The A-Day Game
 Hey everyone. Here we go. BLUE FIRST POSSESSIONQuarterback: Neil Caudle 8 plays, 24 yards, PUNT FIRST WHITE POSSESSIONQuarterback: Cam Newton 6 plays, 25 yards, PUNT ... Newton connected on his only throw for a 15-yard gain to Darvin Adams. BLUE SECOND POSSESSIONQuarterback: Barrett Trotter TOUCHDOWN. Trotter 50 pass to Nathan Taylor (walk-on), beating Blake Poole (walk-on) deep. 6 plays, 80 yards. WHITE SECOND POSSESSIONQuarterback: Neil Caudle TOUCHDOWN. Mario Fannin 2 run. 11 plays, 70 yards. Caudle was 6-for-6 on that drive, but the passes weren't challenging. BLUE THIRD POSSESSIONQuarterback: Cam Newton MISSED FIELD GOAL. Chandler Brooks miss 22 FG. 5 plays, 65 yards. Newton was 2-for-4 for 64 yards. He completed a deep pass to Q. Carr for 61 yards, but the pass was far from perfect. It was a duck. Coverage was terrible. WHITE THIRD POSSESSIONQuarterback: Barrett Trotter TOUCHDOWN. Trotter 44 pass to Terrell Zachery. 3 plays, 80 yards. Zachery took a simple screen pass and made it special. Kodi Burns made a great block just beyond the line-of-scrimmage and Zachery shed a few defenders for a long touchdown play. BLUE FOURTH POSSESSIONQuarterback: Neil Caudle TOUCHDOWN. Caudle 70 pass to Q. Carr. 1 play, 70 yards. It was a screen that went awry when the cornerback over-pursued in a very bad way. Carr was fast enough to pull away from the walk-on defenders charged with pursuing him. WHITE FOURTH POSSESSIONQuarterback: Cam Newton PUNT. Nothing going on. BLUE FIFTH POSSESSIONQuarterback: Barrett Trotter PUNT. Nothing going on. WHITE FIFTH POSSESSIONQuarterback: Neil Caudle PUNT. Nothing going on. At all! BLUE SIXTH POSSESSIONQuarterback: Cam Newton PUNT. Still nothing going on. We're in a major lull here. WHITE SIXTH POSSESSIONQuarterback: Barrett Trotter HALF ENDS. ------CHANGE IN FORMAT-------FIRST POSSESSIONQuarterback: Clint Moseley FIELD GOAL. Wes Byrum 50 FG. Moseley hit Jay Wisner with a deep pass early in the drive. His performance was otherwise unremarkable. SECOND POSSESSIONQuarterback: Neil Caudle TOUCHDOWN. Dontae Aycock short run.  Eddie thinks these helmet stickers look bigger ... and I think he's right.
Photo gallery
Hey everyone. Here's what I was seeing before the game.  Antonio Coleman, Ben Tate and Courtney Taylor.
 Ben Obomanu.
 Travis Williams and Courtney Taylor.
 Michael Dyer.
 Darvin Adams fields a punt with Trooper Taylor in his ear.
 Jason Campbell.
 Ronnie Brown.
Welcome to Jordan-Hare Stadium
 Hey everyone. We have arrived here at Jordan-Hare, where it's a beautiful day for some football. I'm headed down to the field to get some shots of recruits. I'll check back with you all in a bit.
Practice report, 4/16
Hey everyone. Practice has ended. Here's what we have learned: - Coach Gene Chizik revealed specific details regarding how A-Day will work. The first half will involve a more traditional A-Day scrimmage where two theoretically equal teams will go at it. The second half will feature all offensive players against all defensive players, which is more like a traditional practice scrimmage.
- Chizik said no firm decisions regarding The Quarterback Race® will be determined until after Monday's practice. Translation: We know, but we ain't snitchin'.
 - Chizik praised DE Mike Goggans (left), who ostensibly is battling Nosa Eguae for the starting job. I think Goggans has a firm hold on the spot. Chizik said he is "proud" of the way Goggans has performed this spring.
- Goggans seemed pretty satisfied with the way he's practiced.
- Assistant coach Phillip Lolley said T'Sharvan Bell has played well this spring and it's obvious Bell is enjoying life at cornerback.
- Lolley said Demond Washington's short stint at safety, which has ended, made him a better player. The Tallassee native, Lolley said, thinks and anticipates on a more global level now.
