Tuberville to Texas Tech?

Hey everyone. Ivan Maisel, esteemed Alabamian, reports that former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has accepted the job at Texas Tech.

Let's see what happens.

All we have are the embers

Hey everyone. We no longer are chatting live from BEMC.

Auburn lost to South Carolina, 70-61.

Thanks to our merry band of chatters who went the distance ... or close to it: IV, Jet, Norm, Kathy, wake, stupup, Sean, THT, Aero, digger, Peter Frankenschmidt.

Schedule update

Hey everyone. I am headed up to Auburn right now for the BIG BASKETBALL GAME between your Auburn Tigers and Darrin Horn's South Carolina Gamecocks.

My goal is to host an episode of HABOTN TV-HD prior to the game.

I'd say 20-30 minutes prior to the 12:35 p.m. tip.

I'll get the video going. My goal is to have a chatroll going just below that so you can ask me questions or just chat with your fellow HOTTIES.

See you in a bit.

Ken Adams signs elsewhere

Hey everyone. Former Auburn signee Ken Adams, a defensive lineman originally from Enterprise High, will play at LSU beginning next season. He signed with Les Miles and Co. earlier today.

He spent the past two seasons at Copiah-Lincoln C.C. in Mississippi.

The Tigers worked hard to make sure Adams re-signed with them. Tennessee did the same thing. Ultimately, though, it was LSU who seized command of the situation.

Is that a blow to the Tigers' recruiting effort? It depends. Auburn could use some prét-a-porter (ready to wear) defensive linemen right now. On the other hand, it has a few good ones committed and is in the running for at least two more major recruits at that position.

The top remaining guy? Looks like Corey Lemonier from suburban Miami.

Photo credit: AuburnSports.com

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

HoF adjustments

Hey everyone. It's a new year, so it's time for us to revisit our list of the most esteemed HOTTIES.

It's a little something we like to call the Ring of Fire.

We won't be voting on the true RoF for a little bit, but I am licensed as Chief Bloggist to make adjustments to the Feeling The Heat and Notable Newcomers section as I see fit.

So here we go.

PROMOTED FROM NOTABLE NEWCOMERS TO F.T.H.

• Scott Chocolate
  
• Aeronaut
  
• coosa
  
• chip chip
  
• FearlessFreep
  
• wes
  
• Loganville Tiger
  
• IV
  
• E-Bro (name changed to reflect current handle)
  
• Ephemeral

ADDED TO FEELING THE HEAT

• wakeriderof87

ADDED TO NOTABLE NEWCOMERS

• dan dan the AU fan
  
• AUFan365
  
• bellefay1
  
• API
  
• Jay 'W. not Tate'
  
• missinit
  
• MLF
  
• Comm'r of Flesh Wounds
  
• Stupup74
  
• Cousin Humpers = Bammers (aka CH=B)
  
• 61northak
  
• Jimmy
  
• bigdaddy334
  
• Secondaid
  
• Andrew
  
• SCoats
  
• astatguy

MOVED FROM F.T.H. TO MY PEEPS

• Mrs. FrontRim & FrontRim

REMOVED DUE TO INACTIVITY

• Monica (resigned)
  
• DennyCrum (relocated to another part of the country)
  
• barkley for governor
  
• james in b'ham
  
• Matt
  
• chris_in_inverness
  
• Jim in Scranton
  
• Hornet (he's a seasonal poster)

**I don't like removing people from the Ring of Fire, and will not do it for anyone in the inaugural class, but situations occasionally arise that require me to make these difficult decisions.

My final AP ballot

Hey everyone. A fall full of nasty emails -- mostly from the "Midwest," we'll call it -- comes to its emotional conclusion today. The final AP poll has been released.

I'm not worried about the actual poll, which you can find here.

I just want to promote my own poll, which is here:
1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Boise State
5. Ohio State
6. TCU
7. Iowa
8. Virginia Tech
9. Penn State
10. Nebraska
11. Oregon
12. BYU
13. Cincinnati
14. Georgia Tech
15. Utah
16. Pittsburgh
17. Wisconsin
18. Clemson
19. LSU
20. Miami Florida
21. Texas Tech
22. Ole Miss
23. Oklahoma
24. Auburn
25. Oregon State

Radio Appearance Forthcoming

Hey everyone. I will be participating in my weekly segment on SuperSport 930 out of Jackson, Miss., in a bit. That extravaganza will begin around 9:07 a.m. CST.

We will discuss Auburn ... and other stuff.

Be there or be rectangular.

Blogging The Texas Game

Hey everyone. Texas is playing for the national championship tonight.

We'll be following along here.

Please join in.

Photo credit: Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

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

Adjust your schedules

Hey everyone. Auburn's game at Mississippi State has been moved to Thursday, Sept. 9. ESPN has picked up the broadcast rights.

Adjust your travel schedules accordingly.

Looking at: Quarterbacks

Hey everyone. I know we'll be talking plenty about Texas tonight, but there's no rule that says we can't talk about Auburn right now. Right?

We discussed quarterbacks during the Inaugural Video Campfire® on Tuesday, but many of you were not able to see it. I don't mean to throw salt in your wounds by mentioning that. Just want to make sure the people who did participate in the IVC® don't think I'm going senile by repeating many of the things we have discussed.

THE FINAL 2009 DEPTH CHART
1.) Chris Todd
2.) Neil Caudle
3.) Barrett Trotter
4.) Clint Moseley
5.) Tyrik Rollison*

*=suspended and not practicing.

THE FINAL 2009 ANALYSIS

• Chris Todd. Started all 13 games, went 198-for-358, 2,612 yards, 22 TDs, 6 INTs. Had a year that surpassed my expectations. He was careful without being tentative, seemed to grasp what Gus Malzahn was trying to accomplish. Arm strength didn't wane as expected. Still not fast. Locked in on Darvin Adams more than he should have, but Adams certainly was up to the challenge. Grade: A-.
  
