Trooper Taylor discusses Big Cat Weekend II
Hey everyone. Just finished a nice little chat with Trooper Taylor about recruiting and the Tigers' plans for a second Big Cat Weekend.
- On his goals for the event: ``We want to carry the momentum over from last year. It was tailored for the top players in the country. You didn't want to bring just anybody. We wanted the top players to come and meet each other and build a relationship. It wasn't about who could run a 40 or who could jump high or how much they weighed. It was about relationships and the family atmosphere.
It took a life of its own. Everywhere we go, people ask: Can we come to the Big Cat? You can't just tell a few kids. They all talk, they all know about it." - On how the first BCW changed things for the 2011 recruits: ``They've been asking us about it, when it's going to be, who's going to be there. It's almost like having another tradition. It's viral. It spreads. That's something we're really proud of. Getting them interested is a big step. Auburn is different; once you come and see it, it's hard to forget it. By the time they leave here, they know exactly what we're talking about."
- On if Auburn will cap the number of participants: ``Nah. We don't want it to get so big that we can't be personable. If the top 150 wanted to come, we sure wouldn't turn them down. If I've got receivers I like and there are five of them, I want all five of them here. We want it to be fun. We want it to be a good time. We want them to get to know about Auburn. We also want them to meet each other and get to know each other."
- On his expectations after getting hit with secondary violations last year: ``The whole point is to get the kids here, to get them on campus and get to know them. If some of the pageantry is taken away, that's fine. We always want to respect the rules. That's never something we're going to take lightly. At the same time, you want to be on the cutting edge. You don't want to be in the box; you want to be on the outside."
Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University
Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.
posted by Jay G. Tate at
4:16 PM
99 Comments:
Outside the Box Substance
I think I want it some more!
Is outside the box a secondary violation?
DL is not around as much in the pmk
substantially trooper
Sounds like Troop can't wait to secondary violate.
Never muzzle the Trooper
This amateur sketch shows what some of you say the leprechaun looks like.
The Cat is where it's at!
I think I've been in a box all my life.
I do think BCW was and will be a big success. Also, I bet you see other schools copying this, just like they did Tiger Walk.
I think this is successful because of several reasons, but mainly because of the relationships the recruits develop with each other. Basically, we turn recruits into recruits. They develop friendships and want their friends to go where they go. And then there is the familiarity. They will feel like they know who they will be playing with for 4 or 5 years.
BCW will likely spread, but it pays to be the original.
I am loving this.
Could it get any better?
Yes, Tuscaloosa could fall into a giant sinkhole.
SteveFC ...you do realize that you pretty much just paraphrased what Troop said.
I'ma rent me a backhoe. Dig up this tree...
No doubt Steve scored very well in reading comprehension.
I listened to Finescum today while working at my desk w/o phone interruptions. My Bammer hate was waning and has now been replenished.
This is pretty fascinating stuff about DL's home country:
http://www.vbs.tv/newsroom/vice-guide-to-north-korea-1-of-14
It takes a while to watch all the episodes, but worth it, if you have time (imo).
Actually, I find a lot of the stuff on this website fascinating (some of it is also disturbing). I just discovered it in the last week or so.
Bet it didn't take long, Hoopie.
I'm guessing either Scott Choc has too much time on his hands, or isn't spending enough time on HABOTN ;-)
I'm surprised they don't tear ligaments marching like that.
Scott, we would only be so fortunate to have tuscaloosa fall into a sink hole. I bet the Saban statue will look like it fell into a small sink hole.
Just popping in for a sec from my sister's computer. I'm supposed to be visiting.
Here I ask you not to do anything too exciting while I was gone, and you announce Big Cat Weekend. (Thanks for the tweet Jay)
And, THT, I love Don's recording of "He's Alive". Dolly's was good, but his was amazing.
See y'all in awhile.
JGT - thanks a ton for your BCW/Trooper news.
Catch all you Hotties later this evening.
The Tuscaloosa sink hole idea is nice but let's add Bamaham as well. Move further south Scott Choc.
Uh, IV, I'd say that's being a little too casual with collateral damage. I actually like and am related to a lot of people around these parts. Let's just see how the Tuscaloosa thing works out first, shall we? When the Bammers from B'ham go over to see what happened in Tuscaloosa, they'll probably get to close to the edge and fall in anyway.
to=too
Just suck the Bammer athletic complex and most north Alabama trailer parks into the sinkhole.
This will get rid of most of their organization, much of their revenue from copywright sales and half of the fanbase. The R-E-C would start eating their own and never recover.
Scott C. you know best, I yield to you and your masterrful sink hole ideas.
To, too, two, what the hell?
Auburn needs Alabama. It is a yin-yang thing. You can't have good without evil.
From my understanding AU had 22 recruits at BCW and signed 10 of them. Just missed on another (Lattimore) so, yes I would say it was successful. I would hope that so of you hear a lot of noise from the UAt crowd about how childish, bush league the next BCW is. if you do, you know it is working.
