Freestyling from The Bay

Hey everyone. So I'm still stuck in this hotel room. It's nice to have a view of Tampa Bay and all, but it's really just me and the computer. Still.

Why not write more?

I'll take a few minutes each afternoon (pre-Outback Bowl) to pontificate on some Auburn topic. It'll be freestyle, stream-of-consciousness stuff.

So on that note...

Walt McFadden is underappreciated.

Sure, he's an all-conference cornerback. Sure, he was the most reliable element of a defense that was unstable for most of the season. Sure, he used free time to groom some of the Tigers' young defensive backs and share the lessons taught to him by his predecessors.

What you may not know is how valuable McFadden has been in other ways.

Talking with reporters isn't easy. Questions sometimes get difficult, answers become confusing. A balance exists between what players want to say and what they should say. Identifying that balance and manipulating it comfortably turns a normal player into a ambassador.

And that's exactly what McFadden became: An ambassador.

The senior on Tuesday was awarded the inaugural "Good Guy Award" from writers who cover Auburn on a daily basis. After years of watching players duck interviews in the craziest ways -- Kodi Burns has nothing on David Copperfield when it comes to escaping a closed elevator -- we wanted to reward the guys who take the time to stand up when it's not easy.

McFadden did it time and again. When Auburn was askew during the 2008 season, he strolled in for his weekly powwows with the same enthusiasm he exhibits these days. If stories about the Tigers' defense were out of style, McFadden adapted by discussing anyone on the team.

He is a social guy. He pays attention. The comments he provided about teammates were insightful, thoughtful and often novel.

All this from a guy who was a sullen mess during his first season at Auburn.

He has our respect. He deserves your as well.

Newton delays his decision

Hey everyone. Our friends at BulldawgJunction.com, a website that covers Mississippi State, are reporting that quarterback Cam Newton has delayed his enrollment decision.

The former U. Florida player was supposed to choose between Auburn, Mississippi State and Oklahoma on Dec. 31. That decision is on hold.

The Tigers recently extended an offer to the quarterback, who now plays at Blinn College in central Texas. Of note: Blinn's coach is Brad Franchione, son of the former Alabama coach.

Anyway, Newton's father said a decision will be announced Saturday at the earliest.

Walt McFadden wins inaugural Good Guy Award

Hey everyone. The suspense has ended.

Cornerback Walt McFadden today was named the first-ever recipient of the EAABWAA's Good Guy Award. Official press release follows:

TAMPA -- Auburn senior cornerback Walter "Walt" McFadden has been selected as the first recipient of the "Good Guy Award," which will be presented annually by the local chapter of Auburn beat writers.

The award is meant to recognize a player who is consistently congenial and professional in his interactions with the media.

The East Alabama Auburn Beat Writers Association of America voted to give McFadden the inaugural award for his friendly demeanor, regular participation in media interviews and outstanding quotablity.

"Walt is a reporter's best friend," said EAABWAA media relations committee chairman Evan Woodbery. "He could speak intelligently on any number of topics and his outstanding sense of humor never wavered."

McFadden will be presented with a plaque from the EAABWAA at a later date.

"I really do appreciate that," McFadden said when informed of the honor. "I want to thank everybody...I feel like I'm at an awards show."

Other players deserving of honorable mention include quarterback Chris Todd, who was always willing to speak during good times and bad, tight end Tommy Trott, H-back Mario Fannin and linebackers Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens.

McFadden, a native of Pompano Beach, Fla., has started 24 consecutive games for the Tigers and was an All-SEC second team selection. He is also a member of the SEC's community service team.

"You couldn't have picked a better one," said Auburn head coach Gene Chizik. "He's a great ambassador for Auburn. He's a great person. He's a great football player. He's always the same. He never changes, so what you see is what you get. I wasn't aware of the award, but now that I am I don't think you could have picked a better one. That was a good pick."

The EAABWAA is an informal professional organization devoted to advancing sports journalism.

Congratulations to McFadden, who certainly was deserving. I may or may not have voted for him, but he certainly embodies what this award represents.

