ESPN's Joe Schad Reports:

Cam Newton will be AU's starting QB going into fall camp.

His next tweet was something about the sky being blue and water being wet.

Thanks Captain Obvious....

A-Day/Spring Ramblings

*Auburn has four quarterbacks better than Alabama's starter!! Then again, Alabama has four quarterbacks better than Alabama's starter too!?

*Newton will be named the starter. Is he great? Have no idea but the spring game is no measuring stick of which to judge. Secretly I believe he's been named the man and A-Day was merely a chance for Trotter and Caudle to battle it out for the back-up slot...and my nod goes to Trotter. I like Caudle and the way he carries himself and think Auburn could win with him behind center. Trotter though has that gun-slinger, arrogant, Matt Leinart air about him. He's just a winner and I could easily see him winning the battle for number 2. Keep in mind that under the direction of Gus Malzahn, Chris "Dead-Arm" Todd broke virtually every Auburn passing record last season. The Point: We are in good shape at quarterback no matter who lines up there this fall.

*Offensive line will be a veteran group with capable back-ups for the first time in quite some time. This group will be fantastic.

*WR's are loaded. Biggest challenge will be keeping egos in check and finding roles for everyone when the football is not in their hands.

*At running back Michael Dyer needs to grow up in a hurry and be the beast he appears to be on youtube. I've always been a fan of Fannin, but Mario is prone to injury and fumblitis. Don't see Mario carrying the load for 14 straight games unscathed. A Fannin/Dyer/McCalebb punch is nothing I'd enjoy preparing for or attempting to tackle all night long.

*On defense, it's all about scheme. My prediction is Coach Chizik takes more of the defensive scheme under his wing and allows Malzahn to basically run the offensive side of the ball on his own. Depth will be improved along the front seven. We will be loaded at safety and thin at corner, but Demond Washington at one corner will be one the best in the league. Also important will be having the likes of Jess Curry, LaDarius Owens, and Jake Holland cover kickoffs and punts instead of Darvin Adams, Terrell Zachery, or insert walk-on receiver.

*My spring prediction for next season: 11-1 and a trip to Atlanta!

*A well-deserved congrats to the members of the All-Decade Team voted on by the fans. Especially Dr. Z's all-time favorite safety, Will Herring....way to represent Will!!!!

Spring Review: War Cam Eagle

Another spring. Another game.

As I try to temper my excitement over the upcoming season, I am reminded there is nothing better to lower said excitement than an A-day game where the starters are limited and walk-ons get a lot of P.T. Most of our every-down guys played sparingly, leaving it to walk-ons and/or third stringers. Still, I wanted to throw my two-cents in on what I observed on the U on Saturday.

Mario will be better than Ben Tate. Mark it down. He's better laterally, has better hands and I would argue faster than Ben. Considering Ben is a very good back and will likely be a first day guy in the draft this week, that is a pretty good sign.

O-line should be improved. Considering they were paper thin depth wise in 09, the offensive line did a great job. Now with added depth and likely an upgrade at right tackle, I think this group may be one of the best units in the SEC.

Cam will be the starter. Just based on the fact they didn't let him do much in the spring game, and well, the obvious that he has the next Dante Culpepper written all over him. It will be Cam Newton taking snaps next season. That being said Caudle and Trotter and even Mosley looked pretty good too. Any of these guys would compete for a starting job at somewhere like Georgia or Ole Miss. Much of this has to do with....

Wide Receiver=pure awesomeness. Best WR unit at Auburn maybe ever. Any QB will be lucky to be out there with Trooper's receivers. They do the little things so well. Routes are run to perfection. They block well, etc. This is by far our strongest, deepest group.

Defensive Line looks improved. Even though the starters played semi-sparingly, they did well, especially Antoine Carter. This should be a deep unit, with more help coming in Bonomolo and company getting here this summer.

Linebackers-Steady as she goes (Toro aside). Bynes, Stevens, and Evans continue to impress. Eltoro...meh. Do we call it Eltoro's disease or Blackmon's syndrome? I also think this group will upgrade when the new group arrives this summer.

Defensive Backfield? Hard to say what will become of this group. Will Savage and McNeil be 100%? Will Zac Ethredge make it back? This group could be anywhere from great to just OK. I wish I had a better grasp here of exactly what this unit will be.

Special guys. Byrum will likely be on every pre-season awards list. But other special teams questions in no particular order: Can Shoemaker return to his freshman all-SEC form? Can our punt return team crack the top 100? Can we find someone to kick the ball inside the 15 on a regular basis?

