Your Daily Fix, 7/18

BREAKING NEWS: Freshman defensive end Andre Wadley has returned home after a multi-day stay at East Alabama Medical Center. His symptoms mimicked dehydration. Coach Tommy Tuberville said doctors so far have been unable to pinpoint the cause of Wadley's issue.

Wadley has not been cleared to practice and likely will miss at least the first portion of two-a-days.

``We're just going to keep a close eye on him and try to figure out what's going on," Tuberville said. ``The doctors have a lot of tests to run. He'll be fine, but two-a-days will be pushing it. I don't think he'll be cleared by then."

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Hey everyone. There isn't much going on right now -- everything explodes next week at Media Days -- so I thought this might be a good opportunity to discuss Ben Tate.

I made some comments about him recently that stirred some email and blog responses. Most of those comments were not in support of my contention that Ben Tate is an overrated player who should play second fiddle to Brad Lester.

Maybe that was too harsh. Let's take a gander at Tate's curriculum vitae, shall we?

BEN TATE
Class: Junior
Size: 5-11, 215
High School: Snow Hill, Maryland
Age: 19 (DOB: 8/21/88)
Rivals.com prospect rating: 4/5 stars, No. 6 TB overall
Scout.com prospect ranking: 4/5 stars, No. 22 TB overall
Signed Letter of Intent in December 2006

STATS
2006: 54 carries for 392 (7.3 avg), 3TDs; 2 catches for -3 yards
2007: 202 carries for 903 yards (4.5 avg), 8 TDs; 16 catches for 144 yards


On the plus side
*Willing and able to fight for extra yards
*Runs low, makes tackling more difficult
*Outstanding hands
*Intelligent
*Consistent production from game to game
*Still only 19 with two seasons of experience

On the minus side
*Speed not remarkable for a tailback; not a home-run threat
*Needs 10-15 carries to "warm up"
*Blocking can be inconsistent
*Missed most of spring ball with leg/hip injury suffered two months earlier

The situation: Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin has said Tate and Lester will share carries this season. In the Tigers' new spread scheme, though, laterals are considered runs. That favors Tate, who is a truly gifted receiver. I always saw Tate as a Power-I guy who needed a few steps to really get going. He won't get much of that in Franklin's run sets, which are quick read plays that require the back to hit stride quickly. That seems to fit Lester's skill set more snugly.

It's notable that Tate's average last year (4.5 per carry) was higher than Lester's 4.2. If Auburn still was in a pseudo-power package, I would value Tate differently. Remember that Enrique Davis is similar to Ben Tate. You remember what happened to him, right? He ditched Auburn to play in Houston Nutt's power system at Ole Miss.

Still, I see Tate getting 12-15 carries per game and 3-5 receptions out of the backfield/slot in 2008. He'll be useful. A star? We'll have to wait and see there.

Your Daily Fix, 7/16

BREAKING NEWS: Auburn has agreed to play Furman on 11/7/2009. I'm sure that gets you season-ticket holders all excited.

MORE BREAKING NEWS: It appears that Auburn has agreed to accept former Indiana forward Brandon McGee as a transfer for the 2008-09 season. The 6-foot-7 Chicago native was kicked off the IU team in May for (quoting the IU release) "academic and team guideline negligence." What does that mean? I have no idea.

If McGee enrolls, he won't be eligible to play until November 2009 because of NCAA transfer guidelines. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
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Hey everyone. Auburn added a 20th commitment last night -- isn't that just insane? -- but I'm leading off the HABOTN today with Larry Blakeney. He was in town Tuesday talking with the Kiwanis Club and had a lot of interesting things to say about Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin.

Franklin spent the past two seasons at Troy.

Here is today's story: Blakeney on Franklin: The Tigers will thrive

I love the part where Blakeney, who was involved in some NCAA scrutiny years ago, quickly deemed Franklin "clean" and free of any responsibility for Kentucky's recruiting shadiness of 1999 and 2000. If you can't trust Blakeney on those kinds of issues, who can you trust?

Auburn is now up to 20 commitments. Multi-talented player Jamie Collins of Meadville, Miss., said Tuesday night that he's planning to sign with the Tigers in February.

He played quarterback and safety in high school last season. He's considered a college prospect at wideout or linebacker. He attended Auburn's final summer camp last week as a linebacker, so it's reasonable to assume that's where the Tigers will play him.

Things can and do change. Remember when DeRon Furr was a quarterback?

Here is your updated list:

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, Frisco, Texas (Centennial)
DB Reggie Taylor, Fort Valley, Ga. (Peach County)
LB Brandon Jacobs, Lilburn, Ga. (Parkview)
DE Donald Ford, Odenville (St. Clair County)
LB/WR Jamie Collins, Meadville, Miss. (Meadville-Franklin County)

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.

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.

Your Daily Fix, 7/15 (in progress)

Hey everyone. Let's get to business.

I had a chance to talk with Troy coach Larry Blakeney this afternoon after his talk to the Montgomery Kiwanis Club downtown. He, of course, was the first guy to hire Auburn offensive coordinator Tony Franklin after a series of 2001 problems.

Blakeney hired Franklin in 2006, though he planned to do so much earlier.

Here are some interesting things Blakeney had to say about Franklin:

• Blakeney wanted to hire Franklin months after the entire staff at Kentucky was dismissed in February 2001. The problem? "To be honest, I just didn't have a lot of money at that point. He couldn't just (come to Troy) without being sure he could make it financially. A few years later, we were better off, he was better off and we got it together."
  
  
• Blakeney never believed Franklin was involved in the problems that led to NCAA sanctions at Kentucky. "I knew he was clean."
  
