Well ... we knew he was going to be big.

In the latest sign that the offseason really has started to come to its wheezing, gasping end, Auburn’s first official fall roster has been released. Not an earth-shattering deal, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few interesting developments, as have been mostly chronicled by both Andy Bitter and Jay Tate. (Charles Goldberg has a few minor notes as well.)

Building on/adding to those observations …

– A dollar says that when both Jake Holland and Michael Dyer–who’ll share the No. 5 jersey–start lighting people up in 2011 (if not before), we get a story and photo of the two of them under the headline “HIGH FIVES” or “FIVES ALIVE” or some similar 5-based pun. Book it. (By the by, when was the last time Auburn has a linebacker sporting a single-digit jersey? Am I just forgetting someone obvious? I don’t recall one off-hand.) (As a second aside here, it’s safe to say these two aren’t going to be sharing duty on any special teams units this season. Maybe Holland. Dyer? Nope.)

– Your offensive line, in weight, left to right: 319, 316, 297, 302, and then 299 if your right tackle is Mosley, 315 if it’s Gaydon, and 304 if Eddins plugs in somewhere. Worth noting …

1. That’s a substantial jump for Mosley, who was only listed at 285 in the spring.

2. Geez, when did Ziemba get that big? When did Pugh hit 297? Remember when he was playing as a 260, 270-pound tackle under Franklin? Those days are long gone. Grimes and Malzahn seriously want these guys big, not that we haven’t known that since the moment they arrived.

3. Yep, the roster spells it “Gaydon,” so Gaydon it is.

– Speaking of weight on the line, good heavens, Eric Mack. 361?!? He was listed at 315 on Signing Day. I think the consensus has been that Mack would immediately step in ahead of players like John Sullen and Andre Harris to join the second string at one guard slot or the other, but even for a kid of his size … even with a staff that likes a lot of weight … even at guard … 46 pounds is a hell of a lot of weight to add in the space of five or six months.

On Signing Day, the expectation was that the incoming class of linemen would provide a lot of immediate help, and obviously either Mosley or Gaydon are still the favorites to get the right tackle assignment. But between Shon Colenan’s leukemia (keep on keepin’ on, Shon) and Mack’s weight gain, there might not be as much of that help as we thought.

– Yup, Dee Ford’s up to 240, and Nosa Eguae up to 258. If Ford hasn’t lost any of his speed nor Eguae any of his motor at those weights, there’s a lot of potential. Between those two guys and the class of  ’10, Auburn’s got a ton to look forward to at end even after Carter and Goggans depart.

– According to this roster, last year’s defensive tackle tandem of Ricks and Blanc weighed in at 294 and 290, respectively. This year, Blanc and Fairley are set to go at 297 and 298. That’s not a world of difference, but yeah, I think it’s a step in the right direction.

– Speaking of the DTs, Zach Clayton’s not going to see any more time at end a la 2008; he’s up to 296. Jeffrey Whitaker’s at 308. Derrick Lykes and Kenneth Carter are in the mid-280s, but still, that’s a lot more beef in the middle than Rocker had access to last season.

– Jawara White’s listed at about eight pounds heavier than I had him at in last week’s “Google surveys …” post, and that was already a good 10 pounds heavier than he was when he committed. As Tate points out, White is going to be one very “thick” linebacker.

– Both Bitter and Tate note that Sullen has lost some 30-40 pounds since first arriving at Auburn. You have to think that after breaking into the starting lineup (even for a game) as a true freshman, even with the weight problem, Sullen’s really positioning himself for some playing time this year and a run at a starting job next year. It would be a great story for a hometown kid who Tubby’s staff had decided wasn’t worth the offer.

– 171 seems right about where we’d want Onterio McCalebb, right? Bigger, but not that big? Right.

– Oh man, I have spent way too much time thinking/processing/writing about all this. Like the song says, or should: We can hardly stand the wait / please football, don’t be late.

You know, you would think building a freaking cathedral in basketball’s honor in the middle of a place that worships a different sport entirely would be enough. But nooooooooo, whatever transgression Auburn made in the way-back-when against the old-school deities that oversee hoops, they’re still seeking vengeance for it:

Guard Frankie Sullivan underwent knee surgery today in Birmingham to repair a torn ligament.