Early notes

Hey everyone. Auburn recently completed a 90-minute practice at University of Tampa. Here's what two principles had to say about the morning's events.

• Josh Bynes on focusing amid bowl hoopla: ``Practice is going well. Everybody is into it. A lot of guys say it's hard to focus because it's a bowl game -- all the things we've got going on. In meetings, everybody's into it. We're having a great time, but at the same time we're working hard on being a good team."
  
  
• Bynes on riding rollercoasters at Busch Gardens: ``I got talked into it by Mike (Goggans) and Byron Isom. There were a lot of guys scared to get on rides, but it was a lot of fun."
  
  
• Bynes on why Auburn's defense was better during the season's second half: ``We came with a mindset that we're going to come after the other team. We were tired of hearing everybody saying this defense isn't good. We came up with a great scheme. Our whole mentality is: Three downs. That's all we've been thinking about for the second half of the season."
  
  
• Gene Chizik on today's practice: ``I felt like the tempo was up. It was a little shorter today because of some of the events. We're coming down to the end of the week anyway. This was our Wednesday-ish practice for game week. Good work today. I think we're going in the right direction."
  

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.

Good Guy Award

Hey everyone. The East Alabama Auburn Beat Writers Association of America this year has decided to bestow an award upon the Auburn player who is "consistently congenial and professional in his interactions with the media."

The Good Guy Award will be presented this afternoon.

Finalists include:
TE Tommy Trott
LB Craig Stevens
LB Joshua Bynes
CB Walt McFadden
WR/TB Mario Fannin
QB Chris Todd

Freestyling from The Bay

Hey everyone. So I'm stuck in this hotel room. It's nice to have a view of Tampa Bay and all, but it's really just me and the computer.

Why not write more?

I'll take a few minutes each afternoon (pre-Outback Bowl) to pontificate on some Auburn topic. It'll be freestyle, stream-of-consciousness stuff.

So on that note...

It's pretty amazing that Auburn is here. Not just because the Outback Bowl is supposed to feature an Eastern Division team. Or that the Tigers somehow found a way to become the most alluring of the Southeastern Conference's 7-5 teams.

That stuff doesn't have much to do with the football team. It's chance. It's opportunity. It's administrative ingenuity.

What I'll always remember about this team is its uniformity. Gene Chizik rolled into town last year talking about blueprints, plans, codes. It seemed trite. Every new coach says what he has to say. Appeasing the fans, winning the press conference, is everyone's goal.

He won the press conference that day, but not because he tried.

Chizik was honest. He had a plan. He coached at Auburn during its best days in 2004. He then jumped to Texas and coached there during some of that program's best days in 2005. He was at the pinnacle.

Then he went to Iowa State. Things there didn't go well. We know that.

Still, those struggles have given him insight that's equally valuable. Chizik was able to contrast what went well at Auburn and Texas with what failed at Iowa State. It's clear that he's a quick learner.

Chizik's plan, developed while he was at Iowa State, is working well at Auburn. The Tigers are recruiting well, they're competitive despite having significant personnel shortages and they're consistent.

The head coach wants to perfect the simple things first: The five-yard hitch route. Defending an inside-zone run. Communicating plays effectively from sideline to huddle. That's what the 2009 season was about: Getting the simple things correct.

Expectations will grow ahead of the 2010 opener. The team should be better. It'll be interesting to see how Chizik adapts the team as experience and confidence build through the spring and summer. Auburn should become a more complicated enterprise.

Managing that development will be his toughest challenge yet.

Gene Chizik and Friend

Hey everyone. I have just returned from the Gene Chizik and Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern coach) press conference. I was not able to gain access to the wireless network over there.

Sorry for the delay.

• FITZHGERALD on the weather: It's been 50 degrees warmer than is in in Chicago, so the kids are happy about that. We saw the sun today.
  
  
• CHIZIK on today's practice: ``I thought the tempo today was much better. The focus was much better. They got the message. It was about getting our team re-focused."
  
