Tigerbytes: Chizik's praise

AUBURN - Auburn coach Gene Chizik singled out sophomore center Reese Dismukes and junior defensive tackle Jeff Whitaker for praise Wednesday night.

Defensive tackle Jeff Whitaker

"Reese Dismukes has been very solid," Chizik said. "I'm real proud of him. He's dropped weight. He's moving much quicker. He's a tough guy that shows up at practice to go to work every day. He's the guy that is going to have to anchor that line, and he's been very consistent.

"Jeff Whitaker, I think, has made some strides defensively. Without question, I think he has really worked to improve his game. A lot of them have, but those two guys are definitely solid players in the interior."

Hours after suspending senior wide receiver DeAngelo Benton for a violation of team rules, Chizik said how quick he returns is up to him.

"As I've said before, there are expectations we have," Chizik aid. "If he fulfills our expectations of him you'll see him back on the field. If he doesn't, you won't."

Benton, a 5-star prospect who had signed twice with LSU, was considered the jewel of Chizik's first recruiting class. He testified in the armed robbery trial of former Auburn wide receiver Antonio Goodwin and allegedly argued with the accused perpetrator in the shooting deaths of three men, including two former Auburn football players, last June.

Knowledgeable sources said that none of those things were involved in the suspension. Those sources also said that drugs were not involved.

"It's pretty minor," one source said. "If he does what he is supposed to do, he should be back pretty quick."

Quarterback Kiehl Frazier was asked to give his view of fellow quarterback Clint Moseley's strengths.

"Really, everything," Frazier said. "He's real accurate. He got that game experience last year. He got to play against LSU and Alabama. Really, he knows the SEC. He's just a great quarterback."

And Moseley was asked to do the same about his view of Frazier's strengths.

"His ability to run and the velocity on the balls," Moseley said. "That's one thing he can do with just about anybody out there. Obviously there's more to it than that, but he has good leadership. The guys listen to him. He's got all the tools to be really, really good."

Young players, Moseley said, are in for a rude awakening when they play in their first big college football game.

"There is absolutely no way to emulate it," Moseley said. "You can practice all you want, but then you get out there and realize if you take one too many steps on your drop they are going to hit you. There's no way around it. They can say it to you all they want. Until it happens and you realize 'This is as fast as they said it was,' that's when it really clicks."