Ben Tate speaks

Hey everyone. Here's what the Texans' new tailback had to say moments ago.

• On the draft: ``It was very emotional. When things don't go the way you expect them to go, you get nervous. I started to get nervous. Emotions were running."
  
  
• On how much he talked with the Texans: ``A little. Not too much. I thought the Patriots were going to take me."
  
  
• On tonight's conversation with the Texans: ``I didn't get to talk to them too long. We were going nuts. It was crazy."
  
  
• So what about the Patriots?: ``They flew me in for a private workout. I knew they liked me. It's the NFL, it's a business. It's unpredictable."
  
  
• Who else flew you in?: ``Vikings. San Diego. Browns. There were quite a few."
  
  
• So you were nervous? Seriously?: ``I really thought I was going to be picked more in the beginning or the middle" of the second round."
  
  
• So what's your approach now?: ``I'm going to go in and work hard and definitely fight for a spot. It's a franhicse that's on the rise. I hope to take them to the next level."
  
  
• Are you still bitter about people disrespecting you?: ``There were some guys who went before me that shouldn't have. I'm going to get over it. I'll get to work next week."

Ben Tate has been drafted

Hey everyone. Former Auburn tailback Ben Tate was picked in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

He was the 58th overall pick.

"He's a no-nonsense runner," NFL Network analyst Charles Davis said. ``He and Eric Berry will have some of the most explosive meetings when they meet on the field next year."

Tate will tandem with Steve Slaton, the former West Virginia star, in the Texas' backfield.

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. There will be a podcast later in the day in case you miss the fun.

It typically streams live, but it apparently is malfunctioning this morning. Bummer.

UPDATE: J-Kev says he's working on a solution.

SECOND UPDATE: It's working now.

Auburn basketball signs a big one

Hey everyone. Small forward Josh Langford, the state's top prospect, has signed with Auburn this morning during a press conference at Lee High School. It's a big deal.

Langford chose the Tigers over West Virginia, Ole Miss and several other major-conference programs.

He is Auburn's most significant in-state signee since Doc Robinson, a Selma native who inked with the Tigers in November 1995. Robinson's decision sparked a renaissance that led Auburn to the No. 1 ranking four years later.

Can Langford's decision spawn a similar revival? Power forward Luke Cothron, one of the nation's top uncommitted players, soon will choose between Auburn, Alabama and Marquette.

Langford will enroll this summer and begin his eligibility this fall. He was committed to Louisville for nearly a full year, but broke off that relationship five months ago. He said at the time that Louisville coaches weren't calling him often enough and didn't show enough interest.

Photo credit: Louisville Courier-Journal

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

Dismukes picks Auburn

Hey everyone. Reese Dismukes will play at Auburn beginning in 2011. We know this because he just made that announcement at his school in Spanish Fort.

He said he was close to a decision earlier (ie a few months back) and he had a different decision in mind. He instead chose Auburn. "Things happen for a reason," he said.

So here's the deal. Dismukes was prepared to choose Alabama in early January. Nick Saban likes to lock 'em in early. Then Dismukes' 6-year-old niece came down with a nasty respiratory problem that prompted a 53-day hospital stay. Dismukes' mother, Kim, said any decisions regarding her son's college choice would be delayed until the niece's situation improved.

Once that happened in late February, Reese Dismukes had undergone a change of heart. That suited Kim just fine. She's a 1986 Auburn grad and a pharmacist here in town.

Wo why is he wearing a doo rag? Dismukes began wearing them during the football season because his hair was so long. It became his trademark. He even wore a doo rag -- matched with his date's outfit, of course -- to Spanish Fort's prom earlier this month. Kim went searching for an Auburn bandanna yesterday. She couldn't find one, so she made one from an old pharmacist's smock she had lying around.

It was an Auburn smock.

ALSO: He may take official visits to Alabama and Stanford when the times comes, but he reiterated his stance that he is and will be "100 percent Auburn."

A could-be stream of Dismukes decision

Live Videos by UstreamI have it up. I can't tell if it'll stay up. I'm on cellular broadband. Let me know if you can see and hear.

