March 2016

Lyle's Corner

Saturday, March 26th, 2016

Auburn head men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl, who is typically very busy, will be slowed down - at least for the time being.

Pearl, who just wound up his second season at the helm earlier this month, underwent successful surgery on his left knee Monday. Because of this, he will have to use a walker for the next two weeks.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Brett Smith of Baptist Hospital in Pensacola, Fla. at the recommendation of Dr. James Andrews. Thankfully, no complications arose.

"At Auburn, we have the best team of doctors and medical and training staff in the country," Pearl stated in an official release from the athletic department. "The knee was in really bad shape, and it feels absolutely wonderful now. It is amazing, and I am very fortunate. I will spend a lot of time with our trainers, and it will get me close to the players this spring while working on rehab."

The operation involved a complete replacement of Pearl's left knee.

I'm confident that Pearl will rebound from this, and come back stronger than ever. I wish him the best in his recovery process.

I hope you all have a happy and blessed Easter. I'm certainly planning to, because I'll be spending time with my family and some close friends. Always remember that this is all about Jesus giving His life on the cross to save you from your sins! Giving your life to Him is the greatest choice you can possibly make! HE is the way, the truth, and the life!

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, Happy Easter, and WAR EAGLE!

Monday, March 21st, 2016

The Auburn women's basketball team's 84-52 loss to Baylor in the NCAA women's tournament last night was every bit as frustrating as the score indicated.

Even so, head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy was very pleased with her team's progress this season.

"I'm just so proud of my team," she stated. "No one expected us to be here. Their hard work and dedication to Auburn and their dedication to how we play just shows once again just how good of a team we are."

Indeed, the so-called "experts" never expected Auburn to have a fairy tale season. The Tigers were picked to finish 13th in the SEC before the season began, but they proved everyone wrong, making it to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32 before being routed by the No. 1-seeded Bears. Baylor had a significant height advantage that allowed them to jump out to a big lead in this tournament match, which proved too much for Auburn to overcome.

The Tigers beat St. John's in a first-round contest before their loss to Baylor ended Auburn's campaign with a 20-13 record. The Bears, meanwhile, quickly showed why they were the No. 1 seed in the region, improving their record to 35-1. They are now set to play next weekend against the winner of today's contest between Texas A&M and Florida State.

This marked Auburn's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2009, but it didn't turn out so well against the NCAA-experienced Bears, who are in their 13th consecutive tournament run. However, Williams-Flournoy feels very optimistic about her team's future. It's easy to see why.

"We knew what we had to do to prove to everyone else," she said. "Making it to the second round and playing a tough Baylor team shows that we're a very good team and we're going to continue to be a very good team. We're always going to play hard, until that last zero clicks off the clock."

Brandy Montgomery led Auburn with 14 points. Tra'Cee Tanner tallied 13 in her final game as a Tiger. Katie Frerking scored 11. According to Williams-Flournoy, not much talent will be lost heading into next season.

"We're only losing two. We have a lot of young people. The future is very bright for us," she assured.

Tanner achieved a personal milestone, tying the Auburn record for games played in a career yesterday, appearing in her 132nd game. She said that she has plenty of fond memories to take with her.

"It just means a lot that I've gained a family over these past four years," she said. "I've gained different bonds with different people on the team, including the staff. But I'm just really grateful to have this opportunity and meet who I have met and have the relationships that I've had. I've gained a family away from my own, and they've taken care of me over these past four years."

In the early going, the difference in NCAA experience between Auburn and Baylor was made apparent.

The Tiger defense played admirably well all season, but things were quite the contrary against the taller Bears, who scored more points against Auburn than any other opponent all season. Things weren't much better on offense, as Auburn committed an astounding 12 turnovers in the first quarter alone, putting the defense on high alert.

Baylor stormed out to a 23-8 first-quarter advantage. The count later mounted to 37-12, by which time the Bears had outscored the Tigers 28-6 in the paint. At intermission, the score was 46-20, with the paint advantage being 30-12 in Baylor's favor.