No timetable has been given for his return.

The HOT RUMOR–the HOT, TOTALLY DEPRESSING RUMOR–is that the ligament in question is, as you might expect, the ACL. If so, Frankie’s all-but-certainly done for the 2010-2011 season.

The silver lining here, I guess, is that regardless of whether Sullivan was healthy or not, this season was going to be about the new arena and taking Auburn’s first steps towards respectability, not reaching any particularly lofty goals. If Sullivan can come back healthy, with the extra experience gained by his replacements, 2011-2012 will be the year Barbee can actually start to take Auburn somewhere. Frankie’s highest-stakes basketball remains ahead of him.

Of course, that’s only the lining on the giant, murderous-looking thunderhead that is a terribly young team now missing its most experienced, hardest-working, most popular player … not to mention the guy that was probably going to man the point. Barbee’s decision at the 1 will likely now come down a walk-on and a true freshman who (while promising) had to decide between Auburn and Buffalo. Who’ll run the offense for a team now lacking any player who averaged more than 13 minutes a game last year. Good times.

It’s still going to be a fascinating, and mostly enjoyable, season of Auburn basketball. There’s the arena. There’s getting to know our new coach. There’s the wave of freshmen who should, God willing and the creek don’t rise, offer us hope that this is the roster, the regime, and the building that will finally make Auburn men’s hoops relevant for more than the occasional one-off season every seven years. The pressure will be off, the stress low, the only expectations how firm a foundation this team can build for the future.

But without Frankie Sullivan, Barbee will have to be nothing less than a true hoops wizard for it to translate into a postseason berth or winning record. Truly, whatever Auburn has done to tick off the basketball gods so royally, it must have been one hell of a sin.

Yes, it’s true: the decision to “Photo of the Day” the mysterious, tweeting billboard on Frederick Road by (one of) the new Momma Goldberg’s scored TWER a giant, digital shout out (and earned us several new followers on Twitter – so hop to it, advertising budgets… it’s worth it). Sure, we technically asked for it, but still, we couldn’t be more appreciative. And we haven’t seen a more beautiful billboard since 2008, in the old country.

So, again, thanks a million @LamarAuOp — here’s wishing you a bright, pigeon-free future and success in your campaign to bring live score updates to the Auburn sky (because that would be awesome). And about that whole “Mugshot-O-Vision” thing… we were totally kidding! War Eagle!

Did you see something AUsome? Weird? Today? Whenever? Take a picture of it? Know someone who did?

Send it to us at photos@thewareaglereader.com.

Your typical Auburn townie.

I was a huge nut for G.I. Joe toys as a kid. But for some reason I forgot all about Auburn’s contribution to G.I. Joe collection of heroes, Beach Head aka Wayne R. Sneeden. (Remember? G.I. Joe stats and info came on the back of the action figures’ boxes for those Readers old enough. Or maybe young enough? The live-action movie did come out last year and all, and I’m sure there was a TOYS TOYS TOYS blitz that accompanied it). I came across Beach Head’s Wikipedia entry looking for Auburn-related things:

Beach Head’s real name is Wayne R. Sneeden. He was born and raised in Auburn, Alabama, living in abject poverty; this led to him being bullied and tormented by his classmates and peers throughout his growing years. In hopes of becoming more than what those taunted him believed he could be, Sneeden became an overachiever and ended up the valedictorian of his high school through hard work, unwavering discipline, and his keen mind.

Sneeden? That last name is too perfect. It just conjures images of Alabama backwoods kinfolk out of thin air for me. I also feel that someone with the last name of Sneeden has a better-than-good chance of being arrested for running a shake-and-bake meth cooking operation out of their Ford Bronco.

In other words, the fictional Wayne Sneeden is lucky to have escaped into the arms of the U.S. Army and Team Joe with all his teeth … or did he? What lies under the green mask? I’d be afraid you’d pull it off to be greeted with AAAAAAAKKKK!!! black-and-yellowed teeth the size of corn niblets!