  
• FITZGERALD on thriving despite rigorous academic standards: ``We've been able to attract high quality players and world class student-athletes. With that comes the expectation that we're going to do well in the classroom. You can have that balance. It all starts with recruiting. Once you have that, it's like a vacuum that pulls everyone else up. It starts and ends with the way our kids are raised in their home."
  
  
• CHIZIK on Derek Winter, who is from Tampa: ``He is the epitome of hard work. In the Auburn Creed, it talks about hard work. He is what the creed says. He is what Auburn believes in. He knows what his role is right now."
  
  
• CHIZIK on why practice was better today: ``The effort was good yesterday. It wasn’t about effort. When you have practice that doesn't go the way you want it to, it's usually focus. I addressed it after practice. Today, everybody was good. Our guys -- it's never about effort. It's about if they're locked and loaded on the task at hand."
  
  
• CHIZIK on Walt McFadden's career: ``He was probably immature when I got here. That's the cool thing about coaching -- you get 'em when they're 18 and they leave you at 22. You can see how much you've changed their lives. He's grown up. He's matured beyond his years. He's been absolutely phenomenal for our football team. Everybody could take a lesson from his story -- there's a bunch of 'em out there."
  
  
• CHIZIK on how Auburn's offense runs these days: ``It's not always fast-paced. We try to do it at the right time. Every time is not the right time for us, individually."
  
  
• CHIZIK on the appropriate label for Auburn's offense: ``I don't have a name for it."
  
  
• CHIZIK on the offense, part III: ``It was kind of an up-tempo but starting with: How are we going to run the ball? Let's run the football and see what we can do off the running game. What was attractive to me was that it was going to let us run the football but it still was up-tempo. It's different than most. We start everything from trying to run the football.
  Going back to being a defensive guy and having a defensive mentality, that's what I believe in. That's where my roots are."
  
  
• CHIZIK on his defensive philosophy: ``Don't trick yourself. Who are you? Once you know who you are, that's how you play. That's what you do. You don't guru it up every week. I know that sounds simplistic. If you get them to line up and play fast, that's what you want defensively. Don't trick yourself."
  
  
• CHIZIK on Onterio McCalebb: ``The cool thing about college football is that they come from everywhere. You have the rich ones, the poor ones, the white ones, the black ones. His background was tough. When he didn't make it coming out of high school, people probably told him he couldn't make it. The ones who keep doubting him are the ones who motivate him. He wants to get his degree because I'm sure everybody is telling him he can't. I'm not near as proud of any of (his football accomplishments) as I am seeing him getting his eductation. That's where he is that's light years ahead of where he was."
  
  

Live from Tampa

Hey everyone. I am now settled in at HABOTN-Florida Headquarters near the Tampa airport. It's a nice place. Our friends from The Gold Mine and AuburnUndercover.com are stationed nearby, so there is safety in numbers.

The trip took me approximately eight hours from Montgomery.

Here are some pictures I took along the way:

Dothan has more red lights than Amsterdam. It took me at least 30 minutes to get around that city. Second only to Crestview, Fla., in terms of unpleasant traverses.


Welcome to the Florida line ... about 15 miles south of Dothan. It's never sunny when I roll into Florida. I find that odd.


SCHEUDULE UPDATE: Auburn practices around 10 a.m. Monday at University of Tampa. Chizik and Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald will hold a joint press conference around 1 p.m.

We'll be updating as needed.

More on Meyer's situation

Hey everyone. Good morning. I am on my way out of town, headed south (then east, then south again) toward Tampa. Before I leave, though, please take a second to read this fine story from the New York Times:

Meyer says he's quitting as coach of Florida

Good quotes and information and insight.

Talk with you again tonight.

Florida coach Urban Meyer steps down

Hey everyone. This isn't Auburn-related, but you need to know about it.

Florida coach Urban Meyer announced this afternoon that his team's Jan. 1 game against Cincinnati will be his final as head coach.

This ESPN report says the decision is health-related.

I'll post more as it becomes available.

Players are en route

Hey everyone. Though the magic of Twitter, we know that Auburn players have been making their way to Tampa today.

Guard Byron Isom used his travel stipend to buy a first-class ticket from Atlanta to Tampa. He arrived this morning.