By the end of the third quarter, the Bears were in front 68-39, and the outcome was all but cemented. Nina Davis led Baylor with 30 points.

"It's easy for her to score 30 points because she plays so hard," Williams-Flournoy said, before adding with a laugh, "She's running in transition...I want me one of those."

Despite the final result, Williams-Flournoy commended her team's persistence and determination.

"In the halftime speech," she stated, "it was just like, 'we've got 20 more minutes just to play hard.' The last 10 minutes, 'we've got 10 more minutes to play hard.' We're going to continue to play hard. And our young ladies know they're always going to play hard."

Let's all hope that that attitude carries over into next season.

In other news...

- The baseball team will host Alabama State tomorrow night at 6 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on SECN+. (Internet) The Tigers lost to Texas A&M yesterday by a score of 12-10.

- The football team resumes spring practice tomorrow after having spring break.

That's all for today. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Sunday, March 20th, 2016

The Auburn gymnastics team entered the night session of the SEC Championships in North Little Rock, Ark., yesterday ranked fourth among the four competing teams. That's where the sixth-ranked Tigers finished up as well.

The Tigers scored a 196.975, placing it fourth in the group of second-ranked LSU, third-ranked Florida, and fourth-ranked Alabama.

Head coach Jeff Graba was very pleased. "For this team to come here and perform like they did at this meet is great," he said. "I don't think you could finish the regular season a better way."

The Gators claimed the title with a score of 197.775, giving them their first team title since 2013. Alabama came in second with a 197.750, while LSU finished third with a 197.500.

Although Auburn finished fourth, the 196.975 now stands as its highest score ever recorded in the championships, eclipsing last season's mark of 196.925.

The Tigers began by posting a 49.350 on floor. Caitlin Atkinson, a senior, scored a team-high 9.900, while junior Kullen Hlawek and sophomore Abby Milliet were close behind with a 9.875. Milliet's score tied a personal-best in the event.

"I thought we did a good job on floor," Graba stated. "This is a young team in a tough environment trying to handle their stress. I think they started off tight, but did well."

Auburn's next rotation was on vault, finishing with a 49.050. Again, Atkinson led the way with a 9.85, which was duplicated by senior Lexus Demers. M.J. Rott was next with a 9.825.

The Tigers then forged ahead to bars, where they earned a 49.325. Kait Kluz (9.900) and Kelsey Kopec (9.875) earned top honors for the team, with the scores matching season-highs in each department.

"My bars routine felt great," Kluz said. "I've been focusing on the little things and it really paid off tonight."

Graba was equally impressed, calling his squad's performance "a turning point."

"I really love the way bars adjusted," he said, "and did a really good job for us."

Auburn concluded the session by scoring a 49.225 in beam. Once again, Atkinson claimed top honors for the team with a 9.925, which was second-best overall in that event. That allowed Atkinson to clinch All-SEC honors.

"I was ecstatic with beam," Atkinson stated. "It felt really good to do the beam routine I know how to do. I felt really confident and was happy to get that score for my team."

Her all-around score was 39.525, placing her fifth overall, her best finish ever at the SEC Championships.

The Tigers will find out their NCAA Regional seed tomorrow. The selection show will begin at 3 p.m. CT and can be found online at NCAA.com.

In other news...

- The women's basketball team takes on Baylor tonight at 6 p.m. CT in the Round of 32. The game can be seen on ESPN2.

- Former Auburn receiver Ricardo Louis is open to making a switch to defensive back in the NFL. Brandon Marcello of AL.com spoke with Louis about his NFL preparation, including one team's request at Auburn's Pro Day earlier this month. Louis, the Tigers' top receiver in 2015, gladly obliged with that request.

"Whatever team wants me, whatever position, it doesn't matter, as long as I can play in the league," he said. "I want to play as long as I possibly can and produce and be a part of the reason why we win a Super Bowl with whatever team I'm on."