For some reason, Sneeden skipped attending Auburn University (mind is “keen”, but not tooooo keen) …

Seeking the next challenge, he enlisted in the US Army, where he went through Airborne and Ranger school Ft. Benning, Georgia. After he completed training there, he went onto join Central America’s Covert Ops as an Observer/Advisor. After his training in Central America, he returned to Ft. Benning as a lane instructor.

Love the tough-and-Southern accent here:

And who was Beach Head fighting against? There was also that group of baddies with the ruthless terrorist organization Cobra called the “Crimson Guard.” They were told what to do by twin circus freaks riding a four-wheeler.

Were their names Nabas and Saban? I can’t recall exactly.

But that sounds about right.

Bo Jackson had to cut short his participation in the… get ready… First Tee of Montgomery Benefit Golf Classic at Wynlakes Country Club yesterday in order to be with his father who is fighting for his life in a Birmingham hospital.

Jackson was scheduled to give a short speech at the dinner and take questions from the audience but was overcome by emotion as he begged his leave from the dinner to spend time with his father.”I’d love to stay with you guys, but this morning… ” he started. After a long pause to recompose himself, he added, “I’ve got to go to Birmingham and see my dad.”

“Visiting hours end at 5:30,” Bo can be heard saying in a video of the dinner on the Montgomery Advertiser’s website. “But I’m going to go up and use my muscle.”

If there are any additional details on his dad’s condition, I can’t find them.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bo, his dad, and his family.

Firsties?

It was only two days I wrote that Auburn should get a commitment from Georgia linebacker Justin Garrett “sooner rather than later.” As it turned out, the answer was indeed “sooner,” as Garrett told Chizik and Co. he’d sign with Auburn last night.

Film ahoy:

I’m not going to repeat what I said the other day in its entirety, so here’s the quickie edition: Garrett’s got too many impressive offers (seven from the SEC including the Tide and Dawgs, plus FSU and Clemson) not to be a productive player under Roof, with whom (like a few Georgia players) he already seems to have a connection. I hadn’t already mentioned, though, that Garrett also plays for talent factory Tucker High, the same school that’s sending fellow linebacker and top-150 recruit James Vaughters to Stanford. Like a lot of Auburn’s linebacking recruits over the years, Garrett might not end up a superstar, but the chances of him being a bust seem barely above nil.

Between last year’s haul at linebacker, Garrett, earlier MLB commit Chris Landrum, linebacker/safety commit Anthony Swain–looking more and more like a future LB as Auburn continues to pursue defensive backs–and a conspicuous lack of must-have recruits at the position, the feeling is that Auburn is done at linebacker. I’d projected 2 in the class, and we’re at 2.5 already, with high-profile athlete and alleged Auburn lean Kris Frost officially being recruited as a wideout but a possibility at OLB as well.

Being finished at linebacker might be just the beginning of a huge month for Auburn recruiting, however. AuburnUndercover‘s Bryan Matthews leaked on his Twitter feed that as many as five commitments could be “on tap.” Garrett’s one. Taking a stab at the other four …

1. Jonathan Rose, CB. And those of you who follow recruiting all said: Duh. Rose announces August 1 and has given zero indication he’s even seriously considering anyone else. Would be a shock of Spencer Region-type proportions for him to go elsewhere at this point.

2. Marcus Roberson, CB. Has declared Auburn his leader and is rumored to be making a public decision soon.

3. C.J. Uzomah, ATH. Deciding between LSU and Auburn, supposedly in the next week or two, with LSU wanting him at quarterback and Auburn as a TE/Wildcat/whatever athlete. Good Tigers have geographic advantage and seemed to jump on Uzomah much earlier, but this is much less of a sure thing than the above two.

4. Robenson Therezie, RB/S. Surely the guy nicknamed “Cadillac” has to end up at Auburn, right? Auburn allegedly recruiting him as a running back, though Rivals lists him as a safety and other teams also going to DB route. Positive buzz has been building around Therezie, but again, we’ll see.

No guarantees there, but here’s a dollar that says Auburn lands three of the four by the end of August. (And for anyone disappointed by the sleeper trio of Denson, Gaulden, and Coates, that’s two top-five corners according to Rivals, a four-star safety, and an athlete with offers from Alabama, LSU, and Georgia. Hope that’s enough.)

