State of the HABOTN

Hey everyone. Sorry I didn't update yesterday. News was light and I viewed a new movie at the cinema. It's called "Bruno." You may have heard of it.

Here's our first-ever State of the HABOTN address.

• I can't believe how faithful you all have been through the offseason. June 2009 visits were up 3,000% over June 2008, which is just nutty.
  
  
• We've had 1.7 million pageviews since Media Days 2008.
  
  
• The biggest traffic days in HABOTN history came on 12/3/08 (Tuberville resignation) and 2/4/09 (Signing Day). Interestingly, those two events drew almost the exactly same number of visitors: 23,098 and 24,193.
  
  
• HABOTN videos dominate. I don't track video views very closely, but those numbers easily set the Advertiser's pace. I like that.
  
  
• We added 10 members to the Ring of Fire. Each of them are adored and loved with a vigor rarely seen since the 1820s.

So what's next?

• Just today, I received a brand-new copy of Final Cut. That's the most powerful video-editing application created by Apple. It's one used by movie studios and television production companies. HABOTN videos are going to get more plush, but it'll take me a while to learn Final Cut's complexities.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE ABOUT BLOG VIDEOS?

I started producing videos last summer with the goal being simple: Get footage out there. I just wanted them to work. I've got that down. Are there other features/elements you'd like to see in the videos?

Video report: Inside the new basketball arena

Enjoy.

NOTE: I removed auto-play at 10 p.m.

You now may watch the video by clicking this link. Thanks!

ALSO: I (again) will be on WMSP's afternoon show tomorrow. Seriously. If you're interested, you know where to find it.

Player spotlight: Neil Caudle

NEIL CAUDLE
Age: 21 (born 5/19/88)
Class this season: Junior
Hometown: Birmingham

Playing career:
•2008, sophomore: Saw limited action behind Chris Todd and Kodi Burns. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin disparaged Caudle during two-a-days for being prone to interceptions.
•2007, redshirt freshman: Saw limited action playing behind Brandon Cox and Kodi Burns.
•2006, true freshman: Redshirted while ostensibly rehabilitating knee injury suffered in high school.

The basics: Caudle played at Spain Park High, where he was phenomenal as a junior. He missed most of his senior season with a torn knee ligament. He still had a fairly high profile among some big college programs after his senior season concluded.

He never found a role during the Tommy Tuberville regime. It was reasonable to assume he'd get a shot in 2008, but Tony Franklin terminally soured on Caudle. The offensive coordinator deemed Caudle "unreliable" and that was the end of the story.

Caudle found new life under Gene Chizik and, more important, new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. The Tigers' new regime has a more developed appreciation for Caudle's passing ability and overall decision-making.

The skills: Caudle has what I'd consider an average SEC arm. He can make commanding throws inside of 25 yards without much issue. His deep balls lack the zip you'd see from Kodi Burns. Still, Caudle is more accurate. His throwing motion is refined. It's repeatable. His footwork is refined.

Caudle is not immobile. He lacks Burns' speed, but Caudle has little problem extricating himself from standard pocket pressure. I watched carefully when Caudle was asked to throw on the run. I wasn't impressed. His throws tended to float in those scenarios.

We're talking about a small sample size, though.

He is not a hyper player on the field.

The man behind the mask: Caudle is a fairly quiet kid who carefully measures the things he says. A lot of kids in his situation -- left for dead by a coaching staff -- would have sought a transfer to escape feelings of failure. Caudle didn't. He remained confident that continued improvement would give him a reasonable shot at playing time, which now looks like a shrewd decision.

Auburn wrapped spring practice without a clear No. 1 atop the depth chart at quarterback, which has to be considered a victory for Caudle. Armed with confidence, accuracy and an unusual drive to revive his career, Caudle is expected to be a major player in the quarterback race during two-a-days.

It's my opinion that Caudle's interception problems of 2008 were a function of compromised confidence. Franklin's approach to coaching football, which includes surprisingly blunt assessments, clearly didn't work well for Caudle. He lost his swerve. He has regained most of it.

The crystal ball for 2009: Caudle begins the season as Auburn's No. 1 quarterback.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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

Player spotlight: Kodi Burns

KODI BURNS
Age: 20 (born 10/24/88)
Class this season: Junior
Hometown: Ft. Smith, Ark.

Playing career:
•2008, sophomore: Played in 10 games. Began the season as a backup. Became a full-time starter after Chris Todd's struggles. Played well at times, played very poorly at times.
•2007, true freshman: Played in 10 games as a rushing complement to struggling senior Brandon Cox. Wasn't allowed to show much.

The basics: Burns was a highly touted signee in 2007, when he became coach Tommy Tuberville's favorite recruiting target. Tuberville saw greatness in Burns and vowed to make the Arkansas schoolboy a major cog of an Auburn revival.

Burns shared time under center with Brandon Cox as a freshman and Chris Todd as a sophomore. Burns finally earned full-time work during the second half of 2008, though the team was in free fall after Tony Franklin's departure.

Burns currently is competing for the starting job along with Neil Caudle and Chris Todd.

The skills: Burns has a strong arm. Nobody disputes this. Burns also has refined running instincts for a quarterback. Though he tends to flee the pocket too quickly at times, Burns is a good ball-carrier and shows little fear when attacking defenses that way.

