Third and Long with John Stump Thrower

AUBURN FOOTBALL RECRUITING
2009 OFFENSIVE LINE PROSPECTS
When one mentions offensive linemen during the recruiting wars, it is usually after discussion of the quarterback, running back, receivers and linebackers prospects.
The Auburn coaching staff has always believed in recruiting linemen; whether they played as an offensive lineman or a defensive lineman in high school. A..U. coaches have a history of not being shy in converting defensive linemen into offensive linemen.
For the 2008 season, A.U. returns all of its two-deep offensive linemen with the exception of graduated King Dunlap, who lost his starting position after the 3rd game of the 2007 season. The starters returning are Jason Bosley, Tyrone Green, Chaz Ramsey, Ryan Pugh and Lee Ziemba. Veteran back-ups include Mike Berry, Andrew McCain, Byron (Lee) Isom and Bart Eddins. Additionally, two freshman OL’s from last year were redshirted: Jared Cooper and Kyle Coulahan. One OL was signed by A.U. in its class of 2008, and he is a good one. Jermaine Johnson was considered the #1 prep school offensive lineman in the nation.
I have a friend of mine who was a manager on Auburn’s 1957 National Championship Team. When we talk (which is quite often) about Auburn’s recruiting, the first position he wants to know about is “who are those big ‘ole linemen Auburn is recruiting.” Well, listed are most of Auburn’s prospects for the offensive line. They include the following, in no particular order:

OFFENSIVE LINE PROSPECTS
JOHNNIE FARMS is a 6'2", 280 pound offensive guard who runs a 5.05 forty yard dash. The Perry, Georgia, High school prospects is generally considered one of the top offensive guards in the southeast. He is also considering Georgia, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Tennessee and North Carolina;
STAVION LOWE is a 6'5", 295 pounder who is from Brownwood, Texas, High School. Brownwood is located about 130 miles southwest of Dallas-Fort Worth and 90 miles southeast of Amarillo, Texas. Lowe, who runs a 5.2 forty, plays the offensive guard position and is also considering Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arkansas;
BRANDON MOORE is a 6'5", 320 pound offensive tackle who plays at Carver of Montgomery High School. He runs a 5.2 forty. Auburn was one of the first colleges to offer Moore a scholarship, but Moore is also looking at Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Clemson and Memphis..
STEVE JACQUES is a 6'4", 280 pound offensive tackle from South Broward High School of Hollywood, Florida. Though he is a heavy lean for Miami (Fla.), he is very interested in the Tigers, as well as South Carolina, FSU, West Virginia and South Florida;
GABRIEL JACKSON, a 6'4", 295 pounder who runs a 5.1 forty is from Amite County High School of Liberty, Mississippi. He is also considering Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Tennessee;
JONATHAN HARRISON, a 6'3", 285 pounds, 5.1 forty offensive guard from South Lake High School of Groveland, Florida. Groveland is located in central Florida, approximately 25 miles west of Orlando. Harrison is also considering Florida, FSU, Miami, Tennessee and South Florida;
BRANDON JENKINS is a 6'4", 280 pound offensive guard/tackle from Desire Street Academy of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which is the same school that 2008 A.U. signee Freddie Smooth attended. He is also looking at LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Tulane and Houston;
SAM SIMPSON is considered one of the top center prospects in the nation. Simpson is a 6'5", 270 pounder, who runs a 5.2 forty, and attends Henry Clay High School of Louisville, Kentucky. He is also considering Kentucky, Tennessee, Stanford, Duke and Cincinnati;
XAVIER NIXON, is a 6'7" 285 pound offensive guard from Britt High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Nixon, who runs a 5.1 forty, has already made an unofficial visit to Auburn (with his high school coach), and is considering North Carolina, Southern Cal, Florida, FSU and Georgia;
JOHN MARTINEZ, from Cottonwood High School of Salt Lake City, Utah is a 6'4", 270 pound offensive guard. He is considering BYU, Utah, LSU, Southern Cal, UCLA and Miami;
JOHN SULLEN is a 6'4", 340 pound, 5.3 forty from Auburn High. Sullen is also looking at Alabama, Georgia Tech, LSU, Mississippi State, Duke and Memphis;
JEREMY SIMMONS, a 6'4", 340 pound, 5..1 offensive guard from Clay County High School of Ashland, Alabama, is also considering Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Troy, Jackson (Miss.) State and UAB;
WILL SIMMONS is a 6'5, 340 pound offensive tackle from Hertford County High School of Ahoskie, North Carolina, who is also looking at North Carolina, North Carolina State, Stanford and Georgia Tech;
CHRIS DAUGHERTY of B.B. Comer High School in Sylacauga is a 6'4", 289 pound, 4.9 forty offensive guard. He is also looking at Alabama, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech;
CLIFF JONES, an offensive guard from Memphis, Tennessee, University School, is 6'3", 270 pounds. He is also looking at Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech; and
BLAKE BURGESS is a 6'3" 250 pound offensive guard from Vestavia Hills, Alabama, High School, who is the son or Rick Burgess of the “Rick & Bubba Radio Show.” He is being looked at by Auburn, Alabama, Arkansas, LSU, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Clemson.