Other links of interest:

– Jaylon Denson’s been busy, hanging out with Kiehl Frazier and talking to AuburnEagle.

– Justin Hokanson writes that the 2011 Auburn class looks a lot like the 2010 class did at this stage. Still not sure it’s going to end up with as quite as much absolute top-shelf talent, but it should be a little more of a consistent class, top-to-bottom.

– Yet another free Rivals link as they take an early look at the possible Alabama vs. Mississippi All-Star lineups. Several Auburn targets and commitments feature prominently.

– I don’t talk about 2012 recruits on general principle, but I’m not not going to pass on good news.

The recruitment of punter Steven Clark, at least as far as we know, went about as straightforward as these things can. Auburn decided they wanted a punter in the 2010 class. Jay Boulware found Clark and offered him a scholarship. Clark decided he liked Auburn better than his other offers and committed. The end.

It’s not much of a story. But it’ll still be one worth reading to your kids if Clark follows in the footsteps of greats like Terry Daniels and Kody Bliss (who was awesome in ’06, if you’ll recall), or even turns in one of those team MVP performances like Clinton Durst did in the ’08 win over Tennessee. Those guys mattered. And so may Clark.

BASICS: The AUfficial Signing Day bio sheet treats all signees equally, even the punters:

P, 6-5, 230
Kansas City, MO (Park Hill HS)

HIGH SCHOOL: Was a 2009 Class 5 First Team All-State selection at punter by the Missouri Football Coaches Association … Also, played tight end and defensive end in high school…Averaged nearly 40 yards per punt as a junior.

Yup: our new punter is an inch shy of being six-and-a-half feet tall and weighs more than most of the defensive ends in his Auburn class. I don’t think “upside” is going to be a problem.

RECRUITNIK HOO-HA: The gurus are, by and large, always tough on kickers, and they’re even tougher on recruits who only punt. Rivals gave Clark two stars and a grade of 5.3, tied with Tunde Fariyike for the second-lowest in the class. (The lowest? Ladarious Phillips, at 5.2. I think they’ll live to regret that.) They placed him No. 20 on their kicker rankings, which include both punter and placekickers and only go to 25. (Now, why they feel the need to separate running backs from all-purpose backs and strongside ends from weakside ends but not punters from kickers–two skills far more different from each other than being a standard back and an “all-purpose” one–I don’t know.) Scout cares even less: two stars, no ranking.

But ESPN has a soft spot for specialists and rated Clark as a high-end three-star prospect, with a grade of 79 and the No. 4 kicker ranking in the class. Their evaluation:

Clark has the best frame for any kicker in the 2010 class. The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder has already received a couple of Division I offers and he has shown tremendous improvement since early spring. He won the Kohl’s National Scholarship Invitational Camp and was the most dominant punter. He has a great leg swing that does not cross over. His drop is consistent and his ability to turn over punt after punt is solid. He has been timed hitting punts in the five second range.

BONUS ESPN raving, from guru Craig Haubert:

“The Missouri native is the No. 4 overall kicker and No. 2 rated punter. He is a punter with great size and a big leg. He had no offers at the end of July, but a very strong showing at a Kohl’s kicking camp put him on the map. He … has exciting upside as a punter.”

“It may not be easy to get excited about a kicking prospect, but Tigers fans should realize they landed a very talented punter with nice upside and the tools to be a draftable punter.”

In conclusion: upside. Clark’s other offers were Purdue and Iowa, but who cares.

LINKS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST: For being a punter, Clark has a hell of a lot of film available. The ESPN evaluation includes some footage from that Kohl’s camp, if you’re an Insider subscriber. (If not, I’ll give you the short version: he punts it way high.) Mysterious YouTube user “stevenclark2010″ has uploaded the following highlight package:

“stevenclark2010″ has also put up clips of Clark’s 2008 and 2009 seasons. Thanks, “stevenclark2010″ whoever you are!

Clark has a page at the National Combine Series, basically a series of events for kickers to show their stuff for colleges. Clark rates five stars there (take that, Rivals!) and coach Louie Aguiar has this to say:

Very big athletic kid. Very quick leg. He plays Tight End and also plays basketball. Can really get a hold of the ball and continues to get consistent.