Wideout Terrell Zachery (and a few others) bummed a ride with tight end Gabe McKenzie. They drove through Tallahassee and arrived in Tampa around 2:30 p.m. CST.

Walt McFadden drove north from his pad in Pompano, Fla. He arrived around 3:30.

The Tigers still are arriving at the Hyatt Regency. The players' first official function is tonight when they're invited to attend a Tampa Bay Lightning game. Auburn begins practice tomorrow around 10:15 a.m.

SCHEDULE NOTE: The HABOTN Reporting Team will be making its way toward Tampa on Sunday.

Former Auburn commitment makes good

Hey everyone. I was watching the Ohio-Marshall game and cheering for the Bobcats. Fellow Auburn hack Andrew Gribble is an OU grad and I've taken a liking to Frank Solich's team. Gritty kids.

They just lost to Marshall. The game was sealed when MU cornerback DeQuan Bembry intercepted a pass with less than one minute remaining. Does that name sound familiar?

It should! Bembry committed to Auburn during the autumn of 2006. Auburn then cooled on him, he decided to look elsewhere and found a home at Marshall.

Found that interesting.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holiday

Hey everyone. Christmas morning has ended, which means I now can post on the HABOTN without guilt.

I hope you have a swell day. At least it's not raining.

My big gift was a Wilson Evolution basketball, indoor ball, real leather, necessary because the YMCA people choose to spend annual fees on new centers in different parts of town. That means the Bell Road branch gets neglected. Do I sound bitter?

Anyway, my ball is awesome. Thanks, Santa!

McCalebb's numbers tell the story

Hey everyone. Merry Christmas Eve to all you HOTTIES out there.

I'm doing a little work this evening amid the rain. Well, I'm not in the rain. I'd rather be in the snow ...

With rain falling around central Alabama, I am working on a little piece about your favorite rail-thin tailback. He wears No. 23. His name is Onterio.

So he plays the first four games of the season. He feels great.
LOU TECH, 22-148, 1 TD
MS STATE, 16-114, 1 TD
WEST VIR, 8-20, 0 TD
BALL STA, 8-83, 1 TD
---------------------
54-365, 6.75 ypc, 3 TDs

... then he gets hurt on a fake punt. It's his left ankle.
U. TENNE, 13-51, 0 TD
U. ARKAN, 6-23, 1 TD
U. KENTU, 7-22, 0 TD
LA STATE, 3-3, 0 TD
---------------------
29-99, 3.4 ypc, 1 TD

... then he sits out two games and regains his ability to cut.
U. GEORG, 11-60, 0 TD
U. ALABA, 5-23, 0 TD
---------------------
16-83, 5.18 ypc, 0 TD

SUMMARY: A healthy McCalebb is a very good tailback.

Have a nice day.

Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University

Questions? Comments? Post directly to the blog below or email me at jgtate@gannett.com.

Thigpen talking with Florida?

The fine peeps at footballcoachscoop.com, who have been right almost every time in situations I can verify personally, are saying assistant coach Tommy Thigpen has interviewed at Florida for a job as safeties coach.

Is it true? I'll call Thig, but don't expect to hear anything substantive about this until the Outback Bowl stuff gets into swing on Dec. 26 or 27.

For those who don't know, Thigpen is a critical (central?) component of the Tigers' recruiting enterprise. He's a main contact for most big-name prospects and I'm certain that Gene Chizik would work to keep Thigpen on the Plains if it came to that. More money? A new Pez dispenser? A bigger coaching role? You name it.

Back to the note from footballcoachscoop.com, I think I know who will get that job if it comes down to Thig and Willie Martinez. I'd say one resume is significantly thicker than the other.

**Thanks to Jet for his assistance here.

(BONUS) Radio Appearance in progress

Hey everyone. I am participating in my weekly segment on SuperSport 930 out of Jackson, Miss., in a bit. That extravaganza began around 9:05 a.m. CST.

We have discussed health care, soccer, Brittany Murphy, sweaters, Rick Stansbury, Meo Stansbury, single life and other stuff. And that was just the first segment.

Be there or be rectangular.