(A) AUBURN’S NEW BASEBALL HEAD COACH
With the resignation of Tom Slater as the Head Coach of Auburn’s baseball team, the Tigers have another opportunity to correct a situation that has yet to be resolved. That opportunity is to hire a coach who has been or is currently successful at a major college school.
Whoever the coach is, he will step into a good, if not a good situation.
Coach Slater is leaving Auburn with a good core of young, quality players. No one ever questioned Slater’s recruiting ability or classes. Provided that none of the returning contributing players (or any players for that matter) transfer, there is more than enough talent for the 2009 Auburn team to be very successful.
Auburn is located in a good geographical area for high school baseball. The talent base of good baseball players is abundant.
There is a solid fan base for the Tigers, but presently it is frustrated. There are not any harder working support groups for any of Auburn’s sports than the Auburn Diamond Club and the “K” Corner. These groups have been and will be an excellent resource for fan support.
The facilities are second to none. This positive has not been fully utilized in the past (one trip to the College World Series since 1996). It is agreed that having great facilities do not solely mean having a great team, but they are a major component to the overall package.
With all of these positives, Auburn needs and must hire an experienced major college coach. Auburn’s baseball no longer needs to be equivalent to a AAA or AA minor league program. It is and should always be the equivalent of a major league program on the college level. The head coaching position at Auburn no longer should be a “training program” for young assistant coaches or young head coaches at smaller programs. Auburn has paid its dues in this regard. The Tigers alumni, students and fans deserve success. They have been without for too long of a period of time.

(B) 9TH FOOTBALL COMMITMENT
Coach Tommy Tuberville and the Auburn Tigers received their 9th football commitment from a running back prospect from the state of Florida. Rodney Scott, a 5'9", 190 pounder selected the Tigers over Ole Miss, Clemson, North Carolina State, Arkansas, FSU, Miami, Purdue, South Carolina and South Florida. Scott, who runs a 4.45 forty yard dash, attends Dixie County High School, which is a Florida Class 2-A school, located in Cross City, which is about 50 miles west of Gainesville. Scott, who has been playing varsity football since the 9th grade, has rushed 4,400 yards going into his senior year.

(C) AUBURN MEN’S BASKETBALL
Over the last two weeks Auburn men’s basketball has gained two players and lost one. Boubecar Sylla, the 7'1" freshmen center, has decided to transfer to Wyoming. He is the second A.U. player to transfer after the 2007-08 season. Earlier, Matt Heramb, a 6'8" forward transferred to Kennesaw State Georgia, close to his home of Douglasville, Georgia.
The good news is the signing of two players: Tony Neysmith and Francis Aihe. Neysmith is a transfer from Oklahoma, and will have to sit-out the 2008-09 season due to the NCA mandated transfer rule. He played his high school basketball at Norcross High School near Atlanta. According to “Prep Stars Recruiter’s Handbook” of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, while Tony was in high school, he was ranked as the 96th best player in the nation regardless of position. He had scholarships offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Notre Dame, Tennessee, FSU, Florida as well as Oklahoma. Neysmith is a 6'4" point guard/wing guard.
Aihe is a 6'9", 210 pound forward/center from Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida. He is eligible to play this season (2008-09), and averaged about 10 points per game last year for Santa Fe.
Auburn is hotly pursuing another Atlanta area prospect for its Class of 2009. Manny Atkins, a 6'5" small forward is strongly considering the Tigers. He will be attending Tucker, Georgia High School this Fall.

