News of the day, 8/26

Hey everyone. I'm back from a short hiatus at our Gulf-side retreat. Gotta get away sometimes. I won't be getting away again for a long while, so I made sure to savor my evenings along the Destin shoreline.

Back to work. Auburn has completed its long Sunday workout. The top stories include the playing rotation at wideout (Tuberville said Chris Slaughter will play against Kansas State), the tailback rotation (Borges said he isn't sure how he'll distribute carries) and the fact that King Dunlap missed most of practice with a troublesome left ankle.

Read on for more sizzling information from the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.


Receivers coach Greg Knox said Sunday that (surprise!) he hasn't yet identified his top six receivers. Still, offensive coordinator Al Borges said the first-team group is set with Prechae Rodriguez, Rob Dunn and Rod Smith. Montez Billings (hamstring) hasn't practiced in three weeks. I have to believe that Chris Slaughter is going to start the season at No. 2 "Z" receiver behind Prechae. Tommy Tuberville said tonight that Slaughter will play against Kansas State.

LT King Dunlap (left ankle) practiced in a limited capacity Sunday. Dunlap said after practice he didn't see the need to talk about his ankle injury because "as far as I'm concerned, it's 100 percent." Andrew McCain and Antwoin Daniels split snaps at left tackle on Sunday. It's unclear to me how serious Dunlap's injury is. I can't get a good read on it.

Borges said Sunday that he's "not committing to anything" when it comes to his tailbacks. There has been a sense for weeks that junior Brad Lester isn't a slam-dunk pick to be the No. 1 guy. Borges said running backs coach Eddie Gran was talking up Carl Stewart as an option at tailback today. Borges said experience is critical early in the season. Maybe Ben Tate and Stewart against Kansas State? I have no idea what to expect from Lester.

The team practiced for 2.5 hours today. It was a grinder. Auburn took Saturday off and will do the same on Monday, so coaches felt there was a need for some serious work. The Tigers' next practice comes Tuesday morning.