Louis played in all 13 games for Auburn in 2015, recording 46 receptions for 716 yards and three touchdowns. Marcello noted that Louis, who last played cornerback as a high school freshman, is projected as a late-round draft pick at receiver.

No matter what the position, there is surely bound to be one team that will give Louis a shot after his impressive showing at the NFL Combine workouts last month in Indianapolis.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Saturday, March 19th, 2016

The Auburn women's basketball team's 68-57 victory over St. John's last night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament can most accurately be summed up this way: The Tiger defense stole the show.

Auburn's no-nonsense bunch waxed St. John's offense in the early going, then sank crucial shots late to put the game away.

Head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy, who has emphasized the vitality of a great defense all her life, was quick to praise her squad's performance.

"Our young ladies were able to see right away into our defense and what our defense could do to our team," she said. It gave St. John's another way to 'uh-oh, OK.' We know how they prepare for us: don't turn the ball over. As soon as you come out and turn the ball over, you second-guess yourself, and that's what we want our defense to do."

The Tigers cruised to a 25-6 lead with 7:20 remaining in the second quarter before St. John's came to life. The Red Storm chopped the lead to six, then to three in the second half. However, a career-high 24 points from Auburn's Janiah McKay, a huge 3-pointer from Brandy Montgomery, and perfect passes for easy baskets down the stretch halted St. John's momentum for good. Auburn shot an excellent 72.7 percent in the final quarter.

St. John's was out of sync from the get-go, and never seemed to recover. That played a big role in the outcome.

"Auburn did a great job in playing their style," said St. John's coach Joe Tartamella. "I thought the first quarter they really affected us."

Perhaps that's putting it mildly.

The Tigers, the ninth seed in the Dallas Region, improved to 20-12 on the season. St. John's, the 8th seed, ended the season with a 23-10 slate. Now, a match with Baylor, the No. 1 seed in the region, is looming on Sunday at 6 p.m. CT in the Round of 32. That certainly won't be a shoe-in, as the Bears are 34-1 after drubbing Idaho 89-59 yesterday.

This was Auburn's 19th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. It didn't take them long to make a statement. With the victory, they boosted their all-time record in NCAA first-round games to 17-2.

They hope to duplicate their defensive success against Baylor tomorrow night.

"We knew we had to get out with momentum and that just really kept us going," Jazmine Jones stated.

"It was definitely our defense that did it for us. That's what got us here. We're going to keep playing defense like Auburn basketball does."

The Tigers' season-long top scorers - Montgomery,. Tra'Cee Tanner, and Katie Frerking - combined for 23 points. McKay and Erica Sanders also contributed, with Sanders matching her career-high of eight points.

McKay, however, said that something beyond the stat sheet is always first in her mind when she's on the court. "Anytime I play, I don't really think about my stats. I'm more concerned with my team winning. Kudos to Tra'Cee Tanner and Jessica Jones for setting great screens, which allowed me to get open. Coach always told me, stay aggressive. Stay aggressive."

That attitude certainly paid big dividends.

"It's just great for our Auburn women's basketball program to get back to the NCAA Tournament," Williams-Flournoy said. It just speaks volumes to our league. When you play in a tough SEC conference, it gets you ready for the NCAA Tournament."

In closing, don't forget that the baseball team hosts Texas A&M at 1 p.m. CT this afternoon. The game can be found on SECN+. (Internet.)

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Wednesday, March 16th, 2016

The Auburn baseball team used a big 9-run fourth inning to overpower No. 22 Georgia Tech 14-3 at Russ Chandler Stadium in Atlanta yesterday evening.

Tigers head coach Butch Thompson had a lot to say about his squad's performance.

