Tuberville taking relaxed approach

[DKW 86 7,419]

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

Tuberville taking relaxed approach

Auburn coach says he doesn't expect perfection from Tigers in season-opening game

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

By LAUREN NELSON

Sports Reporter

In the midst of final planning for Auburn's matchup Saturday with Washington State, Tommy Tuberville made a stop in Mobile at the CellularSouth 1st & 10 Club on Monday night for a preseason talk about his fourth-ranked Tigers.

Despite the mounting pressure and rising hype with the season-opening game at hand, Tuberville took a laid-back approach as he spoke with the crowd of Auburn fans.

"You can definitely overplan these things," he said. "The other day we had a staff meeting that was an hour and a half long, and they are normally twice that long.

"I told my guys we can talk about it all we want, but we're not going to be a perfect team at the beginning of the year. No one has a perfect team at the beginning of the year. All we can do is focus on what we do, limit mistakes and be more consistent."

Despite the relaxed attitude, the coach, who's going into his eighth year at Auburn, is not overlooking the Cougars.

"They have basically the same offense and defense every year, so these kids grow up in this program," Tuberville said. "They have a quarterback who gets things done, and a defense that knows what to do. This is going to be a tough assignment for us."

The Tigers are favored to win the SEC championship, and they have been mentioned among contenders for the national title. But in the locker room, such talk is being kept to a minimum.

"One thing I notice about our players this year is there is no talk about the hype," Tuberville said. "This is one thing I learned when I was at Miami. When you've been in the spotlight for a while, you become numb to (the pressure). You become more confident about being there."

Tuberville's main concern entering the season is the Tigers' defense, which has only four players in the same spot that they played last year. Among the movers is senior Will Herring, who was shifted from his slot at safety to shore up the linebacker corps.

"We're a different team on defense," Tuberville said. "We've got to have a lot of guys grow up fast. We don't have any time to waste."

One move on the defense that Tuberville is not worried about is the installation of Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator.

"Will's an exciting guy to talk to and to watch coach," Tuberville said. "There are some things I think (former coordinator) David Gibbs took for granted coming from a pro background that Will doesn't.

"Will is used to the kind of scenarios you get with college kids, where a guy will forget everything you taught him over a 24-hour period. He brings an enthusiasm that you need on defense, because those guys hardly ever get to touch the ball."

On offense, the coach said he has a little more luxury with returning starters Kenny Irons and Brandon Cox in the backfield.

"Brandon is one of those guys where it's hard not to lean on him as the guy to run the game," Tuberville said.

Tuberville joked that he's more worried about protection for offensive coordinator Al Borges. Borges was tackled on the sidelines several times last season, including the Iron Bowl, where he was knocked unconscious.

"We're going to assign someone to look out for Al on the sidelines," Tuberville said.

During the dinner at Heron Lakes, Davidson's Michael McNeil and B.C. Rain's Ryan Williams were honored as the CellularSouth Athletes of the Week. Williams has verbally committed to play for Auburn.

[CircleDrill 178]

Man, I think this is exactly the right approach. Go out there and do your thing. Recover from the mistakes and learn from them. When you try to be "perfection" at the first game, then you have 2003.

[Ryan Sanders 123]

Well.. Just got through watching the ABC3340 Sports part of the news..

They reported on Auburn and how Tuberville was taking the relaxed approach as you mentioned.. then they got to University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa. According to everybody at UAT (hell, maybe even the reporters).. JPW might be All-SEC by the years end.. The players are saying that he is the best QB they have ever been around, and the reporter went on to say that he is like no other rookie.. Saying that he is like a veteran, because of how good he has played against the 2nd string defense.

[CircleDrill 178]

Well.. Just got through watching the ABC3340 Sports part of the news..

They reported on Auburn and how Tuberville was taking the relaxed approach as you mentioned.. then they got to University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa. According to everybody at UAT (hell, maybe even the reporters).. JPW might be All-SEC by the years end.. The players are saying that he is the best QB they have ever been around, and the reporter went on to say that he is like no other rookie.. Saying that he is like a veteran, because of how good he has played against the 2nd string defense.

That's what it takes to be "back on top."