AUBURN FOOTBALL RECRUITING - CLASS OF 2009
POSITIONS: DEFENSIVE LINE AND DEFENSIVE END

Last Friday night, Auburn received a verbal, non-binding commitment for its 2009 Football Recruiting class from Marietta, Georgia Lassiter tight end, a 6'4", 250 pound prospect who runs 4.65 forty yard dash, Philip Lutzenkirchen. Lutzenkirchen selected the Tigers over Clemson, Stanford, Georgia and Notre Dame. He is rated by some as one of the top 10 tight ends in the nation. He is the Tigers 8th verbal commitment, and his commitment is continuing the trend of an impressive Auburn 2009 recruiting class that is beginning to be unveiled. Head Coach Tommy Tuberville and his staff are continuing to work hard, and are reaping the benefits of 10 years of hard-working efforts and clean, ethical recruiting. Such as the case with defensive line and defensive end prospects that the Tigers are recruiting for 2009.

(A) DEFENSIVE LINE PROSPECTS:
On the defensive line, A.U. must replace Pat Sims and Josh “Stump” Thompson (a nickname with character). Sims left early for the NFL draft and Thompson’s eligibility expired.
The Tigers do return several with playing experience. They include veterans Sen’Derrick Marks, Jake Ricks, Mike Blanc and Zac Clayton. Additionally, there are two (2) defensive line prospects signed in February, 2008, Jomarcus Savage of Huntsville, Alabama and Freddie Smooth of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Additionally, Auburn received a windfall when the NCAA granted Teg Doolittle a sixth year of eligibility.
For the Class of 2009, Auburn is on the minds of several defensive line prospects. Those with current offers from A.U. include the following, in no particular order:
Nick Fairley, who originally signed with Auburn in 2007, and is currently attending Copiah-Lincoln Junior College in Wesson, Mississippi. Fairley, presently weighs 260 pounds and stands 6'5", can play several positions, including defensive tackle. He runs a 4.8 forty yard dash, and played his high school football at Williamson High in Mobile;
Jamar Travis is a 6'2", 290 pounds from W.S. Neal High School of Brewton. Travis is from the same high school as current A.U. player, redshirt freshman offensive left tackle Jared Cooper. Travis, who runs 4.95 forty, is also considering Alabama, FSU and Georgia Tech;
Quinton Dial is a 6'5", 305 pound, 5.1 forty prospect from Clay-Chalkville High School of Pinson. Dial is also looking at Alabama, LSU, Kentucky, Florida and Ole Miss;
Anthony Orr is a 6'4", 270 pound defensive lineman who is also being looked at defensive end. Orr, who runs a 4.8 forty, is also considering Alabama, Clemson, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Central Florida;
Josh Boyd is a 6'3", 275 pound, 4.8 forty prospect presently attending Philadelphia, Mississippi, High School. Boyd, who is also considering LSU, Alabama, Mississippi State, Michigan, Ole Miss and Southern Miss; and
Darrington Sentimore is a quick 6'1", 275 pounder from Destrahan, Louisiana, High School, who runs a 4.7 forty. He is also being pursued by LSU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Alabama, Ole Miss and Colorado.
There are other DL prospects being watched by the Tigers who may have A.U. offers of scholarships forthcoming. They include the following in no particular order:
Myron Walker is a 6'3", 275 pounder from Rummel High School of Metairie, Louisiana. Walker runs a 5.05 forty and is also looking at LSU, Texas A&M and Colorado; and
Melvin Jones is a 6'1", 310 pound, 5.1 forty, who attends Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia, and is being looked at by Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Miami (FL) and Georgia Tech; and
Shane Delery, who is a 6'3", 250 pound, 4.9 forty prospect from Jesuit High School in New Orleans, is also being checked out by Clemson, LSU, Penn St., Georgia Tech and Louisville.