"The last four days have been consistent offense," he said. "Andrew Mitchell didn't have his best stuff, but he just battled tonight. To give us a chance to go on the road to beat a team like Georgia Tech is positive. With our lineup, I could really talk about four or five guys and that's the way you want it. Everybody is passing up and down the lineup and we are going to try and keep this going for as long as we possibly can."

The Tigers sent 13 men to the plate in the top of the fourth and tallied nine runs to take a commanding 12-2 advantage. Auburn racked up eight hits in the frame, with Anfernee Grier and Jackson Burgreen recording the biggies with a two-run single and a two-run double, respectively.

Starting pitcher Andrew Mitchell only gave up three runs in five innings while posting a career-high nine strikeouts. In the process, he improved to 3-0 on the season.

Grier kicked off the third inning with a double to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, a new career high.

Joshua Palacios followed that up with his second homer of the season to put Auburn ahead. Two batters later, Niko Buentello smacked a solo shot, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

Palacios has now reached base in all 17 games. He was 3-for-5 in this contest with three runs scored and two RBIs.

Georgia Tech countered with two runs in the bottom of the third, but Auburn retaliated in a huge way in the fourth.

With the 14 runs scored in this match, Auburn has now scored 10 or more runs seven times through 17 games in 2016, which is quite a turnaround for a team that only scored in double-digits six times in 62 games last season.

Cole Pitts (1-1) took the loss for the Yellow Jackets with six runs (five earned) in three-plus innings pitched. Kel Johnson had two doubles for Tech, while Joey Bart had two RBIs.

Auburn tacked on two runs in the eighth with Grier scoring on a wild pitch. He's now scored 27 runs on the season. Buentello added his 29th RBI single of the year to plate Palacios and put Auburn up 14-3.

Buentello reached base six times with a homer, two RBIs, two walks and a hit by pitch. Cody Nulph added three hits.

Marc Frazier hit three scoreless relief innings with a season-high five strikeouts. Daniel Sprinkle wrapped up the game with a scoreless ninth.

The Tigers improved to 9-8 on the season, while Tech fell to 12-4.

Auburn returns to action on Friday when it hosts second-ranked Texas A&M at Plainsman Park. The first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Saturday, March 12th, 2016

Changes are on the horizon for Auburn's 2016 football season. Big changes. They will primarily be in the categories of parking and safety for the fans.

The Auburn athletic department intends to make changes to accessible parking, Friday game day parking, and the Jordan-Hare Stadium bag policy for an improved game day experience.

What follows is a detailed description of these changes from auburntigers.com:

Accessible Parking

Season ticket holders with wheelchair tickets will be issued parking passes to the new Y lot, which is located on the old accessible lot on the corner of North Donahue Drive and War Eagle Way.

Accessible ADA parking will be located in the new VCOM lot off of South Donahue Drive. Cars displaying state issued accessible passes will be permitted free of charge. Besides providing more spaces for those with mobility needs, accessible Tiger Transit buses will be stationed at the VCOM lot to take patrons to War Eagle Way where accessible shuttles will then take the fans directly to Gates 2 and 12.

"Auburn Athletics is committed to doing all we can to help those with disabilities to attend and enjoy Auburn athletic events. Moving the parking location to VCOM accomplishes two objectives toward that priority. First, it helps ensure that we have parking available for those who need it for mobility reasons. Second, it allows us to better provide transportation for those fans to and from Jordan-Hare Stadium," Auburn Athletics said.

Clear Bag Policy

"Auburn Athletics reviews its public safety and stadium security policies every year looking for ways to improve them," Auburn Athletics stated. "The University strongly believes that the clear bag policy will enhance public safety and make stadium access more efficient. This proactive measure will enhance public safety inside and outside the stadium and speed the security screening process for our fans. The public deserves to be in a safe, secure environment. We constantly look for ways to enhance stadium safety, and clear bags are part of the best practices endorsed by security experts."

