Tigers X - Number one Source to Talk Auburn Tigers Sports
Pat Dye Field => War Damn Eagle => Topic started by: wesfau2 on August 16, 2021, 10:56:11 AM
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I realized this morning that toe meets leather for the first time this season for our Auburn Tigers in about 19 days. I did a quick forum(s) scan for breaking news and hot topics...which whet my appetite just enough to need to peek at the rag of a "paper" known as al.com.
As I caught up on the post-scrimmage reports and position evaluations, I started to get a little excited. There is a new coaching staff, some new faces at glamour positions; it's a motherfucking fresh start. I wanted to read more. I used to burn hours of my week reading multiple sports "news" sites to stay abreast of all the latest news. So I pointed my mouse to the address bar and...nothing. I got bupkus. I don't recall any of the names of those sites to which I gave so many of my clicks. I hadn't realized how detached from this game I've been. I watched casually last year, anomalous as it was, but I've been pretty unplugged since about the middle of the 2018 season. The depressing flop that was the inevitable result of running Kerryon into the dirt to end the 2017 season.
That period began a significant drop in my "giveadamn" about this sport. I lost the spirit for a 10-page argument over play-calling or -execution. Thankfully, Bruce Pearl gave me something to love and cheer on. I don't understand basketball as innately as football, though. I am coming to the game pretty late in life when you compare it to how I spent my formative years glued to the television watching Bo do Bo things. I love the excitement that Bruce is delivering, but it's not the deeply satisfying catharsis that football somehow provides.
So, I was blanking out on my football news-junkie routine when it hit me: there's a tropical storm headed directly for my house, we're seeing our deeply flawed foreign policy fail again on the world stage, there is bitter division in our country over something as simple as how to protect each other from catching a dangerous disease...and I was able to forget about every bit of that shit for half an hour or so while I ruminated on a game that I've abandoned after giving so much of my time, money and emotion to it. Politicize the sidelines, run PAC ads at every break, sit, kneel, stand on your head...but between the sidelines, with the clock running, none of that shit exists. Thank your preferred deity that football is back. I need a fucking break from reality.
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I realized this morning that toe meets leather for the first time this season for our Auburn Tigers in about 19 days. I did a quick forum(s) scan for breaking news and hot topics...which whet my appetite just enough to need to peak at the rag of a "paper" known as al.com.
As I caught up on the post-scrimmage reports and position evaluations, I started to get a little excited. There is a new coaching staff, some new faces at glamour positions; it's a motherfudgeing fresh start. I wanted to read more. I used to burn hours of my week reading multiple sports "news" sites to stay abreast of all the latest news. So I pointed my mouse to the address bar and...nothing. I got bupkus. I don't recall any of the names of those sites to which I gave so many of my clicks. I hadn't realized how detached from this game I've been. I watched casually last year, anomalous as it was, but I've been pretty unplugged since about the middle of the 2018 season. The depressing flop that was the inevitable result of running Kerryon into the dirt to end the 2017 season.
That period began a significant drop in my "giveadamn" about this sport. I lost the spirit for a 10-page argument over play-calling or -execution. Thankfully, Bruce Pearl gave me something to love and cheer on. I don't understand basketball as innately as football, though. I am coming to the game pretty late in life when you compare it to how I spent my formative years glued to the television watching Bo do Bo things. I love the excitement that Bruce is delivering, but it's not the deeply satisfying catharsis that football somehow provides.
So, I was blanking out on my football news-junkie routine when it hit me: there's a tropical storm headed directly for my house, we're seeing our deeply flawed foreign policy fail again on the world stage, there is bitter division in our country over something as simple as how to protect each other from catching a dangerous disease...and I was able to forget about every bit of that shoot for half an hour or so while I ruminated on a game that I've abandoned after giving so much of my time, money and emotion to it. Politicize the sidelines, run PAC ads at every break, sit, kneel, stand on your head...but between the sidelines, with the clock running, none of that shoot exists. Thank your preferred deity that football is back. I need a fudgeing break from reality.
Hear, Hear! Or is it Here, Here!
Either way, spot on. I just hope that Coarch Hart to Hart can bring back some of the toughness that has been lacking in Auburn football and my fucks given meter starts to move again soon. War Fucking Eagle!
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Fuck Georgia
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fudge Georgia
Just when I thought you couldn't get any dumber, you go and do something like this...and totally redeem yourself!
