As I write this, at 8:15 p.m. Friday, the start of football practice is a little more than 13 hours away.
Friday's events were an hors d'ouevre for the main course, which starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the AU intramural fields. But Friday wasn't a complete waste of time.
Twenty scholarship freshmen -- everyone except DE Andre Wadley and RB Reggie Hunt -- reported Friday. The entire team -- including veterans -- went through a team meeting Friday afternoon, then the newcomers met with the media. My story has all the most interesting details.
I addressed Wadley's status in the story linked above; basically, nothing has changed. He's still recovering from the mysterious illness that was first discovered when he collapsed during a team workout earlier this month. Head coach Tommy Tuberville didn't speak to reporters Friday, so there's no official word on Wadley's status. It's too early to speculate on anything, but the chances that Wadley will play in 2008 -- always a long shot, even before his illness -- are getting slimmer all the time.
As for Hunt, he's still waiting for news from the NCAA Clearinghouse. I've said it before: Auburn seems to have a guy hung up in the Clearinghouse process every year. In Hunt's case, he earned his passing score on the last possible ACT testing date, which meant he got a late start on the Clearinghouse process. His transcript also includes a correspondence course, which can cause hangups at the Clearinghouse. He still has plenty of time to be cleared to practice...Auburn has historically waited on guys into the first week of class.
The list of invited walk-ons included some interesting names. Two former Auburn High linemen, Clay Clark and Cameron Hunt, will walk on, along with former Prattville running back Justin Albert (who will play wide receiver, apparently). The most interesting backstory belongs to tight end Bryan Harris, who originally signed with Tennessee-Martin as a punter in 2004, later transferred to Central Missouri State, where he switched to tight end. Now he's at Auburn, where he'll have one year of eligibility left and is likely to practice at tight end.
Also, I shot video interviews with three of AU's incoming freshmen (you'll have to watch the videos to find out who.) When they're posted, they'll be at AuburnVersus.com
Oh, and one more thing: Neiko Lipscomb is now Neiko Thorpe. Get used to it. Hopefully I'll be able to get an explanation from Neiko on Saturday.
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