Beginning next season, Auburn will increase safety measures by adopting a clear bag policy for Jordan-Hare Stadium, mirroring policies enacted by the NFL and many other college venues. Patrons will be allowed to enter with one 12" X 12" X 6" clear bag. Other permissible items include wallets and small clutches, not exceeding 4.5" X 6.5".

Items that will not be allowed include camera cases, diaper bags, printed patterned plastic bags, purses, backpacks, mesh bags, binocular cases, fanny packs or tote bags.

As a service to the fans, there will be several checked bag areas at Plainsman Park and Auburn Arena. There will also be locker areas where fans can store their items and then retrieve them after the game.

The clear bag policy should enable Auburn's fans to move through its security check points much faster. A standard size clear bag eliminates the need for bag templates that measure bag sizes. Auburn's ultimate hope is that this policy makes the security screening process more effective and efficient for the fans.

Mell Street Corridor

With construction underway in the Mell Street corridor, the area will now open on Fridays before home games at 6 p.m.

The Mell Street portion of Auburn's campus is in the academic space where fully functioning university businesses and classes take place until 5 p.m. Delaying access to this area until 6 p.m. would allow for a seamless transition and turnover between the academic staff and the fans.

Several measures will be taken to ensure safety and efficient traffic egress. Cars will be required to parallel park along curbs, facing the outbound direction. In surface lots, cars will need to park in spaces provided, no parallel parking across multiple spots. Cars will not be allowed to park in the bus turnaround at the intersection of Roosevelt and Mell. Parking cars so they all face in the same outward-bound traffic flow direction will allow for better egress after games.

The remainder of campus will open for car and tailgating parking at 4 p.m.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Thursday, March 10th, 2016

This season, Auburn came nowhere near duplicating its success it enjoyed last year in the SEC Tournament. Instead, it was one and done.

Tennessee pounded the Tigers 97-59 in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville last night to end a rocky season in which Auburn posted an 11-20 record.

On the fortunate side, head coach Bruce Pearl can now look ahead to his incoming recruiting class, as well as a couple of possible impact players already in school.

"I'm disappointed in our play, but I'm not at all discouraged by the direction of our program," he said. "I feel very good where we're going."

Auburn won three games in the SEC Tournament last season. While it may not seem like it on the surface, the Tigers did have some bright spots this season. They defeated Tennessee in their conference opener, then upset traditional SEC basketball powerhouse Kentucky, and beat rival Alabama in back-to-back contests.

Unfortunately, the carousel-like lineup due to injuries and the departure of leading scorer Kareem Canty midway through the season doomed the Tigers to struggles throughout the remainder of the campaign.

Pearl offered a sound explanation as to why the Tigers didn't exactly have a storybook season. "For many stages of the season, we had seven guys on scholarship. So the injuries were significant," he said. "We played the last half of the SEC without a point guard. And we played five or six games without a point guard, and Cinmeon Bowers had to play point guard, so it's been a very difficult year. But a lot of that has to do with how good the league is. It's just not a good league to not be very good or very deep. That was a real challenge for us."

Auburn has good reason to be optimistic about next year. A host of 3-point shooters will be back. Horace Spencer, who is establishing himself as reliable, will return also. Danjel Purifoy, who has shined in practice, will see his first game action. Trayvon Reed, a 7-foot-2 center, may also return. The team's recruiting class includes 6-5 guard Mustapha Herron, the first five-star signee in Auburn history.

Last night marked the final college game for seniors Cinmeon Bowers, Tyler Harris and Jordon Granger. But, alas, they weren't able to go out on a happy note.

Shooter T.J. Dunans, who missed 15 games in the middle of the season due to a knee injury and returned as a point guard, led the Tigers with 17 points. Harris had 14. On the Tennessee side, Detrick Mostella led the Vols with 17 points. They will face Vanderbilt in a tournament game tonight.

The Tigers did themselves no favors in this one, getting into an early 7-0 hole and trailing by 22 with four minutes to go in the first half. They were down 44-25 at the break, and while seven players scored for Auburn, nobody had more than five points. The team also had a lot of difficulty with 3-pointers. Auburn only hit 4-of-24 treys, while the Volunteers nailed 11-of-25.

