LIVE -- Gene Chizik NSD press conference

The event is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. CST. I am here.

• "We've had a blast. It's been so great to go out and recruit the state of Alabama. It really has been very exciting. We were excited when we got here and we're more excited now."
  
  
• "It was a big day for us today."
  
  
• He's thanking coaches and the "player hosts".
  
  
• "We had about three or four weeks to hit the ground running and recruit. We talked about a standard -- what Auburn is and what Auburn stands for. We made sure we recruited the right player. That's very important to us. I wanted to make sure we recruited student-athletes."
  
  
• "It was really the first step in the foundation of what we're trying to do."
  
  
• "A lot of people get caught up in the rankings. People get caught up in the stars. At the end of the day, they're not tell-tale signs."
  
  
• "We're going to go out now and re-recruit our own players. We'll now get ready for the business at hands over the next six or seven months."
  
  
• (Assistant coaches) "dug up guys form everywhere."
  
  
• On the apparent surge during the past few days: "This day is a little nerve-wracking. It comes down to the past two or three days. I have to give credit our coaches who stayed in there and fought. They kept fighting and we ended up signing them."
  
  
• On DeAngelo Benton: "We got him on campus. We threw our hat in the ring. We battled for him. Our assistant coaches kept fighting on that thing. That was never an easy get up until the time we actually received the fax. We thought we were in the race because we got him on campus."
  
  
• "To a certain degree, it was like the NFL Draft. We've got to go get the best 12 or 13 guys on offense; the best 11 or 12 on offense. There has to be a mean to the madness. We had to find a balance between the best players available and what we needed, number-wise, to balance out the class."
  
  
• "I can say that I'm happy with the class. Our goal is to make sure next year's recruiting class is better than this one."
  
  
• On recruiting with staff vacancies: "The guys I put out on the road believed in Auburn."
  
  
• "I'm excited about the result we had on this Wednesday morning. This was a huge, landmark day for us."
  
  
• On his emotions this morning: "It's kind of like game day. You've got to produce. You've got to go in there, the adrenaline has to be flowing and you have to produce. I didn't sleep, but it was neat. It's your test. It's your exam. There was adrenaline flowing."
  
  
• On getting kids out of Texas: "A lot had to do with pre-existing relationships and the timing of the whole thing. We have coaches who have recruited in Texas and had phenomenal relationships. You're able to get your foot in the door. When you get your foot in the door and get a young man here to campus, we feel like we have a shot. And it's a legit shot. We were able to close the door in the end."
  
  
• On Moseley: "We're always looking for winners. It's hard to win one (state championship). He's won three. He's won a couple in baseball. He's exactly what we have envisioned. We're looking forward to him coming in here to compete."
  
  
• Chizik doesn't want to compare Moseley and Tyrik Rollison. "They are two great quarterbacks who can come in here, learn this offense and earn this job."
  
  
• On Eltoro Freeman: "You talk about an excitable guy? He's exciting. He's what you're looking for at that position. Getting here mid-year, that gives him a chance to get the defense. When they come in January, their chances for playing go up."
  
  
• Chizik doesn't want to discuss which newcomers have a chance to play next fall. "We tell them: `If you're the best guy, you're going to play.' We want to open the book for them and give them some hope."
  
  
• "With speed, we're always looking to upgrade there. We feel good about where we went in that direction."
  
  
• On Benton's year off: "Coming out of high school, he was one of the top players. There are different circumstances with all the guys out there. He's one that we found. He looks like he can come in and play today. He's a couple years wiser. All you have to do is put on his senior-year highlights and you say: `Yes.'"
  
  

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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