AU's injury list shorter; Irons, Taylor still out

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http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/mobilereg....xml&coll=3

AU's injury list shorter; Irons, Taylor still out

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

AUBURN -- Auburn's long list of missing players got considerably shorter on Tuesday when four players returned to action.

Offensive tackles Andrew McCain (hamstring) and Antwoin Daniels (knee) both came back after missing time with minor injuries.

Defensive lineman Jemarcus Ricks and linebacker Courtney Harden, who are half-brothers, returned after missing several practices to attend a funeral.

Cornerback David Irons (hamstring) and receiver Courtney Taylor (knee) are the only two starters currently missing preseason practices with injuries.

Linebacker Steve Gandy appeared at practice on crutches after being released from the hospital. He underwent emergency surgery last week to relieve fluid buildup in his thigh. The medical term for his predicament is "compartment syndrome."

Doctors promised a full recovery, but Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville said Gandy would be out at least a month.

-- UP NEXT: Auburn will take today off for the first day of classes, then practice every day through the rest of the week.

The Tigers will hit the fields twice on Saturday, but it won't be a true two-a-day. Tuberville said one of the sessions would emphasize special teams.

There's still no word on when Auburn will scrimmage this week. In any case, workouts are now closed to the public and the media.

-- TALE OF THE TATE: Ben Tate was the star of the spring, when he was the fresh new arrival and writers were searching for someone to feature.

Now that fall camp has arrived, the running back is just another freshman. But Tate says he doesn't mind the lack of attention.

"I don't need the press to work hard," he said. "I'm here to play football and impress the coaches. That's all that's going through my head right now. I have to keep learning and making strides. That's how you get on the field."

-- SCOUTING THE COUGARS: Last week, Auburn was picked No. 6 in the preseason coaches' poll. This week, Sports Illustrated tabbed the Tigers at No. 7. Auburn will know its preseason ranking in the Associated Press poll on Saturday.

Tuberville's thoughts?

"It don't make a hill of beans where you're ranked," he said.

Tuberville said Auburn coaches have been preparing a game plan for the Sept. 2 opener against Washington State since the spring.

"They've got most of their starters back. They'll have a good team," he said. "It'll be a big challenge for a team that's running some new schemes on defense and has a lot of new faces."

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Tuberville's thoughts?

"It don't make a hill of beans where you're ranked," he said.

Tuberville said Auburn coaches have been preparing a game plan for the Sept. 2 opener against Washington State since the spring.

"They've got most of their starters back. They'll have a good team," he said. "It'll be a big challenge for a team that's running some new schemes on defense and has a lot of new faces."

Rankings are good for the BCS, but meaningless in the trenches. They are like polls, they have no bearing on the game's outcome.

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"It don't make a hill of beans where you're ranked," he said.

Tuberville and his awesome quotes