Big Cat Weekend

Hey everyone. We discussed earlier today that you would be impressed with the players Auburn would bring to campus in a few weeks.

Well, make it this week.

Auburn is in the midst of what it calls "Big Cat Weekend" and gobs of the country's top prospects are on campus.

Here is a partial look:
TB Lache Seastrunk, 5-star (Rivals and Scout), ESPN 150 watch list
TB Marcus Lattimore, 5-star (Rivals and Scout), ESPN 150 watch list
WR Trovon Reed, Scout.com 5-star; Rivals.com 4-star, ESPN 150 watch list
WR Jeremy Richardson, Rivals.com 4-star; Scout.com 3-star
WR Antonio Goodwin, Rivals.com 4-star (unclassified by Scout)
WR Demarco Cobbs, ESPN 150 watch list
LB Kahiri Fortt, Rivals.com 4-star (unclassified by Scout)
DE J.C. Copeland, Rivals.com 4-star (unclassified by Scout) **Tenn. commit**
OT James Stone, 4-star (Rivals and Scout), ESPN 150 watch list
OG Eric Mack, 4-star (Rivals and Scout), ESPN 150 watch list

That's an impressive group. Yes.

Coaching spotlight: Curtis Luper

CURTIS SCOTT LUPER
Age: 43 (born 1/22/66)
College: B.A. from Stephen F. Austin (communications), 1996; M.A. from Stephen F. Austin (communications), 1998.
Playing career: Spent three seasons as a tailback at Oklahoma State, 1984-86. After a six-year stay in the armed forces, Luper completed his final season of eligibility at Stephen F. Austin in 1993.

Coaching career:
•Auburn, running backs (current)
•Oklahoma State, running backs (2005-08)
•New Mexico, running backs (2002-04)
•Texas A&M-Commerce, defensive backs (1999-2001)
•McKinney (Tx.) High, running backs (1998)
•Stephen F. Austin, various roles (1995-1997)

Mentor:
Gene Chizik. Luper worked as a graduate assistant under Chizik at Stephen F. Austin.

Previous Auburn experience:
None.

Coaching philosophy:
Luper, at first glance, is the Tigers' least fiery coach. It's rare to hear him scold players or even raise his voice. His displeasure is communicated calmly via one-on-one conversations generally held on the field. He doesn't appear to be a stickler for "micro-technique," instead allocating most of his coaching efforts toward explaining errors and giving players a snapshot of how they contributed to a play's demise.

In psychological parlance, he's Carl Rogers to Eddie Gran's B.F. Skinner.

He's cerebral in his approach with players. Luper doesn't like to discuss depth charts because he's sensitive to the message that could send to reserves. He served as a college reserve behind Thurman Thomas and, later, Barry Sanders.

Luper also is a major element in the Tigers' recruiting enterprise. He is an accomplished networker who seems to know an unusually wide array of people -- or has a friend who knows a friend. He uses evolved relationships throughout the Midwest to learn about up-and-coming prospects. Auburn successfully plucked a pair of coveted recruits from Texas in February. WR Emory Blake and DL Nosa Eguae hadn't considered the Tigers prior to Luper's arrival.

Luper's recruiting acumen is intriguing because he isn't boastful. There is no bravado. He makes the connections and lets other members of the Tigers' staff (most notably Trooper Taylor, Tracy Rocker and Jeff Grimes) handle business from there. That construct yielded a strong 2009 signing class and has stoked Auburn's 2010 expectations.

Luper is central to that revival.

Personality profile:
Luper is among the brightest coaches I have met. He speaks carefully, though it's not because he's worried about potential repercussions. He wants to make sure he uses the correct words to explain his point. He's precise.

Luper often holds deep conversations that span well beyond football. That's not exactly universal among people in his profession. Talking with him, you get the sense that you're talking with an entertaining professor; not a football coach.

His moods are stable. Luper is Luper on the best days and worst days. He greets days with a smile. He seems unhurried and free of worry. He'd make a great mafia consigliére ... stable, thoughtful, calculating and aware.

He has much bigger projects ahead. I expect his stay at Auburn to be short because he has the skills to flourish as an offensive coordinator or head coach. His relatively late professional start (first meaningful job came in 1999) means he's less experienced than many early-40s coaches.

Still, his day is coming soon.

SEC opens its pocketbook

The Southeastern Conference today revealed information about its annual financial distribution.

Each of the league's 12 programs snagged a check worth approximately $11 million during the summer meetings, which concluded today in Destin, Fla. A total of $132.5 million was distributed.