- Chizik said "most" players will participate in A-Day.
- C Ryan Pugh said A-Day is the same as a regular scrimmage ... aside from all the fans.
- Pugh said the offense, even now, is required to slow things down during scrimmages as a courtesy to the defense. The pace is too unnatural and unnerving.
 - DT Mike Blanc (left) didn't refute this. He said Auburn's offense "is something we don't see" and isn't worried about how they have to adjust.
- Blanc said the offense's pace is even more rigorous now than it was a year ago.
Basketball hirings are official
Hey everyone. Auburn has announced what we've known for a few days ... Tony Barbee has elected to bring several UTEP assistants with him to Auburn. The newcomers are: Randall Dickey, Tony Madlock and former University of Louisville star Milt Wagner. Mike Babul has signed on as the Tigers' director of basketball operations. I'll post more on this later.
Radio Appearance Forthcoming
Practice report, 4/14
Hey everyone. Practice has ended. Here's what we learned: - Auburn scrimmaged today. WR Darvin Adams was held out because of a shoulder injury, though he expects to participate in A-Day.
- Adams said DeAngelo Benton had a good day.
- The offense scored at least three touchdowns. They scored two early, which included a long pass from Cam Newton to Benton. He beat T'Sharvan Bell for that touchdown.
 - Assistant coach Trooper Taylor was impressed with that play: ``We talk about catching balls in windows. That was a peep-hole. I don't have a drill for that."
- WR Kodi Burns caught a touchdown pass from Newton.
- Wideout Ralph Spry Jr. had a fumble and a touchdown. ``He has to get the track mentality out and become a football player," Taylor said.
- Taylor then turned around and said he's been most impressed with Spry and Blake this spring.
- Taylor said the weird scoring system of 2009 has been ditched. He said the teams will be mixed up (not 1s versus 2s) to provide some different challenges for players.
 - LB Craig Stevens (left) said the defense wasn't up to the challenge initially. Once the scrimmage developed a tempo, though, he said the offense began to lose its verve.
- Taylor said the scrimmage mirrored last season (quick start, late struggles) and he let players know about it. He was not happy.
- He indicated that one of the interceptions was because WR Emory Blake made a mistake.
- Stevens said he's been impressed with the way Newton has handled business of the field. The quarterback, he said, arrived without arrogance and quietly worked to build trust.
- Adams said he likes watching Newton play because he brings the deep ball back into the fold. Asked if Newton was the only quarterback capable of throwing deep passes accurately, Adams quickly covered his tracks and said they're all capable.
- There were at least two interceptions -- one each from Ikeem Means and Drew Cole.
 - Defensive coordinator Ted Roof (left) said nobody (reporters, fans) should infer things about his rotations based on what's happening right now. We learned the other day that Jonathan Evans was running with the No. 1 defense at strong-side linebacker. I still think that's significant, but Roof insists it isn't. It's important to remember that Daren Bates may fit in here somewhere.
- Roof said Bates, who is out with a shoulder injury, has pieced together a "good mental spring."
- Wes Byrum has been happy with his kicking so far this spring. He hopes to handle both field goals and kickoffs this fall.
Auburn adds another commitment
Hey everyone. Our friends on the Internets -- AuburnSports.com, AuburnUndercover.com and ITAT -- are reporting that OL Thomas O'Reilly has committed to play for Auburn beginning in 2011. He stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 315 pounds. Sounds like a made-to-order guard. O'Reilly, who is from suburban Atlanta, said he's planning to graduate in December and participate in Auburn's next round of spring drills. He also has offers from Florida State, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech among others. He is the fourth player to commit. OT Spencer Region also is in that group.