Burns is fast for a quarterback. He is not fast when compared to wideouts or tailbacks.

Burns' accuracy wanes because of imprecise mechanics. Burns doesn't repeat his throwing motion from one play to the next. During games, it seems like he's in scramble mode too often. He makes rash throwing decisions that contort his body because he wasn't planning to throw two seconds ago.

I've also noticed that he throws with a lot of weight on his front foot in practice, which creates the appearance that he's aiming the ball.

Teammates say Burns is sufficiently intense on the field.

The man behind the mask: Burns is a bright and introspective kid. He's not particularly chatty with strangers. He loves shooting pool near the locker room and will challenge all comers with surplus bravado. Ask him about pool and his eyes will light up.

I don't consider Burns a commanding leader. He isn't an angry person. I'm not saying he's lazy or apathetic. He just isn't the guy who will roll through the locker room and blast a teammate who needs blasting.

Some coaches want that in a quarterback. Some don't.

I've heard some people suggest, based on the way Al Borges used Burns in 2007, that Burns struggles to understand the playbook. I never have heard that from anyone inside the program. Intellect isn't a problem. Learning to make serially accurate throws and feeling comfortable in the pocket are where he needs improvement.

The crystal ball for 2009: Burns again plays second fiddle.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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

Coaching snapshot: Trooper Taylor

TROOPER TAYLOR
Age: 39 (born 2/20/70)
College: B.A. from Baylor, 1992.
Playing career: He played defensive back for Baylor from 1988-91. He also was a return specialist.

Coaching career:
•Auburn, wideouts (current)
•Oklahoma State, co-offensive coordinator/wideouts (2008)
•Tennessee, various offensive roles (2004-07)
•Tulane, wideouts (1999-2003)
•New Mexico, running backs (1998)
•Baylor, various roles (1992-97)

Mentor:
Grant Teaff ("taff"), long-time Baylor coach who later became The Guy at the American Football Coaches Association. "I don't make very many decisions in this business or anything, even with family, without talking to (Teaff)," Taylor said. ``He's like a second father to me."

Previous Auburn experience:
None.

Coaching philosophy:
He likes to keep it simple. The first time I met him, I asked about his approach to the game. He said his only goal is to have one more point than his opponent at the end of the day.

Duh.

The statement makes more sense now that I have seen him work. Taylor isn't one to get bogged down on techniques and intricacies. He's a big-picture guy. He believes the better team on a given day almost always is the one that works harder on that given day. His goal is to build a group of players who bring life, heart and energy to the field at all times.

He is a hands-on guy during practice. He's simultaneously cheery and terse, rarely holding back on the observations that rattle through his head. It's one big stream of consciousness when Taylor opens his mouth. It's like someone reading a CNN crawl out loud: A short comment and then it's on to the next topic.

Taylor has an unusually low tolerance for loafing. This works in concert with his overall approach to the game. He believes players should be at full speed all the time when practice or play is involved.

Personality profile:
Taylor has the most infectious personality on the Auburn staff. He smiles all the time, laughs loudly and laughs often. Taylor has a million andecdotes. Every topic has some kind of parallel in his world, which helps him gain trust easily.

I've said before that Auburn has the sellers and the truthers when it comes to recruiting. Taylor is the No. 1 seller. He's the guy who's laughing, shaking hands, dropping references, patting people on the back and creating a party atmosphere.

He is the best seller I've seen at Auburn. He can seem trendy to a 17-year-old kid and seem genuine to his 70-year-old grandmother in the same sitting. Taylor is a politician.

He is the heart and soul of the Tigers' recruiting effort. He works closely with Curtis Luper, Jeff Grimes to represent the selling side of Auburn's enterprise.

At the same time, he doesn't strike me as being all that cavalier when the curtain drops. I don't think he's as happy-go-lucky as he seems. He is task-oriented. Taylor works through a list each day because things can get away from him. His conversational style, by definition, can lead him into tangential enterprises. He's a guy who can engage and disengage quickly. It has to be that way.

I haven't yet gotten a strong feel for Taylor's ultimate professional goal. He officially is an assistant head coach. He handles business at Auburn when Gene Chizik is away, which creates the image that Taylor is ready to take that next step. Before that day comes, though, surely he'll need some time as an offensive coordinator.

I'm not sure his big-picture approach would work well as a coordinator. Those guys typically are really into strategy. Maybe Taylor is a magical Xs-and-Os guy who is hiding behind a shrewdly constructed facade. Time will tell.

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

Monday reset

Hey everyone. I am back from vacation and feeling lovely.

It rained in Montgomery last night. For that, I am very thankful. I bet you Gumpians/Lee Countians feel the same way.

So what will we do now that the HABOTN is back for real? I still owe you a Trooper Taylor coaching snapshot to round out the staff. I have lots of Gene/Jona Chizik quotes to share. We need to do some player scouting reports/evaluations.

And we need to run a Pre-Media Days campfire to make sure our messaging system still works after some offseason tweaks.

We'll get things rolling this afternoon ...

UPDATE: I will be an in-studio guest on WMSP's The Roundtable program this afternoon. Of course it streams on the Interwebs.