For Kaos: One Thread On Multiple Tiger Prowl articles...

[AUChizad]

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090430/NEWS/904309968/-1/TUSCALOOSAMAGAZINE01?Title=ANDREW-BONE-Recruiting-Q-A

Josh: Sorry Bone but I gotta ask this, "Will we ever see Alabama's assistants in a limo/hummer out to recruit kids? Is this really a good ploy, or another lame attempt at trying to be relevant?" Recruiting related, any commits coming soon? Do you know of any recruits from the '08 class that will not be on campus this fall?


Andrew Bone: The Auburn coaching staff thinks it is a great strategy for them. You sure see a lot of publicity for the new ride, including Alabama fans talking about it a lot. We do know Quinton Dial is not expected on campus and plans to enroll on East Mississippi JuCo.

http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/news/2009/apr/30/tiger-prowl-visits-county-schools/

Tiger Prowl visits county schools
By Chris Megginson (Contact) | Shelby County Reporter

Published Thursday, April 30, 2009

Auburn University football coaches piled into a stretch Hummer at the airport Thursday morning for the Birmingham edition of Tiger Prowl. Auburn assistants have been traveling the state in a limousine this week visiting schools in the major metro areas. The black Hummer was decked out with Auburn car magnets and window flags.

Thursday’s route began with a visit to Pelham High School to meet coaches and say hello to Auburn recruits Jake Holland and Nigel Terrell, who were both called of class for the visit.

“Before I went down there, everybody was like ‘Did you see the limo? Did you see the limo?’” said Terrell, who has been offered by Auburn but has not committed.

Terrell said he learned of the limo tour Sunday when he visited Auburn’s campus.

“These coaches are wild. I’ve been able to build a relationship with most of them. They’re pretty much a family there,” Terrell said. “I’ve never seen a college coaching staff travel as a whole group like that.”

Holland said he thinks the approach is effective.

“If I had not committed yet, it would make me feel good,” he said. “It let’s me know that these guys are committed to what they do, to take time to go as a coaching staff to schools together.”

After leaving Pelham, the Prowl continued to Springville High School, Hoover High, Spain Park, Jess Lanier and Bessemer Academy. The day ended with a coaching clinic and dinner hosted by the Spain Park administration and head coach David Shores.

“We’re very proud of our school and our facility, and any chance we get to showcase that we love to do it,” Shores said. “Having a new staff in the state and to be able to host them for a few hours was a great thing.”

Shores said more than 50 coaches from the Birmingham area attended the clinic, including assistants from Pelham and new Calera head coach Scott Martin. Shores attended the defensive side of the clinic.

“I was really impressed with Ted Roof and how he comes across and handles himself and his knowledge,” he said. “It was a super night.”

While the meeting and dinner took place, the limousine sat parked in front of Spain Park High School, having traveled more than 300 miles for the day, according to the Hummer’s driver.

Shores said the coaches stopped by earlier in the day to visit with defensive tackle Jeremiah Jackson and defensive back Wilson Robinson.

“I don’t think they (Jackson and Robinson) even knew they were coming,” Shores said. “Jeremiah’s eyes kind of lit up when he saw them all outside with our principal.”

Jackson has been verbally offered by Auburn, according to Shores.

http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-sports/2009/05/five_questions_springville_rec.html

Five Questions: Springville receiver Jeremy Richardson
Posted by Jeff Sentell -- Birmingham News May 01, 2009 7:07 AM
Categories: Football

Mark Almond/Birmingham News
Springville's Jeremy Richardson would like to hear from the Georgia Bulldogs.A lighthearted Q&A with Springville High receiver Jeremy Richardson. Rivals.com rates the 6-foot-4, 220-pound rising senior as the No. 141 prospect in the nation for the Class of 2010. The state's fourth-rated prospect grew up an Auburn fan, but claims no leader at this point.   
Q. About that Auburn limousine, is it really a big deal?

A. The kids at school took it seriously. The Auburn coaches said they would show everyone they would be taking recruiting a whole lot more seriously this spring and that limo just shows they will try as hard as they can to impress the players that they need.

