Craig Stevens gets some love
Hey everyone. Linebacker Craig Stevens, known to many as simply "Fo Sicks," has been named the SEC's Defensive Player of the Week.
He notched a career-high mark of 11 tackles against West Virginia. You may also remember his 15-yard interception return that sealed Auburn's victory.
He has long arms, too.
Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University
He notched a career-high mark of 11 tackles against West Virginia. You may also remember his 15-yard interception return that sealed Auburn's victory.
He has long arms, too.
Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University
177 Comments:
NO DROPS!
None!
Monday, Monday
Sounds like somebody has a case of the Mondays.
Rainy Days and Mondays get me down
6, I suck!
This is wonderful to see. Stevens has quietly become a very good linebacker.
When is the last time our offense could shift gears from running to passing like this? 2004 is actually the only year I can remember, or possibly 2005. It hasn't happened often. Bowden's first couple of years were the other times I recall.
I need to get THT to give me a synopsis of the past week, i'm so far behind; i have no clue what has been happening.
I like this Gulley kid, country dude, soft spoken but carries a big stick
Every team worries about injuries during the season, but Kentucky does it in a different way. Their OC got a broke arm in their game against Louisville.
He's definitely a country dude.
Congrats 2.0. Btw...have your paternal extorsion efforts produced results. Your tenacity is admirable.
WTC..agreed from the previous thread. UT has a big OL and several powerful backs...they should just keep pounding.
Our easiest shot to win would be to score early and not have 3 and outs and force UT to pass before they wear us down.
Can we outscore UF against the UT defense?
Strange how Gulley has made a bigger splash than Emory and Benton. I am wondering if those too are on the all Leon Hart team.
I just glad that "we'll take what they give us" no longer means we will keep trying the only thing we know until we get lucky. Now at least it means we will try new things.
Mr. Gulley...Us Auburn folks respond very well to confidence seasoned with humility. You're doing great..keep it up.
The UF offense is stuggling passing the ball. They haven't found a go to receiver. I think we score too often for Tennessee to keep up with.
Come on Steve...it's way to early to put them on that team. Freshmen need a lot of acclimation. Some do that better than others.
Our WR fundamentals and production are sooooo much better that I'm easily willing to wait for late bloomers.
Benton hadn't played football in 2 years, right? we all thought he'd jump in and be a stud b/c he was older. guess it's taking a while to re-acclimate. (sp?)
Emory and Benton all Hart team? Already?
It has been 3 games dood...
Benton hasn't played a game in 2 years, and Emory is 19 years old if even that
I am am pleased to see a team put '8 men in the box' and the offense have an answer to that. That is a HUGE improvement over 2008. AU is making strides. All you cna ask for is to mot take a step backwards, and I really think they took another step forward. The D has to tackle better, but overall, they adjusted and did what the needed to win.
I concur, Jhag. Too early to write anyone off yet.
It was great to see Stevens come up with the big play in the 4th quarter. I remember Coach Traitor stressing the importance of Stevens making the special plays, not just the ordinary ones.
And speaking of players playing at their best, Wes Byrum is 5-5 on FG's this year with a long of 49 yds(per the Auburn Tigers website). Those FG's Saturday night were huge plays to put points on the board for Auburn.
3 weeks and AU has players on the players of the week list in two of them. Another difference over 2008. Not hating just enthused to see a diffrence.
Well the SEC does give about 200 different players of the week...
AUfan - Shh- don't mention the kicker stats that can be bad luck
I do concur - Bryum is doing great
Byrum is the only positive going on with special teams right now.
Strange, I remember how many on here were telling me how much easier it would be for receivers to play immediately.
WERK-They do give out a lot of them, but did AU have many in 2008?
I know it is one game, but I think Gulley is a positive for the punt return team.
The SEC gives one offensive and one defensive player of the week award.
They also denote the offensive line and defensive line players of the week.
I believe they have an SEC player of the week too, but SEC offensive and defensive players of the week are nothing to sneeze at.
Byrum deserves accolades. The field goals against WV were huge. A missed field goal would have changed the complexion of things.