(B) DEFENSIVE END:
At defensive end, Auburn lost 2nd round NFL draftee Quentin Groves, and is apparently moving Sen’Derrick Marks to the interior defensive line. Starter Antonio Coleman will return at one DE position. Veteran back-ups Michael Goggans and Antoine Carter return, and Raven Gray, who is a member of the 2008 Class, entered A.U. for the 2008 Spring Semester, and if he overcomes his junior college injury, should be ready for Fall practice. Also, redshirt freshman A.J. Greene of Brentwood, Tennessee had a good spring practice.
With the type of versatile athletic a defensive end prospect is, Auburn, year after year, has always signed a number of DE prospects. This year, the Tigers are after a number of excellent prospects including two present verbal commitments. Jamontay Pilson of Greenville, Alabama, and Wilfred Journet, a resign presently attending Copiah-Lincoln Junior College. There are a number of other prospects that Auburn has offered. They are as follow, in no particular order.
Sam Montgomery is a 6'5", 240 pounder, who runs a 4.6 forty yard dash. He attends Greenwood, South Carolina, High School, and is also considering Clemson, Florida, LSU, South Carolina, Southern Cal and Miami (Fla.);
William Ming is a 6'4", 250 pound prospect from Athens, Alabama, High School. Being heavily recruiting by Alabama (he was Nick Saban’s first video conference contact), he is also considering Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Tennessee;
Marlin Sims is a 6'4", 215 pounder, who runs a 4.9 forty and is from Central of Phenix City. He is also looking at Ole Miss, Alabama, Clemson, Illinois and LSU.
Oliver Vernon, who is a 6'2", 237 pound prospect from American High School of Hialeah, Florida. Vernon, who runs a 4.5 forty, is also considering FSU, Miami (Fla.), Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina and Central Florida;
Ryne Giddins who attends the same high school (Armwood of Seffner, Florida) as 2008 Auburn running back signee Eric Smith, is 6'4", 230 pounds and runs a 4.7 forty. He is also looking at Georgia, LSU, FSU, Miami (Fla), Florida and South Florida;
Dyron Dye is a 6'5", 230 pounder from Seminole High School of Sanford, Florida. Dye runs a 4.7 forty and is also checking out Florida, FSU, LSU, Tennessee and Miami (Fla..); and
Kedrick Johnson is from Palmetto, Florida, High School is south Florida, and is also looking at South Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin, South Florida and Central Florida.
Just like the defensive line prospects, there are other DE’s who may receive an Auburn scholarship offer in the future. They include the following, in no particular order.
Corey Henry is a 6'3", 230 pounder from Carol City High School of Miami, Florida, who runs a 4.7 forty. He is considering Miami (Fla.), West Virginia, Rutgers and Michigan State;
Alex Williams, who is a 6'5", 210 pound prospect from FAMU High School in Tallahassee. Williams runs a quick 4.65 forty and is considering, not only A.U., but FSU, LSU, Clemson and South Florida;
Colby Andrews from Macon, Georgia where he attends Tattnall Square Academy. He is a 6'3", 215 prospect, and runs a 4.75 forty. He is looking at Georgia Tech, Clemson and South Carolina;
Euclid Cummings is a 6'3", 200 pound DE prospect from Centennial High of Roswell, Georgia, and who is also considering Georgia, Tennessee and Clemson;
Tevin Hallman from Tucker, Georgia, High School, runs a 4.7 forty, stands 6'3" and weighs 235. He is also looking at Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson and South Carolina;
Dearco Nolan is a 6'2", 230 pounder from Westlake High School of Atlanta. He runs a 4.7 forty and is also considering Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Georgia; and
Cole Tischer is a 6'5", 225 pounder from Brentwood, Tennessee, High School (not the Academy), who runs a 4.7 forty. He is also looking at Alabama, Stanford, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech.
Keep in mind with Auburn’s Summer Football Camps about to begin, there will be future changes in who the Tigers recruit and offer scholarships.