"Difficult game, very difficult season," Pearl lamented.

It's hard to disagree with that insight. However, I'm very confident that this squad will get the kinks worked out in the offseason and come back next year better than anyone will expect.

In other news...

- The football team appears to have a starting quarterback in place - at least for the spring. Recent reports indicate that Jeremy Johnson has been taking snaps with the first-stringers at practice. This contradicts what head coach Gus Malzahn had previously said about Johnson, Sean White and newcomer John Franklin III all getting equal reps.

Depending on how you look at it, this may be good or bad news. Every Auburn fan recalls the dissension at this position last season, and it's doubtful that anyone wants to see a repeat. Of course, it's only the spring, so everyone still has time to familiarize themselves with Malzahn's hurry-up tempo offense. Keep your eyes peeled, for anything could happen next.

- In the wake of the football team's disappointing 7-6 season, rumors regarding athletics director Jay Jacobs' future have started circling. Despite that, his contract has him with the university for a few more years.

AL.com obtained documents with details about Jacobs' contract. It reportedly runs through 2020, and may be extended through 2021 by virtue of a one-year renewal option at the conclusion of each academic year.

Jacobs signed a five-year contract with the university in 2011. He assumed the position in 2004 after spending time in almost every area of Auburn's athletic department over a period of two decades prior to that.

Jacobs' base salary is $600,000 per year with additional incentives built into the deal, which is set to expire on June 30, 2020.

Only God knows how long Jacobs will remain with Auburn. He has a plan for everyone, including Jacobs.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Sunday, March 6th, 2016

Last season, the Auburn men's basketball team was able to win three games in the SEC Tournament before being eliminated.

A year later, Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl can only hope that his troops can unleash some similar magic after a 79-66 loss to Mississippi State in Starkville yesterday afternoon in the regular-season finale.

Auburn will try to bounce back when they kick off the tournament on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT against Tennessee in Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The Tigers and Vols split their season series, with Auburn coming out on top 83-77 in Auburn Arena in its conference opener on Jan. 2nd, and Tennessee winning 71-45 in Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Feb. 9th.

Unsurprisingly, Pearl is eager about the return to the tournament, but warned that "This is a different team, different chemistry, but we are going up there to do our best."

The Tigers will have to dig deep to duplicate their previous good fortune in the SEC Tournament after a quick start against Mississippi State swiftly fizzled out yesterday. Auburn jumped out to an 8-0 advantage early, but found itself down 39-20 at the break.

Pearl summed that situation up brilliantly in saying, "We jumped out then, offensively, we got real stagnant for no reason."

Things did take a turn for the better in the second half, as Auburn scored 46 points and shot 57 percent from the floor. But it wasn't enough to complete a comeback.

"That first-half offense cost us the game," Pearl lamented. Indeed.

Another thing that didn't help matters was the fact that point guard T.J. Dunans got into foul trouble early and eventually fouled out. Despite that, Pearl emphasized that "We had five guys contribute."

TJ Lang scored 16 points, Cinmeon Bowers had 10 points and 11 rebounds, Horace Spencer had a career-high 13 points, plus five rebounds and three blocks. Tyler Harris added 13 points of his own.

Pearl was sure to commend all of them. "Horace did a lot of good things again," he said. "Tyler was super solid. T.j> Dunans, they had him with four assists, but I felt like he had more. Real active. TJ Lang had 16. Cinmeon had a double-double again."

The Tigers slipped to 11-19 overall, 5-13 in SEC play, while State improved to 14-16 overall, 7-11 in the conference.

In other news...

- Yet another Auburn football player won't return for 2016. A report from AL.com yesterday stated that wide receiver Gray King has left the program.

King's family told AL.com's Wesley Sinor that he broke his arm in the practices leading up to the Tigers' appearance in the Birmingham Bowl last December, and that King decided to leave the team shortly after the end of the 2015 campaign.

