Tuberville Q&A

Thanks to the good 'ol rednecks at auburnsports.com, here is an interview with head redneck in charge, Tommy Tuberville.

AuburnSports.com: The 19 early commitments is by far the most at this time for Auburn. What prompted all these early verbals?

Tuberville: Well, I think it's a combination of a lot of things. For one we have more money o throw at the recruits. I mean, how is someone going to turn that down? Also, what kid would pass up a chance to frequently bang an Auburn co-ed? I know I've been there plenty of times. It's fantastic! We're gonna beat Bama again this year.

AuburnSports.com: Does having two new coordinators, Paul Rhoads - who is from the North where the early commitment trend started - and Tony Franklin - who is very decisive - play a role in the early commitments?

Tuberville: No. I'm the only man that matters around here, so it's all my doing. We're gonna beat Bama again this year.

AuburnSports.com: Explain your evaluation process in offering a prospect.

Tuberville: If he's capable of running the ball, we'll take him. I also have to take into account how easy it will be to fix his transcripts so he will get accepted into college. A lot of high schools have made that very difficult now. We're gonna beat Bama again this year.

AuburnSports.com: Looking at the class now, are there any positions that need to be concentrated on over the next six months?

Tuberville: We're gonna beat Bama again this year.

AuburnSports.com: How is your health coming off of surgery?

Tuberville: Well I'm a little sore to tell you the truth. The doctor said it's always a little awkward to come back from penile reduction surgery. Hopefully, I will make a full recovery so I can get back to those Auburn co-eds we talked about. We're gonna beat Bama again this year.

AuburnSports.com: How much longer do you plan on coaching at Auburn?

Tuberville: I plan on coaching until we lose a game to Bama. Since that doesn't look too likely to happen any time soon, I may end up coaching until I die. Nick Saban is a douche.

Countdown: 44 Days!

44 Days

Eastern Michigan is garbage. Everything about them is horrible this season. Everything except Daniel Holtzclaw (Pictured above), that is. The Eagles actually had a decent season by their standards last year. Of course a decent season for EMU standards is more than one win. We'll see if they can duplicate that success this season.

NCAA 2009: Consider it copped....

So I purchased NCAA Football 2009 today. If you haven't already picked it up I should warn you, your first instinct will be to drop kick the game across your room. The graphics at first glance seemed to have digressed from last year's version.

However, after playing for a few hours I started to find myself liking it more.

There are a few complaints of course. For one, Xbox 360 for whatever reason, doesn't include all of the 1-aa teams. This pisses me off a lil bit. There's something nice about building Montana St. into a national power that I miss. The game is also a lot easier than previous years. That makes the games a lil more boring to actually play.

One thing that's nice about this year's version is that the best players are far and away better than the rest of the comp. Percy Harvin and Chris Rainey are near impossible to take down in the open field. Noel Devine, Joe McKnight and Jeremy Maclin are a few other players I've noticed.

Well, I didn't play the game too much so there's not too much critique. If you're a fan of the franchise go out and buy it. If not, you might just want to wait for Madden.

The top 25 players: Sun Belt

We've finally made it to the end of my conference player breakdown series.

Of course we're ending it on a high note with the greatest conference of all! The Sun Belt conference!

Here are the top 25 players from the epitome of conference awesomeness that is the Sun Belt.

1.Rusty Smith - Florida Atlantic QB - If it wasn't for Tim Tebow, Smith might just be the best QB in the Sunshine State. Rusty has lead the Owls to tremendous success during his tenure in Boca Raton. I look for that to continue this season.

2. Frantz Joseph - Florida Atlantic LB - While Smith is busy leading the Owl offense, Joseph is the unquestioned leader of the FAU defense. Howard Schnellenberger loves tough defensive players, and Frantz Joseph fits that mold perfectly.

3. Tyrell Fenroy - Louisiana-Lafayette RB - Fenroy is the most dangerous runner in the Sun Belt conference. While the Ragin' Cajuns have been struggling as a team as of late, there is no such problems with Fenroy's game.