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Admittedly, by the end of last season, I was trying to decide whether to watch the game or sort through some old clothes in my closet to go to Goodwill. Malzahn had stepped all over my enthusiasm as it had become soooo painfully clear that we were a 4-6 loss program every single year. And the yugely big question loomed, "Is that buyout too F'n big to make a change?"
Harvinz has definitely rekindled the old spirit, but I find myself very cautious in my optimism. The preseason rags and talking heads are giving next to zero love for this bunch, and this past Friday, Yahoo Sports had us #1 in the list of 5 teams they think are ready to take a step backwards. I am in depress.
But I get it. If you're on the outside looking in, you see an average to suck O-line coming back. You see a band of pass catchers starting from scratch. You see an underperforming and wildly inconsistent QB under center. On D, New-True and Mud Katt have all left the building. Why would anyone pick us to contend?
If I look at it without the orange and blues on, I have the exact same concerns. I love everything I've heard and read about Harbinz, his attitude and expectations. I love the change in the strength and conditioning program. I love the fact that we're going to see something different on the field and not the same, stubborn concepts that every SEC coordinator figured out years ago. But all that I said above is still a concern in my mind. Is this going to be 2013 (No, I'm not expecting a Natty) where it just took a different approach and a few new pieces? Or did Gus leave us with a bigger mess than we realized and we are still two or three years away?
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I just want to watch my team compete at a competent level and not see a monkey humping a football…
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Admittedly, by the end of last season, I was trying to decide whether to watch the game or sort through some old clothes in my closet to go to Goodwill. Malzahn had stepped all over my enthusiasm as it had become soooo painfully clear that we were a 4-6 loss program every single year. And the yugely big question loomed, "Is that buyout too F'n big to make a change?"
Harvinz has definitely rekindled the old spirit, but I find myself very cautious in my optimism. The preseason rags and talking heads are giving next to zero love for this bunch, and this past Friday, Yahoo Sports had us #1 in the list of 5 teams they think are ready to take a step backwards. I am in depress.
But I get it. If you're on the outside looking in, you see an average to suck O-line coming back. You see a band of pass catchers starting from scratch. You see an underperforming and wildly inconsistent QB under center. On D, New-True and Mud Katt have all left the building. Why would anyone pick us to contend?
If I look at it without the orange and blues on, I have the exact same concerns. I love everything I've heard and read about Harbinz, his attitude and expectations. I love the change in the strength and conditioning program. I love the fact that we're going to see something different on the field and not the same, stubborn concepts that every SEC coordinator figured out years ago. But all that I said above is still a concern in my mind. Is this going to be 2013 (No, I'm not expecting a Natty) where it just took a different approach and a few new pieces? Or did Gus leave us with a bigger mess than we realized and we are still two or three years away?
There is a load of talent on this team. It just hadn't gotten any coaching/development to speak of (at least on the offensive side of the ball.)
Our defensive back 7 will be the envy of the nation this year. Pappoe/McClain combined for 216 tackles last year. Every scout has McCreary pencilled in as an early draft pick. Smoke Monday and the portal guys round out a robust squad.
The DLine needs some work, especially after losing a gap filler like Truesdell, but by all practice/scrimmage accounts they are deep, fast and nasty.
We know the RBs are solid, though depth might be problematic.
If the OLine can hold (pun intended) a block and Bo can improve his mechanics (which he has if the reports are to be believed), we're a 9 win team minimum.
Those last two are big "ifs", but like the great sage, George Michael, once said: you gotta have faith.
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I just want to watch my team compete at a competent level and not see a monkey humping a football…
I fully expect that to be the case. Thus, my cautious optimism blooming into some full-throated, homer prognostication.
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There is a load of talent on this team. It just hadn't gotten any coaching/development to speak of (at least on the offensive side of the ball.)
Our defensive back 7 will be the envy of the nation this year. Pappoe/McClain combined for 216 tackles last year. Every scout has McCreary pencilled in as an early draft pick. Smoke Monday and the portal guys round out a robust squad.
The DLine needs some work, especially after losing a gap filler like Truesdell, but by all practice/scrimmage accounts they are deep, fast and nasty.
We know the RBs are solid, though depth might be problematic.
If the OLine can hold (pun intended) a block and Bo can improve his mechanics (which he has if the reports are to be believed), we're a 9 win team minimum.
Those last two are big "ifs", but like the great sage, George Michael, once said: you gotta have faith.
It's like this and like that.
