SB Nation User Blog: Mattco

Big Cat Weekend

Mattco — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:19:55 -0000

I just read about this on Rivals and this is very impressive. Chizik and company have certainly targeted the best players out there and are going to do everything they can to impress them and get them to come to the plains next February. Here is a sniplet from Rivals:

Five-star recruit Marcus Lattimore, ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 2 running back in the country, visited Auburn in March.

He'll be back on the Plains this weekend and won't be the only top recruit.

Approximately 25 other prospects, most ranked the best in the nation at their position, plan to be there with him. Auburn is calling the event "The Big Cat Weekend".

The group is set to include the No. 1 and No. 2 running backs, the No. 2 wide receiver, the No. 2 outside linebacker, No. 4 offensive tackle and the No. 6 guard. And that's just for starters.

Honestly, how can you not be impressed with this. Every recruit that has been to Auburn under Chizik and every recruit that has talked to the new coaches have loved the Plains. This should really shed light on the way that the Tuberville group phoned it in for recruits the past few years.

Let's talk football people.

Mattco — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:48:53 -0000

Over on al.com they posted a short video stint of some interviews that included Chizik, Taylor and Todd and had some short quotes for Trotter and Burns about the quarterback race being wide open.

So I got the fever, and the only prescription is talking some football.

Let's start it up with who you guys are rooting for the starting quarterback spot, who you think will actually get it and how do you think it will play out.

I will kick it off with my opinion:

Firstly, I am rooting for Trotter. I personally don't think that Burns has the smarts to lead an SEC team past an 8 win season and I think that Trotter has enough talent and athletic ability to lead us past that barrier. Of course, this is all on paper and in theory, in actuality he might not be good and might never be good, but I root for him to get a chance to prove himself and that is all he can hope for.

I think that,in reality, it will be a split playing time between Trotter and Burns with Burns getting the majority of the starts.

And lastly, I think that Mosely and Rollison both get in but both get redshirted. I think that Todd will just never be back to health and not see the field and I think they will see Caudle and wasted time and effort trying to teach a senior the system to have him leave that year. I think they will name Burns the starter for A-Day and shortly after, they will name him the starter for the fall. I don't think that Chizik and Malzahn will be dumb enough to drag out the quarterback battle out past the start of summer and they will have a starter named by then.

War Eagle people.

My pre-preseason rankings. Sort of...

Mattco — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 17:43:37 -0000

I am bored so I decided to look around for a bit and do a pre-preseason rankings that partially includes the potential players from the 2009 recruiting classes and the returning players for next year.

1. Florida. How can you bet against this team for next year? They return most of their defense that should be pretty nasty, and they added some depth with a few from the class this year. On offense they still have Tebow and he drives them to win. They might be able to run the table next year and go undefeated for the season.

2. USC. I rank them here because I think they will start and end the season here. They lose Sanchez at the helm but Mustain will play well. They play in a weak conference overall, they will lose a game and finish the regular season at 3rd, win the bowl, and bitch because they were left out of the championship, it is just what they do.

3. Texas. I know this is starting to look an awful lot like the final rankings but can you argue it now either? Colt McCoy returning with a ton of weapons and a defense that will play well enough. The Red River might be a game to play for the championship game again this year.

4. LSU. Yep, I am going back on me saying that Alabama will win the West. LSU looks strong and they had a very good class of kids that can help them. I think Jefferson will be the clear cut quarterback and will have some hiccups along the road, but they can lean on a run that will win some games. Solid team on both sides of the ball and might be the only team that will rival Florida for being top to bottom best team.

5. Oklahoma. Just good and they return a on of weapons. They will keep on scoring 45 to 50 a game and lose to the first team to hold them to 20.

6. Alabama. I can’t believe that I just said that. I initially thought they would be about 10 or so due to having no quarterback with experience and replacing the majority of an offensive line, but holy crap has almost every team lost a ton of players. Alabama’s defense is going to win them games and if they can make it through the first 4 or 5 games unscathed, they might can make a run at it. I just don’t see them having the talent in place fast enough to play against LSU next year though. They will have a tough time in their opener against Virginia Tech, but Tech lost a lot of players too. I think that their first loss will potentially be in week 6 at Ole Miss.