Here’s Clark’s page at the Kohl’s site. As mentioned, he finished as the top punter there, with “top hang times … consistently in the 4.8-5.0 range.” He comes in at No. 2 on their list of punters for the class of 2010, behind only Michigan’s Will Hagerup. The blurb there mentions his “tremendous improvement” since his previous camp as well as the usual compliments of his frame and “swing.” (Speaking of that previous camp, even there he recorded the best hang time. He also recorded best times and best distances at camps at Iowa and Kansas.)

We’ve mentioned that Clark pulled extra duty for Park Hill as a defensive end and tight end, but he also played basketball–picture here–and threw the discus. From what I can tell he may not have been a standout in either, exactly, but still, there’s some athletic chops there.

WHAT CONCLUSIONS WE CAN DRAW, IF ANY: It’s sort of funny how unexcited fans get over special teams commitments, despite the fact that in some ways, they’re bigger deals than many of the “sleeper” prospects at other positions. The, say, sixth or seventh offensive lineman in a class has relatively slim odds to ever see the field on more than special odds; on the other hand, unless another Clinton Durst walks on from nowhere or he totally washes out, we know Clark is going to be Auburn’s starting punter in 2011. He’s got to be good, or else.

Of course, that’s not to overlook a couple of issues with kickers, namely, that they’re notoriously hard to project, even for coaches and gurus at the highest level; the last 10 Ray Guy Award winners include punters from places like Baylor, Wake Forest, Purdue, Colorado. And then there’s the fact that even if you wind up with one of the best punters in the country, the impact–while probably underrated–still just isn’t the same as the impact of having one of the best corners, linemen, wideouts, etc. in the country.

So I’ll forgive anyone who skipped this post because it was only the one about the punter. But what they’re missing is that it’s quite possible Auburn did wind up with one of the best punters in the country. By all the accounts we have, Clark was 1. good 2. getting better in a hurry 3. gifted with a higher ceiling than virtually any of his peers. Map that kind of trajectory on a graph, one where he even gets the bonus of a redshirt year behind Shoemaker, and you’re looking at a heck of a four-year career.

Maybe it won’t work out that way. But if you’re going to offer a kicker, better make it one with that kind of potential, right?

Photo via. If you’d like your own 2.4 MB Steven Clark wallpaper, click here.

No surprise: an Auburn girl is on top. (Suck it, Jesse Jackson Jr!)

Alexis to Conquer, Never to Yield

#1 Alexis Latifi. The 24-year-old Republican graduated from Auburn in 2009, makes her own jewelry, practices seriously sweaty yoga, and currently serves on the staff of Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).

The name might sound familiar: her father, Alex Latifi, an Iranian immigrant, made national headlines in 2008 as the subject of a four year government probe that crippled his 24-year-old Huntsville business. The Feds had it all wrong, of course – Axion, as it turns out, was not sending top-secret designs for the Black Hawk Helicopter to China, as a disgruntled employee / embezzler alleged – and were forced to pay restitution. Supposedly, the injustice of it all is what led Alexis to swap her dreams of being the hottest doctor in training with dreams of being The Hill’s hottest lawyer in training. And now, probably, the most eligible. But careful, creeps – as hot… if you know what I mean… as those 105-degree bikram yoga poses might be, thankfully our girl seems a little too high maintenance for a sex scandal; the piece makes it sound like she splits all of her free time between buying fruit and drying it.

“Going to Whole Foods is like clothes shopping for me,” she said. “I’ll go to Whole Foods just to put myself in a good mood.”

The one thing she hasn’t quite figured out about being a raw foodist is how to be a good date.

“Poor boys,” she says, laughing. “I’ll get in the car, and they’re like, ‘Um, I looked for a vegetarian restaurant.’

It’s a shame she had to graduate before having the chance to loiter at Earth Fare!

War Eagle, Alexis! All the best… here’s to hoping the Huntsville Times picks up the story with the headline “Hometown Beauty rockets to No. 1.”