What I'm not getting is the love LSU is getting. I'm fumbuzzled on that one. They were freakin' horrible last year. They were 5-5 and gave up 43 or more on five different occasions, including 48 to us. Think about that for a second. Gus scored 48 on an SEC foe. Their projected starter at QB is out for the season. One of their back up QB's is at Auburn. They hired a DC who has never been a DC, and Ed O is the head coach.
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What I'm not getting is the love LSU is getting. I'm fumbuzzled on that one. They were freakin' horrible last year. They were 5-5 and gave up 43 or more on five different occasions, including 48 to us. Think about that for a second. Gus scored 48 on an SEC foe. Their projected starter at QB is out for the season. One of their back up QB's is at Auburn. They hired a DC who has never been a DC, and Ed O is the head coach.
Totally agree. It's confounding.
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and Ed O is the head coach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-42m0L4ITf4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n1KPQmdddY&t=54s
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Wes, As our friend Mr Chesney said once at a concert at Gillete....thats what music and sports are supposed to do. Bring people together like nothing else and get away from that reality. When that reality creeps into both, is when people get a little angry - and rightfully so, regardless of "reality" affiliation of those watching. I just hope I have that feeling on campus in less than 3 weeks for a solid 4-6 hours.
Speaking of.....ain't we gonna do some sort of roll call soon? You know Joe gonna be up in that bitch cooking something fierce.
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Admittedly, by the end of last season, I was trying to decide whether to watch the game or sort through some old clothes in my closet to go to Goodwill. Malzahn had stepped all over my enthusiasm as it had become soooo painfully clear that we were a 4-6 loss program every single year. And the yugely big question loomed, "Is that buyout too F'n big to make a change?"
Harvinz has definitely rekindled the old spirit, but I find myself very cautious in my optimism. The preseason rags and talking heads are giving next to zero love for this bunch, and this past Friday, Yahoo Sports had us #1 in the list of 5 teams they think are ready to take a step backwards. I am in depress.
But I get it. If you're on the outside looking in, you see an average to suck O-line coming back. You see a band of pass catchers starting from scratch. You see an underperforming and wildly inconsistent QB under center. On D, New-True and Mud Katt have all left the building. Why would anyone pick us to contend?
If I look at it without the orange and blues on, I have the exact same concerns. I love everything I've heard and read about Harbinz, his attitude and expectations. I love the change in the strength and conditioning program. I love the fact that we're going to see something different on the field and not the same, stubborn concepts that every SEC coordinator figured out years ago. But all that I said above is still a concern in my mind. Is this going to be 2013 (No, I'm not expecting a Natty) where it just took a different approach and a few new pieces? Or did Gus leave us with a bigger mess than we realized and we are still two or three years away?
Acts like he donates to Goodwill.......really shops at the Goodwill.
Just who do you think you're kidding?
All serrrrrussness tho....It was thought that the buyout WAS too big up until the very end almost. If you believe the Bunker insiders and guys like Bryan Matthews/Jay G Tate/Jake Crain (which I mostly do just due to track records) - what made the buyout doable in the eyes of those paying for it - was the "5-5 being a good season" comment. That made the amount not seem as bad. It was the tipping point.
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some full-throated, homo action
^^ Aroused Snags
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Acts like he donates to Goodwill.......really shops at the Goodwill.
Just who do you think you're kidding?
All serrrrrussness tho....It was thought that the buyout WAS too big up until the very end almost. If you believe the Bunker insiders and guys like Bryan Matthews/Jay G Tate/Jake Crain (which I mostly do just due to track records) - what made the buyout doable in the eyes of those paying for it - was the "5-5 being a good season" comment. That made the amount not seem as bad. It was the tipping point.
That was probably what was most depressing to me, the thought that we were most likely set to endure another season, or two, of Gus' mediocrity. Back when they gave him that extension, I was on record numerous times saying Noooooo.....just write the man a big bonus check for doing some good things in 2017, namely, beating two #1's and our most hated rivals. But, Auburn always gonna' Auburn.
Hopefully, Harkins and Pearl will be the or Dude Love's for years to come.
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That was probably what was most depressing to me, the thought that we were most likely set to endure another season, or two, of Gus' mediocrity. Back when they gave him that extension, I was on record numerous times saying Noooooo.....just write the man a big bonus check for doing some good things in 2017, namely, beating two #1's and our most hated rivals. But, Auburn always gonna' Auburn.
Hopefully, Harkins and Pearl will be the or Dude Love's for years to come.