They have OL, DL, special teams and freshman of the week as well.
So they have 6 players of the week awards.
It started out as a player of the week, then expanded to offensive and defensive, now it's a bit much.
Steve. Three flippin games. Give them a little time, por favor.
Here is the announcement from the SEC.
Gulley did have our only punt return all year for more than a yard or so.
Also notice that Darren Bates, that 2 star recruit, seems to have adjusted quickly. You just can't go by stars. Getting all excited about players based upon stars isn't a good idea.
Also notice that USC has the most highly recruited dysfunctional offense in the nation.
I missed a crapload of comments this week. I used to be able to do HABOTN on game weekends. Not much anymore.
I did well in pick'em this week. Missed a couple of doozies, but whatever. Congratulate me.
Mark Martin's gonna win the Championship.
Steve, you sound like you really bought into the Tubs school of recruiting.
SFC, it sure seemed like one of the young 'uns would step up and take a spot immediately. who knew T-Zac and Kennesaw, GA (Mr. Adams) would be such studs so far?
as i've said before, i just discount 2008. same players, new team. i'm lovin' me some Darvin Adams.
Happy Monday Hot Ones! My voice is still gone but it's great to be 3-0! We seem to be averaging an SEC player of the Week every week!! Congrats to Stevens. He deserves some attention.
I am not ready to call an overhaul on the run defense just yet. I think Devine and Brown are just exceptional runners with crazy moves. Any "normal" QB would have been sacked 10 times Sat night. I dont think we will face another abnormal QB until Tebow in the SECCG hehehe (Kool-aid anyone? It's freshly made).
I think this D will be much better against normal running back that only have speed and power as opposed to speed, power, and Matrix-type moves. Ball St and UT will go down.
Scottie B, you get the award for pulling off wearing a jersey to a game above the age of 13.
...your friends, not so much. :-)
PF, if judging plays by what they actually do on the field is Tuberville recruiting, then yes I did.
I thought Zachery and Hawthorne would be the go to receivers this season. Darvin Adams has surprised me.
It's just the same old thing we heard for ten years: stars don't matter, blah, blah, blah. I'm over it. I'm as happy for the unheralded guys doing well as I am for the bigtimes.
New top secrete weapon for WV QB and RB. Developed by the navy over in neighboring state of Virginia.
HSD (Human Sonar Detector). When the sonar detects a defensive player the legs do a spin and sends said runner in a different direction in a nano second. Thus leaving the D man grasping air and looking foolish.
You fail to mention that those were arguably the best 10 years in the history of Auburn football.
Give it a rest.
Sorry, didn't mean to confuse you with facts.
1 SEC Championship in 10 years. 3 Appearances, one undefeated season.
I would argue 1983-1993 was a better ten years.
87,000 game balls sounds like a logistics nightmare. I mean, I guess it is feasible to get that many balls into Auburn for distribution, but how many balls per play is that to make sure they are all "game balls"?
yall play nice.
thanks for the jersey compliment PF....i think.
i love game-used jerseys. especially the old-school ones.
Sean, that is the arguably part. The Dye years was really the only other period, although grouping Dye and Bowden teams make that look very good. Some would argue that the SEC championship is much tougher now than in Dye's day and we would have been SEC champs several more years in the Tuberville era under the previous system. I do agree that the late 80s was the best period though. We owned the SEC for 3 years in a row.
Darren Bates was a late bloomer, and first discovered and offered by Auburn (Coach Troop).
He subsequently got offers from a bunch of SEC schools, incl. bama, ole miss, lsu, etc.
Stars don't usually matter, how badly others want the guy does.
I especially like the video of Gulley. He seems like a really good kid and it looks like he is making the most of getting away from his small town.
I would argue that it is more important that a player fit in with a team. That was never more evident than the 1993 team. It wasn't suppose to be an all-star lineup, but it turned out to be. Many players from the team ended up playing on Sundays.
Terrell Owens is a good example. I would never want him on my team, although he is great receiver. He tends to screw up chemistry.