#5 Ben Dunham. This Huntsville-hailing boy bander-in-waiting (and former Ole Miss walk-on) apparently dated Mad Men’s January Jones, but really, who hasn’t? Take the lip-service to the environment out of it and his blurb reads like a Lonely Hearts ad (although his status is listed as “in a relationship” — obvious commitment issues). At least they didn’t discuss his lips along with his blue eyes, “soft, barely-there drawl,” and his “honest expression.” Overall, kind of more ick than swoon. Not necessarily his fault, though.

#6 Nichelle Williams. Finally, an Alabamian not from Huntsville (Mobile)… but she went to Bama. Gross. But she was named after Lieutenant Uhura! Awesome! And At least her blurb isn’t trying to get her a date (since she has a boyfriend). She comes across as serious but homesick. Sweet. You know as in “Sweet Home Alabama,” the subtitle they chose for her — it was bound to crop up.

As an aside #10, Anu Vakkalanka (not from Alabama) is awesome. She is a makeup blogger (“I’m Indian; I came out of the womb wearing eyeliner”) and her picture shows her wearing a red dress and (seemingly) flashing a bra strap. A conservative suit jacket is trying to tone down the wind-in-the-hair look. It just looks like censorship.

Maybe it’s cheating to group three players into one spot on this list, to name 7 players I’m rooting for instead of the 5 it says in the title.

But I’m doing it anyway, because Zac Etheridge, Aairon Savage, and Mike McNeil are all walking along the same long, slow road back to glory. Not hand-in-hand, but only because the road is wide and they need maximum coverage. Nothing gets by them.

I considered discussing each of the three of them separately in this post. Lord knows there’s been enough written about Etheridge and, as of recently, Savage to do so. I could talk about the horror of Etheridge’s injury, the emotion of that day he showed up in front of the team in the neck brace, the commitment of his rehab, the joy of his being cleared. With Savage, I could talk about what must have been the devastating gut-punch of recovering from one season-ending injury only to suffer another, of staying with Auburn through the thick of the Tubs era and the thin of the revolving door of coordinators, position coaches and head coaches, of his commitment to his academics (two degrees from Auburn, remember, or one more than I’ve got), of the determination he’s shown to make himself an asset again. You’ve readi t all before, and it would be worth reading again.

But I’ll leave the individual focus on those two at the paragraph above, for two reasons:

1. Mike McNeil deserves just as much of the focus, just as much of your support. A top-100 recruit who could have gone anywhere, Alabama very much included, this wasn’t the way his career was supposed to play out either. Sure, he had the true frosh cameo in 2007 that promised the expected big things ahead, but his 2008 went about the way 2008 did for everyone, and just as a big spring promised the same kind of redemption in 2009 that it offered to most of his teammates, the break happened.

It’s probably one thing to miss an entire season through injury. It’s probably another to expect not to have to miss it, to be seemingly on the verge of recovery, and for your body to just not start cooperating in time. It’s still another, most likely, to be that close but still have to watch as your team rises from the ashes of ’08′s disaster without you.

In short: Mike McNeil has still never enjoyed the kind of season even Etheridge and Savage had back in ’07, and even they haven’t suffered through the exact same kind of frustration McNeil endured in ’09. I hope so badly he makes our opponents pay for that loss, that frustration.

2. It’s not the play of any one of the three but the play of the three of them together that will become one of the defining stories of this defense and this Auburn football team.

Because the faith being shown in their combined abilities–and not just the ability of one, or two–by Auburn’s coaches is remarkable. When the 2009 season ended, the first three safeties on the depth chart were Daren Bates, Demond Washington, and T’Sharvan Bell; all three of them are now playing other positions. With all due respect to Drew Cole, Mike Slade, and Demetruce McNeal, the two safety positions are being all-but-entirely trusted to Etheridge, Savage, and McNeil. There is the kind of expectation for their collective recovery where you expect them to push Bates and maybe even steal his job, and then there’s the kind where you move Bates to linebacker even though he can’t learn a thing in the spring other than the playbook. The latter is the kind of expectation the Auburn coaches have shown, and it represents a stunning amount of belief.

Because we know how much these three players will have to overcome to repay that belief, even I struggle to match it. What I do know, however, is that if/when they do succeed, what they have had to collectively overcome will make that success as sweet as any Auburn will have in 2010.