Think about it. We’ve gone through summer practice. And heading into the season now. And we don’t have to hear those same 3-4 damn stupid, useless quotes for the first time in 8 years. It’s glorious.
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Think about it. We’ve gone through summer practice. And heading into the season now. And we don’t have to hear those same 3-4 damn stupid, useless quotes for the first time in 8 years. It’s glorious.
Spot on. I think the future is bright.
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Spot on. I think the future is bright.
We're young
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We're young
But can we win right away?
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But can we win right away?
Now?
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Yaw yaw yaw yaw, yaw yaw, yaw yaw, Wild Boys
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We're having a great week of practice.
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Our defensive back 7 will be the envy of the nation this year. Pappoe/McClain combined for 216 tackles last year. Every scout has McCreary pencilled in as an early draft pick. Smoke Monday and the portal guys round out a robust squad.
Apropos:
If Auburn’s front seven has Derek Mason feeling “like a kid in a candy shop,†(https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2021/03/auburns-versatility-on-defensive-front-has-derek-mason-feeling-like-a-kid-in-a-candy-shop.html) the Tigers’ secondary must have the first-year defensive coordinator feeling like a mad scientist.
Auburn has an abundance of riches on the back end of its defense for Mason—a defensive backs coach by trade—to experiment with this season, thanks to key returning pieces like Smoke Monday, Roger McCreary, Jaylin Simpson and Nehemiah Pritchett, as well as an infusion of veteran talent plucked from the transfer portal, with the likes of Dreshun Miller, Donovan Kaufman, Bydarrius Knighten and Ro Torrence. It has provided Mason with plenty of options in the secondary this preseason, as he works to install his defensive system and sort out a depth chart ahead of the season opener.
“There’s a lot of opportunity for guys to compete,†Mason said last week. “I’ve told guys, jobs are open. The vacancy sign is up. They want a job? There’s like 68 guys in that room, and there are only so many guys that can get on the field. Put your best stuff on tape and have it be an everyday deal.â€
With Auburn’s Sept. 4 opener against Akron less than three weeks away, that vacancy sign is starting to flicker, and some clarity has come to the picture in the defensive backfield.
Two spots in the Tigers’ secondary were all but shored up before the start of fall camp, with Monday and McCreary returning for their second seasons as starters at safety and cornerback, respectively. The other three spots—at safety, corner and nickel—remained wide open at the start of fall camp, but frontrunners have emerged over the course of the team’s first 10 practices.
“It’s so much talent on the back end,†Pritchett said. “Coach Mason has been doing the best job he can at putting the best people in the best spots.â€
Pritchett has been one of those defensive backs vying for the No. 2 corner spot opposite McCreary. Pritchett started all but one game at corner last season, when he was one of the team’s breakout players as a sophomore and led the Tigers with 10 pass-breakups while also giving up one or fewer receptions in eight of the team’s 11 games last season, according to Pro Football Focus analysis.
Pritchett’s main competition for that No. 2 job during fall camp has been Simpson, who earned the starting job in fall camp a year ago, and Torrence, a JUCO transfer who joined the team this offseason. Simpson is looking to recapture that starting job a year after an early-season injury forced him out of the starting lineup and limited him to eight games, mostly as the No. 3 corner. Torrence, meanwhile, aims to make an instant impact in the secondary after earning NJCCC Defensive Player of the Year honors last season, when he allowed only one player to record a catch against him for the season at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Torrence has been “standing out†in practice, according to Pritchett, with one of his crowning moments coming during Saturday’s scrimmage when he made a tackle at the goal line. He also had an interception with the second-team defense earlier in the week during one of the team’s mini scrimmages at the end of the Tigers’ fifth practice, when he picked off a T.J. Finley pass intended for Elijah Canion. Miller, a transfer from West Virginia who led the Mountaineers’ top-ranked pass defense in pass-breakups last year, is “in the mix as well.â€
“It’s been a battle,†Pritchett said. “…All of the guys been competing their butts off, but those are the main two. But you can see other people in the mix as well. Other people have been getting reps too, but mainly we’ve been the ones running with the ones and twos.â€
The biggest development in fall camp, though, has been at safety. That’s where Knighten, the FCS transfer out of Southeast Missouri State has emerged as the likely starter alongside All-SEC selection Monday.