Auburn's All-2000s team announced
Hey everyone. Auburn has revealed the players for whom you allegedly voted as the program's best from 2000-09. I'm confounded by this sentence from the Tigers' release: " ... after nearly 10,000 Auburn fans voted on AuburnTigers.com during the month of April." April isn't even half over yet. Either way, here's the team: OffenseQB—Jason Campbell RB—Ronnie Brown RB—Carnell Willliams WR—Ben Obomanu WR—Courtney Taylor OT—Marcus McNeill OG—Ben Grubbs C—Danny Lindsey OG—Monreko Crittenden OT—Kendall Simmons TE—Cooper Wallace
DefenseDE—Quentin Groves DT—DeMarco McNeil DT—Sen’Derrick Marks DE—Antonio Coleman LB—Karlos Dansby LB—Dontarrious Thomas LB—Travis Williams CB—Carlos Rogers CB—Jerraud Powers S—Junior Rosegreen S—Will Herring Special TeamsPK—John Vaughn P—Kody Bliss RS—Tristan Davis My thoughts: **I'd take Darvin Adams, even basing it solely on his 09 season, over Obomanu. I'd also take Devin Aromashodu over Obomanu. **I like Danny Lindsey a lot on a personal level, but I'd take Ryan Pugh over him at center. **I'd probably take Tyronne Green over Monreko at guard. **Hard times at safety, which includes a cornerback who converted for one season (Rosegreen) and a miscast linebacker (Herring). Why is it that Auburn never has any above-average safeties? I talked with a former NFL coordinator about this last week. He's just as confused.
Baseball cracks the Top 25
 Hey everyone. Auburn baseball earned a pair of pleasant surprises today when outfielder Justin Fradejas was named the SEC's Player of the Week and the team moved to No. 23 in the Baseball America rankings. Fradejas went 9-for-19 at the plate with three doubles, six RBIs and six runs scored last week. The team went 4-1 during that stretch with a series win against LSU. Auburn hadn't been ranked since the 2007 season. Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn UniversityQuestions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.
Auburn practice report, 4/12
Hey everyone. Practice has ended. Here's what we have learned.  - Assistant coach Jeff Grimes (right) on the difference between last spring and this spring: ``At this point last year you’re just trying to get to the point that everyone knows who they’re blocking and they understand what the play is. You don’t have a lot of time to talk about the details in terms of the technique. You’re trying to do that as you go but until they understand the what, it’s difficult to get to the how. We’re doing a whole lot more how at this point with the guys who have experience."
- Jonathan Evans is now in the No. 1 spot at strong-side linebacker. He works along with Joshua Bynes (middle) and Craig Stevens (weak side) on the first team. Eltoro Freeman still is working behind Bynes.
- Gene Chizik on how he'll administrate the A-Day game considering ESPNU will be televising it: ``I don't know what type of format we're going to have. Again, I think that will go along with today and what we come up with in terms of injuries, where we are as far as how many bodies we have for the game. We're going to through that actually today to see what type of format we're going to have. It's great that it's going to be an ESPNU game and just the excitement of the crowd. Our players need it. They're ready for that, they're ready for something different."
- Mario Fannin was asked to predict his A-Day MVPs. He chose T'Sharvan Bell and Demond Washington on defense, Cam Newton and Darvin Adams on offense.
 - Onterio McCalebb (left) provided an intriguing answer when asked about his pick for MVP: ``I'd have to say myself. I go out there and work hard every day, do what I have to do to get things down part. The No. 1 thing I'm working on right now is blocking. That's gotten a whole lot better from last year."
- Grimes praised G John Sullen for getting in better shape and playing well lately.
- Anthony Gulley Morgan said he decided to change his name some time ago, but the official paperwork was received only recently. He spent most of his life with an adoptive family (the Morgans) and his name change reflects his tight relationship with them. They're all from Brantley.
 - Bynes (right) had a funny answer when asked about the differences between Jonathan Evans (sophomore) and his older brother Chris, who started at middle linebacker a few years ago. Bynes said the younger Evans was not as smart ... before quickly reversing course. He said Chris Evans was "a wiz" and that his younger brother still has a lot of learning to do. Bynes wasn't being mean; he just misspoke in a humorous way.
Baseball makes a statement with Sunday win
 Hey everyone. While many of you were watching The Masters -- OK, I may have sneaked a peek -- the Auburn baseball team was in the midst of its most important win in a long time. The Tigers beat LSU 6-5 on Sunday with a squeeze play, securing the first home series win against the Bayou Bengals since 1998. Justin Fradejas was asked to make the key bunt, which bounced toward LSU's first baseman. The throw home was a bit off and allowed Casey McElroy to slide home safely under the tag. ``Before the pitch, Coach P told me that we were going to safety squeeze and I was just thinking about getting a bunt down in a good spot so that Casey could score,” Fradejas said. “This is a huge win for us. They are the defending national champion." Auburn now is 22-11 overall and 7-5 in Southeastern Conference play. It plays at Vanderbilt next weekend. Photo credit: Leffie Dailey/Auburn UniversityQuestions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.
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Hey everyone. Here we go.
