Chizik Speaks

Here are some highlights of Gene Chizik's meeting with the media today:

• "There will be a battle at the quarterback position, and [Cam Newton will] be a part of that battle. May the best man win."
• "Zac [Etheridge] is a day to day progression whether he can play again. But I feel very encouraged about the progress he has made."
• "[Kodi Burns is] a wide receiver. He'll still play wildcat, but his predominant position is wide receiver"
• Spring practice will be in the mornings this season. It will begin March 24. Practices will occur on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with possible scrimmages on Saturdays.
• Daren Bates will not participate in spring contact after having shoulder surgery.
• Mario Fannin, Eric Smith and Onterio McCalebb will fight it out for the tailback position in the spring. Dontae Aycock will be used in multiple roles.

News

• Eric Smith is the only academically ineligible player for the Outback Bowl according to Gene Chizik. He will return to the team in January. More to come.
• Antonio Coleman and Ben Tate have been invited to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile.
• Eight current and former football players earned their degrees today: John Cubelic, Clayton Crofoot, Zac Etheridge, Tim Hawthorne, Jeno James, Montae Pitts, Craig Stevens and Darrell Roseman.

Tuesday News and Notes

• The Auburn team has had Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off of practice.
• Practice will begin for the Iron Bowl tomorrow.
• Jon Solomon of the Birmingham News has confirmed recent rumors regarding the Eric Smith case. Two other football players were involved in the incident but were not named. The plaintiff contends that two unnamed players began the altercation by punching his friend.
• Right now bowl projections have Auburn going to the Liberty Bowl vs. Houston, Outback Bowl vs. Wisconsin, Music City Bowl vs. UNC, Chick-fil-A vs. Clemson and Cotton vs. Oklahoma State.
• Eltoro Freeman's injury has been stated as either a concussion or a tweaked ankle. No word yet as to if he will return for the Iron Bowl and the way Chizik handles injuries, it is unlikely we will know before kickoff.
• According to the Austin-American Statesman, USC could now be the team to beat for Lache Seastrunk but he still appears to be wide open. According to Rivals, he is NO LONGER visiting for the Iron Bowl. He will be spending time with his family for Thanksgiving.
• New offensive line prospect Adrian Hubbard appears to be gone just as quick as he came onto Auburn's radar. He has narrowed his choices to FSU, South Carolina and Alabama.
• According to Auburn Undercover, Jay Hughes will take an official visit to Auburn in January.

Smith Granted Youthful Offender Status

Auburn back Eric Smith has been granted youthful offender status for his August 21 arrest for disorderly conduct. Smith was suspended for one game. The charges may be dropped or expunged after completing certain requirements. Read more here.

News Updates

• Eric Smith will play on Saturday. Eltoro Freeman might. Chizik said he really hoped Freeman will play.
• Curtis Luper says he hopes to redshirt Dontae Aycock.
• Tommy Thigpen complimented his safeties but says they need to do better tackling and says Bates should have had another pick and Etheridge missed an opportunity for one.
• Jay Boulware has come down hard on Mario Fannin and I would not expect to see him returning kicks this weekend.
• Curtis Luper says he wants to lower Onterio McCalebb's touches to about 15.
• Anthony Gulley, Emory Blake, Demond Washington, Quindarious Carr, Zac Etheridge and Walt McFadden are all being considered at punt returner.
• The offensive line appeared to be in shape on Saturday but Jeff Grimes says the linemen need to work on their conditioning.

Tuesday Practice

• Long practice (2 hrs 15 mins) in full pads tonight
• A main focus was speeding up the tempo on offense
• Another focus was not making mistakes on offense such as penalties and fumbles
• Malzahn says they are still trying to define Gabe McKenzie's role and expect him to grow as the season progresses.
• Malzahn says he is not sure how he will work Eric Smith into the gameplan this weekend. They are currently "moving him around" in the offense.
• Kodi Burns says he expects the Wildcat to grow on Saturday's performance and that it has great potential.

E. Smith Back

Eric Smith will practice today and will dress out for Saturday's game against Mississippi State.

Eric Smith's Case Takes Another Turn

Running back Eric Smith is countering a third-degree assault charge by filing a harrassment charge against the "victim". Smith was arrested following a fight a week ago following a fight outside an Auburn hotel. Harrassment is a class C misdemeanor and is punishable by no more than three months in prison. Smith has not been practicing with the team since the incident.

More On Smith

oanow.com is reporting more details: Smith was punched first by Jenkins causing a bloody nose. When Eric Smith saw Jenkins outside, he decided to punch him in the back of the head as the police were at the hotel.