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school team.
I think even if they were to try to get mini-footballs, it would still be a logistics nightmare. Maybe they could give everyone a 'virtual' game ball. That could be the wave of the future.
I like Daren Bates ALOT but I really want him to wrap up when he tackles.
Big props do go to Auburn GAs, and both previous and current staff for some of the best evaluation of guys.
--
Congrats to Craig Stevens for getting SEC defensive mvp.
He could also win bama defensive mvp by beating up a ref like rolando mcclain did.
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2.0, long distance FAH.
Has anyone seen any comments from the Alabama commits that were at the game, Corey Grant and Craig Sanders? I think they both had AU really high on their list before committing. Sanders even contacted the AU staff before he committed in bama.
I was under the impression that we backed off Corey Grant.
Crum, why aren't game balls a big deal in basketball? I mean, you still play with a ball. Why not give it to someone? Is it because the ref keeps the ball? That needs to be changed in my opinion.
"we would have been SEC champs several more years in the Tuberville era under the previous system."
Name the years.
Corey Grant won't get in at Auburn
sorry
just the way it is
Also: on TV and in all the newspapers, our student section is being lauded for being hardcore and staying through the storm. One strike of lightning could have killed a ton of them. Why hasn't that been mentioned anywhere? You watch, at some point over the next 100 years, some fans staying in their seats are gonna be struck by lightning during a storm.
Of course, I would have stayed too during my college days. It's general admission, and a seat for a big game is nothing to sneeze at.
Michael,
If wishes were horses...nevermind
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lets stand and sing:
I made it through the rain
And found myself respected
By the others who
Got rained on too
And made it through...
I haven't gone back and read all the threads from the weekend, but I'll go ahead and admit that I stayed in the stands during the deluge. Perhaps the Jim Beam clouded my judgement, but we had a great time!
I would also like to publicly say, though I criticize him often, Josh Moon is a very nice person to meet and talk with.
You are alright, Moon.
If the SEC title had been played under the old rules Tub would have the 2004 SEC title and a split with LSU (who we lost to) in 2005.
Corey Grant won't get in at Auburn
sorry
just the way it is
Sensi "wont get in" as in won't have the grades or no more spots left for him?
I got caught out in the rain on the walk into the stadium. No poncho or rain jacket. My shoes were still damp this morning
Michael, our HS cheerleaders throw out a bunch of the little plastic footballs after every TD....so maybe Au could go that route. Of course throwing 87,000 plastic footballs could wear out some rotator cuffs.
I-75 is closed north of Atl(Emerson, Ga) due to flooding. We've had 6" since yesterday afternoon and there's a bunch more coming from Bham.
My old high school also did the plastic footballs. I think chiz should put his money where his mouth is and at least come up with 40,000 or so of those per game. Now we're gettin somewhere!
AU vs UT ESPN 6:45
RK, under the old rules we would not have played LSU. It is a pointless argument.
That UT game is going to be huge for this season. Two new head coaches. UT without a passing game, but a heck of a running game and defense. That is one I am looking forward to.
There are some pretty good videos of the rain delay posted on YouTube.
I couldn't have handled those crowded concourses. Panic mode would have been in full tilt.
Steve,
We started playing LSU in 1988 and split the SEC title with them that year.
You stated we would have won several SEC titles under Tub under the old rules. Perhaps under the old rules when we only played 6 conference games, but under the 8 conference game rules that started in 88, no we wouldn't have.
I just don't know where you got your several from.
It would have really sucked to be jammed in on the concourse like that.
Hey Guys,
Let's take care of Ball State first, then start getting concerned about UT. Remember, one game at a time. D.W.W.D. WAR EAGLE!!!!
Plus Tub didn't have to play Tennessee & Florida every year like Dye did.
Auburn vs UT 7:45 eastern (6:45 central) on ESPN.
Josh Moon just said that AU wont be able to beat Tenn in Knoxville
wish we could have gotten UT a little earlier in the day before the crowd gets rowdy...say 10AM.