After starting 45 games over the last four seasons at SEMO, where he totaled 255 tackles, six interceptions and 18 pass breakups, Knighten has made a seamless transition to Auburn’s defense in fall camp. According to Pritchett, the 6-foot-1, 201-pounder has quickly picked up the defensive playbook and has made an effort to put in extra work off the field to get up to speed.
Given his level of experience, albeit at the FCS level, Knighten and Monday — a three-year contributor for Auburn — have complemented each other well at safety early on.
“I think it’s been by the way of the experience in the room, like, really challenging like everybody,†Mason said. “I think, you know, Smoke needed Bydarrius, OK? And Bydarrius, you know man, needed Smoke. Obviously Bydarrius played at SEMO. He’s played a lot of football games, but I think, you know, practicing at this level and playing with somebody like Smoke who’s played the game, who’s seen it at a high level, who not only talks a big game but plays a big game, too. I think that’s been good for Bydarrius.â€
With Knighten emerging at safety, Vanderbilt transfer Donovan Kaufman has been competing with Ladarius Tennison for the starting spot at nickel, while Zion Puckett — another preseason option in the slot — has been seen working primarily at safety in practices. Pritchett, who was atop the depth chart at nickel in the spring, has yet to see time in the slot this fall but said he will likely “sprinkle†in some reps at the position to maintain his familiarity and provide flexibility in the secondary.
Tennison, meanwhile, seemed to be the heir apparent at nickel for Auburn after Christian Tutt’s departure at the end of last season. Then depth concerns forced him to play safety during spring practices, but he has since moved back to the slot after appearing in all 11 games and totaling 21 tackles as a freshman last season. Kaufman, likewise, has shown the ability to play both safety and nickel, and he brings a level of familiarity to Mason’s defense after playing under him at Vanderbilt last season — though his freshman campaign was cut short due to COVID.
There is still plenty of time this preseason for things to get sorted out personnel-wise, but less than two weeks into fall practices, the picture appears to be getting clearer for Mason and the Tigers’ secondary.
“Big things (are coming this season),†Pritchett said. “Big things. As far as Roger, Smoke, Bydarrius, Donovan — there’s so much talent. Coach Mason’s just doing the best he can.â€
https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2021/08/clarity-coming-to-auburns-deep-talented-group-in-secondary.html
Emphasis above my own.
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It moved
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6'3" and 6'1" guys in the secondary? That can't be right. Dogs and cats living together...
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6'3" and 6'1" guys in the secondary? That can't be right. Dogs and cats living together...
And these bits of tid:
he allowed only one player to record a catch against him for the season
After starting 45 games over the last four seasons at SEMO, where he totaled 255 tackles, six interceptions and 18 pass breakups
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And these bits of tid:
he allowed only one player to record a catch against him for the season
After starting 45 games over the last four seasons at SEMO, where he totaled 255 tackles, six interceptions and 18 pass breakups
(https://c.tenor.com/VphbXNEcnlYAAAAM/congratulations-congrats.gif)
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At that size, if he has anywhere near that success in the SEC, he will be a top ten pick. Unheard of.
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At that size, if he has anywhere near that success in the SEC, he will be a top ten pick. Unheard of.
You know that's right!
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Doubly apropos:
I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have attended a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. And I've been changed forever.
Cam Newton hasn't been the only person to be overwhelmed by the passion to be found inside Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium. A dozen years ago this weekend, the Syracuse Orange got a taste of the place . . . and at least one Central New York sportswriter assigned to cover that game has never forgotten his visit to the "Loveliest Village On The Plains."
Syracuse, N.Y. — It'll be 12 years ago this very weekend that I wrote the only column in my career that drew responses from all seven continents … including, yes, Antarctica.
And to this day, hand to God, I still receive periodic correspondence from Auburn football followers, updating me on their Tigers while offering dinner invitations and/or lodging and/or rounds of golf when next I return to eastern Alabama.
In these next few weeks, the Syracuse University Orange will play host to the two most intriguing teams on its 2014 home schedule — Louisville on Oct. 3 and defending national champion Florida State on Oct. 11.
And so, with those Cardinals and Seminoles in mind, I've been thinking again how the Carrier Dome might feel if it could become a kind of northern-based Jordan-Hare Stadium, the college football cathedral I visited when SU played in it (and lost in triple-overtime) on Sept. 28, 2002.
With those thoughts in my head, I find myself closing my eyes and re-imagining an experience I'll not soon forget, an experience I shared when I wrote the following column that was inspired 12 years ago this very weekend …
I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have done all of these things and I've been changed forever.