Q. So did it do anything to your opinion of Auburn?

A. It moved it up. It really made an impression on me, too.

Q. What's the one thing that every recruiter says to you?

A. That they all want me to come down and start as a true freshman. I mean they all say that. It makes me wonder.

Q. What do you wish they would say to you?

A. That if I get hurt, I get to keep my scholarship. That everything would still all be paid for.

Q. You received scholarship offers from Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Tennessee in your junior season. Is there an offer you want that you haven't gotten yet?

A. Probably Georgia. I like Georgia, but I haven't gotten that much mail from Georgia. I've got letters from every school in the SEC, but not Georgia

[AUChizad]

http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/2009/05/01/whats-all-the-fuss-about-auburns-limo/?cxntfid=blogs_barnhart_college_football

What’s all the fuss about the Auburn limo?
5:13 am May 1, 2009, by Tony Barnhart

I saw the photos of Auburn’s stretch limo that it will use during spring recruiting. It’s big, it’s white, and it’s got Auburn stickers and flags. They used a Cadillac on Monday and a Hummer on Tuesday.

Now my first reaction was: “Now that’s a little over the top.”

But I’m an old guy. Auburn’s not recruiting me. The guys that they are recruiting are 17 and 18 years old and they are thinking: “Man, that’s pretty cool.”

The Auburn limo did what it was designed to do. It got attention. Some of it was good and some bad. But unless it violates the rules, what the adults think really doesn’t matter.

You have to be creative in recruiting because today’s teenager is not easily impressed. When Arkansas was recruiting Ahmad “Batman” Carroll, Razorback coach Houston Nutt got a replica of the Batmobile and drove it to Carroll’s hotel. The Hogs got Carroll.

I promise you there will be a lot more limos out there on the recruiting trail. Anything that gives a school even a slight edge or a perceived edge will be copied immediately. Expect an NCAA rule to follow.

[AUChizad]

http://blog.al.com/kevin-scarbinsky/2009/05/scarbinsky_tiger_prowls_such_a.html

Scarbinsky: Tiger Prowl's such a hit, Auburn's Curtis Luper vows it'll be back
Posted by Kevin Scarbinsky -- Birmingham News May 01, 2009 6:00 AM
Categories: Auburn Football

Frank Couch/Birmingham News

Auburn's assistants have been riding in style - with limos rented locally on their trip across the state.A limo? At Hoover High School? Big deal, right?

MTV put this place on the national map. What's a black stretch Hummer with Auburn stickers on the doors and flags on the windows after two seasons of "Two-A-Days"?
 
You know what it was Thursday as Auburn's Tiger Prowl recruiting road show pulled up out front?

A big deal.

Hoover High football coach Josh Niblett said, "People were calling all day, asking, 'What time are they gonna be there?'"

Hoover Principal Don Hulin added, "You could see the excitement on the kids' faces."

D.W. Shelton was headed for the car line at Trace Crossings Elementary School just down the street to pick up his 9-year-old son, Ryan, when he heard the Auburn limo was headed toward Hoover.

Shelton skipped the car line, parked the car, checked his son out of the elementary school and headed toward the high school. Ryan, in his No. 12 Brandon Cox jersey, got his picture taken with Auburn assistant Trooper Taylor next to the limo.

It's not illegal to bump into a third-grader, is it?

Back in the principal's office, Hulin pointed up to a row of pictures atop a long, tall bookcase, which pointed out the tall order facing a new Auburn staff that started its recruiting journey miles behind Alabama and the rest of the SEC.

Those pictures are of LSU players. The Hoover principal is a Louisiana native and LSU season-ticket holder who coached high school football in that state. Yes, he knows Nick Saban.

On another bookcase in Hulin's office sits a frame that commemorates LSU's 2003 BCS championship. The frame contains tickets from that season's games -- and a photo of Saban holding up the crystal football.

Hulin said Saban got a kick out of that photo when he visited Hoover High right before signing day with new Alabama assistant Sal Sunseri.

New Auburn head coach Gene Chizik also came to Hoover just days after he was hired, Hulin said, "and I was impressed with him."

