Ramblin' around ...

The grueling days of preseason camp are over. Within days, Auburn players will get the word from head coach Gene Chizik or from their position coaches on who will start, who will come off the bench, who will play on special teams and who will redshirt.

Most of those who are told they will spend the season working with scout teams and going through strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall's fearsome redshirt workouts will be disappointed. But a few years from now, they will value the experience and what it did for them.

Junior defensive end Nosa Eguae says it only served to motivate him more.

“To me, it was I couldn’t wait to come out there and ball,” Eguae said. “All Coach Chizik is about is competing. If you are not competing, you are going to be left behind. That’s what I love about the guy."

Redshirt freshman left tackle Greg Robinson was stressed when he got the world last year that he would not play. Today, he says he is happy it happened just like it did.

"It was kind of stressful," Robinson said. "I really wanted to play, but knowing I couldn't, I looked at it in a positive way and it paid off.

"I think the redshirting process was really helpful to me. It gave me time to develop and get stronger and smarter. I really understand it more. Working with Coach (Jeff) Grimes and taking his coaching, I know exactly what he is expecting. Basically, I'm more comfortable and stay more focused now."

That's easy to see looking back, but not so easy to see looking forward. ...

Moving on:

Some predictions for the coming football season:

* Senior Auburn tailback Onterio McCalebb will line up as a true tailback and run the ball inside and out a lot more than some expect.

* Auburn will not go 0-3 against LSU, Georgia and Alabama.

* Senior Auburn wide receiver DeAngelo Benton will finally make a major contribution. ...

* Arkansas will be the biggest disappointment in the SEC.

* Southern California will not play in the BCS Championship Game. Not enough depth.

A tweet from sophomore Auburn safety Jermaine Whitehead: "Every morning we wake up, we are faced with the question "What will you do to be successful?" ...

I can't help but wonder what the real story is on Mississippi State wide receiver coach Angelo Mirando's resignation less than two weeks before the season-opener. The party line is "personal reasons." That could mean a lot of things. ...

Florida has lost four commitments in the past 10 days. That's a lot, but it doesn't seem to be getting much attention. ...

Until next time ...

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