Last year they poo-pooed the whole thing and did the same about the limo tour around the state. The talking heads are not bringing up how bush league that was now.
SFC, I really don't need the walmartians.
What would be great is if Alabama suddenly had a fat elephant weekend. It could happen.
CH=B, so you would prefer us not play them? You favor getting rid of the Iron Bowl? Personally Iron Bowl day is the biggest holiday of the year for me.
There are definitely some funny amateur sketches out there.
http://tinyurl.com/y9pp7gd
I also look to sabear making the F.E.W. a big thing. He's in the mold of following after the Chizster.
Long live Big Cat weekend!
I like the fact they are doing this again. Recruits from the 2010 class are supposed to be there and get to know the 2011 recruits from what I hear. Sounds a continuation of the family atmosphere. I also like troopers quote of getting the biggest names from across the country to come down to AU. I think EMack was committed to SoCarolina at the time of BCW. I also recall the Dyer was not here for that weekend. He said he is coming to this one.
I'm interested to see how they handle the number of invitees this time. Word has gotten around, if you aren't invited, you aren't big time. Kids want to come... I say, let them eat cake.
...they bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say, let 'em crash.
I also spoke with Trooper T. about some other stuff -- namely what he likes in a wideout. All this talk from the NFL Combine about a 6-5 DE is great but a 6-2 DE is too small made me wonder.
Is it really just a game of inches?
I do think that it will be important that they are very selective in who they bring in for BCW, as Trooper says. Putting some limit on the number would make sense to allow them to develop the close relationships.
Dubose had an artificial limit based on height. It is why Bama turned down a guy named DeMarco McNeil, who was one of the best DTs in the state. DeMarco showed him why he was wrong.
It would seem that a nice limit for BCW would be 25, since that is the most you can bring in. The 28 signing limit would be the other number.
You are hardly guaranteed of getting those 25 players though. That means every player you consider in a backup role already has a bad taste in his mouth because he wanted to come to bcw and wasn't allowed.
It could be a tough decision for sure.
Trying to find an apartment is way harder than finding a house. There is no MLS for apartments.
Oh and Marshall was wearing his Auburn shirt on How I Met Your Mother tonight. I still want that shirt.
Wake, there are going to always be players like that if you are going to make BCW for the Big Cats. Kids will understand the need to limit the number, or at least I hope they will.
Not to mention that, if enough of the Big Cats choose Auburn, other players will want to play with them.
I do think Trooper hinted at what they should do. Each coach should invite the players that he would like to get which he feels Auburn has a realistic shot at, which for this group, it seems like any of them. I am sure they have already came up with the number of players they want to get at each position.
I don't disagree with you in theory Steve. But every 5, 4 or 3 star athlete thinks they are a "big cat" These kids have been the best at every sport since they were 5. Their ego's have been stroked by every girl in their high school and now by D1 football coaches. When they aren't allowed into BCW, its going to hurt their precious little egos, and we don't want to do that.
Reasonable adults would say "I'm a great player, but not a top 50 ranked one, I understand I will visit the next weekend" But these are 17 and 18 year olds who say "screw you then I'll go play for someone who thinks i'm a big shot".
We had a number of decent football players in my high school when I was there, and they all thought they were the best in the state.
I am certain there will be some that have that attitude, especially since I doubt who they go after will be based upon stars. So it is very likely that a player with lower stars will get an invite while a player with higher stars doesn't.
One of the things that the recruits seem impressed with is how honest the coaches are with them, and I think this should be the case here, too.
I am also interested in seeing how they follow through with the family atmosphere. If it is family, you care just as much about the 3 star as the 5 star. You work to make every member of the family better. Family atmosphere only works if it is the truth.
OchoCinco to be on Dancing With the Stars? Surely you jest....
FSJ, that should be interesting. He is the guy with the big mouth, right?
He is a trip..
JayG mentioned OchoCinco has a twitter feed. I follow him now...Funny dude.
I don't follow pro football that close. The only reason I know him is because of his talk about someone not being able to cover him. Never cared for people like that.
Just going by his twitter posts....he seems like a pretty good guy.
He posted one pic of Andre Smith in spandex...and was like WTH....
He is definitely an attention whore. But he seems to be a team players who stays out of trouble and isn't a problem in the locker room so he is better than most WR's in the NFL in those respects.
Don't go dissing Ocho. Cincinnati loves him and his shenanigans. He's great in the community.
You gotta love the guy... he just has fun playing a game... and being an entertainer (which is what he's paid so much to do).
just now getting to visit the habotn. what is wrong with me? i am WAY too busy at work. ggrrrr...
i <3 the hotties. :)
yeah, not smart to diss 85 with cincytiger on here. ;)
cincy, thought of you saturday. i hope you had a blast.
scottie b,
We did have a blast. The ceremony was amazing. Neat to think those awesome players all got their start at Auburn. I thought maybe you jetted down at the last minute :) Did you make it to the TN-KY game? We watched it on TV. Looked like a fun game.
my sis was at the basketball game in auburn but i stayed in knoxville. i got my free ticket to the UT-UK game. it was fun. i was hoping UK would pull it out, though. i'll be paying off my student loans for UK for years so i've got a little blue in me. :)
lots of hockey on VS this week for all the new Hottie hockey fans.