The principal's students were impressed by the latest Auburn limo, which, like the others the staff has used this week, was rented locally.

"It sparked some interest," Hulin said. "It sure did. Who are you recruiting? Are you recruiting 50-year-olds or are you recruiting 17-year-olds?

"All you've heard this week is Auburn. They've accomplished what they wanted to accomplish."

The upcoming prep senior class may not be the best in state history in terms of prospects, but Chizik and company get one chance to make a first impression.

Most schools would send seven assistants, the maximum number allowed on the recruiting road at one time, in seven different directions. By putting seven assistants together this week and driving up to the front door of high schools across the state, Auburn sent a message louder than any limo.

"Coach Chizik has said, time and time again, in 2004, when Auburn was as good as it has ever been, look at the roster: Alabama, Georgia," Auburn assistant Curtis Luper said. "That's the way he left it, and that's the way he'd like to see it again."

Niblett, a former Alabama player, said the message was well-received.

''It's exciting for the kids and exciting for our school," Niblett said. ''They've got to continue to recruit everywhere else. But for them to get together to do this shows how important this state is to them."

Unable to talk to prospects during this evaluation period, the Auburn coaches have chatted up high school coaches. Niblett spent time Thursday discussing X's and O's with Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn.

"You can't help but sit there and talk a little scheme with him," Niblett said.

Niblett also pointed out one overlooked benefit of the Tiger Prowl:

It's given the new Auburn staff time to bond.

"We've had some good times," Luper said, "and we've got some funny sleeping habits on some guys."

Maybe that's the real message. Other schools can't sleep on Auburn recruiting.

"This is the first annual Tiger Prowl," Luper promised. "We'll be back."

[AUChizad]

http://blog.al.com/goldmine/2009/05/online_surveysmarket_research_11.html

Poll: What do you think of Auburn's Tiger Prowl?
Posted by Charles Goldberg -- Birmingham News May 01, 2009 7:02 AM
Categories: Football, Recruiting

Online Surveys & Market Research

The Auburn Limo Tour Across America drives on, at least here in the Gold Mine for another day. The recruiting blitz has created quite the buzz as seven Auburn assistant coaches have traveled around the state in style visiting high schools and looking for football players. It's provided plenty of blog talk, that's for sure.

What do you think about the tour? Vote in our poll.

We also have the words of Birmingham News columnist Kevin Scarbinsky, who visited Hoover High School on Thursday to see how the tour was playing out. Principal Don Hulin said Auburn's ploy was working.

``You could see the excitement on the kids' faces,'' Hulin told Scarbinsky.

``All you've heard this week is Auburn. They've accomplished what they wanted to accomplish.''

Scarbinsky's entire column is here.
Read and come back and comment, if you wish.

Here's what Springville receiver Jeremy Richardson said about the Auburn coaches visiting his school Thursday (hint: it worked) in a quick Q&A.

This didn't appear in print, but Auburn assistant and recruiting coordinator Curtis Luper also said the tour has exceeded the coaches' expectations.

``We couldn't have dreamt this in our wildest dreams. It's the people that have made it such a great reception,'' Luper said. ``Everywhere you go, the Auburn people are out, the teachers and the principals and the counselors. Those are the people we've really had a profound effect on, and they've had it on us.''
Luper said it was also good for the coaches to spend time together on the road.

``We bond. We spend a lot of time in that limo, riding around from place to place. Sometimes it's an hour drive from a place like Ariton to a place like Greenville. We've had some good times. We've gotten to know each other better, and people have gotten to know us. You know, Coach Chizik has hired a great staff. I could go on and on about the staff. We're people, people first. Relationships. We don't just talk about it. We talk about the Auburn family. You'll hear people say family, family, family. I have five children. Coach Troop is one of 16 children. It's a family. Come to our practices. You'll see our children out there.''

On another topic...


Auburn
Ed Dyas back in the day
We mentioned here Thursday that former Auburn great Ed Dyas received word that's he's headed to the College Football Hall of Fame. That was good news for a man who has had to face tough times in the last few months.
His story, appearing in Friday's Birmingham News, is here.