Daily update, 3/25

Hey everyone. Thanks for making yesterday a nice traffic day here at the HABOTN, where spring football took top billing. Judging from how the basketball team finished its game last night, football was the right choice.

So what do we have today?

Let's go through what a few other Auburn peeps had to say about the team's first practice. Before you ask, the team is scheduled to practice again on Thursday afternoon. Gene Chizik told me last night that he will not practice in the indoor facility -- "We're not going to hold any glorified walk-throughs during the spring," he said -- and thunderstorms are expected to take hold today. Rain chances around here are 75% each day through Saturday.

Keep that in mind.

TROOPER TAYLOR SPEAKS

• On practice: "It was organized, the guys knew where to go, they understood what each horn meant, so that's a big thing. Just learning how to practice is just as big as getting out there and doing X's and O's.
  
  
• On his willingness to make players to pushups during practice (as you saw in yesterday's video): "I was taught a long time ago whatever you tolerate or accept, you encourage. Dropped balls, turnovers, stupid penalties will not be accepted at Auburn University. Those receivers know that after today. It's a point of emphasis to me. You have to get what you emphasize. What they do with the ball after the catch, that's why you sign them. That's called NLI - national letter of intent. But teaching the fundamentals, how to take care of the football, how to practice, how to win, and try to practice like a game. That's what I was trying to emphasize out there."

TOMMY TROTT SPEAKS

• On his physical situation: "I was ahead of schedule big time. I think right now I'm probably where I need to be. We backed off a little bit. It was hurting me a little bit. Slowed it down. They took out that patella tendon, so just that pressure on the knee from where that used to be, it started giving me trouble, got a little tendinitis in there."
  
  
• On what he's hoping to accomplish right now: "I've been watching. There are little drills I can do. Little get off the line drills, work on your releases. They don't want me to be involved in any contact at this point. It's not ready for contact, ready to be messing with going this way and that way. They don't want me making 100 percent cuts. They don't want me coming out of a dig route or anything like that on the left knee."

IN OTHER NEWS
The real-word HABOTN reference keep coming. Here we have Tab, an official HOTTIE, reppin' the blog at the recent Exceptional Foundation Chili Cook Off in Birmingham. This is the Alagasco crew, which won the "people's choice" award for their southwestern chowder.

Thanks, Tab!

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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