I said a few months ago, 10 wins is a real possibility. I still believe that, given the schedule and the fact that we are still overlooked a bit. Arkansas appears to be the upcoming media darling for '10 (see Ole Miss '09). I like where we are as a group. A few bounces here and there and it could be a special season.

Vote for the Auburn Football Team of the Decade

http://auburntigers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/all-decade-vote.html

Lebo=done

Reports are that Jeff Lebo is out at Auburn after yet another subpar season. More to come....

What Might Have Been

We Could have Been a Contender

My wife, two days past due for the birth of my son, understandably went to bed early last night, so I had a chance to catch up on some college hoops rather than watch the Lifetime Movie of the week.

The Duece had Texas-Missouri, so I was immediately interested. I have been a Mike Anderson fan since UAB, where he was once a coach and I was once a student at the school of optometry there. My student ID gave me free admission to the "Fastest forty minutes in basketball", as it was called back then. I watched Anderson's teams who were so often undermanned whip more talented teams with shear guts and hustle. They never stopped. I was reminded of that again last night as Missouri imposed their will upon a shell-shocked Texas team with more talent, but less want to. Anderson is in basketball what Guz Malzahn is to college football. The fast paced approach wears the opponents down physically and more importantly mentally. Both are exciting to watch as fans of either sport. Both are, I would imagine as a player, great fun to play for.

In 2004 we closed the book on Cliff Ellis. His tenure produced the single greatest season in Auburn Basketball. But more often than not, his teams were forgettable and played uninspired. After another lousy season with better than average players, Cliff got canned.

Jay Jacobs had every opportunity at the time to go get Anderson. Most insiders berlieved he wanted the job. Jacobs fumbled the opportunity away by from a couple of accounts refusing to make the 2 hour drive to Birmingham to meet with Anderson. It was beneath him I guess.

The result was possibly the worst few years of Auburn baskteball since Tommy Joe Eagles. Jeff Lebo is a nice guy who simply has not gotten it done. This season was supposed to be a turn around. Instead, we Auburn fans have been subjected to losses to Troy and Sam Houston St., among others. We have seen flashes of brilliance slip away in overtime. It has been excrutiating underachievement.

I could write all day about poor shot selection, lousy halfcourt defense, atrocious free-throw shooting, etc. But I will save it, because we all have seen it before.

Jeff Lebo's tenure is likely done in a month or so. I wonder what might have been if Mike Anderson had been Auburn's head coach. He singlehandedly might have cured Auburn basketball apathy with an exciting brand of basketball that produces winners. Guess we will never know.

It has been documented before, but it's worth reminding us all again....





**Courtesy of Jerry @ Warblogeagle (formerly JCCW)

***Updated--Thanks to a reader, I just realized that Jay Jacobs didn't hire Lebo. It was Hal Baird, who also holds the distinction of hiring Tom Slater to run a once great AU baseball program into the ground. I stand corrected. Here you go...


FAIL

Turning the Tables

When he takes off the glasses, he is like Superman.

After the Iron Bowl, I posted that Auburn's players and coaching staff had changed the perception of Auburn football in one game. Forgive the phrase fellow followeres of the Orange and Blue, but that process rapidly accelerated yesterday with Auburn having the best signing class in its history.

Of all of the signees I think I am most excited about Cam Newton. He's a blue chipper that can give Auburn's offense an instant upgrade. Think about how successful those option pitches were with Chris freakin Todd as the QB. Now imagine an actual threat of a QB keeping the ball and running for 30+. I salivate at the thought.

Auburn signed another great running back in Michael Dyer. He is strong as an ox and can bust a big play at any time.

The O-line signees satisfy our urgent needs there.

I am just as impressed with the defensive upgrades. As Rob said, Jake Holland is a beast who should contibute immediately. Let's not forget Owens is the more highly touted linebacker prospect, and Jessel Curry (already in school) has an NFL pedigree.

Dfensive line? Check. With Whittaker, Lemonier, and Bonomolo (it just rolls off the tounge) the D-line has even more depth this year. Seriously, check out the film on Bonomolo and you can see why I am so excited.

We signed a ton of athletes for the secondary to shore up some holes there.

Gene Chizik and company continue to impress. I cannot wait to see this team hit the filed in the fall, but for now I will settle for our friends in Crimson to be upset about their own top five signing class not being as impressive as Auburn's.

War Eagle, baby!