Welcome to Spanish Fort HS

Hey everyone. We are live from lower Alabama, where an offensive lineman named Reese Dismukes will choose between Auburn and Alabama.

That decision will go down at 1:30 p.m. CDT.

I was hoping to stream this, and I bought everything I needed to make that happen, but the school's internet stream blocks this site, Twitter and Ustream I'm using cellular broadband right now. It can't handle live video.

I'll update in a bit.

HABOTN hits the road

Hey everyone. Our HABOTN Recruiting Team® will be heading down I-65 momentarily in search of an offensive lineman from Spanish Fort.

You may know him better as Reese Dismukes.

He's one of the state's top prospects ... and today he'll be choosing between Auburn and Alabama. Does this mean the HABOTN knows something? No. My track record on these kinds of trips is mixed.

Dismukes' announcement is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Our Recruiting Team® will post once they arrive on site.

ALSO: My friend and rival Charles Goldberg, he of The Gold Mine fame, is having invasive shoulder surgery today. Please keep him in your thoughts.

Practice report, 4/19

Hey everyone. Auburn's final spring practice has ended. Here's what we learned today:

• Coach Gene Chizik said nothing new about the quarterbacks.
  
  
• Chizik said Auburn may make a decision at quarterback tomorrow, during the early summer months, in the middle of the summer, at the end of the summer or during two-a-days.
  
  
• Chizik said news from the Shon Coleman front has been positive during the past 10 days. It's possible that Coleman will report with the other signees this summer.
  
  
• Coleman's mother, DeKeishia Tunstall, posted on her Facebook page Friday that her son was back in a Memphis hospital due to low sodium levels.
  
  
• Chizik said he has spoken occasionally with QB Tyrik Rollison. The coach said Auburn will make Rollison's intentions clear at semester's end ... but curiously didn't rule out the possibility of Rollison returning. I still consider than a 1-in-1,000 shot.
  
  
• Chizik said the plan to move Daren Bates, who currently is out with a shoulder injury, is in tact. He's expected to play linebacker next year. I get the sense it'll be a hybrid deal ... mostly linebacker, some nickel, some safety.
  
  
• QB Clint Moseley (left), as I wrote the other day, still feels like he's not really in the mix at No. 1 quarterback right now. Some people believe he'll transfer. He said today: "Why would I ever leave Auburn? I'm on full scholarship at an SEC school. It's my dream."
  
  
• Assistant coach Curtis Luper said he carefully watched TB Mario Fannin this spring for signs of tentativeness considering his injury-riddled past. Luper didn't see it. "He doesn't shy away. He's a complete back. He's naturally inclined to hit 'em in the mouth."
  
  
• DE Antoine Carter said he has taken up Mike Blanc's offer to go to Haiti. They're going next month. Blanc, if you recall, said nobody aside from Mike McNeil would make that trip. Carter said several players are going ... including Cam Newton.
  
  
• Of the trip, Carter said: "It's going to be like a mission trip. We're going to build stuff ... build it back up."
  
  
• Carter said he's headed to Birmingham on Friday to consult with a tattoo-removal specialist. He wants to have the "HOT BOY" tattoos removed from his face. "It was a bad childhood mistake and it's time to get it fixed," he said.
  
  

Auburn loses series at Vanderbilt

Hey everyone. Auburn lost at Vanderbilt on Friday night. Auburn won big at Vanderbilt on Saturday behind some surprisingly strong pitching from Cory Luckie.

Then the Tigers became greedy and came very close to winning a road series.

The series finale was a good one. We were live blogging for a bit. It was all fun and games until Grant Dayton, who pitched brilliantly, threw a belt-high fastball to Vanderbilt slugger Aaron Westlake.

The ball soon was deposited over the right-field fence. So it goes.

CURRENT SITUATION:
*Vanderbilt wins, 3-2.

• Top 9.
  
  • Tony Caldwell grounded out to shortstop. (1 out)
    
  • Creede Simpson struck out. (2 out)
    
  • Wes Gilmer singled to left field.
    
  • Justin Hargett filed out to center. (3 out)
    

• Bot 9.
  
  • Aaron Westlake homers to right field. Inside fastball, belt-high.
    
  
  That's a wrap. Vanderbilt wins, 3-2.