I <3 night games!!!! The new ESPN deal is awesome for creating more night games.
My huge post on the game:
- How funny was it when Todd tried to shake and bake on a keeper?
- The touchdown pass to Adams where he faked like he was going to the corner and then cut it into a quick timing post... that might be the best route/throw I have ever seen at Auburn. Unbelievable coaching and execution. A timing route to the inside in the end zone? You never see that. You can't guard that. I want to slap Malzahn and call him a genius.
- Todd made some great throws last night, and some really bad ones. He is good enough to win us games, but not win them all. We have to be able to run against later teams that have a pulse on D. I would say Tenn of Alabama's D straight up = W Va's with an extra man in the box. Of course, I am tickled that the only D's I am really worried about are the elite ones.
- As far as our defense goes, I am not as worried as maybe I should be. With that QB and the quick backs, I think West Va will be the most problematic offense Auburn faces all year (just as they were last year). The real problem will occur when we face teams with elite D's and an above average offense. Luckily, there aren't too many of those.
- Wes Byrum - what a weapon. Great story how he is bouncing back.
- Tate ran sideways for a loss of 5 yards on one play at the game. I started shaking and going into shock, and I made my friend I was watching the game with check the closet and under the bed and under the couch to make sure Tony Franklin wasn't there. "IS HE GONE!!?? IS HE GONE!!?? DID YOU CHECK EVERYWHERE?!!! CHECK ONE MORE TIME!!! JUST CHECK THE CLOSET AGAIN!! DID YOU CHECK BEHIND THE CLOTHES IN THE CLOSET!??! CHECK AGAIN!!" Luckily, I remembered the long touchdown Tate had last week on a sideways run, remembered this is a different offense, and regained my composure.
- With the game in hand, why did Todd run the ball? No need to risk Todd getting injured there ("No need to risk Todd getting injured" ranks pretty high on the "Phrases I Never Thought I Would Use As Of January 2009" list)
- It was sure nice to win a close game that mattered. Seems like it's been awhile.
I wouldn't care if Warren Moon said the same thing.
ha, wes.
josh moon is wack...or WAC...or you get the idea.
"Plus Tub didn't have to play Tennessee & Florida every year like Dye did."
Judging from his record against them, I'll bet he wished he did play them every year.
("No need to risk Todd getting injured" ranks pretty high on the "Phrases I Never Thought I Would Use As Of January 2009"
-love it.
Mikey,
Did you really just post something longer than 4 lines?
Somebody give this man a Trooper Towel and a spot in the Kool-Aid line. WDE!
Tub was 4-1 at Auburn vs UT, 3-4 vs Florida.
However playing them every year those records might have been different, especially vs Florida year in and year out.
I just caught a bunch of ants stealing my dog's food. I went boom on their butts.
By the way, did Sensi apologize? I know he was right about all of the reasons he thought WVU would win, but I still want an apology.
atta boy Boom. kill 'em all.
7:45 ET @ Knoxville. that sounds like an all day tailgate on the water baby! yeehaw!
RK, Florida and Tennesee weren't all that great in the 80s, especially not Florida.
Do we need to refocus on this week's game. We've got Muncie College coming to the Plains!
Sensi is letting me know about all the future beatdowns we are going to take. Signature win this season was last Saturday night according to Sensi. Oh, he gave me a 36-0 also :)!!!!
I most certainly did not.
Are any of the coaches cussers? Just curious.
They've lost three games by a combined score of 24 pts to such powerhouses as: North Texas, New Hampshire and Army. The first two losses came at home. The third was @ West Point.
PF - I will take the towel, but pass on the kool aid. You know how I feel about popular/overused sports metaphors.
rk - Tubs recent history against those teams was pretty darn good. You going to hold his record against Florida against him when he was playing with Bowden's "players"?
Has 7:45 UT been confirmed?
OK, I get a chance to check in on the beloved HABOTN. What do I find? A Tuberville discussion.Sheesh. Can we move on?
I guess not.
Nice sized post there Michael. What is that, about a 50 pounder?