The former walk-on receiver is still rehabbing his injury and attending classes at Auburn during the spring semester, but is no longer on Auburn's official roster.

King, who played on special teams for the Tigers in the past two seasons, may be most remembered for the two receptions he made in Auburn's four-overtime loss to Arkansas last season.

On the fortunate side, his brother, Griffin, is still on the team's roster and is vying for playing time at wide receiver this spring.  Let's hope he can get it.

In closing, let me emphasize a personal note. I fully realize that baseball season recently got underway, but with basketball still overlapping with baseball, it's just too difficult for me to keep up with both sports at the same time. Once basketball season is over (one way or the other), it will be much, much easier for me to write about baseball games. Remember, this is my personal blog, so I only write about what I can, when I can. All writers have their limits.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Saturday, March 5th, 2016

Today, I've come across another bit of news of the "Keep your eyes open for this" variety.

The quarterback competition is once again wide open this spring. Head coach Gus Malzahn has said that the top contenders are Jeremy Johnson, Sean White and newcomer John Franklin III. "They'll have equal reps," he said. "We'll give them all a chance to compete."

However, many observers feel that Johnson and White shouldn't even be in serious consideration because they had their shots last season.

So, is Franklin written in stone? Hardly.

The Tigers have a silent walk-on who could work his way up the ladder. His name is Devin Adams. Adams is a 6-foot-2, 247-pound transfer from Mississippi Delta Community College. A Mobile, Ala., native, he is a three-star dual-threat quarterback. Although he didn't receive any SEC offers out of high school, he does share an impressive accomplishment with former Oregon QB Marcus Mariota.

He is the only quarterback to beat Jameis Winston in high school. At Vigor High School, he defeated Winston's Hueytown High team in the 2011 Class 5A semifinals by a final score of 20-7. It was one of only two combined losses that Winston had as a starter. (The other was a 59-20 drubbing at the hands of Oregon in the College Football Playoff.)

Adams spent two years at the junior college. He started as a freshman in 2014, passing for 1,778 yards and six touchdowns, completing 57.4 percent of his passes. He also ran for 115 yards and two scores while averaging 3.6 yards a carry. He does not posses the speed of former Auburn quarterbacks Nick Marshall and Cam Newton, but according to Vigor High School head coach Ashley Johnson, who was the team's defensive coordinator at the time that Adams was playing there, fans shouldn't let that fool them.

"He can throw the ball a mile," he said. "He runs better than most people know."

Adams arrived on The Plains in January, and is now on the spring roster. Only time will tell if he can work his way out of oblivion.

"We'll see what he can do," Malzahn said.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Friday, March 4th, 2016

A worthwhile change could be in starting safety Rudy Ford's future.

Ford hasn't appeared on the Auburn football team's offense the past two seasons, but head coach Gus Malzahn said that he may find his way back there this fall.

"I'm not ready to say that yet, but he's got playmaking ability," he said. "He did a great job in the return game and of course when he picked that one and took it back to the house, that was pretty impressive, too."

Ford was originally signed to play running back, but shortly after arriving on campus in the fall of 2013, he moved to cornerback. He then shifted to safety the following spring, and has remained there ever since, leading the Tigers in tackles the past two seasons.

However, he hasn't been able to join in spring practice since Auburn kicked off Tuesday. He sat out yesterday, marking the second straight practice he had missed.

"Nothing major other than the fact that he was sick and we held him out these two practices," Malzahn stated in a post-practice interview yesterday. "But Saturday is a possibility."

It may not be typical of me to write about something that isn't altogether definitively factual, but this strikes me as something that we should definitely keep our eyes peeled for.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016

In life, we've all been guilty of letting opportunities slip through our fingers. Such was the case for Auburn in its 81-63 loss to Texas A&M in Auburn Arena last night.

