Skarbinsky: Auburn hopes to win its version of Tebow Bowl

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Auburn hopes to win its version of Tebow Bowl

Friday, October 06, 2006

Forget the SEC West showdown angle and the BCS pose-down with USC and the annual Tommy Tuberville reunion.

For Auburn, the Arkansas football game is always a full rack of baby backs with two sides and a bottomless sweet tea.

This one is sweeter. This one comes with dessert.

Welcome to the second annual Tebow Bowl.

There's more than a game at stake. The future is also on the line.

Big as it is, a Tebow Bowl isn't a must-win. In last year's inaugural edition, Mike Shula got his first signature win over Florida. On the field. Urban Meyer later got the John Hancock they both coveted in Tim Tebow.

This time, Auburn and Arkansas have their eyes on not one but two recruiting prizes. Both prospects hail from Arkansas, and both have narrowed their college choices to Arkansas and Auburn.

Kodi Burns is a dual-threat quarterback from Northside High School in Fort Smith, Ark. He's 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds and, if you believe the hype, he runs like Tebow and throws like Chris Leak.

Burns' high school coach, Darrell Henry, said his star student rocketed the ball 74 yards in the air at a quarterback challenge. Henry said everyone's favorite recruiting tape shows the right-hander scrambling to his left and finding a receiver 50 yards down field near the right sideline.

``He's probably as mature a football player as I've coached," Henry said, ``as far as getting this much attention and understanding that it's fleeting."

Lee Ziemba is a man-mountain offensive tackle from Rogers (Ark.) High. He's 6-foot-7 and 295 pounds and still growing.

``He's huge," said Henry, who will coach Burns against Ziemba in two weeks. ``He's got good feet. He's big and strong, but he hasn't filled out his frame yet."

Burns and Ziemba are among the top players in Arkansas, and they're the top targets at their positions on Auburn's recruiting board.

How much does Tuberville like them? Two weeks ago, the day before the Buffalo scrimmage, the Auburn coach jetted to Arkansas. He watched Burns play the first half of his game and planned to watch Ziemba play the second half of his game, but severe weather postponed the second half till the next night.

Tuberville's visit created a stir. Imagine the buzz if he signs both players. Burns and Ziemba may not be a package deal, but they do know each other. This is what one insider thinks he knows about their intentions:

They're not coming to Auburn. Not this weekend.

It's hard to play a high school game Friday night in Arkansas and attend a college game Saturday morning in Auburn. But they both visited the Auburn campus during the summer, and both plan to return for a game this season.

Don't be surprised if both players come back as freshmen.

One school of thought: The longer the Arkansas kids wait to commit, the better it is for Auburn. Best to postpone the home-state backlash that always hits hot recruits when they leave.

Word is, Burns and Ziemba might watch the Auburn-Arkansas game on TV together at Ziemba's house. Ziemba's parents both went to Auburn.

In recruiting, there's nothing like working from the inside.