I knew, of course, that we were different up here in Central New York. I understood that autumn Saturdays in our burg have never been given over to any kind of serious sporting fervor. I've accepted for a good, long while that a fair amount of our citizens regularly choose to pick apples or seal driveways rather than head to the Carrier Dome to watch the Syracuse University Orangemen at play.
But, Lord have mercy on our college football souls, I've come to realize we're not merely quirky in these parts. And we're not just overly particular. No, having attended a game in Auburn, Ala. — which is like going to Mass in Rome — I'm convinced that, by comparison, we're as dead as the flying wedge.
"Let me tell you something," said Paul Pasqualoni, the SU coach who can recognize bedlam when he is forced to shout above it. "Being in that stadium with all those people — the noise level, the atmosphere — was exciting. It was a lot of fun. To me, it was just spectacular being there."
He was speaking of Jordan-Hare Stadium, where four days earlier his club had lost to the Auburn Tigers 37-34 in an environment that was equal parts Woodstock, Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve and Madonna's last wedding. And the Crimson Tide boys, those rascals from the other side of the state, weren't even in town, to say nothing of the Bulldogs, Gators or Razorbacks.
Nah, it was just the Orangemen, a non-league bunch from somewhere up north … with a losing record yet. But it didn't matter. This, because the cherished Tigers were on the other side, and that was enough for those Alabama locals to respond the way the French did when Patton's army showed up in Paris.
"I missed my wife's birthday so I could cheer on my beloved alma mater against Syracuse," Brent Miller wrote in an e-mail addressed to me following the three-overtime affair. "But you know what? I would have been there if our opponent had been the state of New York's worst high school team."
"Country, God and college football are usually our top three passions," e-mailed another Auburn guy, Steve Fleming. "But not always in that order."
"I grew up in Denver in a family with season tickets to the Broncos games," e-mailed yet another believer, Rick Pavek. "I call Auburn home now and, take my word for this, Broncomania is nothing like Tigermania."
The point is, with the Orangemen returning to the gray Dome that is so often lifeless to play Big East Conference foe Pittsburgh on Saturday, it's clear that somebody's not getting it. Either the Auburn faithful — and people like them in Knoxville and South Bend and Lincoln and Gainesville and Columbus and Austin and elsewhere — are far too crazed, or we're way too cool.
Listen, down there in eastern Alabama they pass out full-color, high-gloss, 22-by-17-inch, two-sided, fold-out pamphlets titled, "The 2002 Guide To Game Day At Auburn University." And on Page 2 of each can be found the announcement that nobody is allowed to begin tailgating until 4 p.m. the day before the game.
"You can't be anything but envious," said Jake Crouthamel, the Syracuse athletic director who was a wide-eyed witness to all of the SU-Auburn doings. "You can't be anything but envious when you have that kind of support. I mean, there were 84,000 people in the seats. And the RVs and house trailers were lined up five miles outside of town.
"When you talk about the epitome of what the college football experience is all about … that's it. Auburn is the epitome. You couldn't possibly be unaware of the spectacle, even if you were trying to be unaware."
The orange-clad zealots, who are in their seats fully 30 minutes prior to kickoff, thunder through choreographed cheers. The band, which is saluted upon its arrival by the big house with a standing ovation, blares. The PA system, which continuously blasts the sounds of a growling tiger, pipes in songs by the Dixie Chicks and interviews with the Auburn coaches.
Before the game, there is the great Tiger Walk during which the Auburn players march along Donahue Street through thousands of people, some of whom weep, and into the stadium. After the game, there is the mass papering of famous Toomer's Corner downtown. And between all of that, a golden eagle circles the place before landing on the field to a deafening roar.
And us? Um, let's see. We can't fill 49,000 seats. We debate, ad nauseam, standing-vs.-sitting in the Dome. We give our tickets to takers at the door who had to be schooled in the art of courtliness. We regularly vacate the joint long before the final gun. We allow, thanks to a good-idea-gone-bad, a bunch of vulgar louts planted in a thing called "The O-Zone" to chant phrases you'd never say in front of Mom at the dinner table.
In other words to compare our college football experience to that of Auburn (and a lot of other places) is to compare a skillet of beans to a plate of Chilean sea bass. And while that might sound harsh, it doesn't make the words any less true.