More Details Regarding Smith

Police say they saw Eric Smith strike student Decari Jenkins, rendering him unconscious according to Charles Goldberg. Jenkins reportedly has a cut and swelling around one eye. He is filing a third degree assault complaint against Smith.

Smith Update

Eric Smith is facing third degree assault charges and will surrender to authorities on Monday. A complaint was filed by a 22 year old male Auburn student and a warrant is out for Smith. It is a class A misdemeanor and will face no more than a $6,000 fine and one year in prison. His day in court is November 5, two days before the homecoming game against Furman.

Notes From Chizik

• He says he will not discuss details regarding Eric Smith.
• It is a "family" matter between Chizik, Smith and the team.
• Chizik says if we see him in an Auburn uniform again we'll know he paid the price to be an Auburn man.
• ADDITIONAL: Chizik would NOT confirm that Smith is still with the team.

One Early Note

Eric Smith was not at practice today as expected. Chizik will address the situation after practice.

More On The Smith Arrest

• Posted a $300 bond and was released.
• Another student was arrested for public intox, the police left, 20 minutes later the cops were called back to the Lexington Hotel.
• A fight was involved.
• The charge can be resolved without a trial.
• Smith is 19 and was reportedly sober.
• Police report here.

RB Arrested

Eric Smith has been arrested for disorderly conduct. Smith was arrested at 1:42 am at an Auburn hotel. No details were immediately released but the Press-Register is reporting Smith was sober and did not resist arrest. More to come as more details are released...

More Notes

• Eric Smith has earned a ton of praise from Gene Chizik. I did not have this blog until January but I have said Smith will do big things for a while.
• Chizik says they are getting very close to deciding a starting quarterback.
• Nick Fairley has been getting reps at first team.
• Michael Goggans says he has been taking some reps at DT.
• A scrimmage is planned for Saturday at Jordan Hare.
• Tyrik Rollison made a note that his name is pronounced TIE-rick, not tie-REEK.

Scrimmage Wrap Up

• Offense won 41-32
• No real word on the quarterback battle.
• Tyrik Rollison and Clint Moseley took the most reps at quarterback with Burns, Caudle and Todd only participating in two series.
• Emory Blake caught a 40 yard touchdown pass from Moseley.
• Onterio McCalebb had a 30 yard touchdown run.
• Others scoring include Philip Lutzenkirchen, Eric Smith and Anthony Gulley. Lutz's was a 15 yard pass and Gulley's was on a reverse.
• Demond Washington and Harry Adams picked off passes.
• The biggest hits came from Antonio Coleman, Demond Washington and Daren Bates.
• D'Antoine Hood did not play due to an ankle injury.
• Coleman says the number one defense played better against the number one offense and the number two offense played better than the number two defense.
• Ted Roof said there were some good things and some bad things. He apparently seemed very angry afterwards.
• Gene Chizik says it was a little sloppy and there were many turnovers.
• Chizik says there will be two more scrimmages before the season opener.
• More likely to come.

Thursday Notes

• I know for a fact two signees out of the 2008 recruiting class will visit this week/weekend. Ken Adams and Reggie Hunt are both in attendance. I believe they arrived for Thursday's practice. Hunt is at Copiah-Lincoln Community College and I'm not sure where Adams currently is.
• The biggest news out of practice is that Harry Adams has moved back from cornerback to wide receiver, hoping to exploit his speed.
• Montez Billings is not likely to return to playing this spring due to injury.
• Eric Smith is day to day after injurying his leg Tuesday. Possibly a bruised bone?
• Onterio McCalebb is also day to day with a hamstring injury.
• Practice was 90 minutes on Thursday with a scrimmage coming again Saturday at Jordan Hare Stadium at 10:30 am which is closed.
• Kodi and Neil Caudle still were splitting reps with the ones. Sorry you had to read that possibly expecting something different.
• Second string safety Mike Slade reportedly had "nearly" 10 tackles in Saturday's scrimmage. Zac Etheridge and Mike McNeil remain starters at the safeties.
• The only running backs not banged up right now that are considered to receive playing time are Ben Tate, walk-on Justin Albert and Mario Fannin, although Fannin is taking a lot of reps running and catching the ball.
• Jay Boulware says he no longer considers Chandler Brooks the number one kicker but I am about to stop writing about this because it changes every day.
• Boulware did say we will run a "spread punt" with six or seven gunners and a small group of blockers to protect the punter.
• 2010 linebacker prospect Tyrone Cornileus made his first visit to the Plains on Thursday. He was "very impressed". He currently holds offers from Auburn, Boston College, Ole Miss, Miami, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky. Miami is believed to lead right now.
• More to come if I find more.