Bowl practice begins

[RunInRed 16,994]

Charles Goldberg has the update ...

Redshirt freshman quarterback Tyrik Rollison won't be going through any of Auburn's bowl practices following his suspension for breaking an undisclosed team rule, but the Tigers did get some news about linebacker Eltoro Freeman on Saturday.

Auburn began Outback Bowl practice for its game against Northwestern with Freeman going through drills, a welcomed sign after he missed the regular-season finale against Alabama because of an ankle/foot problem.

Running back/receiver Mario Fannin was wearing a no-contact jersey, but he said that was simply a precaution after suffering a stinger, an injury around the shoulder, in the Alabama game.

Coach Gene Chizik said Rollison is still a member of the team, but won't practice for the bowl.

**Chizik said Freeman was ready to go, however. ``He's made a lot of progress,'' Chizik said. "He's not a full 100 percent, but compared to where he was a couple of weeks ago I think he's made significant strides. He needs to continue to do that if we're going to play him in that bowl game the way we need to play him.''

**Auburn left practice and headed off to a senior banquet on campus. That's a new twist for the Chizik administration.

"It's something I strongly believe in with the recognition of the seniors and all they've put into Auburn,'' he said. "It's recognition of guys who have really done some neat things, whether it's guys that academically have really stayed on top of their work with certain GPAs or have graduated early or will graduate next week. It's recognition of guys who really deserve it."

Chizik said the banquet will feature awards voted on by the team.

http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2009/12/auburn_welcomes_back_eltoro_fr.html

Video of practice: http://videos.al.com/birmingham-news/2009/12/auburn_begins_bowl_practice.html

[nanatiger 3]

Charles Goldberg has the update ...

Redshirt freshman quarterback Tyrik Rollison won't be going through any of Auburn's bowl practices following his suspension for breaking an undisclosed team rule, but the Tigers did get some news about linebacker Eltoro Freeman on Saturday.

Auburn began Outback Bowl practice for its game against Northwestern with Freeman going through drills, a welcomed sign after he missed the regular-season finale against Alabama because of an ankle/foot problem.

Running back/receiver Mario Fannin was wearing a no-contact jersey, but he said that was simply a precaution after suffering a stinger, an injury around the shoulder, in the Alabama game.

Coach Gene Chizik said Rollison is still a member of the team, but won't practice for the bowl.

**Chizik said Freeman was ready to go, however. ``He's made a lot of progress,'' Chizik said. "He's not a full 100 percent, but compared to where he was a couple of weeks ago I think he's made significant strides. He needs to continue to do that if we're going to play him in that bowl game the way we need to play him.''

**Auburn left practice and headed off to a senior banquet on campus. That's a new twist for the Chizik administration.

"It's something I strongly believe in with the recognition of the seniors and all they've put into Auburn,'' he said. "It's recognition of guys who have really done some neat things, whether it's guys that academically have really stayed on top of their work with certain GPAs or have graduated early or will graduate next week. It's recognition of guys who really deserve it."

Chizik said the banquet will feature awards voted on by the team.

http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2009/12/auburn_welcomes_back_eltoro_fr.html

Video of practice: http://videos.al.com/birmingham-news/2009/12/auburn_begins_bowl_practice.html

I especially like the idea of coaches & team members honoring the seniors.

[RunInRed 16,994]

Auburn coach Gene Chizik could hold bowl practice in his office if he simply followed the age-old tradition of using the time to get his redshirt freshmen some experience.

The short-handed Tigers redshirted only six this season, so Auburn spent its first practice for the Outback Bowl on Saturday watching its usual group of players go through the drills.

Chizik promised his redshirt players would get a look, but his stated goal for practice was different. He wants to improve Auburn's record.

"Coach talked to us about that today. . . 8-5 looks a whole lot better than 7-6,'' said linebacker Craig Stevens. "So that's what we're going to do, we're going to win the game. If we do that, we send the seniors out on a good note."

Auburn began working toward its New Year's Day game against Northwestern after a 15-day break. The Tigers will practice again today, break two days for final exams, and return with seven more practices before Christmas.

Auburn players will report for bowl duty in Tampa on Dec. 26.

Chizik said while young players may get the occasional nod in workouts, "I'm not going to say it's a wholesale change.

"Everything you're doing during that game week is to beat whoever we're playing. We're going to do that, too, but we can get some extra time with these guys.''

Chizik said he's looking for the right mix of bowl fun and bowl work.

"There's a huge balance in there somewhere,'' he said. "We have talked in depth that our No. 1 goal is to win the game. Our No. 2 goal is to make sure they understand that this is a reward and we want them to feel like it's a reward -- not a punishment.''

http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2009/12/post_43.html

[rebdawg 5]

Chizik promised his redshirt players would get a look, but his stated goal for practice was different. He wants to improve Auburn's record.

"Coach talked to us about that today. . . 8-5 looks a whole lot better than 7-6,'' said linebacker Craig Stevens. "So that's what we're going to do, we're going to win the game. If we do that, we send the seniors out on a good note."

Man, this is the most encouraging thing I've heard from our new coach. Tubs (and a lot of other coaches) never took bowl games seriously. If it isn't important who wins then why keep score? But they do keep score. Why? Because it IS important to win the bowl game. That Capital One Bowl vs. Wisconsin was a hard pill to swallow. I realize it should be a reward but if you don't play to win you do no deserve a reward.

[Bottomfeeder 244]

A winning attitude starts from the top down. I don't think there is a single player on this team who would show up just to lose a game, especially a bowl game. But the attitude does come from the coaches.