Auburn fast tracks Savage’s knee surgery * Former Westover star Aairon Savage’s surgery to repair his torn ACL is moved up to Wednesday in Pensacola, Fla., where he underwent a successful operation.Scott ChanceyAUBURN, Ala. — Former Westover High School and current Auburn star Aairon Savage’s surgery on his right knee was pushed up to Wednesday morning and his brother, Antwone, said he is resting comfortably at Pensacola, Fla.’ Williams Institute.He’s good, man,” Antwone said on his cell phone Wednesday night. “He’s good.”Aairon was operated on by sports-renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews.“(Andrews) said it looked good for him,” Tuberville said late Wednesday after the team wrapped its first practice in pads. “Not for the rest of the season, but (he has) an opportunity to heal well. That was good news.”Antwone told The Herald on Tuesday that he though Aairon had suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and dislocated kneecap. It turned out, however, in surgery, that only his ACL needed repairing.“It wasn’t as bad as everybody thought,” Antwone said.Aairon, who red-shirted in 2005 at Auburn and then started in 11 of the 12 games he played at safety in 2006, injured the knee during the Tigers’ practice late Monday and is expected to miss the season.Then, in 2007, he missed six games due to injury and started three of the seven games he played in. He has a total of 79 tackles, two sacks, an interception one forced and one recovered fumble during his Tigers career.He was moved to cornerback before the start of spring practice.Beyond Aairon’s position, only Jerraud Powers and Zac Etheridge are the other two secondary starters with ample playing experience. Powers, who is Savage’s roommate, took the news especially hard.“It’s unfortunate for Aairon,” Powers said. “He’s a heck of a player and, plus, he’s my roommate. So it was a big blow to us, but injuries happen in football every day, so we’ve just got to move on. I know he was running, he had a guy covered and jumped for the ball and came down straight-legged. It was just one of those freak plays.”That leaves plenty of playing opportunities for freshmen. Auburn brought in eight freshman defensive backs (now there are seven with the sudden and unexpected departure of Columbus’ DeRon Furr).“They’re competing,” Powers said. “The last couple of days have been a big transition from the first day. It was all new to them, but you see all those guys competing because they know they have to step up. It’s not even an option now.”n REACTION TO FURR: Senior receiver Robert Dunn took to Furr when he enrolled early in January after leading Carver-Columbus past Cairo in the GHSA Class AAA championship game.But after Furr quit the team Tuesday, Dunn is still trying to make sense of everything. According to reports, Furr — who wanted to play QB for the Tigers but was moved to DB by the coaches after joining the team — was involved in a fight on the first day of practice and did not return.“It’s really hard because me and DeRon were really close,” Dunn said. “I could never turn my back on my brother, but he felt he was better off somewhere else. And I talked to him (Wednesday) and I really don’t know what happened with him and the coaches. I can’t speak on that. All I can speak on is our relationship.”Furr was the fourth-string quarterback after spring practice and was switched to defensive back for the fall by the coaches to try and strengthen his chances for playing time.“He just really wanted to get on the field as fast as possible,” Dunn said. “I don’t think (the position change) had anything to do with his decision to leave. I can’t speak for him, though. He asked me about the move to defensive back and I said, ‘If that’s what you wanted to do, go for it.’“He was a good person I could just hang around and, unfortunately, he just couldn’t turn the program into somewhere he wanted to be. You can never force someone to be somewhere he doesn’t want to be. I’m not mad at him because of his decision. I hope the best for him.”n MARK THAT DATE: Dunn, an Augusta native, already is sick of Georgia’s preseason hype. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in the preseason USA Today/coaches poll but not picked by the Southeastern Conference’s media to even win the East. Auburn, on the other hand, is picked to win the West.“It really does fire me up,” said Dunn, whose Tigers are 11th in that same national poll. “I don’t remember the dates for any other football games other than the one Nov. 15. That’s all that’s on my mind now.”And what about the Iron Bowl against Alabama?Doesn’t compare, Dunn said.“I mean, I’m a Georgia boy,” he said. “I get more fired up for that game (against the Bulldogs).”
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