Auburn Notebook: Saturday Practice

[AUChizad]

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/08/post_49.html

Auburn notebook: Zac Etheridge, Trooper Taylor, Ladarious Phillips and more...
Published: Sunday, August 22, 2010, 10:19 AM
Evan Woodbery

This notebook appeared in Sunday editions of the Press-Register, Birmingham News and Huntsville Times...

AUBURN -- Zac Etheridge made only a brief appearance in a scrimmage Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium that was dominated by young players.

But the significance of his return to full-contact football 10 months after a serious neck injury was not lost on him.

"I was talking to Aairon Savage walking off the field," Etheridge said. "I was like, 'Last time I came out here, I didn't walk off the field. I'm just blessed to walk off the field after a scrimmage at the stadium.'"

Etheridge said he wasn't in the game long enough to collect any bruising hits, but he showed no hesitation when going after the football.

"When I was out there, I was just having fun," he said. "I didn't think about (the neck) at all."

ON THE LINE: Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes and defensive line coach Tracy Rocker have different plans for their group of true freshmen.

Grimes said in a perfect world he would always redshirt freshmen, although injuries and other factors could affect that decision.

Moody's Chad Slade would likely be the first freshman to play, Grimes said, as he is ahead of Ed Christian, Tunde Fariyike and Eric Mack.

Rocker, on the other hand, said his unit's limited depth and the impressive talent in the freshman class make it likely that all of his true freshmen will play this year.

That includes defensive end Justin Delaine, who has been banged up with an ankle injury. Even players who don't crack the playing rotation can still be valuable on special teams, Rocker said.

"I don't see any redshirts," Rocker said. "I think everyone's going to have to contribute. With this recruiting class, our selling point was, you're going to have come here and play. Don't come here thinking you're going to sit and redshirt."

BIG MAN IN THE BACKFIELD: True freshman fullback Ladarious Phillips continues to state a case for early playing time. Head coach Gene Chizik said Phillips carried the ball extensively in Saturday's scrimmage.

"It was good to see him carry the football, particularly in third-and-short situations," Chizik said.

AWFULLY MAD: After receivers coach Trooper Taylor eviscerated his unit's production last week, calling the group "dog-awful," he got hit with emails from fans concerned he was being too harsh on his players.

He defended his approach to reporters on Friday.

"Here's the deal: I'm going to put as much pressure on them Monday through Friday, so that Saturday is fun. Saturday is easy because I promise they've been through the ringer before they got there," Taylor said. "If they can't handle pressure through the week, how are they going to handle it with 90,000 people and the TV cameras and all that going?

"So the whole deal is not to embarrass them, it's not berate them, it's to put the pressure on them so by the time they get to game day they'll compete. And you watch on game day, see how many times you see me fussing at a receiver on game day. Because I have confidence in them. They're going to get lined up, they're going to know their assignments and they're going to play with great effort. Or they won't be out there."

[War Eagle!!!]

Fuck any mother fucker that sent an e-mail to Trooper Taylor about being hard on the players. Seriously. Fuck you. Take that shit to the PAC-10 you bunch of pussies...

[AUChizad]

Fuck any mother fucker that sent an e-mail to Trooper Taylor about being hard on the players. Seriously. Fuck you. Take that shit to the PAC-10 you bunch of pussies...

That was exactly what I thought.

The rest of the article was pretty generic, but I posted it after reading that.

[Tiger Wench]

Fuck any mother fucker that sent an e-mail to Trooper Taylor about being hard on the players. Seriously. Fuck you. Take that shit to the PAC-10 you bunch of pussies...

You gotta be kidding me.  Take your touchy-feeley self esteem boosting bullshit outta here.  This ain't the Pac-10.  This ain't the Big Least.  This is SEC football, bitches.  Suck it up or GTFO.

[Buzz Killington]

I can't believe anyone would email that shit to any coach here in the South.  Seriously?

Leave 'em the hayul alone Paul!

[AuburnChopper 3.0]

Fuck any mother fucker that sent an e-mail to Trooper Taylor about being hard on the players. Seriously. Fuck you. Take that shit to the PAC-10 you bunch of pussies...

This.   

[GH2001]

This.   

I second that

[Snaggletiger]

Ditto on all of the above.  Those guys were laughing and joking coming off the field.  Right in front of me, Q. Carr was busting on Anthony Morgan.  "Way to bite on the slant, bitch".

Yeah, they worked the hell out of them but it was no different than any other practice I've ever been to.  Fuck that shit, jackwagons.

[Saniflush]

Dollars to doughnuts it actually came from a member of the dark pink nation.

[Godfather]

I heard the campaign started at AUfamily.net

[JR4AU]

Nice to have a WR coach that will coach them and expect production from them, AND get in their ass if they don't live up.   Fuck any pussy that emailed about it.

[Buzz Killington]

Yeah, but does he scream about their down-field blocking?

[JR4AU]

Yeah, but does he scream about their down-field blocking?

They blocked well last year, so I suspect he expects production all the way around.

[GH2001]

I heard the campaign started at AUfamily.net

Its part of operation red dog.....keep this on the low low guys...from the skreets.