4. Casey Fitzgerald - North Texas WR - Larry's younger brother definitely has the talent to be just as good as his older brother. With Riley Dodge in the mix this season, I see Fitzgerald busting onto the scene in a big way.

5. Tavious Polo - Florida Atlantic DB - While the Owls are busy throwing the ball all over the place, Tavious Polo is busy making sure the same doesn't happen to them. For the most part, Sun Belt QB's know to avoid this guy.

6. Reggie Arnold - Arkansas St. RB - The Red Wolves may very well have the worst nickname in 1-a football now. I don't see anyone making fun of Arnold for that. He is a load that is very tough to bring down in the open field.

7. Kenny Mainor - Troy DL - The Trojans have had a long line of great defensive linemen. Mainor is the latest to take on that legacy. With a down year expected, Mainor and the Troy D will need to step up to prove the experts wrong.

8. Greg James - Louisiana-Monroe DB - The War Hawks will get a little bit more pub this season thanks to their monstrous upset of Alabama late last season. That will be a good chance for James to show off his talents.

9. Cortez Gent - Florida Atlantic WR - Gent is the go-to receiver in a pass happy FAU offense. Rusty Smith to Cortez Gent will be very difficult to defend in the Sun Belt.

10. Dion Small - Troy OL - Small is not a proper name for someone so big. This guy will be clearing lanes for the Trojan offense this season.

The rest:

11. Antwyne Zanders Louisiana-Lafayette LB
12. Jervonte Jackson Florida Atlantic DL
13. Jason Harmon Florida Atlantic TE
14. Corey Small Florida Atlantic DB
15. Matt Mandich Arkansas St. OL
16. Boris Lee Troy LB
17. Aaron Schutz Louisiana-Monroe OL
18. James Truxillo Louisiana-Monroe DB
19. Alaric Coleman Louisiana-Monroe DL
20. Desmond Gee Middle Tennessee RB
21. Cedric Mack Florida International OL
22. Riley Dodge North Texas QB
23. Jamal Lewis Middle Tennessee OL
24. Terence Moore Troy LB
25. Bradley Guillory Arkansas St. OL

Countdown: 46 Days!

46 Days

Everyone already knows how horrible Michigan is going to be this year. So instead of harping on the obvious, I figured I'd throw out some positives for the Wolverines this season.

• Michigan fans aren't as obnoxious as Ohio St. fans.
• Michigan won't suck as hard as Notre Dame.
• Rich Rodriguez is slightly less of a douche bag than Nick Saban.
• Michigan Stadium is really, really, really big.

There you go, now you can never say I never say anything nice about Michigan.

Charley Pell's struggles shown on film

For years former Florida and Clemson head coach Charley Pell had struggled with depression.

His battle with the disease even culminated with a suicide attempt. Now the struggle that Pell went through is being shown through a short documentary.

The Sporting News has done a write up on it here.

Please take the time out to read this article. Especially if you or anyone you know is dealing with depression. Often times a person has no idea what's wrong with them while they're going through this.

The top 25 players: MAC

The MAC has always had some quality talent within their ranks. Ben Roethlisberger, Chester Taylor, Byron Leftwich, Chad Pennington, Randy Moss, Dwight Smith and Charlie Frye are just a few of the recent MAC players to get drafted into the NFL.

Here is my list of the top 25 players in the MAC this season. Don't be surprised if some of these players end up playing on Sundays.

1. Dan LeFevour - Central Michigan QB - LeFevour is the best dual threat QB in America outside of Tim Tebow. Some people are even calling LeFevour a dark horse candidate for the Heisman trophy this season.

2. Eugene Jarvis - Kent St. RB - Jarvis is the leading returning rusher in the nation. The Golden Flashes run the ball more than anyone else in the nation. That just means Jarvis will have ample opportunities to add onto his total this season.

3. Nate Davis - Ball St. QB - LeFevour might get all of the attention at CMU, but Nate Davis is probably the next great MAC QB to make it in the NFL. This guy is big and he has a big time arm.