  
• Blakeney believes Franklin's scheme will translate well to the SEC. ``He's a fundamental football coach who understands that you can't just throw the ball to be successful. It's the best system I've ever seen. He's the best there is."
  
  
• How enamored was Blakeney? After Franklin left for Auburn, Troy promoted Franklin's protege (27-year-old Neal Brown) into the top spot. ``When Tony left, we promoted the guy who was closest we could come to Tony without it being Tony. That's how strongly I feel about it."
  

Wally Hall of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette thinks Auburn could be in the thick of the BCS race this fall. I don't disagree with the premise. I have a couple differences of opinions.

a.) How is Auburn "flying under the radar" with a 42-9 record since 2004?

b.) I don't think it's imperative that Kodi Burns emerge as the No. 1 guy.

Tommy and Wally have a love-hate relationship that spans back more than 20 years. I love listening to them jab at each other. Tommy always says he doesn't read the newspaper, yet he has a keen awareness of what Auburn beat writers and selected regional columnists (Wally being one) are saying about him. Funny.

I'll be on a Jackson, Miss., station tomorrow morning talking Auburn football. The station added live streaming yesterday. Lucky you. Click here for streaming audio. (The file opened in iTunes for me)

You know I love Rock Band. You may not know that I enjoy The Who quite a bit. These two interests married this morning when a Who pack was made available on XBox Live as DLC.

Here is a preview of my fave "Eminence Front." There are 11 other songs in the pack, which costs 1600 points. You can buy the tracks individually for 160 points.

"Amazing Journey"
"Baba O'Riley"
"Behind Blue Eyes"
"Eminence Front"
"Going Mobile"
"Leaving Here"
"My Generation" (Live at Leeds)
"Real Good Looking Boy"
"Sea & Sand"
"Summertime Blues" (Live at Leeds)http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
"Who Are You"
"Young Man Blues" (Live at Leeds)



Also in videogame news, NCAA 09 hits retail shelves this morning. I'm sure a massive group of HOTTIES will be playing this afternoon. You may be taking a sick day. Let me know how it goes.

Your Daily Fix, 7/14

Hey everyone. I'm now back from the annual trip to Kentucky/Ohio. Did I have a good time? Thanks for asking. I did. We had a great two-day run at Kings Island (outside of Cincinnati) and stayed out of trouble.

At left is The Beast, the world's longest wooden coaster. I like riding it at night because there are no lights out there.

I know you all care very little about coasters. So let's peeps into the immediate past of Auburn athletics and see what I missed during the trip.

Two more football commitments: Yes, the Tigers now are up to 19. It's insane, though the HOTTIES knew to expect it. Will Muschamp foretold the future before he left during the winter, saying early commitments would be the next big thing at Auburn.

The next-to-newest addition is LB Brandon Jacobs, who committed on July 7. He's known more as a tailback at Parkview, Brad Lester's alma mater, but the Tigers want to use Jacobs on defense. He also is a very good baseball player. Keep that in mind if he signs with Auburn in February. Jacobs is 6-foot-1 and around 230. He's a big boy.

The newest addition is DE Donald Ford, who committed on the 9th. He was playing safety last year. He was 180ish. Ford now is 205ish and performed quite well at an Auburn camp last month. He accepted Auburn's offer immediately. Ford had some big-school offers. He reminds some of Antoine Carter ... as far as being a great athlete just now growing into his body.

Here is your updated list of Auburn commitments

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, Frisco, Texas (Centennial)
DB Reggie Taylor, Fort Valley, Ga. (Peach County)
LB Brandon Jacobs, Lilburn, Ga. (Parkview)
DE Donald Ford, Odenville (St. Clair County)

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.

Media days are approaching rapidly: They're only nine days away and I think it'll be an above-average meeting this time around. There are plenty of worthy storylines. It seems like almost every school has one.

Remember Tommy Tuberville joking about the hot seat a few years ago? He may have the coolest seat in this house this time around. I'm sure he'll find some way to make himself look like an underdog, though. Nobody does it better.

THE FIVE BEST MEDIA DAYS SUBPLOTS (Pre-Media Days Edition)
1.) Petrino didn't actually lie to the Falcons. It was a misunderstanding.
2.) Houston Nutt likes Ole Miss better. Really.
3.) Alabama's off-the-field problems are in line with every other program.
4.) Georgia can handle being a BCS front-runner. Really.
5.) Les Miles wants to spend the rest of his life in Michigan Louisiana.

Tate overrated?: The Gainesville Sun has the guts to rank the SEC's top 25 players, which is admirable despite the impossibility of such a feat considering how positions work in football. Anyway, the Sun recently ranked Auburn TB Ben Tate as the league's No. 21 player.

I think Ben Tate is among the most gifted receivers I've seen at Auburn, top 10 for sure. I also think he's quite tough. I also think he has a gift for anticipation. He knows what will happen.

Still, I do not think he's a top-tier SEC tailback. He doesn't have the explosiveness one expects from a top player. He just doesn't. Tate is useful. Tate is valuable. Tate is a tick below Brad Lester (right) in my book. It's important to note that Tate sometimes will show big-league speed. I don't really understand how that can come and go.

One disclaimer: Tate thinks he deserves more regional/national respect than he's been given to this point. That could provide an important catalyst this fall.

A (rare) I-told-you-so moment: The five people who have read my stuff all along know that I said Ricky Jean-Francois would be a stud. The Sun has him at No. 14. Jean-Francois was one of those kids from Miami who wanted an offer from Miami. I guess Auburn didn't think Miami would choke away the opportunity. LSU anticipated that situation well (ie Miami choking) and snagged a potential superstar during the 2005 recruiting sweepstakes.