7-25. It’s a toss up.
-Georgia could be good but they are replacing their two biggest offensive threat.
-Ohio State was terrible without Beanie Wells last year so will next year be any different. -Can Ole Miss play that good again?
-FSU looks solid but they lost a lot of seniors this year and could go either way.
-Penn State loses almost their team and Oregon loses that many too.
-Texas Tech might lost about 35 or 40 players, seriously, look at their roster from last year, they have a ton of seniors.
-Boise State has a horrible schedule and probably will not get any respect until the end of the season.
Utah is in the boat with Boise State.

Man, next year is going to be interesting. Outside of the top 4 or 5 teams, there are no favorites for next season. The classes from last year will play a huge role in next season with as many seniors as most of the top teams had last year. Unfortunately, that brings us to Auburn.

My outlook for Auburn: Our schedule is rough, but doable. We will find out week 3 if we are any good or not when West Virginia shows up to town. I think that if we can fenagle our way through the season with injuries to a minimum, we can do a 9-3 season, but I don’t see us being able to win at LSU or beat Alabama next year. I certainly think that we can be competitive against Alabama for sure, but right now they are just more talented than us and they have a better line on both sides of the ball, that in the end will lose us that game. Looking at the schedule, I would say that if our line plays solid and we find a quarterback to play solid, not great, we could be 7-0 going to LSU. At Tennessee and at Arkansas will will be good games but we can win them.

No matter what, if our offense shows some improvement next year I will enjoy the season much more than I did this year. Losing is never fun, but we took it to a new level in the way we were losing last year. But we have promise, they just have to get it together.

Can someone enlighten me?

Mattco — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:11:09 -0000

I see that Jonathon Evans and Terrence Coleman are heading to Tennessee this weekend and Coleman is quoted as saying "My aunt wanted me to go to Tennessee and see what I like about it. But like I said, I like Auburn. Things might change, but right now I like Auburn." I don't understand this mentality.

Auburn isn't the only school, by far, with players that are "committed" that have this attitude. Why commit to a school if you aren't committed to it and are still looking around? I understand that circumstances change, it is bound to happen and this could instigate a change, but if you are continuing to look while nothing has change, then why commit to begin with?

At this point, I am so sick of Coleman's crap and attittude that I kind of hope he doesn't make to the plains. He has committed and decommitted, then he recommitted and now he is looking around again and saying that we are tied with Arkansas but he is still committed to Auburn. None of this makes since to me. Look around until you decide on a school and stick with it. How hard is this? Don't commit to a school unless you are sure.

Last year showed me something that Auburn is in desperate need of, heart. We don't need to pick up players that don't want to play for Auburn, we need players that want to be there.

Holy WTF Batman! Gulley commits and ESPN hates him.

Mattco — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:43:22 -0000

Ok. Let me get this straight, Gulley commits to Auburn and ESPN absolutely hates him. He is rated as a 3 star recruit according to Rivals.com and a 67, yep a 67, on ESPN.com. Take a gander at this kid's numbers:

-31 touchdowns in 11 games.

58 carries for 1162 yards, a 20 yard average.

-17 catches for 543 yards, a 32 yard average.

-6 kickoff returns for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns, almost 41 ypr.

-5 punt returns for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns, almost 41 ypr again.

Outside these ridiculously gaudy numbers, he also had 48 tackles, 9 sacks and two picks as a free safety.

How is this kid rated so poorly? I don't care if he is playing on the peewee B team as an 18 year old, these numbers are sick. He averaged about 35 yards everytime he touched the ball all year. Can anyone explain this to me? He is being looked at to play slot receiver and at 5'11 and 185 pounds, he could be pretty dangerous at slot.

Shocker: James Willis Heading To Tuscaloosa

Mattco — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 23:46:51 -0000

Apparently, in the merry-go-round that is the SEC West coaching staffs, linebackers coach James Willis has taken a job at Alabama. I would think that a little money and a new title wouldn't draw a man to his alma mater's number one rival. Good job James Willis, you have now broken the mold.

Here's what Willis said:

"I'm excited about the opportunity to come and work with Coach Saban at the University of Alabama," said Willis. "He is one of the best defensive coaches in the game and this is a chance to gain some great experience and learn from the best. You don't get many chances like that in the coaching business. When you combine that opportunity with the history and tradition at Alabama, it was a decision that was best for me personally as well as professionally. I know my wife and the kids are as excited as I am to join Coach Saban's staff."

