Ronnie Brown on ESPN.com

[Aubie16 1]

From ESPN.com...

Who should be getting serious Heisman Trophy love, but isn't?

Geno

I'll give you five names: Oklahoma State running back Vernand Morency. Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards. Cal running back J.J. Arrington. Auburn running back Ronnie Brown. Texas A&M quarterback Reggie McNeal.

Ronnie Brown only has 589 rushing yards, but Auburn wouldn't be 8-0 and one victory away from clinching an SEC Championship berth without him. Brown, who averages 7.5 yards per carry, is the Reggie Bush of Auburn. He has three 100-yard-plus games this season and six touchdowns despite sharing the backfield with Carnell Williams. He also has 17 receptions, and can play fullback, flanker or wide receiver.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?page=argument/1028

[WarTim 3,456]

Instead of getting caught up in the mnc "hunt" stuff, we should pause for a moment and realize just how special these players are and how blessed we are for the opportunity to watch them play.

RB will be a force on Sundays. (And, he is even a BETTER person.)

[Aubie16 1]

Well instead of starting a new topic, I'll just add on to this one. It seems that we are all over the Nat'l news this year and FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS!!

I kept reading Ivan and Geno's article and under the "Myles Brand for a day" section they had the following.

Geno

In every D-IA locker room in the country is an NCAA-mandated, no-nonsense poster imploring players not to gamble on games. Wonderful idea, those posters.

Now I'd add another piece of locker room wall decoration: the graduation rates of each of the 117 D-IA football programs.

I recently spent a couple of days at Auburn and sat in at a team meeting. The first order of business, even before coach Tommy Tuberville addressed his players, was a come-to-Jesus talk by two academic advisers. They reminded the Auburn freshmen of the minimum GPA requirements. They outlined the time allowed to complete make-up assignments and tests. They warned the players that failure to complete at least six hours of classes would make them ineligible for postseason play. They detailed the times and subjects for the night's tutoring sessions. They encouraged the players not to use football as an excuse to miss classes or homework.

Then they asked about 16 different players to stand. That done, one of the advisers announced that these players were on track to finish with GPAs of 3.0 or higher. Applause filled the meeting room. Several other players were asked to stand and be recognized for their classroom achievements. More applause.

Earlier this week the NCAA released the most recent graduation rates and while the numbers were encouraging, they didn't exactly deserve a standing O. According to the government figures, 57 percent of Division I-A scholarship players who entered school in 1997 earned degrees within six years. That's better than the 48 percent of four years ago.

Something as simple as a poster would at least serve as a reminder of the improvements being made, and the improvements yet required. It's nothing more than a symbolic gesture, but it's the thought that counts.

I know the grad rate formula has some inherent problems, but there's no getting around its importance. As early as next fall, a series of academic ratings could determine if a D-IA program will be penalized with NCAA sanctions.

Coach Tuberville really deserves a lot of credit for how well our program is doing OFF the field.

It really is GREAT TO BE AN AUBURN TIGER!

[maryland tiger 611]

This is really good to hear. Ronnie deserves some recognition and I will add USC's Bush isn't half the back Ronnie is.

[GoAU 1,599]

That's one of the things I like best about CTT. Not only can he teach a bunch of young men how to play really good football and coach a winning team, but he also teaches them things many shools overlook - how to be good citizens, students and TEAM MEMBERS. Thankfull players like DT, KD, RB, CW all decided to put off huge somes of money in the NFL to finish school and/or unfinshed business with the TEAM. He recruits players of high character and then builds on it. What a fine ambassador he is for Auburn University.