News of the day, 1/28
Hey everyone. Big night for our favorite HOTTIE on Sunday when the lovely Jenna Fischer (and her castmates from NBC's "The Office") won a Screen Actors Guild trophy for best comedy series cast. When she wins, we all win. UPDATE: The company that hosts my blog is scheduled to have an outage at 6 p.m. CST today, so that may cause a problem. No, it's not your internet connection.
As for legitimate news, Auburn center Boubacar Sylla won't return this season. He suffered a "stress reaction" (just short of a stress fracture) in his left ankle 10 weeks ago. The ankle has improved, just not dramatically. The hope is that additional time will help the bone repair itself. I can't say he was going to be a major player this year or anything, but he's 7-foot-1 and surely that would have helped in some capacity.
Things are reasonably quiet on the recruiting front. The team snagged a commitment today from Williamson QB Brandon Smith. I'll talk more about that below.
Thanks for taking a few minutes to peruse the HOTTEST Auburn blog on the 'net.
Questions? Comments? You can email me at: jgtate@gannett.com
So on the Brandon Smith thing ... I've never understood the reasoning behind signing with a school while concurrently admitting that you can't make the grades to get into said school. I suppose Auburn could trumpet this as it getting some goodness out of a mostly disappointing recruiting situation in Mobile (Alabama has been better there so far), yet it's not like Smith is going to afford Auburn name recognition. With that said, he's loaded with tools and has the kind of skill set (strong arm, quick feet, above-average running instincts) that OC Tony Franklin values. Maybe he'll actually play for Auburn one day. Or not. Most of them don't.I'm not a swami and I'm not a recruiting expert, but I believe Anniston High OT Antoine McClain will sign with Auburn. I still believe RB Enrique Davis will do the same.I still haven't heard anything official on the game at West Virginia. Recall that there was plenty of talk in December that Auburn's trip to Morgantown, W.Va., was going to be rescheduled and that ESPN was going to be involved. I've asked about that. I get a lot of I-don't-knows on that one right now.It sounds like J.O. Johnson DT Jomarcus Savage has made a decision. He'll choose between Auburn and Tennessee at a press conference on Wednesday morning. Savage (6-2, 260) could be a Sen'Derrick Marks-style recruit: Short on hype, long on drive.Photo credit: The Associated Press
posted by Jay G. Tate at
4:45 PM
31 Comments:
Okay auqno4 ... this is your chance to get the conversation started.
What does the "q" stand for by the way?
I don't think the Mobile QB has anything to do with prettying up the class. They're taking a chance on a great athlete. It's worth the gamble. Robert Dunn was one of these who sort of panned out.
I really don't think Enrique will sign with Auburn. If his comments indicated that he was leaning that way after Franklin showed him the famous film, check out his comments regarding Oregon. Now FSU's out. It's a completely new story every week. Same with McClain
Brandon is THE QB in the Mobile area...probably in the state. He went nuts towards the end of the season and in the playoffs. Fantastic athlete.
To round out the class with McClain, Savage, Jerrell Harris, and an iffy E. Davis would make for a nice class. Very diverse.
Auburn really needed some longer DBs with Pat Lee gone. They got a few.
Auburn needed speed at the receiver position. They definitely got that. I'm not sure where Fortson fits in if he signs. That may be why he doesn't. FSU may be telling him he's a DE at Auburn.
Auburn stacked up in a big way with the DL class, especially is Cameron Hensderson remains commited.
If I could name a soft spot it's obvious that the LB position was basically not considered. Auburn has a crop of them as it is. I guess they have plenty of confidence in Harris, Stevens, Bynes and Johnson. Looks like Trahan may potentially be a star at Ole Miss.
QBs? Eh...who knows?
Oh, adding Jerrell Harris would make this a stud class right there.
What's your opinion on JH, Jay? Where do you feel he's leaning? Do you think he's an immediate impact guy?
I saw Fortson make some incredible catches in the Ga. Hs Playoffs(2 televised games). He is 6'-4", can jump and knows how to come back to the ball and get body position. Hopefully AU will be able to reassure Fortson.
Not much need for comment, y'all have it covered. I think we will have a great "blue-collar" class as always.
WHERE is auqno4?
crazy balls ... who is JH?
I think Jerrell Harris is a franchise-type LB ... a slightly bigger version of Tray Blackmon.
Look, you all know I'm probably the last guy to go around saying aimlessly positive things about Auburn -- they don't call me Jay G. Hate for nothing -- but this recruiting class doesn't look bad to me.
Even if McClain is the last major recruit they add, I still think it's a respectable class. It should be ranked around 15-20 in the nation ... as usual.
If they add J. Harris, I mean, that just makes the class a few slots better. This coaching staff does a good job of developing players and they know exactly the kinds of kids they want. They've been remarkably consistent with their development scheme.
The Trahan thing makes me laugh.
He was an OK player at Auburn for a while. He goes to junior college, and now he's suddenly awesome? I think he's a serviceable outside linebacker. I'm thinking Mark Brown or the guy who played weak side in 1998. You all remember him.
Names elude me at times.
Mark Brown. Haven Fields. I was actually being a little sarcastic on that one about Trahan. Everybody said he was the man...in spring practice. Alabama's always "the man" in spring practice.
