Auburn update, 6/18

Hey everyone. The big news at Auburn, of course, is that the football team added a 16th commitment last night. Three players had cast their lot with the Tigers this time last season, so it's clear that things are changing in the recruiting world.

That got me thinking. Is Auburn the only team doing this? A short investigation revealed some interesting trends.

I perused the wonderful Rivals.com commitment database to see how many commitments varios teams have. I included all SEC teams and selected national teams. Keep in mind that this doesn't take into account the quality of these commitments. Also, we all know commitment is different than signee.

What can we learn from this? It's too early to draw meaningful conclusions. It's clear that some programs are getting very serious about assessing kids at their summer camps and pushing for immediate commitments. If the programs scout juniors closely, it makes sense to use that advance scouting to your advantage by earning summer commitments. Then again, it'll be a mess if some of these kids bust as seniors.

SEC COMMITMENTS
Auburn -- 16
LSU -- 13
Georgia -- 11
Tennessee -- 9
Mississippi State -- 9
Alabama -- 7
Florida -- 5
Arkansas -- 5
So. Carolina -- 4
Ole Miss -- 4
Kentucky -- 3
Vanderbilt -- 3

OTHER PROGRAMS OF NOTE
Texas -- 19
Ohio State -- 17
Oklahoma -- 14
Southern Cal -- 12
Penn State -- 12
Florida State -- 11
Michigan -- 10
Georgia Tech -- 9
West Virginia --9
Clemson -- 9
Illinois -- 2 (Ron Zook, The Best Recruiter On Earth)
Iowa State -- 1 (The Fightin' Gene Chiziks)

I came across this auction yesterday, when it was still active. It ended early this morning. The XTerra that Dwight Schrute bought from Andy Bernard on NBC's hit show "The Office" was up for sale. Included in the auction was a bunch of cool stuff. The car, a 2001 model with 68k miles, went for $10,400. I might have considered that at one point in my life. I'm thinking more along the lines of a Mini Cooper -- and its 30 mpg -- these days.

I've been watching the heck out of the 2008 European Soccer Championships. I haven't mentioned that much because I know many of y'all have this irrational hate toward the game, which is fine. Anyway, the sport makes for some truly awesome photography. Here are a few of my favorites so far.



I don't know what "dank" means in Italian, but I have this feeling it isn't a term of endearment.(AP/Michel Euler)



This is Turkey's Nihat Kahveci, who scored to give his team a 3-2 win against the Czechs to qualify for the quarterfinals. Turkey was down 0-2 with 15 minutes remaining. This was one of the two or three best matches I've ever seen. (AP/Anja Niedringhaus)

Here are The Official HABOTN Euro 2008 Power Rankings:
1.) Netherlands
2.) Germany
3.) Spain
4.) Portugal
5.) Italy

Jenna says: Aaron Moore!

OK. We're basically back. We still have some tweaks to make, but you can see we're very close. Jenna seems very enthusiastic about how things are coming along. The HABOTN is a place that relies on the HOTTIES to keep things rolling along, so speak up if you have a suggestion.

I'm reachable via email or by posting a comment below, which now can be done without registration.

TO THE NEWS:

Auburn added another player to its (rapidly growing) 2009 signing class.

This guy isn't short.

Texas OL Aaron Moore, who attended the Tigers' camp last weekend, has committed to play at Auburn beginning in 2009. We know this because AuburnSports.com and AUTigers.com say so. He said TCU, Texas Tech and the Baylor Bears already had offered scholarships. A few other Big 12 schools were interested.

Here is your updated Auburn Commitment tote board:

HIGH SCHOOL
LB Harris Gaston, Birmingham (Bessemer Academy)
WR Brandon Heavens, Birmingham (Bessemer Academy)
QB Raymond Cotton, Mobile (Faith Academy) ... though he's moving this summer
DT Terrence Coleman, Mobile (Williamson)
DE Jamontay Pilson, Greenville (Greenville)
TE Philip Lutzenkirchen, Marietta, Ga. (Lassiter)
TB Rodney Scott, Cross City, Fla. (Dixie County)
LB Jonathan Evans, Mobile (Blount)
WR Travante Stallworth, Leesville, La. (Leesville)
WR Ladarius Perkins, Greenville, Miss. (St. Joseph)
OL Andre Harris, Hampton, Ga. (Lovejoy)
WR LaVoyd James, Mobile (Williamson)
OL Aaron Moore, Fricso, Texas (Centennial)

JUNIOR COLLEGE
LB Eltoro Freeman, Alex City (Miss. Gulf Coast CC)
DE Wilfred Journet, Lafayette, La. (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
DL Nick Fairley, Mobile (Copiah-Lincoln CC)
*all three signed with Auburn out of high school in Feb. 2007.

Time to make a comeback?

There is talk that the HABOTN may return to its birthplace (ie RIGHT HERE) in the coming days or weeks. I'll update when appropriate. This page still gets some hits, so I hope you all keep coming back ...

Thanks!