4. Bryan Anderson - Central Michigan WR - When LeFevour doesn't run the ball, he often throws it to this guy. Anderson really had a breakout season last year. Anderson is helped out greatly by a tremendous Chippewa running game.

5. Dante Love - Ball St. WR - Love might actually end up with a better statistical season than Anderson at Central Michigan. That's because the Cardinals throw the ball early and often under Brady Hoke.

6. Larry English - Northern Illinois DL - The Huskies have fallen on tough time as of late. New HC Jerry Kill is hoping to infuse this team with some energy. One player he doesn't have to worry about is Larry English. English has a constant motor and is always making plays in the opponent's backfield.

7. Clayton Mullins - Miami(OH) LB - Mullins is an All-MAC LB at Miami. He leads a very stout Red Hawk defense that will need to carry the offense this season.

8. Darius Hill - Ball ST. TE - When QB Nate Davis isn't looking for Dante Love, his next option is usually Darius Hill. Hill is a big time target that has an NFL future.

9. Jamarko Simmons - Western Michigan WR - I remember watching Simmons shred the Florida St. defense 2 year ago. The Seminoles will be relieved to know that he does that to everybody.

10. Justin Anderson - Northern Illinois RB - Anderson is the latest in a long line of talented Husky RB's. Jerry Kill will look to use him more often than last season.

The rest:

11. Daniel Holtzclaw Eastern Michigan LB

12. Londen Fryar Western Michigan DB

13. Dave DiFranco Miami(OH) OL

14. Jeff Niedermier Buffalo OL

15. Barry Church Toledo DB

16. Robert Brewster Ball St. OL

17. John Haneline Bowling Green LB

18. Alex Derenthal Temple OL

19. Andre Neblett Temple DL

20. Davonte Shannon Buffalo DB

21. Almondo Sewell Akron DL

22. Andre Jones Akron WR

23. Ontario Sneed Central Michigan RB

24. Chris Miller Ball St. P

25. Jacob Richardson Miami(OH) P

The top 25 players: WAC

Over the past few seasons, the WAC has been the cream of the crop when it comes to non-BCS conferences.

Two years ago the Boise St. Broncos pulled off one of the biggest upsets in conference history with their victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.

Last season, the Hawaii Warriors made it through the regular season undefeated. This year Boise St. is trying to wrestle back control of the conference. However, a lot of "experts" are picking Fresno St. to make a run at the title.

Here's my list of the top 25 players in the WAC.


1. Ian Johnson - Boise St. RB - Ian Johnson could be a dark horse candidate for the Heisman Trophy this season. The now famous back is a touchdown machine. With a new QB, Johnson should get plenty of carries once again.

2. Chase Holbrook - New Mexico St. QB - Holbrook has quietly put up some astronomically numbers for the Aggies. NMSU is in danger of losing it's 1-a status. In order to save the program, Holbrook will have to get accompany those numbers with wins.

3. Luke Lippincott - Nevada RB - A lot of people underestimate Lippincott at the RB position. However, whenever I watched a Wolfpack game last season, I saw this kid make play after play. I think he deserves this ranking.

4. Jeremy Childs - Boise St. WR - Childs is yet another play maker for Chris Petersen and the Broncos. I don't see how people can pick Fresno St. above them.

5. Solomon Elimimian - Hawaii LB - The Warrior defense will need to step up in a big way this season. They lost too much on offense to rely on that unit once again.

6. Chris Williams - New Mexico St. WR - Williams is the preferred target for QB Chase Holbrook at NMSU. Hal Mumme will dig deep in his playbook to find ways to get this guy the ball as much as possible.

7. Adam Leonard - Hawaii LB - Leonard joins Elimimian on a very solid linebacker unit. Coach McMackin knows he can count on these two to lead his defense this season.

8. Andrew Woodruff - Boise St. OL - Woodruff is usually the man in charge for clearing running lanes for Ian Johnson. Based on Johnson's stats, you can tell Woodruff is good at what he does.

9. Colin Kaepernick - Nevada QB - Caepernick is probably the least known of all the dual threat quarterbacks in America. This guy may actually be a bigger threat on the ground than through the air.