Haha!!
I agree with the head man Jay G. on this Williamson kid. Everyone knows he's not going to qualify, may never qualify, and even if he does qualify at some point may end up at another school. So why is this the big news on the front page of Mobile's sports section?
Looks like AU has someone in their pocket at the paper down here and is simply trying to generate some hype in these parts.
I wouldn't go that far.
The kid is one of Mobile's top high-school players and he is going to sign with Auburn. That's a legit front-page sports story.
Speaking of guys like that ... where is Johnnie Lee Dixon?
You're right, Jay. Brandon Smith is front page news. Everybody was raving about him as he got more exposure during the playoffs. I know a Bama scout that would trade Burton Scott for this kid in a flash. He just screwed around in the classroom his first two years of high school. Probably didn't have much going for him then. You gotta remember where a lot of these kids come from. This kid's got heart. I expect to see him within two years in O and B.
So, a kid who didnt even hit anyone's radar until the playoffs, who is listed as a one/two star on the recruiting sites, and who isnt even going to qualify is now considered front page news???
I guess I just have a different opinion of what constitutes "front page news". To me, that's "something that may pan out in the future but right now is just a pipe dream".
For the record, I'm not saying that he wont be an excellent player for Auburn at some point.
I just think that there is a lot of spin on this situation. This is the type of overblown BS non-issues that we leave the bammers to talk about. Us bragging about some kid who wont even see the campus for two years brings us to their level.
(steps off soabox)
Man, that's a significant story for the Press-Register. It just is.
I watched video of the kid and he looked better than a 1-star to me.
IF he makes it through juco and re-signs with Auburn, well, he'll be among a small number of recruits following that path to the Plains.
Whatever did happen to johnnie lee dixon? and eltoro freeman (blows smooth's name out of the water)?
Also does anybody know anything about Charles Deas and Jermaine Johnson qualifying (if or when)?
Freeman and Dixon are at juco and can't come to AU for anther year.
Deas and Johnson eachspent one year at prep school. If tey qualify, they canstart at AU, if not, they will have to go to Juco.
To quote Jay G. Tate:
"I've never understood the reasoning behind signing with a school while concurrently admitting that you can't make the grades to get into said school. I suppose Auburn could trumpet this as it getting some goodness out of a mostly disappointing recruiting situation in Mobile (Alabama has been better there so far), yet it's not like Smith is going to afford Auburn name recognition"
Sounds like you dont even believe that it's newsworthy, nor do you understand why it's done in the first place.
"IF" he makes it through Juco and "IF" he signs with Auburn, then it becomes news.
Again, I just dont see something that maybe, possibly, could affect Auburn in 2010 as relevant right now.
About Brandon Smith, throw out how many stars the kid has. If you judge a kids talent on Rivals star rankings you are an idiot. Yes they get it right plenty of times. It wouldn't have taken a genius to make Vince Young or Adrian Peterson your high school players of the year. They miss out on plenty as well. I'll cut this short by saying that I watched Williamson and St. Paul's play twice this year, keep in mind that I am a St. Paul's fan. In both games he was the best quarterback on the field. With the excwption of Mark Barron he was the best athlete on field as well. That doesn't mean that he was the best college prospect or that he will amount to anything at the collegite level. But if the kid is not going to cost you a scholorship its not a bad idea to place him somewhere and have a shot to get him back in a few years if it looks like he could be an impact player.
I think the reason it's news worthy is because it is tuesday, football is basically over, and most people would rather stick thier hand in a blender than read about the NBA.
I was arguing that Brandon Smith's decision to commit to Auburn was a totally appropriate story for the Press-Register.
That has nothing to do with my opinion of academically ineligible kids signing with major programs.
Separate issues.
Hippo:
"Bammers" brag on stars. They're the off-season national champions. You're talking about a kid you know absolutely nothing about. In fact, you're exactly like a "bammer" in that you are nearly angered by the topic of Brandon Smith. He hurts your recruiting rankings.
Jomarcus decision time this morning.
You all anxious?
It appears that my point isnt getting across. Oh well, I never was good at writing anyway.
Anon 5:35, I agree totally and never questioned the kids athletic ability. I agree that if Auburn could get him and place him then they may as well take the chance. 100% agree with that statement. I just dont see it as front page news.
Mexico, you're probably right. Slow news days turn non-issues into front page fodder.
Jay G, your argument baffles me. You dont understand the logic in inelligible kids committing to a school they cant get into, but you have no problem with a newspaper putting that exact thing on their front page?
Sorry for holding the blog hostage. I'll let it go now.
Savage in. McClain out. Strange "story" on McClain. The Rivals guys throw that out there and then go all tight lipped on us. If you are going to put something out there back it up.
All I have.
They call me the hop-hop-apotamus, my rhymes are bottomless.
The kid committed. He's from Mobile. The Press-Register should cover it.
The concept of ineligible kids signing when they have no chance of playing there anytime soon is a curious practice.
I see those as two disparate issues.
Savage commits! I hear that McClain had some grade issues that caused AU to back off so he looks like he's UT bound. Green committed to UF like expected so I guess that leaves J. Harris and E. Davis as the last big names on the board.
I think AU did an outstanding job of recruiting this year even if the last two dont sign. WDE!!!
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