of the day, 8/10

Hey everyone. First off, I have to say Happy Anniversary to m'lady. I'm married to a saint. She now has tolerated me officially for 10 years. Thanks, Courtney, for being my most loyal blog reader.

And all the other cool stuff you are.

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On with the news at hand. Auburn held a fairly short morning practice today in preparation for its first fall scrimmage on Saturday. This was the hottest morning here in a while. Strength coach Kevin Yoxall said he knew at 4:30 a.m. that it was going to be bad out there. "I usually get out early and I think it's cool. I got out this morning and it was hot ... at 4:30. It's going up from there."

Here are the salient points:
Tuberville said afterward that Auburn doesn't have a No. 1 tailback right now. That came as a surprise to TB Brad Lester, who thought he was that guy. The truth is that coaches are looking for someone to challenge Lester. Mario Fannin? Ben Tate? This is their chance.

DT Tez Doolittle went down during pass-rush drills with what I thought was a nasty Achilles injury. I swear I heard a pop. Inside The Auburn Tigers scribe Jason Caldwell thought the same thing. Doolittle is supposed to be getting some exams today to determine the injury's severity. It looked really bad. Defensive line coach Don Dunn is worried. Even if the tendon isn't torn, this is the kind of injury that lingers.

RT Lee Ziemba didn't have a great day. He was offside on two consecutive plays during an 11-on-11 drill in anticipation of DE Quentin Groves' speed rush. It's telling, at least to me, that coach Hugh Nall doesn't totally berate Ziemba when he makes mistakes. Ziemba's effort almost always is high. I think Nall is willing to deal with some rookie mistakes in exchange for consistent effort.

QB Blake Field didn't practice today because of what Tuberville said was shoulder soreness. Based on what I have seen, I don't think Field is going to be in the quarterback picture this season. I believe redshirt freshman Neil Caudle is ahead of him now for sure, and true freshman Kodi Burns probably is as well.

Today wasn't as good as Thursday for pure verbal entertainment, but here are the highlights.

• After cornerback Jonathan Wilhite made an outstanding play to knock a ball away from WR Robert Dunn during 11-on-11s. The effort drew praise from offensive coordinator Al Borges: "Jae, that's really nice work." Assistant coach Greg Knox quickly followed up with: "Yea, Wilhite, that was a great play." It's rare that coaches from the other side of the ball take time to compliment players.
  
  
• After DT Sen'Derrick Marks dominated Ziemba during a pass-rush drill, Dunn wasn't satisfied with Marks' slow jog back across the line of scrimmage: ``Finish the drill! Good job, but you need to be a complete player."
  
  
• Yoxall on LB Tray Blackmon: ``If you cut him open, you'd find a whole lot of fast-twitch fibers. He's an athlete."
  
  
• DT Kyle Coulahan took the ball away from QB Steven Ensminger during 11-on-11s and scored a touchdown. Coulahan's lumbering journey prompted Groves to begin signing part of Auburn's anthem: "War eagle, fly down the field!" he said.
  
  
• After watching WR Chris Slaughter drop a pass during 11-on-11s, Groves was up to his usual tricks. "Welcome to Auburn," he said. ``This ain't Hargrave." That was a reference to Hargrave Military Academy, where Slaughter spent the 2006 season.
  
  
• Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp to his players during 11-on-11s: "We're not just chopping the wood. We're using chainsaws."
  

The linemen held an abbreviated pass-rush drill today. Injuries were part of the problem. They also spent time working on their different fronts and schemes.

Quentin Groves (54) vs. King Dunlap (77) -- 54, 77.
Mike Blanc (93) vs. Ty Green (71) -- 71. Blanc can't push off with his right ankle.
Bryant Miller (51) vs. Green (71) -- 71.
Josh Thompson (97) vs. Jackson Timmerman (64) -- 97, 64. Bosley was at practice but didn't participate here.
Pat Sims (95) vs. Mike Berry (66) -- 95, even.
Sen'Derrick Marks (94) vs. Lee Ziemba (73) -- 94, 94.

Antonio Coleman (52) vs. Dunlap (77) -- 52, 52. Beat King with outside speed.
Miller (51) vs. Green (71) -- 71, 71.
Tez Doolittle (99) vs. Timmerman (64) -- 64. Tez was injured as Timmerman pancaked him.
Darrell Roseman (41) vs. Berry (66) -- 41, 66.
Mike Goggans (49) vs. Ziemba (73) -- 49, 49. Goggans can hit hard. He almost knocked Ziemba down the first time.

Antoine Carter (45) vs. Antwoin Daniels (70) -- 45, 45. Kid will be a player.
Courtney Harden (56) vs. Byron Isom (57) -- 57, even.
Miller (51) vs. Will Guth (51) -- even, Miller.