I'm trying to lead a Ball State discussion...in all seriousness. Their QB is 42/92 on the year with 408 yards, 2 TD and 5 INT. He is also the second leading rusher with 97 yards on 21 carries and a TD.
I make no apologies for pick, Peter. I did post on here and other threads that I was a glad I was wrong.
It was a good time.
Eddie, your tv confirmation is HERE.
Ball State is 0-3 with losses to North Texas, New Hampshire, and Army.
End of discussion.
Sensi, your pick was pretty darn good. It wouldn't have taken many mistakes for it to have been correct. WV made the mistakes when the pressure was on. We didn't. Go figure.
Sensi, why are you being a buzzkill?? Stomping all over my fun.
That's right, I'm about to take my ball and go home!
Thanks for the link Scottie B. I see they are going to start having SEC games during the daytime now. I wonder if Bama will burn from the direct sunlight?
Yeah, Steve, that's how I feel about it too.
Anyways, I am impressed with the SECs frosh head coaches so far.
Steve,
UT was 8 or 9 wins a year under Majors for the most part. (He'd have a year or two with 6 wins, then a year or two with 10).
In fact...Majors and Tuberville have almost the same winning %. Majors at UT had a 65% and Tub at Auburn had a 68 %, so you either need to upgrade UT in the 80's to good, or downgrade Tub to "not all that great". Majors had 3 SEC titles, but averaged a 7-4-1 record for his time there. Sounds familair.
Florida never had a losing season in the 80's and in the mid 80's they were probably the 2nd best team in the SEC behind Auburn.
how about Tommy Trott playing all game and toughing out an injury? he didn't catch anything but for all the grief he's taken b/c of his drops, i give him respect for coming through.
Michael,
Tub did do well in big games, but I don't agree with Steve that under the old SEC rules that Tub would have won several more SEC titles.
I must admit I am kind of surprised we got the prime time ESPN spot. Auburn versus Tennessee is an attractive game, but Georgia versus LSU is too.
Sean,
When you lose to Army, it's time to hang it up. I love Army. My brother went there. But they can't get any real talent there because who wants to go do that and then go to the most dangerous job in the world? And New Hampshire? C'mon.
Ball State will get bowled over by Ben Tate.
Say that four times fast.
Scottie- Trott had a huge catch if I remember correctly for a 1st down on a 3rd down play.
RK, you care comparing apples and oranges and I am unsure why. Majors doesn't coach Tennesse any longer. Dye no longer coaches Auburn. Tuberville no longer coaches Auburn. The SEC is much tougher in the past decade than it was in the 80s or the 90s. I don't see your point and really am not interested in it. I also am not sure where the number of SEC championships became the criteria. It seems like a bunch of gobbledegooke to me.
LSU/Georgia is at 3:30 and I'm sure CBS got the first pick for that one.
I understand, Sensi. I was trying to change the subject with some tongue-in-cheek sarcasm.
You're right about the catch, Eddie. And if it was a trap, it's the best trap I've ever seen.
Common Sensi, someone has to have New Hampshire as their sleeper for the national title.
Or maybe not.
Steve,
Was it not you who said Tommy Tuberville would have won several SEC championships at Auburn under the old format?
Did I miss something?
You started the comparison, I said I thought you were incorrect.
rk - I admit to having not read your conversation with Steve. Whatever it is, I am with you against Steve. That dude is crazy. (though he did predict Todd at QB. And he will never let us forget it)
I was just reacting to a single out of statement.
As you were.
I don't think the shadiest of loansharks would give you odds on NH as a BCSMNC contender.
Sean, I appreciate it.
I'll come back later when the Tuberville memorial hours are over.
RK, I finished this discussion over an hour ago.
I will pistol-whip the next person who says shenanigans, or in this case Tuberville.
Tubs would only have more SEC championships in the old setup vs the current setup is if he didn't have to play Arkansas.
10:54 AM
"we would have been SEC champs several more years in the Tuberville era under the previous system."
I'm not pulling this out of nowhere, I was just responding to your comment.