10. John Estes - Hawaii OL - Estes' talents may go unnoticed this season. That's largely due to the fact that there is absolutely nothing left on offense for the Warriors. Despite this, Estes will still be plugging away on the line.

The rest:

11. Antonio Baker Louisiana Tech DB
12.David Veikune Hawaii DL
13. Joshua Mauga Nevada LB
14. Christopher Owens San Jose St. DB
15. Bear Pascoe Fresno St. TE
16. Jon Monga Fresno St. DL
17. Kevin Jurovich San Jose St. WR
18. Marko Mitchell Nevada WR
19. Kyle Wilson Boise St. DB
20. Cole Popovich Boise St. OL
21. Dominic Green Nevada OL
22. Shiloh Keo Idaho DB
23. Jarron Gilbert San Jose St. DL
24. Bobby Lepori Fresno St. OL
25. Tom Brandstater Fresno St. QB

Countdown: 49 Days!

49 Days

The Texas A&M Aggies will be welcoming new HC Mike Sherman this season. The Shermanator will be replacing the much maligned Dennis Franchione. The Aggies will have a powerful running game once again with the Thunder and Lightning combo of Jorvorskie Lane and Mike Goodson. Sherman is also promising a much more efficient passing game as well. TAMU should be able to make another bowl game, it is yet to be seen how good of a bowl berth they will get.

The top 25 players: Mountain West

Time to look at everyone's favorite conference now!

Let's hear it for the Mountain West!!!!!

Here are my top 25 players from the greatest football conference on Earth.


1. Max Hall - BYU QB - Max Hall could have the potential to be the first QB selected come draft time. The Cougars are expected to do big thnigs this season, and Hall is a big reason for that.

2. DeAndre Wright - New Mexico DB - Wright is one of the best cover corners in the nation. Unfortunately for him, he plays in the desert of New Mexico. Most people have never even heard of this guy. You would think a school that produced Brian Urlacher would get a little more pub.

3. Jan Jorensen - BYU DL - The Cougar's defensive line will be scary this season. Jorgensen is the leader of the best unit in the MWC. Opposing QB's will be on the run all game long when they face BYU.

4. Harvey Unga - BYU RB - Unga really came onto the scene last season. I look for him to carry his momentum over into this season. While Hall will get most of the pub on offense, Unga will play a big role in BYU's success.

5. Dallas Reynolds - BYU OL - Not only does BYU have the best defensive line in the MWC, they also have the best offensive line. Reynolds will head a very strong group that will work hard to keep Hall out of trouble and open lanes for Unga.

6. Austin Collie - BYU WR - Hall has got to have somebody to throw to. That somebody is Collie. He is as tough as they come at the WR position.

7. Ryan Wolfe - UNLV WR - Finally, another non- BYU player. Unfortunately for Wolfe, he plays on a really bad Rebel football team. Wolfe may actually be a better rounded receiver than Collie at BYU.

8. Robert Conley - Utah OL - You knew the other participant in the Holy War was going to have a say on this list. Conley leads a very deep Utah offensive line that will be looking to protect talented QB Brian Johnson.

9. Ray Feinga - BYU OL - Feinga joins Dallas Reynolds on the BYU O-line. The Cougars are going to be seriously good this season. I can see why everyone is picking them to go undefeated.

10. John Fletcher - Wyoming DL - Joe Glenn's Wyoming team fell apart late last season. It will be up to the Cowboy's defense, led by Fletcher, to not let another meltdown happen in 2008.

Here are the rest:

11. Ward Dobbs Wyoming LB
12. Jason Allen TCU LB
13. Rodney Ferguson New Mexico RB
14. Nick Charles Air Force OL
15. Paul Kruger Utah DL
16. Russell Allen San Diego St. LB
17. Brian Johnson Utah QB
18. Darrell Mack Utah RB
19. Darren Mougey San Diego St. WR
20. Casey Flair UNLV WR
21. Travis Bright BYU OL
22. Cody Moore TCU DL
23. Mitch Unrein Wyoming DL
24. Rafael Priest TCU DB
25. Dennis Pitta BYU TE