Believe me on this. Please. I have descended into college football's Grand Canyon. I have stood in its Alps. I have gazed at its ocean sunset. I have attended a game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. And I've been changed forever.
https://www.syracuse.com/poliquin/2014/09/carrier_dome_needs_a_bit_of_football_oomph_on_the_order_of_auburns_jordan-hare_s.html
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Damn it. It moved again. Look I have a brief due Friday for a hearing next week. I can't be sporting Auburn wood all day.
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Damn it. It moved again. Look I have a brief due Friday for a hearing next week. I can't be sporting Auburn wood all day.
I suggest some manual relief while re-viewing the Camback.
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I suggest some manual relief while re-viewing the Camback.
(https://i.imgur.com/pA4bYN0.png)
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If he would have finished his statement with "I have even seen a grown man pleasure a camel" I would give it top marks.
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Pritchett’s main competition for that No. 2 job during fall camp has been Simpson, who earned the starting job in fall camp a year ago, and Torrence, a JUCO transfer who joined the team this offseason. Simpson is looking to recapture that starting job a year after an early-season injury forced him out of the starting lineup and limited him to eight games, mostly as the No. 3 corner. Torrence, meanwhile, aims to make an instant impact in the secondary after earning NJCCC Defensive Player of the Year honors last season, when he allowed only one player to record a catch against him for the season at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Torrence has been “standing out†in practice, according to Pritchett, with one of his crowning moments coming during Saturday’s scrimmage when he made a tackle at the goal line. He also had an interception with the second-team defense earlier in the week during one of the team’s mini scrimmages at the end of the Tigers’ fifth practice, when he picked off a T.J. Finley pass intended for Elijah Canion. Miller, a transfer from West Virginia who led the Mountaineers’ top-ranked pass defense in pass-breakups last year, is “in the mix as well.â€
Here's you some Ro Torrence
(https://i.imgur.com/1LBx6wx.jpg)
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Here's you some Ro Torrence
(https://i.imgur.com/1LBx6wx.jpg)
Sporting the Carlos Rogers #14, no less.
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Apropos:
If Auburn’s front seven has Derek Mason feeling “like a kid in a candy shop,†(https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2021/03/auburns-versatility-on-defensive-front-has-derek-mason-feeling-like-a-kid-in-a-candy-shop.html) the Tigers’ secondary must have the first-year defensive coordinator feeling like a mad scientist.
Auburn has an abundance of riches on the back end of its defense for Mason—a defensive backs coach by trade—to experiment with this season, thanks to key returning pieces like Smoke Monday, Roger McCreary, Jaylin Simpson and Nehemiah Pritchett, as well as an infusion of veteran talent plucked from the transfer portal, with the likes of Dreshun Miller, Donovan Kaufman, Bydarrius Knighten and Ro Torrence. It has provided Mason with plenty of options in the secondary this preseason, as he works to install his defensive system and sort out a depth chart ahead of the season opener.
“There’s a lot of opportunity for guys to compete,†Mason said last week. “I’ve told guys, jobs are open. The vacancy sign is up. They want a job? There’s like 68 guys in that room, and there are only so many guys that can get on the field. Put your best stuff on tape and have it be an everyday deal.â€
With Auburn’s Sept. 4 opener against Akron less than three weeks away, that vacancy sign is starting to flicker, and some clarity has come to the picture in the defensive backfield.
Two spots in the Tigers’ secondary were all but shored up before the start of fall camp, with Monday and McCreary returning for their second seasons as starters at safety and cornerback, respectively. The other three spots—at safety, corner and nickel—remained wide open at the start of fall camp, but frontrunners have emerged over the course of the team’s first 10 practices.
“It’s so much talent on the back end,†Pritchett said. “Coach Mason has been doing the best job he can at putting the best people in the best spots.â€
Pritchett has been one of those defensive backs vying for the No. 2 corner spot opposite McCreary. Pritchett started all but one game at corner last season, when he was one of the team’s breakout players as a sophomore and led the Tigers with 10 pass-breakups while also giving up one or fewer receptions in eight of the team’s 11 games last season, according to Pro Football Focus analysis.
