June 2011
1 post
Auburn's Road to Safety
On a football field, the position of safety strikes me as misunderstood. Thanks to headhunters like Ed Reed (University of Miami, Baltimore Ravens) and Troy Polamalu (University of Southern California, Pittsburgh Steelers), we think of the safety as either a ball-hawking, super intelligent Venus fly-trap (Reed) or a heavy-hitting assassin that roams the field with intentions of distributing...
May 2011
1 post
From Loveable Upstart to Hunted and Hated
In the weeks leading up to its national championship win over Oregon, the Auburn football team saw an increase in detest unbeknownst in previous years. Did Cam Newton accept money to play for Auburn? Did Cecil Newton (Cam’s father) shop his son to the highest bidder? Was Nick Fairley’s level of play too dirty for even the rough-and-nasty Southeastern Conference?
One could surmise that a...
March 2011
4 posts
Regarding the Auburn departures
Regarding the Auburn departures
It seems as if it’s been a while since The Jungle Cat chimed in on the goings-on in the world of Auburn football. A lot has happened since the last post over a month ago (February 6 to be exact). The poisoning of the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner has been discussed in the media ad nauseam, so there’s no need to delve into the lunacy of that event (The Jungle Cat...
February 2011
13 posts
Building a new O-line
Building a new O-line
Cyrus Kouandjio is now a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide, after some further deliberation.
War Eagle anyway; our Tigers have arguably the best incoming offensive line class in the nation.
Let’s discuss how this year’s offensive line will take shape. First, the graduates that leave behind open spots:
Lee Ziemba, starting left tackle for all 14 games Mike Berry, starting...
Tigers addressed three major needs on Signing Day
Tigers addressed three major needs on Signing Day
War Eagle everyone! The Jungle Cat hopes the post-Signing Day hangover for each of you has already been remedied.
Unfortunately, there is no update on Cyrus Kouandjio’s decision. The gritty of the situation is that he made the announcement and quickly got cold feet. He never sent in the letter of intent and wanted to take time to make sure the...
Cyrus up for grabs? →
As reported in several recruiting publications (including ESPN, linked above), it appears that Cyrus Kouandjio has yet to send in his letter of intent to Auburn and is evaluating his decision.
Both ESPN and the Rivals-affiliatied AuburnSports.com were incorrect in reporting that Kouandjio had signed with the Tigers earlier in the afternoon.
No need for panic just yet. If a 17-year-old needs some...
Signing Day Live! (Part 10)
Defensive tackle Gabe Wright has just become Auburn’s third commitment live on ESPNU today, wrapping up the Tigers’ outstanding 2011 recruiting class. Wright followed wide receiver Quan Bray in sending his letter of intent:
**
QUAN BRAY, RB/WR; LaGrange, Ga.
EVALUATIONS: Four-star prospect on Rivals Recruiting and ranked as the fifth-best all-purpose back and 109th-best prospect in...
Signing Day Live! (Part 9)
Auburn just landed a HUGE prospect in consensus top-overall offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio live on ESPNU. In addition to that, the Tigers hauled in linebacker Justin Garrett and the hard-hitting Robenson Therezie:
**
JUSTIN GARRETT, LB, Tucker, Ga.
EVALUATIONS: Three-star prospect on Rivals Recruiting; Ranked as the 66th-best prospect in Georgia…Three-star prospect on ESPN and ranked as the...
Signing Day Live! (Part 8)
The countdown is now underway for Cyrus Kouandjio’s announcement at noon eastern on ESPNU and ESPN3.com, but right now the Tigers are putting the finishing touches on a great all-around 2011 class:
**
KEYMIYA HARRELL, DE, Plantersville, Ala.
EVALUATIONS: Three-star prospect on Rivals Recruiting and ranked as the 27th-best weak-side defensive end in the nation; Ranked at the 18th-best...
Signing Day Live! (Part 7)
It’s fitting that on the seventh update (“7” being the retired number of former Heisman-winning quarterback Pat Sullivan) that Auburn’s top quarterback target, Kiehl Frazier, is now officially a Tiger. Let the man-crush on Frazier commence:
**
KIEHL FRAZIER, QB, Springdale, Ark.
