Woodbammer...

[JR4AU]

Making it as negative as he can....

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/09/column_barrett_trotters_even-k.html

Column: Barrett Trotter's even-keeled poise may be one reason he is starting on Saturday
Published: Thursday, September 01, 2011, 12:42 PM     Updated: Thursday, September 01, 2011, 12:48 PM
By Evan Woodbery/Auburn Bureau, The Birmingham News, Press-Register, and The Huntsville Times

AUBURN -- Before Tuesday night, the last time Auburn quarterback Clint Moseley faced the press he was a red-eyed mess, barely composed enough to formulate words.

After a few moments and a few questions, the interview was mercifully cut short.

Moseley probably should have never stepped behind the podium that evening, still despondent after learning that his dream -- what he said his entire life was building toward -- would go unrealized.

But Moseley earned respect for trying to talk just hours after losing the starting quarterback job to Barrett Trotter. And the interview -- although painful to watch -- reinforced his reputation as one of the Tigers' most authentic players.

When Moseley sat down again Tuesday, he was calm, funny and composed. He gave thoughtful answers. He was his old self.

But it's also clear that his story will not follow a Kodi Burns narrative. Moseley has accepted his fate, for now, but he still wants to be quarterback. He still thinks he can be a starting quarterback. And perhaps he still thinks he should be the No. 1 quarterback on this team.

When he said he wanted to be the best backup quarterback in the nation, he said it with more lament than enthusiasm. He made no promises to remain at Auburn beyond this year, but said he didn't consider leaving immediately after losing the job because it would have been a rash and "childish" time to make such a decision.

Moseley is in many ways the anti-Trotter.

Trotter is a year older and has always been a rung above Moseley in the quarterback pecking order. The two quarterbacks are good friends, although it's clear the friendship was challenged in the immediate aftermath of the decision when Moseley went into a self-imposed two-day hiatus.

But while Moseley is raw and honest, Trotter is cautious and more coach-like. Unfailingly pleasant and quite often funny, Trotter is still more "on message" than his younger counterpart.

Coaches -- particularly a staff serving under a chief as bland in public as Gene Chizik -- are apt to notice that.

If the quarterback race was as tight as Gus Malzahn says it was -- and after a full spring and two weeks of August competition, there's no reason to believe it wasn't -- then Trotter's even-keeled poise may have been a tiebreaker.

Trotter seems unlikely to be outwardly affected by the pressure of being the starting quarterback for the defending national champion. Based on what we've seen of him so far, a bad game -- or a good game -- won't cause him to lash out, blame himself or others or react with any more emotion than he showed after winning the starting job two weeks ago.

Moseley's not a loose cannon by any means, but he wears his emotions on his sleeves, which was evident during his post-decision media session. Yes, the wounds were still raw, but Moseley had several hours to process his disappointment, attend practice and presumably muster up enough words to congratulate his friend on winning the job.

You have to imagine Trotter would have been able to do exactly that. Which might be one of the reasons Trotter will be starting Saturday and Moseley will not.