Friday's Ramblings - Crunch Time

Hello once again fans of the Tigers and War Eagle!

Not long now, that is what every sports journalist that covers college football is saying this week. A summer full of news, events, and extreme exaggeration is nearly passed, and it's time to put up or shut up. Strap 'em on and buckle up.

I fully expect to hear who will be starting at most every position on our football team this next week. If they haven't been announced by the time this is posted.

Tre Mason has been said to be Onterrio McCalebb fast, which means he can go real fast, no word yet on the catching of long tailed furry creatures. We will keep a sharp eye out for that information.

Erique(correct spelling, by the way) Florence, pronounced E-reek-ay, has been getting a load of lip service from the coaches. All of it is good, and now I can't wait to see how good he is.

Trovon Reed is 100% healthy and ready for his grand 2011 debut. T'Sharvan Bell was quoted as saying that Reed was the hardest Tiger to tackle in the open field. High praise.

Barrett Trotter is my prediction  has been named starter at the QB position, I have stated previously that Coach Malzahn had his mind made up in the spring, but Moseley needed to be pushed, and they did promise Kiehl Frazier an opportunity to try and earn the job, but don't count on my gut feelings. This staff does what it says it will do, and that has paid off in spades!

As many as eight Tigers received scholarships this week. A truly great Auburn story, and something that should make each of us proud of our school. A full disclosure is needed here. I never attended Auburn University. It wasn't because I didn't want to. More of God leading me to the wonderful woman I would eventually marry, and have been with for over 34 years now.

My passion about Auburn football has never been a question, the first time I walked onto campus as a 17 year old, I fell in love with it. Nothing has changed since.

More news this week about our favorite Live Oak trees, the prognosis is actually better than previous news reports, but still they are rather BLEAK. Dr. Enloe talked to the Auburn Chamber of Commerce and opened with this...

The good news is that the trees are still alive,

and this

"Based upon the amount of herbicide that was put out there, how much we were able to remove and the toxicity of this herbicide to this species of oak tree, we’re still not giving them a very good prognosis of survival," Enloe said. "I’d say there’s still a less than five percent chance that they are going to survive."

Our friends over at the war eagle reader had THIS to add this week. So, yeah, there are plans to move forward, and keep our tradition alive. Especially since the poison will remain in the soil around the trees for a minimum of 7 years.

It seems our friends over at ESPN have found a new whipping boy this week. In case you haven't heard the sports/ news channel is full of speculation and editorial about the University of Miami, and their alleged troubles. I hope that we as Auburn family will not have such short a memory as to forget what we just went through.

Let's all try to keep that in mind when talking about the Hurricanes' situation.

Many reports of the Miami story are tying several former coaches to the debacle including former Florida Gator recruiter and current Louisville Cardinal Head Coach Charlie Strong. These same reports are also mentioning two of Nick Saban's staff at Alabama. These are probably more of an association to that program, rather than based on some factual information. I refer to the statement above this paragraph.

It is almost time, and I for one am excited about what may lay in store for the 2011 version of Auburn football.

WAR EAGLE!