Monday, February 18, 2008

Spring practice schedule change

Last week and this one are sort of the eye of the hurricane when it comes to Auburn football. Football recruiting wrapped up Feb. 6, National Signing Day. Spring football doesn’t start until next week.

So the middle of February is a calm period—relatively speaking. Auburn’s coaches are already working on 2009 recruiting, of course, identifying the junior prospects they’re most impressed with and sending out a slew of scholarship offers. And a few of last year’s reserves are moving on: Defensive back Lorenzo Ferguson and defensive lineman Bryant Miller are reportedly transferring, and offensive lineman Antwoin Daniels, who has already graduated, won’t play this season. Quarterback Blake Field (Valdosta State) and offensive lineman Oscar Gonzalez (Howard) announced their departures in January.

This week, folks are already looking toward spring practice. There’s good news for fans: They’ll have a slightly shorter wait than expected. An Auburn spokesman told me this afternoon that the start of practice has been moved up to Feb. 26, next Tuesday. It was originally expected to start Feb. 28, Friday.

Keep your eyes open at www.oanow.com and www.AuburnVersus.com for my spring preview series, which will begin this week. And, of course, once practice starts, there’ll be the onslaught of football coverage you all expect and deserve. I know you’re all looking forward to it as much as I am.