EVALUATIONS: Four-star prospect on Rivals Recruiting and ranked as the fifth-best dual-threat...
Signing Day Live! (Part 6)
Three more letters have just been faxed. With the addition of Christian Westerman to go along with fellow signees Shon Coleman, Reese Dismukes, Thomas O’Reilly, and Greg Robinson, Auburn is building what appears to be the best incoming offensive line crop in the country.
Here are the newbies, in the order in which they signed:
**
JABRIAN NILES, DE, Mobile, Ala.
EVALUATIONS: Three-star...
Signing Day Live! (Part 5)
Some more letters of intent, including that of brand-spankin’ new commitment Jermaine Whitehead, have been sent to the Auburn football office. Here’s the low-down on the new Tigers:
**
CHRIS LANDRUM, LB, Sweet Water, Ala.
EVALUATIONS: Three-star prospect on Rivals Recruiting and ranked as the 48th-best outside linebacker in the nation; Ranked as the 21st-best prospect in...
Signing Day Live! (Part 4)
War Eagle, guys and gals! We’ve reeled in our first whale of the day in highly-touted safety Erique Florence from Valley, Ala. Florence just declared for Auburn in front of a massive crowd at Valley High School, live on ESPNU and ESPN3.com.
He immediately signed a letter of intent. Get to know him right here:
**
ERIQUE FLORENCE, S, Valley, Ala.
EVALUATIONS: Four-star prospect on Rivals...
Signing Day Live! (Part 3)
We’re officially in countdown mode for the Erique Florence announcement live on ESPNU and ESPN3.com at 9:05am eastern, but in the meantime, three more players have faxed in their letters of intent:
**
BRANDON FULSE, TE; Fort Meade, Fla.
EVALUATIONS: Four-star prospect on Rivals Recruiting and ranked as the 10th-best tight end and 162nd-best prospect in the nation; Ranked as the 29th-best...
Signing Day Live! (Part 2)
Four letters of intent have already been faxed in to the Auburn football offices, kicked off by tight end C.J. Uzomah. Here’s the early crop of signees, in the order in which they signed:
**
C.J. UZOMAH, QB/TE; Suwanee, Ga.
EVALUATIONS: Three-star prospect on Rivals Recruiting and ranked as the 20th-best tight end in the nation; Ranked as the 23rd-best prospect in Georgia…Three-star...
Signing Day Live! (Part 1)
Welcome to National Signing Day. Furthermore, welcome to National Signing Day after an Auburn National Championship. Today, every Auburn fan will be taken on a ride that could include more highs than lows. Followers of recruiting realize that is not always the case as Auburn has experienced several Signing Days in recent memory that were filled with doom (i.e. in 2008 when the Tigers were...
January 2011
20 posts
Camcorder Footage of the BCS Title Game →
(Click the above link).
The Auburn crowd pulling off a crisp pre-game dance number to “All I Do Is Win” was a Level Five Laser Lotus of Awesomeness.
Player Ratings: Auburn-Oregon
Player Ratings: Auburn-Oregon
The following ratings are awarded on a 1-10 scale to the top 11 offensive players, 11 defensive players, and three substitutes for Auburn in today’s game.
Auburn Offense:
Cam Newton, QB – 8.0 An off-game for the Heisman winner still looked good on the stat sheet: 265 passing yards and 65 rushing yards for two touchdowns; also recorded an interception.
Mike Dyer, TB –...
Game Day Preview: The National Championship
Game Day Preview: The National Championship
Is this the moment Phil Collins was singing about? Being raised in the state of Florida, an Auburn fan among Gator and Seminole jerseys, with no one understanding the sheer passion it takes to root for a team like the Tigers now seems like a mere sacrifice. For a team of late-teenagers are early twenty-somethings, this night is a culmination of a season...