Tyler Harris, who played his final home game on Senior Night, tallied 20 points, eight rebounds, and a career-high three blocks. But he was the team's only bright spot in this one.

"The fans have been great, each and every game, the ones that we won and the games that we lost. They have been here to support us," he said. "I thank the fans so much for welcoming me into this home. It's an amazing feeling and Auburn will always have a special place in my heart."

It was also the last home game for fellow seniors Cinmeon Bowers and Jordon Granger and walk-ons Cole Stockton and Jonathan Harris.

The Tigers got off to an auspicious start, and were even up by 11 points in the first half, but ineffective shooting and a rebounding disadvantage came back to bite them.

Despite Harris' effective stats, he wasn't satisfied with them. "I don't think I played well at all. It was really tough." he said.

Auburn fell to 11-18 overall, 5-12 in league action. The Aggies, meanwhile, improved to 23-7 overall, 12-5 in SEC play. They can win the conference crown with a win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, while the Tigers wrap up the regular season on Saturday at Mississippi State.

Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl was relatively blunt about A&M's victory. "Texas A&M played like a champion," he stated. As for his own squad, he said, "To be tied at the half, shows you we haven't laid down. But I'm very, very disappointed we weren't able to play more effectively."

Auburn came out steaming, going on a 12-0 run to mount a 24-16 advantage. They led by 11 shortly thereafter. But the Tigers wouldn't score again in the final three minutes of the first half, and the Aggies countered with a 14-3 run to even the count at 33 apiece at the break.

A&M carried that momentum into the second half, outscoring the Tigers 27-3 to go ahead 45-33 with 16:40 remaining to play. The Aggies led by 22 with 4:33 left. It proved too much for Auburn to overcome.

A&M had a commanding 32-12 advantage in rebounds in the first half and took 13 more shots. However, the Tigers stayed in striking distance thanks to two 3-pointers apiece from Granger, TJ Lang and Bryce Brown. The Aggies missed all 10 of their 3-point tries.

By game's end, Auburn had been outrebounded 51-27.

The Tigers will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville at 1:30 p.m. CT, with the game being televised on the SEC Network.

In other news...

- After a string of transfers and departures in recent weeks, I can finally share some good news about a 2018 commitment that the football team has latched onto.

Defensive end Robert Hicks of Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington High School committed to Auburn yesterday. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Hicks is considered one of the top young recruits in south Florida.

New Auburn secondary coach Wesley McGriff is Hicks' primary recruiter. Hicks gave his pledge to him yesterday. "He was very excited to hear that," Hicks said.

As of early yesterday afternoon, he had not yet spoken to head oath Gus Malzahn.

Although Hicks has never visited Auburn, the Tigers hope to get him on campus in the foreseeable future.

When asked when he plans to visit the campus, Hicks told AuburnUndercover, "This summer."

"I chose Auburn because it was always a dream school," he said. "I love everything about the program and the coaches. I always wanted to be a War Eagle."

Auburn only recently offered Hicks, doing so February 18th.

That's all for today. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!

Tuesday, March 1st, 2016

Although spring practice began for the Tigers this afternoon, yet another player is moving on.

Head coach Gus Malzahn announced today that linebacker JaViere Mitchell has decided to leave the program.

Mitchell, a senior, had spent his career as a reserve, though he did make one start last season against San Jose State.

"JaViere Mitchell is a guy that's graduated and he's chosen not to come back for next year," Malzahn said. "JaViere is ready to start his life and career. He did a great job for us the last three years."

In 39 games with Auburn, Mitchell totaled 39 tackles (two for loss) and one sack.

His departure comes just three days after tight end Chris Laye announced that he would leave the team as well. Laye, a sophomore, played in three games last season after redshirting in 2014.

"Chris is going to finish his degree here at Auburn," Malzahn said. "He's a fine young man. He's going to have a bright future."

Aside from football, don't forget that the basketball team tangles at home with Texas A&M tonight at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!