The Bodda Getta

***Chizik said it's been an "incredibly difficult 72 hours for a lot of people starting with the six victims and their families and friends." He said the whole Auburn family is "devastated" by the passing of three young men.

***Chizik said it's hard to stand up here and talk about what happened. He said his thought and prayers are with the victim's families. He said the Auburn police department and Chief Dawson did a great job in communicating with Auburn as quickly as possible Saturday night. He also thanked the media for continuing to respect the privacy of his football players.

***Chizik said there's a long road ahead of grieving and its a day by day process for the ath dept and the families and friends of the victims. He said his No. 1 goal and that of the athletic dept is to help and support the victim's families and friends. He said another top priority was making sure his players get any help they need with the grieving process.

***Chizik said they contacted several players about speaking today but none were ready to do it right now. He said he wasn't ready either but its his job.

***Chizik said he got a message out to the players as soon as he learned of the shooting for them to get back to their homes as soon as possibile.

***Chizik said they held a lengthy and very emotional team meeting the next day. He gave the players an opportunity to speak and express their emotions. He said the message of the meeting was that they would take this day by day and make sure everybody gets the help they need.

"There was a lot of devastation in the room," Chizik said.

***Chizik said Eric Mack is expected to make a full recovery. He's up and walking around. His mother is here with him.

***Chizik said they try to educate their players on a lot of things including signs of when things can become dangerous. He said this is one of the safest places to live in the country. He said it was an isolated incident that made no sense. But he said he doesn't know that there's any magical teaching moment that would help players recognize what was about to happen that night.

***Chizik said this, "is not about football season. This is about young guys dealing with a tragedy." He said players are already using the counseling services made available.

***Chizik said he's had a lot of communication with the families of Ed Christian and Ladarious Phillips. Chizik said the ath dept will provide transportation to everybody in the ath dept that wants to attends the funerals.

***Chizik said, "these were two fine young men who had a long life ahead of them."