Si.com article on Ben Tate

[uncommonfan 3]

Thought some of you might be interested in this read....seeing that we still have 24 days of time to kill between now and game day!

There is some material regarding AU (not exactly in the best way), but I enjoyed the personal side of Ben Tate and his toughness.

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/12/ben-tate-houston-texans-acupuncture/?eref=sihp

[Tiger 8,833]

Interesting tidbit about Auburn, agents, and Eddie Gran.

Disgusting how people on Tubs' staff treated the best player on that team if this report is accurate, and there is no reason for Tate to lie bout it. But if you look at his twitter feed during games and whatnot its clear he loves Auburn and still pulls for them. But I am floored about what he said about Gran, even if he didn't mention his name we all know who he's talking about seeing as that would be HIS positional coach.

[berrytgr 0]

Here is the tidbit on AU

Tate’s cynicism fuels his independence. The distrust was born early in his college career. At Auburn he says player agents began recruiting him after his sophomore year, even though it is a violation of NFL rules. As a junior he returned as the starter and was having a strong individual season for a struggling program. Then coach Tommy Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin in the middle of the season, and suddenly Tate’s playing time was cut in half.

“I was mad at the world,” he says. “I was ready to leave, and I just remember one of the coaches coming to me, trying to discourage me from going to the NFL and letting me know that he wasn’t going to help me [get to the NFL]. The coaches they had at the time didn’t care about our goals. They were worried about themselves. They didn’t care if you had a family to feed.”

I would not quickly point the finger at his position coach Eddie Gran. That would go against everything we have heard about Eddie over the years. His former players liked him so much they often came back for fundraisers his foundation put on. Even former Ole Miss player Duece McCallister came to Auburn for those. There were other coaches on that staff I would suspect before Eddie.

I wish Ben had reported that agent that approached him. I wish all our players that get approached by agents would report them. Those agents could be prosecuted under AL law. Unfortunately it could label the player as a snitch and break the code so it will probably never happen.

edit: my original post had some weird background color. I had to go into html to get rid of it. Then the HTML got weird and had to edit it several times

[mcgufcm 4,107]

Good article. It's interesting getting to know the personalities of the guys that play for Auburn and really give everything they have while they're here.

I can't say I'm surprised about his feelings regarding the old staff. I know a LOT of guys that were at Auburn when I was there who would say the exact opposite, how much the staff cared about the players, how much they invested in making them better men, etc. But at the end, all was not right. If Ben was remotely close to Chaz Ramsey, I can't imagine that helped either.

Ben seems like a good, complicated dude. He's a baller, and I'll agree that it never made much sense to give his carries to Brad Lester or Mario Fannin. No offense to those guys. Ben was just a better player. Best of luck to him on the new deal. He's earned it.

[TheBlueVue 177]

Not sure Im buying his comments about his treatment at Auburn. Given the personality the article revealed, I have to believe he wouldn't have responded to that kind of treatment well and would have gone pro instead of returning for his Sr season, besides, he played his Sr season for Chizik and Gus, not Tubs or Gran or Franklin. In any event, it all worked out for him and he's about to cash in on his free agency.

[Tiger 8,833]

To be fair, Carl Stewart has publicly blasted Eddie Gran on facebook more than once by name. I can't remember word for word, but he basically accused him of lying etc.

But if Tubs and staff had been retained, I'm sure Tate would've gone pro. He probably bought into what Chiz and Gus brought to Auburn -- and it certainly helped him.

[AU64 10,122]

Not sure Im buying his comments about his treatment at Auburn. Given the personality the article revealed, I have to believe he wouldn't have responded to that kind of treatment well and would have gone pro instead of returning for his Sr season, besides, he played his Sr season for Chizik and Gus, not Tubs or Gran or Franklin. In any event, it all worked out for him and he's about to cash in on his free agency.

A complicated guy indeed but his last season at AU under Gus and Chiz is what got him into the NFL...though he really p**** me off with his showboating in the bowl game...one that AU really needed to win. Glad to see him doing well at Houston....though I can't see why they can't get over the hurdle and win the close games.

[berrytgr 0]

To be fair, Carl Stewart on has publicly blasted Eddie Gran on facebook more than once by name. I can't remember word for word, but he basically accused him of lying etc.

Interesting and surprising. Well, I know you can't make all your subordinates like you or maybe Eddie is not the man I thought he was.

[Tiger 8,833]

To be fair, Carl Stewart on has publicly blasted Eddie Gran on facebook more than once by name. I can't remember word for word, but he basically accused him of lying etc.

Interesting and surprising. Well, I know you can't make all your subordinates like you or maybe Eddie is not the man I thought he was.

Very true. It is also not uncommon for playing time, or lack thereof, to be the source of bitterness. Stewart was behind some NFL talent and probably felt he didn't get the opportunities he had envisioned.

[mcgufcm 4,107]

I know other guys that really liked Coach Gran. It wasn't a universal feeling. Ben seems like a tough guy to figure out. He's a mix of loving the game and the team and self. If he thought Gran (or anyone else) was hurting his chance a payday, I could see him holding a grudge.