The Bodda Getta

If I'm not mistaken, Chizik had similar youth/experience issues when he was at Iowa State, then Coach Rhodes came back last year and had a couple of big wins with those same guys Chizik recruited. College football is about watching these young guys grow into men. Watching them come together for a common cause and leave school as productive, educated men who belong to the fraternity that is Auburn football.

I read an article somewhere that said something like: "If you want to beat Auburn, you better do it this year....."

We'll win our share. Maybe lose a game we're supposed to win but probably beat a couple of teams we are underdogs...It's going to be fun to watch.

WDE

What evolutions if any on the high school scene make it possible for freshmen to contribute. Permit a guess or two; uneducated of course as they usually are. Better coaching produces more players that have fewer inbred tech faults than ever before. That coupled with the advance of conditioning as a requirement before play means more superior athletes are ready to compete coming out of the high school level. The game is changing and if we're going to understand the near future, our understanding is going to have to come along with the changes. It isn't like the day that a famous coach said freshmen don't play at this school and drove a famous to this day back to Auburn. There are freshmen that can play at the next level, and if coaches don't allow it, they go to where coaches allow it-places like Auburn. Shug once said that Bryant was an inovator. If Shug were alive today, he'd make the same statement about Gene Chizik-the piper for the future. I don't know, but I'll bet that helps to keep coaches like Malzahn and Grimes from running too quickly.

Showing kids that they WILL play whenever they are ready from day one is a promise worth honoring. Who would not love the opportunity to compete and win a place on the field as a freshman. This is real competition that will build a consistently winning program quickly. Young talented athletes want the chance to play and Coach Chizik has found a way to allow this to be. Some use "building years" as a respite and excuse for losing some we should win and winning some we should lose.. Our coach seems to understand it as a time to step it up. Kids come in with varying levels of knowledge and skills. Sorting them by their effectiveness on the field and assessing what they need to be taught individually saves a lot of time and energy that can be focused on winning games. We should ALWAYS plan to WIN. That is the object of the game. WDE!