Fortunately, MrsTHT fell asleep 2 hours ago, so I've been able to watch the Red Wings and Avalanche. Less than 5 minutes to go and Det up 3-2.
Go Avs!!
Ya'll haven't thought the sinkhole thing through. If uat disappeared into a sinkhole, the whole country would become uat fans. They would rebuild the place and everyone would be pulling for them. Hallmark would make a movie about them and my wife would watch it and cry. We don't need that.
If you wanta wish for something, wish for them to have an 0-12 season next year. Just think of the anguish that would cause. Consecutive 0-12 seasons would be even better. 3 in a row, then 4, then 5. Can you imagine what that would do to them?
Yea, I'll admit I've spent some time thinking about what I'd wish for if I even found that magic lamp. FSJ had better hope I never find it.
Two days in a row my hockey team has lost 3-2 after coming back from a 2-0 deficit.
Both times, Mike Babcock was coaching the other team. Damn him! Damn that man!
Solid article from Schlabach on early recruiting.
my condolences, E-Bro. I don't like red, so I don't pull for Detroit.
Except for my hair and Man United, nor do I. Especially after these last two days in hockey.
Goodnight all, bring on Big Cat Weekend.
Ill take a secondary violation to bring in some big cats
Meows for BCW! How'd you like the Procter and Gamble commercials during the olympics, E-Bro?
The one with that tune... You'll never walk something? Haha
If they truly wanted to be cutting edge, they'd have a HABOTN hottie weekend, organized by WTC's mom.
Yes I know what time it is.
Tonight, I listened to the upcoming Gorillaz album in its entirety on NPR.org (and wrote a track by track micro-review on Facebook), billed some hours for work, did some reading, slept three hours, cleaned the shower, and mapped out my future. Strange way to spend time that I should be spending asleep.
"cleaned the shower"
Is that Spanish? Latvian? I didn't understand that phrase, PF. Yes, you should have been sleeping.
I'll be peddling my wares in prison today. Y'all have a great day and I'll see you once I get paroled.
WARRRRRRR EAGLE!!!!
PF,
I must say that was an odd assortment of tasks for one night. Did your cold office freeze your brain?
Good morning, Hotties! I am ready for spring!!!! Said from a cold and rainy day in Birmingham . . . again.
Morning, THT! Be careful in prison :)
Tht.
Is our friend with a broken face still there?
The wife has a job interview 5 hours closer to Auburn this weekend. I hope she gets an offer out of it. I'm committed to s. Fl until August, but at least I could get rid of my 4-5 hour daily commute, and link back up with her just in time for football season.
Cincy,
My life is an odd assortment of tasks.
either it's getting light earlier, or I'm running late for work. Probably a little of both.
RSVP'd with regrets to my cousin's wedding to keep my calendar open for A-Day
Good morning, Hotties! 3 hours of sleep? I've had 5.5 and I'm dragging. Obviously, PF doesn't have my disorder. Yes, it's a cold, rainy day in the Ham...I, too, am ready for spring!
One more till...
Beasley!!!!
PF ... Good luck to Mrs. PF.
Eduardo ... Nice work on the Beasley
Phred ... It's time for an intervention.
Coosa ... I'm more into the fire and brimstone thing a la Sodom and Gomorrah.
Hey Luv it was raining and cold here in the Gadsden area now it is a wet snow. None sticking right now but it is really coming down.
morning hotties.
it's snowing here in east tennessee (again this morning). :(
it's supposed to be in the 60's this weekend, though. yippee!
PF, you crack me up.
Hope this doesn't turn out to be like March 1993. We had a heavy wet snow of 14 inches and was without electricity or heat for 6 days.
Oh my no one has had time to go to the grocery store and buy up all the milk and bread.
I cleaned the shower last night as well. Amazing!
We're getting some Gumptastic rain here; no snow.
Y'all should read Spencer Hall going off on Todd McShay, it's gold.
I'll create a degree of separation due to vulgarity by not linking.
I have it on good authority that Spring will come again. Though, looking at the massive snow falling outside the windows right now it's hard to put a date on it.
Snowing here in the Noog.
Digger, you won't have to worry about that happening.
Well it is still coming down but we will only get 1/2 inch according to all the weather experts. Beginning to stick on roofs, grass, my deck but not on the driveway or street. Unless it is moving really fast we will see more than 1/2 inch.
wellsAU...I was not loving any second of that one P&G commercial that played "You'll Never Walk Alone".
It's bad enough when Liverpool sings it at Anfield. I don't need to hear that during an Olympics broadcast.
PF...what was the verdict on the new Gorillaz album?
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