News of the day, 9/14

Hey everyone. I hit a pretty significant milestone yesterday, logging my 200th blog post. The last six weeks have been the best, though, because this has become a really enjoyable enterprise. You all have been great. Thanks for all the great questions and interest.

Not much going on today. The team will head for its pre-game compound in west Georgia this afternoon. Curfew is 9 p.m. Auburn's game against Mississippi State kicks off Saturday morning at 11:30. It's broadcast on the Lincoln Financial Sports network. You know where to find it.

I have some updates below. Check 'em out.

Thanks for graciously swallowing another dose the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.

I'll be blogging from the Mississippi State game beginning at 10:15 or so. I haven't really honed my in-game coverage yet. I'm not happy with the way things have gone during the first two games. I'll try to make things more presentable this time.

Tommy Tuberville was fairly interesting on "Tiger Talk" Thursday night. I heard a portion of the show. He gave a non-committal answer on Kodi Burns, simply saying that he knows fans are enthusiastic about anybody who might make this offense better. The coach offered no direct denials of Burns' boosted role. He did mention that Burns has made a lot of progress during the last month. I found that answer pretty interesting.

I mentioned this in the notebook (linked above), but I'd forgotten about Tristan Davis until yesterday. He broke a toe during two-a-days and has been in a boot since then. He's supposed to be back at practice in a limited role fairly soon. I think he'll be back for the Vanderbilt game on Oct. 6. He was really impressive during those early days of camp. Davis is a physical freak. He's built like a fire plug, but he's really fast. He's faster than Mario Fannin over a 40-yard distance. Fannin is a shade quicker between the tackles. Davis would be playing right now if he wasn't injured.

I'm sure by now you've seen some of the things Tuberville said about Sly Croom and the job he's doing at MSU. I'll provide a transcript of the comments below. What was most notable about this rant is that it wasn't provoked by a question. This wasn't a response to someone asking about Croom's job security. I think Tuberville saw this as a chance to get one more dig at Jackie Sherrill, who was Croom's predecessor. Tuberville and Sherrill have a long history of disrespect and bad tidings.

I know Sylvester and I just hear all the things said about him even in the preseason about hot seat. If Sylvester Croom is on the hot seat then we need to look around and check ourselves. Here's a guy that came in and took over a program that was dismantled, out of control, that needed some leadership in their football program, and bring some dignity and character back to it. He has definitely done that.

I'm proud to say I'm a friend of his. He's worked very hard and done it the right way. He didn't come in the first year and skirt the rules and try to throw a team together to win. He's looking out for those young guys. He's doing it the right way.

My two kids, growing up, if he stays there long enough, I'd love for them to play for him because he's the type of guy you want to coach your kids.

It's going to take him a while longer than three or four years. When you take over a program that was in the shape that one was in when he took it over, I'm sure he's got a 10-year plan in. A lot of people, sometimes, don't wait for 10 years. That's their fault. When you take over a program like that you need opportunities to get that thing intact. He's done a great job.