Pritchett’s main competition for that No. 2 job during fall camp has been Simpson, who earned the starting job in fall camp a year ago, and Torrence, a JUCO transfer who joined the team this offseason. Simpson is looking to recapture that starting job a year after an early-season injury forced him out of the starting lineup and limited him to eight games, mostly as the No. 3 corner. Torrence, meanwhile, aims to make an instant impact in the secondary after earning NJCCC Defensive Player of the Year honors last season, when he allowed only one player to record a catch against him for the season at Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Torrence has been “standing out†in practice, according to Pritchett, with one of his crowning moments coming during Saturday’s scrimmage when he made a tackle at the goal line. He also had an interception with the second-team defense earlier in the week during one of the team’s mini scrimmages at the end of the Tigers’ fifth practice, when he picked off a T.J. Finley pass intended for Elijah Canion. Miller, a transfer from West Virginia who led the Mountaineers’ top-ranked pass defense in pass-breakups last year, is “in the mix as well.â€
“It’s been a battle,†Pritchett said. “…All of the guys been competing their butts off, but those are the main two. But you can see other people in the mix as well. Other people have been getting reps too, but mainly we’ve been the ones running with the ones and twos.â€
The biggest development in fall camp, though, has been at safety. That’s where Knighten, the FCS transfer out of Southeast Missouri State has emerged as the likely starter alongside All-SEC selection Monday.
After starting 45 games over the last four seasons at SEMO, where he totaled 255 tackles, six interceptions and 18 pass breakups, Knighten has made a seamless transition to Auburn’s defense in fall camp. According to Pritchett, the 6-foot-1, 201-pounder has quickly picked up the defensive playbook and has made an effort to put in extra work off the field to get up to speed.
Given his level of experience, albeit at the FCS level, Knighten and Monday — a three-year contributor for Auburn — have complemented each other well at safety early on.
“I think it’s been by the way of the experience in the room, like, really challenging like everybody,†Mason said. “I think, you know, Smoke needed Bydarrius, OK? And Bydarrius, you know man, needed Smoke. Obviously Bydarrius played at SEMO. He’s played a lot of football games, but I think, you know, practicing at this level and playing with somebody like Smoke who’s played the game, who’s seen it at a high level, who not only talks a big game but plays a big game, too. I think that’s been good for Bydarrius.â€
With Knighten emerging at safety, Vanderbilt transfer Donovan Kaufman has been competing with Ladarius Tennison for the starting spot at nickel, while Zion Puckett — another preseason option in the slot — has been seen working primarily at safety in practices. Pritchett, who was atop the depth chart at nickel in the spring, has yet to see time in the slot this fall but said he will likely “sprinkle†in some reps at the position to maintain his familiarity and provide flexibility in the secondary.
Tennison, meanwhile, seemed to be the heir apparent at nickel for Auburn after Christian Tutt’s departure at the end of last season. Then depth concerns forced him to play safety during spring practices, but he has since moved back to the slot after appearing in all 11 games and totaling 21 tackles as a freshman last season. Kaufman, likewise, has shown the ability to play both safety and nickel, and he brings a level of familiarity to Mason’s defense after playing under him at Vanderbilt last season — though his freshman campaign was cut short due to COVID.
There is still plenty of time this preseason for things to get sorted out personnel-wise, but less than two weeks into fall practices, the picture appears to be getting clearer for Mason and the Tigers’ secondary.
“Big things (are coming this season),†Pritchett said. “Big things. As far as Roger, Smoke, Bydarrius, Donovan — there’s so much talent. Coach Mason’s just doing the best he can.â€
https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/2021/08/clarity-coming-to-auburns-deep-talented-group-in-secondary.html
Emphasis above my own.
What kind of narcissistic fuck would reply to their own post? Oh, I see.
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6'3" and 6'1" guys in the secondary? That can't be right. Dogs and cats living together...
Judgement Day
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Two full grown men, Derick Hall and Brodaciousness Hamm, buttin' heads in practice. Who is ready for some Auburn football?
(https://i.imgur.com/y5pjDSj.jpg)
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Two full grown men, Derick Hall and Brodaciousness Hamm, buttin' heads in practice. Who is ready for some Auburn football?
(https://i.imgur.com/y5pjDSj.jpg)
I’ll put my head up your butt, fag.
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Hamsammich got the crazy eyes.
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Hamsammich got the crazy eyes.
You have a choice. These eyes are speaking. They say: “Imma fuck somebody’s up!!!†or “Imma fuck somebody’sâ€.
Neither choice is ideal.
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You have a choice. These eyes are speaking. They say: “Imma fudge somebody’s up!!!†or “Imma fudge somebody’sâ€.
Neither choice is ideal.
But once he gets started, it's best to just let him ride it out.
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But once he gets started, it's best to just let him ride it out.
He's probably just hacking on a bone.