The Tuesday chatter

Hey everyone. It's been a weird Tuesday. We're all so used to this being a big information day, but everything was shifted back. I'm sure you're OK with that. The wait is almost over.

Here are a few things to share:

TEMPERATE TUBS: Tuberville is not a cold-weather guy. In fact, I think Auburn is about as far north as he likes to travel. He received a call this afternoon from Jimmy Perry, the team's director of operations, who already is in Morgantown, W.Va. He reported cold temperatures even in the sunshine.

``You know how I feel about cold weather," Tuberville said. ``I'll be so bundled up that people won't recognize me on Thursday."

INDOOR FACILITY UPDATE: There appears to be some renewed chatter about building an expansive indoor facility. The football team currently uses a 60-yard building immediately north of their practice fields, though Tuberville said in February that a bigger facility would be preferable.

Tuberville and a pair of university spokesmen told me today that they aren't aware of any official changes to the project's status, but it's still something worth mentioning.

To review, the project would entail some significant work with the massive drainage basin that flows south out of Jordan-Hare Stadium. If that is squared away, the preliminary plan is to close Biggio Drive and build the new, multi-purpose facility on grounds formerly used by the track & field teams.

You can see that on the map; it's the gray area on the left. The football practice fields are directly to the east of that.

Preliminary cost estimates were in the $10-$15 million range. Auburn has a lot of money tied up in the new basketball arena ($90 million+) and its associated projects, so indoor-facility funding seems scarce.

TEZ TALKS IT UP: Here are some excerpts from an interview with Tez Doolittle, the happy-go-lucky defensive tackle.

• On the rumors about Tuberville: "I haven't heard anything about his job being in jeopardy and whatnot. People are still worried about who's going to be the coordinator and this and that but that's all we've heard about."
  
  
• On the offensive changes: "They get to put their hand down on the ground and they come off the ball a little harder. I always heard Tyronne Green crying about being in the two-point stance about how he can't get push and stuff like that. Yesterday, went against the offense the last couple periods of practice and I saw Tyrone get down in a three-point stance so I was thinking 'I know they ain't about to pass' so I came off hard and I kind of jacked him up a little bit and he got mad yesterday so we were laughing about that. So I guess they like having their hand down in the dirt and stuff."
  
  
• On his feelings about the new offense (Doolittle was a fullback in high school): "I want to run the ball, basically. I want to get back in my high school days and try to run the ball on the goal line. I was joking to coach Gran about that. I was like 'Coach, when we run the ball and get down on the goal line, let me pound that thing in.' We were just joking and laughing about that."
  
  
• On WVA quarterback Pat White, a Daphne native: "He's very good with the option. When he sees the defensive ends crashing down, he's going to pull it down and run it. If he's in the pocket, he can kill you with his arm and his feet. So he's a good quarterback."