Here's where that money was derived:
•$52 million, football television contracts
•$25.4 million, bowl earnings
•$14.3 million, SEC football championship game
•$13.6 million, basketball television contracts
•$4.1 million, SEC men's basketball tournament
•$23.1 million, "NCAA Championships"

Here is a breakdown of past distributions:
•1980 ($4.1 million)
•1981 ($5.57 million)
•1982 ($7.24 million)
•1983 ($9.53 million)
•1984 ($18.4 million)
•1985 ($9.34 million)
•1986 ($13.1 million)
•1987 ($13.56 million)
•1988 ($14.34 million)
•1989 ($13.85 million)
•1990 ($16.3 million)
•1991 ($20.6 million
•1992 ($27.7 million)
•1993 ($34.34 million)
•1994 ($34.36 million)
•1995 ($40.3 million)
•1996 ($45.5 million)
•1997 ($58.9 million)
•1998 ($61.2 million)
•1999 ($68.5 million)
•2000 ($73.2 million)
•2001 ($78.1 million)
•2002 ($95.7 million)
•2003 ($101.9 million)
•2004 ($108.8 million)
•2005 ($110.7 million)
•2006 ($116.1 million)
•2007 ($122.0 million)
•2008 ($127.6 million)
•2009 ($132.5 million)

ALSO OF NOTE: Jay Jacobs was named to the SEC's Executive Committee. He is the only athletic director on the seven-member committee.

Lowder out at Colonial

Hey everyone. Thought I'd give a cursory mention about Bobby Lowder retiring from his position at Colonial BancGroup.

You old timers will remember the days when it seemed like 90% of the Auburn faithful hated the guy. I never understood that. I heard all these stories about how dangerous he was and, honestly, I'd assess him as a very bright nerd.

I've only spoken with him a few times, though, so maybe he tricked me.

Sure, he meddled in some stuff. So what? The university (and the athletic department) needed some direction and he provided it. Auburn seems like a pretty healthy institution to me.

Auburn still messing with Texas

Hey everyone. Recruiting ace Jeffrey Lee, of AuburnSports.com, reports this morning that behemoth Texas tackle Aleon Calhoun (6-foot-7, 315 pounds) has received an Auburn offer.

Not too shabby ... considering he hasn't visited or corresponded with anyone from Auburn.

"I was really shocked," Calhoun told AuburnSports.com. ``I was like 'Wow. This is for me and I haven't even talked to them or anything.' It felt good."

IN OTHER RECRUITING NEWS OF NOTE:

• Another Texas OT, Daryl Williams, has received an offer from Auburn. Unlike Calhoun, who remains popular mostly in his home state, Williams has drawn offers from a wider array of schools. Even Alabama is on him.
  
  
• CB Demarcus Milliner of Stanhope Elmore High visited coach Gene Chizik on campus last week. Chizik told Milliner, the nation's top-rated cornerback according to Rivals.com, that he can start immediately at Auburn in 2010. We know this because AuburnSports.com tells us so.

Photo credit: Rivals.com

Coaching snapshot: Ted Roof

Hey everyone. Let's continue our look at Auburn's new staff of coaches. Today's winner is defensive coordinator Ted Roof Rusted, who is an interesting dude. I really enjoyed talking with him before Gene Chizik Auburn officials instituted the more restrictive interview policies.

TERRENCE EDWIN "TED" ROOF JR.
Age: 45 (born 12/11/63)
College: B.A. from Georgia Tech (management), 1987
Playing career: Spent four seasons as a linebacker at Georgia Tech. My esteemed colleague, Phillip Marshall, says Roof was "one hell of a player."

Coaching career:
•Auburn, defensive coordinator (current)
•Minnesota, defensive coordinator (2008)
•Louisville, linebackers (2008, left after a short stay)
•Duke, head coach (2003-07)
•Duke, defensive coordinator (2002)
•Georgia Tech, defensive coordinator (1999-2001)
•Georgia Tech, linebackers (1998)
•Western Carolina, defensive coordinator (1997)
•UMass, linebackers (1994-96)
•Duke, linebackers (1990-93)
•West Georgia, linebackers (1989)
•Alabama, graduate assistant (1987-88)

Mentor:
Bill Curry

Previous Auburn experience:
None, though he played against Auburn in 1984, 85 and 86. Tech went 1-2 in those games.

Coaching philosophy:
Let's start here -- Ted Roof isn't the most popular guy around. He was tabbed as an up-and-comer during his days as an assistant at Georgia Tech, then completely flopped as Duke's head coach during a forgettable five-season run. Winning at Duke is tough. Those problems presented Roof with the first insurmountable challenge of his career. He couldn't fix the problem and it all fell on his head.

He actually took a job as linebackers coach at Louisville (a substantial drop in pay and profile) before catching on with the nation's worst defense at Minnesota a few weeks later. At this point, I filed Roof away as failed head coach never to be heard from again.

