Auburn Tigers Football 2011: News, Rumors and Updates
The dead news period for college football has finally reached its pinnacle as spring practice is a distant thought, and summer workouts and camps are just beginning. Despite the lack of overwhelming on-field news, there has been plenty of off-the-field issues this offseason to keep any sports fan on the edge of his or her seat.
There has been a wealth of information that has come from the Plains this offseason ranging from transferring players to the Harvey Updyke trial update. Some on the field changes are likely to occur this summer as well as the Tigers look to solidify spots on the depth chart for 2011.
Look to these updates as a marker for the summer progression and some under the radar changes that could bring big things to the Plains this fall.
First Three Set for Early Kickoff
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Last season, Auburn pulled a big coup with its scheduling. No, it wasn’t the by weeks or the home and away game mix, but the kickoff times are what made the 2010 schedule so surprising. Auburn got on a roll early and was picked up for the majority of the night game contests last year.
This season, Auburn starts with a day game against Utah State at 11 and will follow that with games against Mississippi State at 11:21 and Clemson at 11. Both the Utah State game and Mississippi State contest will be on the SEC Network while the Clemson game is scheduled to be on ABC.
Auburn has not traditionally fared well in early games, but the Gene Chizik era has brought about a new outlook for morning games to Auburn fans. Expectations are not to struggle because of the morning but for excellence no matter what time the game is played.
Three early games in a row may seem like a strange scenario, but after last year’s absence of virtually any and the low expectations nationally for the Tigers, it was to be expected.
One Auburn Tiger on the Media All-SEC Team
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The SEC conducted its annual spring meetings a week ago and finished with a preseason media selection of the All-SEC team. Only one Tiger made the final cut for the media and that was Michael Dyer. Dyer rolls in as the second team All-SEC running back.
Looking across the league and what names grace the remaining slots on the selection list, there isn’t a lot of wiggle room for any more Tigers to make it to the list just yet. Will the season finish with only one Tiger on the All-SEC list? Not likely. That doesn’t mean however that any one necessarily will.
Auburn is returning a very young and inexperienced team in 2011. It is full of talent and has numerous playmakers on the sideline, but very few have made a name for themselves on game day yet. Until that happens, there is no room for argument as the league may be the most talented from top to bottom ever.
New SEC Recruiting Changes
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Let’s start with the first item: over-signing. Over-signing has built quite a nasty reputation for itself in the past few years with websites even becoming totally dedicated to eliminating the ritual. The problem is that the 25 scholarship limitation will do nothing to fix the problem. Last I checked, 25 over four years equals 100 players.
How do schools get down from the 100? Natural attrition involving injury, academic woes and transfers occur. The new cap on scholarships per season will do nothing to fix over signing, it will simply make coaches pickier with their selection of academic or socially borderline athletes which could lessen the opportunity for some kids down the road.
Another rule change is medical hardship waivers must be approved by the league office. This actually is a good rule to adopt in my opinion. On numerous occasions there have been players placed on medical hardships that have transferred to lower division schools and played.
If they were medically ineligible for the SEC, they should be medically ineligible everywhere right? Until now, the checks and balances involving said waivers has been sketchy at best. Now with more eyes on the process, this will not be an easy “out” for coaches looking to dump underperforming players for their new-found studs.
The final two changes involve when players count toward scholarship limits and one-year qualifiers. The NCAA changed legislation in 2006 allowing graduated players with remaining eligibility to transfer to any institution for their final season.
It doesn’t happen often, but most recently Jeremiah Masoli and Russell Wilson come to mind. Starting in 2012, no player will be able to transfer to an SEC institution solely to play one final year of athletics. That would have eliminated Masoli to Ole Miss and would end the Wilson to Auburn discussions. This rule will not affect current transfers however, so Wilson could still be a possibility for the Tigers.
The final phase of the rules changes is coupled with the 25-man limit. It states that once a player is on campus for summer workouts and summer classes, they count toward the 85 scholarship limit. Until now, a player could attend classes in the summer and workout with the team only to find out that their scholarship would not begin until the following January. This was known as grayshirting but will no longer occur as often and easily as it did in years past under the new legislation.
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Will the New Rules Change Auburn’s Recruiting Strategy?
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Will the new rules change Auburn’s recruiting strategy for 2011 and beyond? In a nutshell, yes. While the new rules were designed to help the student athlete and to keep teams from stacking talent, it also is going to have effects that it may not have intended to have.
There were multiple changes that occurred but there were three major tiers where the changes were felt. The signing class limit was moved from 28 to 25, medical hardships must be approved by the league office and one-year qualifiers have been eliminated.
This will affect Auburn and the rest of the SEC going forward in a number of ways. Auburn has been courting a one year transfer in Russell Wilson and just had one year wonder Cameron Newton leave for the NFL. Gone are the days of the one-year qualifier. The rule will effect those that only have one year of eligibility remaining so Newton would not have been effected by this scenario as he had two years remaining. However, Newton's success and subsequent departure had to come to mind when these concepts were being brainstormed at the SEC spring meetings.
The only other affect this will have on Auburn will seemingly be the 25-signee limit. In seasons like this, one where Auburn has less than the allotted 85 on scholarship, bringing in JUCO or one-year qualifying talent would be helpful. Starting in 2012 however, the signing class is locked to 25 for an academic year, so filling a spot with a JUCO or prep player after signing day will be unlikely as the 25-scholarship limit is likely to be reached on signing day.
Recruiting Front
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Auburn had an amazing recruiting week following the Big Cat weekend that ended the month of May. Auburn picked up three impressive commitments during and after the weekend further solidifying the recruiting prowess of Chizik and Co.
