Tuberville press conference -- LIVE

Check back here around 1:02 p.m. for a live blog from Tommy Tuberville's press conference.

HERE WE GO ...

• Opening comment: "Our players had a very good practice today. We had quite a few guys out. I won't go into all of them. We hope to have most of them back by the end of the week."
  
  
• "We have improved. We've gotten better. Hopefully, it will show on Saturday."
  
  
• On Lee Ziemba saying the OL isn't tough enough: "Last year, we weren't quite as physical as we were last year. It'll all work itself out with all the practices we have coming up."
  
  
• Tuberville said Ziemba has been hurt "all year."
  
  
• Adversity: "Hopefully, they're learning about (adversity) -- how to combat it. Good leaders are built from within, not without. They have to believe in the values of what they're doing."
  
  
• Antonio Coleman, Sen'Derrick Marks, Tez Doolittle, Rod Smith and Jerraud Powers didn't practice today.
  
  
• On the offense expanding: "We expanded a lot last week. You can only go the speed the quarterback can take. Kodi is a smart young man, but that was his second start. We've added some things. It's mostly formations. Those formations are what gives you problems on the defensive side of the ball."
  
  
• On Chris Slaughter: "He's a very good zone receiver because he can get in the creases."
  
  
• Team still cares?: "They're still practicing hard. There's a lot of pride."
  
  
• Splitting carries is hurting rhythm: "We'd love to have run one running back more. We haven't been able to do that because of injuries. The consistency hasn't been there. You'd like to see one of them step up and get 20, 25 carries."
  
  
• How important is this game?: "They need to have something good happen to them. We need to have the ball bounce to us. It's been one of those years when the ball rolls away from us."
  
  
• On Fulmer getting run: "It's tough. It's part of the business. Good friend. It's hard to imagine being part of a program for 35 years. We've become very good friends during the past 15 years."
  
  
• On coaches getting run in mid-season: "You see a little more of that lately. That's just part of it, I guess. I've known each one of them. You feel for them. We're all in the same business."
  
  
• What he wants out of a new offensive coordinator: "I've had a chance to watch a few games. I've watched what's going on the NFL. The NFL is struggling to find good quarterbacks. (Says something about how college teams don't use drop-back offenses anymore.) I've got a stack of resumes I've gotten. I won't look at them until the end of the season. We're not going to change much; we're still going to be multiple."
  
  
• Said he'll evaluate Auburn assistants at the end of the season. He said recruiting will be the No. 1 element.
  
  
• He said Rod Smith's injury "isn't responding well."
  
  
• On Walt McFadden's injury against Ole Miss: "That scared (Harry Adams) more than anybody."
  
  
• Neiko Thorpe practiced today. That's three weeks out from a high-ankle sprain. "We'd like to get him out there because he was doing really well."
  
  END OF INTERVIEW