If you don't want to talk about Tommy, the previous system and SEC championships, then don't bring them up.
Eddie's bout to get pistol whipped
aye aye aye
Steve,
My head just exploded.
I know you love Tommy and hold his era just a bit higher than most of us (and most of us hold it pretty high, myself included), but you kept debating the point long past the hour that you said you had finished it.
UGA/LSU is on CBS, right? They still have first dibs.
my apologies to Tommy Trott.
2 catches for 20 yards. so many plays....hard to keep up. :)
Peter,
That game is on CBS.
Most weeks CBS has the first pick, there are 2 or 3 where ESPN gets the pick.
I remember Trott getting one catch, I don't remember the 2nd one.
Steve loves Doug Barfield :)!!!!
Burns hit Trott for one earlier.
When is the last time we had 5 night games in a row. I am a 1:30 pm kickoff person. Things have changed.
Can Burns actually throw to wide open WR's, not TE's?
Michael,
I wouldn't say Burns hit anything. He got the ball close enough for Tommy to snag it, sure, but Kodi hasn't hit the broad side of the air all year.
Thought so, RK...even though my post was less a real question, and more a response to whoever was complaining about the AU getting the primetime game instead of LUwho/UGA.
Barfield wasn't as bad as some believe, but he never got us past being a middle of the road SEC program. He did have to go up against some of the evil empire's greatest teams. I just never understood how we couldn't when more then when we had NFL quality runningbacks most of his years.
Yeah, he was short on that pass for sure. But it got there.
I think Burns has thrown pretty darn well... for a wildcat back.
I wish Burn's throws would start looking better. I have this hope that he will develop into a better QB for next season, but i just don't see it happening.
Kodi Burns vs Ronnie Brown (as a Dolphin) as a throwing QB out of the Wildcat. Discuss.
I think Brown is my choice.
well, Kodi was 0-1 to wide open WR's vs. WVA.
and dude was wide open. he had time to stop & set his feet. he threw on the run, though. :(
Burns looked bad on both trick plays to set up a pass so far this year. I think he gets too excited and just throws as soon as he can instead of setting his feet on those plays.
Unless something significantly changes, Rollison will be the guy next year. Caudle probably still has hopes, but I just don't see that happening either.
Brown all day and twice on Sunday.
Ronnie is a bad man on the football field.
How did Caddy do yesterday? I saw where Campbell had another suckalicious day.
Ronnie Brown in a landslide right now. Ronnie has more touch on the passes.
When you talk Ronnie Brown, you are in my territory. I would take 11 Ronnie Browns on offense and beat most teams. Yea, Ronnie at center, guard, tackle, TE, WR, QB, and RB. I will go with it.
ah, be easy on Kodi. he's the best Wildcat QB we've ever had at Auburn!
Kodi isn't a bad wildcat QB. It is just the idea of him being the regular QB that would scare me.
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Scottie B- Make no mistake, Kodi is the leader of the team in my mind. His success is directly tied with the team success IMO. I'm hoping like hell he keeps the good play up.
Kodi Burns is the only running player that I can recall who always seems to be off balanced when he runs.
Even running in the open field with nobody near him he looks like he's about to trip over himself.
agreed Eddie.
Eddie, you are right, especially in terms of team unity.
AUBURN-TENNESSEE tickets still available.
http://www.utsports.com/tickets/
So 4 star USCe OL commit Eric Mack is listing us as his leader now? per PM
sorry i keep pimpin' UT tickets. i just want as many AU peeps to be there as possible!
Great news jhag. I thought Mack would be USC bound for sure.
Scottie, I think my whole clan is going out there. To visit my sister A) but B) to watch the Vols cry in their cereal.
Do you know how tough it is to not say shenanigans when somebody says don't say shenanigans?
Just threw up a new THREADZ on the UT game.
Auburn is in the lead again for Under Armour All-America offensive lineman Eric Mack, a South Carolina commitment since July.
I love our team, I love the heart that they have, I love their attitude, and I love our coaches for teaching them how to be Auburn men.
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