Shane Callahan was the first commit of the weekend and is a 4-star offensive lineman from Colorado. Ricardo Louis followed the weekend by committing as well. Louis is an athlete from Miami, Fla. that projects as a receiver for the Tigers. The third big pickup for the Tigers was Joshua Holsey, a cornerback from Fairburn, Ga. Holsey committed right before Big Cat but helped start the ball rolling in the right direction.
There are a number of recruits that are high on recruiting lists and high on the Tigers going into this summer, but as guys visit camps this summer and practice begins, the commitments slow down as these young athletes prepare for their senior seasons.
One change that occurred most recently was that longtime commit Michael Flint has decided to de-commit from the Tigers. He is an offensive lineman from Oxford, Alabama that made his decision nearly a year ago and has decided to mutually pursue other options for his college career.
Transfers and Walk-Ons
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The Plains are ignited with conversations and rumors abound about numerous players making their way to Auburn for this coming season. One player that has already made it to campus and is awaiting a waiver to play this season is Mike Blakely.
Blakely signed with Florida out of high school and enrolled this spring, but after the coaching change occurred he asked for a release to Auburn. Blakely is an impact running back, a position the Tigers have a large lack of depth at and is hoping the NCAA will grant the immediate playing waiver for 2011.
Russell Wilson is the other big name transfer that is floating around Auburn. Would Auburn take a one-year quarterback for 2011? I don’t think that there is a doubt. Will Wilson land at Auburn? The jury is still out and to be honest, I don’t think the coaches know at this point. Wilson would be a talent, but I am not sure whether it would be a big enough impact to avoid developing guys that are already on the roster.
Two more names have been surfacing as well as possible walk-on transfers to Auburn. Most recently, Corey Grant is a name that most should remember. Grant was a running back out of Opelika that signed with Alabama in 2010. He was immediately shifted to defensive back for the Tide, and the rumor is that he is not happy with his situation. Attempts to enroll at Auburn are rumored to be near completion, and he may be a part of the Tigers in the near future.
The second walk-on rumor floating is Melvin Ray. Ray was a signee for Alabama in 2008 but chose to pursue professional baseball out of high school. Three years later, the big bodied receiver is looking for a home. A return to Alabama was the initial report followed by reports of JUCO and then to Florida State. Recently, Auburn entered the picture and if Ray can successfully enroll at Auburn, he may be the most talented walk-on found on the Plains this fall.
National Champs to the White House
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After the severe weather and tornadoes that ravaged the state in April, the Tigers delayed their trip as champions to the White House Rose Garden. The Tigers will be at the White House June 8th and will be honored by President Obama at 3 p.m. eastern.
Summer Camp Season
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One of the most successful recruiting tools that coaching staffs have for not only talent evaluation but exposure as well are on-campus football camps. June 6th officially began camp season on the Plains which runs through July 17th.
The on-campus camps allow for young athletes the opportunity to learn about football and Auburn University while interacting with the reigning National Championship coaching staff.
Summer Workout Update
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This season, summer workouts are closed to the media. That means a lack of photos and information but also a lack of verification to everyone that has made their way to campus. At this point, only two players are rumored to have qualifying issues this season and they are Angelo Blackson and Tre Mason.
What those issues are and what truth there is to the rumors is anyone’s guess. Those two will be needed this season however, so the hope would be is that the qualifying rumors are just that, rumors.
Outside of the qualifying issues, summer workouts are apparently going well for the Tigers. Summer is when champions are born and there isn’t a doubt that Coach Yox is pushing this young team to its limits in the heat of the summer.
Craig Sanders is a player that was profiled by ESPN’s Chris Low earlier this summer and is reportedly going the extra mile and doing twice the workout load. He is also a guy that will play predominately at the defensive end position but don’t be surprised to see his speed and strength exploited on the interior on later downs where a speed rush is in order.
Eltoro Freeman is another name to watch this season as he is rumored to have had a great spring and continued the momentum this summer. Freeman is a very explosive player that is a rising senior finally looking for consistency. If all signs continue to point in the right directions, he is likely to be the third starter at linebacker with Jake Holland and Daren Bates.
Injury News
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As of now, there is no injury news to report. There are players on the mend from a season ago, but nothing new seems to have appeared in the months since the end of the spring practice session. Watching the comeback of A.J. Greene will be huge as he is expected to be a starting tackle and observing the development of Trovon Reed and his knee will be a must.
For the most part, Auburn will be injury free entering the fall practice session and will need everybody healthy as Auburn is already short in the numbers department.
Auburn and the NCAA
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Much has been made about Auburn and the Cam Newton escapade that filled the news last season. Then in March, the HBO series Real Sports with Bryant Gumble interviewed players that made very harsh allegations against Auburn and football supporters.
There have been changes in recruiting rules to eliminate things like the Tiger Prowl that has also fueled some of the Molotov cocktails that have come flying in the direction of the Auburn program as of late. So what does this mean for Auburn? Are the Tigers under an investigation for these things?
The short answer is that there is no short answer. Is the NCAA looking into the HBO Real Sports report? If they weren’t, then they aren’t doing their jobs. Are they looking any further into the Newton debacle? That seems doubtful.
There has been a statement from the NCAA on the Newton situation, and that would lead to the conclusion that the investigation is over. If some striking evidence were to surface sometime in the future however, I am sure the flame would be rekindled.
All this being said, the Auburn administration has not received a formal letter of inquiry to this point involving any allegations of impropriety, meaning that if there is an investigation it is of the informal variety, and no evidence to this point has led to possible sanctions from the NCAA.
The NCAA investigates numerous tips and allegations on a daily basis that cover numerous institutions. To think that on any given day that any successful program is not under the microscope would be foolish. Success will bring the watching eyes of the NCAA, but that doesn’t mean that things are being done improperly or dishonestly; just that if you don’t win, who cares.
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