December 2010
4 posts
Buzz Bissinger's Support for Cecil Newton →
Buzz Bissinger, known as the author of Friday Night Lights and for his highly amusing Twitter rants, throws his support in the corner of Cecil Newton. Warning for Auburn fans though: be level-headed about this read. It will certainly stir emotion, but it is one of the most interesting reads of the entire Cam Newton saga. Click the link above for Bissinger’s article on The Daily Beast.
...
Player Ratings: Auburn-South Carolina
Player Ratings: Auburn-South Carolina
The following ratings are awarded on a 1-10 scale to the top 11 offensive players, 11 defensive players, and three substitutes for Auburn in today’s game.
Auburn Offense:
Cam Newton, QB - 9.0 (Star of the Game) Saved one of his more impressive outings for the SEC Championship: 408 total yards and six touchdowns for the runaway Heisman frontrunner.
Mike...
Game Day: The Conference Championship
And here it is. The SEC Championship is today. One endzone of the Georgia Dome has Auburn already painted on it. And best of all? Cam Newton is a free man. Isn’t this what we all wanted?
The Tigers roll into Atlanta, with an undefeated regular season record, against South Carolina, a team Auburn has already beaten 35-27 in the fourth week of the season.
Living in North Carolina, I’ve...
November 2010
6 posts
Player Ratings: Auburn-Alabama
Player Ratings: Auburn-Alabama
The following ratings are awarded on a 1-10 scale to the top 11 offensive players, 11 defensive players, and three substitutes for Auburn in today’s game.
Auburn Offense:
Cam Newton, QB - 7.0 Only 39 yards rushing , but 216 yards in the air helped account for three of his four touchdowns.
Mike Dyer, TB - 5.5 Rushed for 27 yards on nine carries.
Philip...
Game Day: The Iron Bowl
Game Day: The Iron Bowl
Every game this season, the Tiger Hosts and Hostesses of Auburn University have put up semi-inspirational banners in Auburn’s locker room. I say inspirational because — since the number of Hostesses seem to outweigh the number of Hosts, they are more cutesy than serious.
And let’s just say I have a contact inside the Host/Hostesses group. This contact...
player ratings: auburn-georgia
player ratings: auburn-georgia
the following ratings are awarded on a 1-10 scale to the top 11 offensive players, 11 defensive players, and three substitutes for auburn in today’s game.
auburn offense:
cam newton, qb - 8.0 (star of the game) newton carried for 150 yards and threw for 148 more, responsible for four touchdowns.
mike dyer, tb - 7.0 with 60 rushing yards, dyer broke bo...
game day: the deep south's oldest rivalry
game day: the deep south’s oldest rivalry
good morning auburn fans and welcome to your morning briefing. today’s contest pits our bcs-ranked #2 auburn against a scrappy georgia squad more than capable of playing pass-and-catch.
it goes without saying that this game is a must-win. aside from being 10-0, with one more win clinching a birth in the southeastern conference championship...
friday reaction: 11.12.10
friday reaction: 11.12.10
during the season, i’ll post a friday reaction column for everything that transpires over the course of the week in the world of auburn football. here’s some low-down on the week-that-was with my thoughts added in.
as far as i can tell, it’s been a hum-drum week on the plains.
(oh really? accused of what? who are the sources? oh ok, we don’t know...
never has "do what we do" been truer
never has “do what we do” been truer
last week, the sometimes-soul-crushing housing site that is tumblr crashed on me. again and again and again. i had posts written prior to the ole miss contest (which turned out to be a heck of a show); however, this site would not let me post a friday reaction column, a morning preview, or game day ratings. alas.
so here i am. back. and in lieu of...
October 2010
14 posts
player ratings: auburn-louisiana state
player ratings: auburn-louisiana state
the following ratings are awarded on a 1-10 scale to the top 11 offensive players, 11 defensive players, and three substitutes for auburn in today’s game.
auburn offense:
cam newton, qb - 8.0 what he lacked in passing (10 of 16 for 86 yards), he made up for on the ground, scoring two touchdowns and racking up 217 yards.
mike dyer, tb - 7.0 the...