NOTES: The Late Round-Up (8/26/10)

Hey everyone. It’s another late night here in Auburn, but I won’t be back until Sunday.

Then it’s GAME WEEK. Yay.

Let’s get to business.

• As a refresher: A.J. Greene is your starting right tackle and Barrett Trotter is your backup quarterback.
• Here’s what Trotter had to say about it: “It means a lot to me. Being named the second guy means I’m going to have to step up in a moment’s notice during the game and come in and lead the team without skipping a beat. It means a lot to me that think I can do that, and it’s going to help me work even harder.”
• Here’s what Greene had to say about it: “I know not a lot of people expected me to win the starting spot, but I just used that as motivation and pushed myself even harder. It does make me feel proud, knowing how hard I worked, but I have to remind myself that I still have a lot of room for improvement.”
• The tough thing tonight was to talk with Neil Caudle, the fifth-year senior who again has lost out in a quarterback competition. The kid is all class, though: “I had known that Barrett had kind of moved in front of me. I just continued to work hard and see if I could get the job. It just didn’t work out for me.”
• I asked assistant coach Jeff Grimes if A.J. Greene was a “long shot” to win a job coming into two-a-days. He pondered that for a moment, then said: “I don’t know if he was a long shot, but he certainly wasn’t a guy at the top of the list. It was always something in the back of my mind that he was a guy who could do it. He wasn’t a guy we weren’t giving reps to, but we had other guys. John Sullen was coming on. We brought in the two junior college guys. Those guys got more opportunities in the spring.”
• Assistant head coach Trooper Taylor said he expects WR Trovon Reed to play against Arkansas State nine days from tonight. This despite Reed not practicing today because of lingering soreness in his left knee. “I’m just being smart with him. I tell him: `I’m going to get Seabiscuit to the track. I’m not going to leave him in the trailer.’ I going to make sure he’ll be able to run the race. It’s probably more so me than him. He wanted to go today. For me, I’m going to trust the trainers and the doctors. If they tell me give him a break, I’m going to give him a break.”
• Everyone here has been talking about how LT Lee Ziemba, already one of the team’s best players, has improved himself dramatically since last season. The latest cheerleader is offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn: “He’s raised his level. He’s a different player than he was last year. In spring, he got our MVP of the line up front. This fall, he’s even raised his level even more. We feel very secure, and he’s playing very good football right now.”
• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof again insisted that LB Eltoro Freeman is playing well: “He’s approaching the game in a much more detailed and focused manner and as a result is playing better. Being much more accountable. Still got a ways to go but I’m pleased with how far he’s come.”
• I have updated the offensive depth chart to mimic what Grimes said tonight. Note that Roszell Gayden apparently isn’t in the mix at either tackle spot … probably because his balky left knee is giving him more problems. At this point, I’m expecting him to redshirt.
• Grimes said he expects Chad Slade to stick with the varsity. The freshman is working at right tackle behind Greene and John Sullen. Slade may be the only true freshman OL to avoid a redshirt season.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE FORUMS