He regained some national relevance at Minnesota, though, by taking an awful defense and making it average in a matter of months. He succeeded by taking tons of risks. He didn't have the athletes to bang with the Ohio States and Penn States, so Roof concocted a series of awkward sets and coverages that gave the Gophers a strategic advantage. Minnesota's resurgence wasn't serendipity; Roof fixed a lot of problems.

Now armed with a comparable supply of talent, Roof will settle in as a base 4-3 guy. He took some risks at Duke and many risks at Minnesota. I believe he will be surprisingly conservative at Auburn. Roof feels like Auburn has enough talent to bang with the big teams in the SEC and he plans to do that. At the heart of Roof's vision is a stable defense. I expect his defenses to operate like Paul Rhoads' ... and not Will Muschamp's.

Personality profile:
Roof is blustery at times, particularly on the field. He doesn't do the crazy yelling we saw from Will Muschamp. Still, Roof is more assertive than Paul Rhoads. He can't deal with lack of effort.

Away from the field, Roof strikes me as a loner. I usually see him working by himself. I can't imagine him being a major recruiting element as some have suggested. He's not hip. He's not going to be hip.

He hasn't told me this, but my sense after talking with him is that he's getting back to basics himself. The Duke debacle affected him deeply. The Minnesota thing was (and always was going to be) a short-term destination. His goal was to catch on at a big school and redevelop the old-school defenses that worked well for him at Tech.

He's savoring his revival. He's hungry.

Coaching snapshot: Gus Malzahn

GUS MALZAHN
Age: 43 (born 10/2/65)
College: B.A. from Henderson State University, 1990
Playing career: Spent two years as a walk-on wideout at Arkansas; two years as a scholarship wideout at Henderson State.

Coaching career:
Auburn, offensive coordinator (present)
Tulsa, offensive coordinator (2007-08)
Arkansas, offensive coordinator (2006)
Springdale (Ark.) High, head coach (2001-05)
Shiloh Christian (Ark.) High, head coach (1996-2000)
Hughes (Ark.) High, head coach (1992-95)
Hughes (Ark.) High, defensive coordinator (1991)

Mentor:
(I haven't discussed this with him.)

Previous Auburn experience:
None, though he was the man behind Arkansas' 27-10 win at Auburn in 2006. You may remember the fumblerooski Reggie Fish used to preface a fourth-quarter touchdown that day.

Coaching philosophy:
He favors an up-tempo offense. Malzahn's approach differs from many of his contemporaries because it emphasizes deep passes. Most up-tempo offenses rely almost exclusively on swing passes and screens. He has shown the ability to thrive using different areas of emphases.

In general, his offenses feature the run.

There is no question about who is in control of this offense. Malzahn runs the meetings, identifies the skills he wants sharpened and isn't shy about sharing his ideas with assistant coaches. At the same time, he doesn't dabble in the work of those assistants during practice. He trusts that they're handling business as they see fit.

Malzahn, in general, seems tougher on his players than most of his predecessors. Al Borges (2004-07) and Noel Mazzone (1999-2001) were comforters. Tony Franklin (2008) was aloof. Bob Petrino (2002) was neither; he was terse and direct. Malzahn also is very direct with his comments both on the field and in the Athletic Complex. I would not describe him as terse. He has a firm grasp on the habits of players who have been successful in his system. If he sees performance/behavior that doesn't fit with his past experience, Malzahn makes abrupt corrections.

Malzahn isn't afraid of a full playbook. He is not guily of underestimating his players' aptitiude.

Personality profile:
Malzahn, in general, is a quiet person. He isn't someone who tells jokes or seeks the spotlight. I have described him as a bookworm in the past. Malzahn seems shy to me in many ways. That's strange to me because he has been a relatively high-profile guy since, say, 1994. He's been in state championship games, in the middle of innovation at turmoil at Arkansas, behind the scenes of a great offense at Tulsa.

You'd think someone with that kind of resume would embrace the hubbub. He's not. Malzahn is a guy who'd rather be watching film and honing his strategy.

Monday update

Hey everyone. First things first: Happy Memorial Day to all the guys and gals who fight (and have fought) to keep America free. As a bloggist and sometimes reporter, I am appreciative of the unique freedoms this country affords me. Thanks for being there.

SCHEDULE LOOK-AHEAD: I'm working on a Gus Malzahn breakdown. Should be up shortly.

BASEBALL SHUT OUT: You know how I felt about this, but Auburn's baseball team failed to make the NCAA Tournament. The 64-team bracket was revealed today without the Tigers, who ranked No. 30 in the NCAA's own RPI ratings. Still, John Pawlowski's team was just 31-25 and, for the sixth consecutive season, couldn't finish among the top 2/3 of the SEC.