Here's what Nick Saban said:

I'm extremely pleased and happy to have James join our staff," said head coach Nick Saban. "We tried to go out and hire the best possible coaches when this process started and I'm confident we've done that. James has everything you would want in terms of finding an outstanding coach and an outstanding recruiter with a lot of enthusiasm and intensity. He's played in the SEC and the NFL, and grew up and coached in the state of Alabama so he will be able to contribute in many areas and make a positive impact as we continue to build a championship program here at Alabama. We're glad to have the Willis family here with us at the University of Alabama."

Click here to read the story...

Alright. I am now confused.

Mattco — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:31:26 -0000

What is going on with our recruiting efforts these days and what is going on with the recruits on our radars?

So Rivals comes out and says that Reuben Randle is coming to town the weekend of January 10 and then that he had to reschedule due to his father not being able to get off work that weekend. Come Monday morning Randle's father starts denying that his son ever was supposed to take a trip to Auburn. How did the original information get out and by who and what happened that weekend?

The reason that I bring this one up and now another one has done the same thing in Benton, a receiver from Lousiana. Another recruit that was supposed to visit and decided to sit it out in Atchinson, a linebacker that is committed to Alabama.

I really must not be clued in to the mind of stupid teenagers anymore, I guess that is due to if I make a commitment, I stick to it. I don't understand all the backing out and the shadiness of not rescheduling and the way it is being done. Can anyone enlighten me on this thing?

This is why I am happy

Mattco — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:23:01 -0000

There is one reason that I am very happy about Randle coming into town this weekend, our new coaches have some asperation finally. This is something that Tuberville and his staff lacked, goals. Chizik has apparently told the staff to go after guys and hope that we grab one or two and this is a great mentality to have. It is like the hot girl at the bar, you have to try to get her.

This mentality will really help us whether we get any of them or not, at least they are making an effort to try to get them to come. I sometimes get bored and look at the recruiting board on Rivals and I noticed about 4 5star recruits on our board the other day and today there are a few more and a few more people are taking visits.

While this might not make a difference this year, I really believe that if we show good improvement on the offensive side of the ball and can win 7 or 8 next year, the recruiting will be much better next year.

War Eagle.

Alright. Coup 1 complete

Mattco — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 21:53:25 -0000

al.com is reporting that Antonio Coleman is returning.

Antonio Coleman says he's returning to Auburn

by Charles Goldberg, Birmingham News Saturday January 03, 2009, 3:12 PM

Auburn defensive end Antonio Coleman said Saturday he's coming back for his senior season instead of going to the NFL, according to our friends at AuburnSports.com and Inside the Auburn Tigers. That's a recruiting coup for new coach Gene Chizik, who saw defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks say earlier this week he's decided to turn pro, though could change his mind before the Jan. 15 deadline.

Coleman had 46 tackles this season, including 10.5 for losses. Six of those were sacks. Marks started 35 straight games before taking a weekend off against Tennessee-Martin late this season. He had 32 tackles, including 10 for losses. He was ninth on the team in tackles. He has 114 career tackles.

This is good news and I hope that with the depth on the defensive line we have accumulated this year and played a lot this season, I hope that Coleman moves around the defense and plays some outside linebacker, where we don't have a ton of depth and he is projected to play in the NFL. Not sure if Blackmon's decision really affects us either way since he hasn't played an entire season yet anyway, but Powers would be a big keep just in terms of depth.

Ole Miss takes Texas Tech to the woodshed. Hilarity insues.

Mattco — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:57:44 -0000

Houston Nutt sure did a good job in preperation to face one of the best passing attacks in the country today. What really baffles me about this game is near the end. Doesn't taking your helmet off on the field warrant an ejection out of the game? At the end of the game on two consecutive plays, a lineman for Texas Tech took off their helmets while going absolutly crazy and neither got thrown out and the first time they didn't get any kind of penalty at all. I am not sure but they sure looked like a bunch of crybaby thugs who resorted to trying to fight after they realized they couldn't play with Ole Miss.

Congratulations on a big win boys of Ole Miss, you had a good season and finishe strong and made the SEC proud today.