LIVE BLOG: Gene Chizik talks about Arkansas State (8/31/10)

Hey everyone. This is live coverage of coach Gene Chizik’s first Tuesday Press Conference of the 2010 season.

Please enjoy.

• The first official depth chart has been released. There are a few surprises.
• Jay Wisner is the second guy at flanker behind Terrell Zachery.
• Trovon Reed is the third guy at the “3″/utility back position. He’s behind Eric Smith and Shaun Kitchens.
• Jessel Curry (strong side linebacker) and Harris Gaston (middle linebacker) earned backup jobs.
• Nick Fairley is listed ahead of Mike Blanc at defensive tackle, though my guess is that it’s not a rigid deal. They’re both “starters.”
• Corey Lemonier is Hot Carter’s backup at quick end.
• On Daren Bates: “Everybody knows Daren was a very good football player for us last year at a different position. When we can increase the speed of the defense, we’ll do that. He learned everything at a pretty rapid pace. We know he’s a very physical football player. That’s kind of suited to him. Overall, it was a pretty smooth transition.”
• On the odd personnel array at “3″: “Different body types, true, and asking them to do different things at different times.”
• On the two senior safeties: “Having those two guys back there is going to be big. Stability, obviously is one thing … but the experience they bring is huge.”
• Why would Auburn be better: “I don’t know if I can put a tag on why we’ll be better. Last year, there were too many highs and too many lows. For us to be better, it’s more along the level of when we were playing at a high level. Are we maintaining that more often that we did last year? That would make us a better football team.”
• On the offensive line: “It’s been very solid. If you just take the four guys who are returning, you’ve got a lot of experience in there. We’re starting all over. They’ve got to produce. They have to take off from where they were last year. They’ve got to go out there and be better than they were last year.”
• On Cam Newton being a rookie: The most important thing for Cameron is — this will be the first time he’ll be in this venue. We want to know how everyone is going to respond, particularly your quarterback, when things aren’t good. We want to see him handle that and be a leader for our team.”
• On Kirk Herbstreit picking Auburn to win the West: “It’s flattering. We don’t know control any of those things. That’s coaching cliche-ish thing … but our expectations for ourselves have to be high. We know at the end of day, that doesn’t mean anything. We have to earn it on the field.”
• On four walk-ons being part of Auburn’s two-deep: “There’s no question those four guys have done everything we’ve asked them to do. And they earned those spots. We’ve got some spots on our roster where you can either have young guys step in or have walk-ons. Since we said since Day One, the best guy will play.”
• On A.J. Greene: “He’ll have to go out there and prove that he can do it on game day. It’ll be new. The good thing about A.J. is that he’s been here. He knows what it’s all about.”
• Ryan Shoemaker is the starting punter. “He has the experience.”
• On Ladarius Owens: “We’re excited about him. He’s going to be a really, really good football player here. The transition is tough for a guy who’s had his hand on the ground as a pass rusher. He’s been great. He’s been working hard. He loves the game. We’re really excited about him for the future.”
• On Shaun Kitchens: “I’ve been reall proud of him in a lot of ways. He’s been a guy who has made some really, really nice catches for us in practice. He’s getting better at his blocking. We need to use his blocking in the box. He can be a blocker on the perimeter. He can be a blocker inside. You can put him at receiver.”
• Ladarious Phillips will not play this week.
• On his plan for ASU: “I don’t want to be presumptuous. Arkansas State, just so we’re on the same page here, has done some great things. Defensively, they’re always one or two in their league. They’ve got a new offense that’s fast-tempo. It’s similar to ours in that regard. We’re going out to win. We have a plan right now to play young guys in the middle of the game regardless of the situation. We have to. This is going to be a tough football game.”
• On 10 true freshmen on the depth chart: “It was a camp where those young guys got opportunity. It was a camp of opportunity. That’s what attracted them to Auburn. When they had that opportunity, they ran with it.”
• On Mario Fannin following Ben Tate: “I don’t think he gives it a whole lot of consideration. He’s a very competitive player. He puts a lot of pressure on himself to be good.”

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