  
• Neil Caudle. Played in four games, went 15-for-20, 170 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. Played rarely. Made a nice 52-yard scoring run against Ball State. Questions linger about his ability to play mistake-free football, but Caudle really hasn't been given an opportunity to acquit himself. Maybe I'm still hanging on what Tony Franklin said. Grade: INC
  
  
• Barrett Trotter. Didn't play. Spent the season rehabilitating from a knee injury. Looked tentative with his repaired knee when I saw him in December, but has plenty of arm strength. He's supposed to be pretty fast. Has the knee injury affected him? Grade: INC.
  
  
• Clint Moseley. Didn't play. Spent the season with the scout team. Big kid, strong arm. Doesn't seem mobile to me, though I didn't see much of him during those December practices. Grade: INC.
  
  
• Tyrik Rollison: Didn't play. Spent the season in the No. 3 slot until drawing a season-ending suspension in early December. He's supposed to be The Quarterback of The Future, but that designation was put into doubt when Auburn signed Cam Newton last month. Rollison is an enigma right now. Grade: INC.

MY PROJECTED 2010 DEPTH CHART
1.) Cameron Newton
2.) Caudle
3.) Rollison
4.) Moseley
5.) Trotter

THE PRELIMINARY 2010 ANALYSIS 2009 ANALYSIS

• Newton. He's spent one full season at Florida and one (highly successful) season at a Texas junior college. He was an option quarterback in high school and was being groomed as Tim Tebow's successor at Florida. Newton is a runner first, though his passing wasn't exactly problematic in Texas. I haven't seen him play. So why do I have him No. 1? They signed him to play. He signed to play. He has two years left. That combination of facts makes me believe he'll have the best shot at a starting job this fall.
  
  
• Caudle. He is what he is. No offensive coordinator has considered Caudle a No. 1 during his five seasons at Auburn. College football has seen guys in this position thrive during that final year -- D.J. Shockley comes to mind -- but Caudle's path to that gig is cloudy. I don't foresee him beating his competitors this time around. Stranger things have happened ... but not many.
  
  
• Rollison. He needs to get his act together, instill confidence in his coaches and display the leadership Gene Chizik is expecting. Surely the signing of Newton gave Rollison a shock. He'd better improve quickly or he'll be left behind.
  
  
• Moseley. I know Malzahn really likes this kid. That's all I can give you. I'd expect him to leave within a year if his playing-time prospects don't improve significantly.
  
  
• Trotter. Not sure what to think of him. I believe he has talent. I know he's appears blocked on this depth chart. Trotter or Moseley, one of them, will have to leave if they have designs on actually playing college football.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

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

Troy chatter

Hey everyone. I am kicking it with one of my college buddies today, a powerful executive by the name of Jacques Brousseau, and will be watching the GMAC Bowl.

Most of the HOTTIES have at least a neutral feeling about the Troy Trojans, guided by former Auburn quarterback and assistant coach Larry Blakeney.

If you're watching, please roll into our comments section and make yourself heard.

That's what we do here at the HABOTN. We comment.

All we have are the embers

Hey everyone. Our 100-minute Video Campfire® has ended. I'd say it was a success.

We had approximately 500 unique viewers. We averaged 83 viewers at any given moment. I was aiming for 40 viewers total, so I'd say that qualifies as a success.

What we need to do now is make suggestions on how to improve it.

Here are some things we discussed in the Campfire. Add more in the comments section and I'll post 'em here.

*Stop the refresh on the main blog because it messes up the stream.
*Images/video/links can't be posted in the chat.
*(Some) questions gathered before the VC begins.
*"Tape" the segment for later playback (**I have this one solved already.**)

IN OTHER NEWS: Here's what the Outback Bowl had to say via Twitter -- ``ESPN announced that the Outback Bowl overtime thriller with the Wildcats and Tigers posted a 4.06 national television rating. This is a 32% increase from last year's game. Thanks for watching this instant classic!"

Inaugural Video Campfire®

Hey everyone. We're making our maiden voyage on UStream, which allows you all to see me as we converse about Les Topics of Le Day.

Please enjoy.

(You may or may not have to register to be able to chat with me.)

I will be checking the comments section ... to make sure you can hear me and all.

Video chat rooms at Ustream

Schedule update

Hey everyone. Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday. I made a (rare) trip into Advertiser headquarters to handle some business. That generally results in me talking at length with people in there, I lose track of time, 2 o'clock turns into 5 o'clock and then I'm done.

You know what I mean?

We'll pick up the annual Auburn Season Review project this afternoon.

I'm thinking it should be a position-by-position look: How did players perform at each position, who will play those positions next season and which newcomers could become a factor?

I'll start with quarterback. See you around 2 p.m. CST.

A STEP FORWARD: In our thirst for pushing the envelope here at the HABOTN, we probably will have a HABOTN Technological Breakthrough® to share with you this afternoon. As such, we encourage you to be here around 2 if possible.

AS FOR THE PICTURE: That's Matt Kemp. He's one of my favorite baseball players (outfielder for the Dodgers) and now the boyfriend of Rihanna. I am very proud. Well done, young man.

MSU women def. Auburn, 73-58

Hey everyone. Hope your Sunday is going well.

I will be LIVE BLOGGING the women's game (Auburn vs. MSU) beginning around 2 p.m. This will be a Cover It Live-type situation.

Most of you are not into women's hoops and that's fine, too.

I'll be available to talk about a somewhat wide variety of topics, though I will be watching the women's game. Come soak it all in. This is a dress rehearsal for A New Era In HABOTN Game Coverage.

Love,
jgt
xoxoxoxox