AUBURN NOTEBOOK: Lester returns to practice after week off

Auburn’s ranks of walking wounded got a little thinner Wednesday, when senior tailback Brad Lester participated in his first practice in a week.

Lester had missed the previous eight practices for reasons that were never entirely clear. Head coach Tommy Tuberville originally said Lester and classmate Tristan Davis were “resting;” a few days later, he announced Lester had a foot injury and Davis an injured ankle, though neither were serious.

Wednesday, Tuberville said Lester had returned to practice. But Davis was still sidelined, this time with an injured hamstring. However, the coach reiterated that Davis’ injury was minor.

Last week, running backs coach Eddie Gran said the absence of his two senior tailbacks hadn’t been a handicap.

“You just have to coach the guys that are out there and get them ready to play,” Gran said.

Davis, Auburn’s top kickoff returner, wasn’t the only high-profile player who didn’t practice Wednesday. Tuberville said two defensive starters, defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks (strained calf) and strongside linebacker Craig Stevens (toe), missed practice due to injuries.

RB signee Hunt headed to junior college
The wait is over for Reggie Hunt. Unfortunately for Hunt, the news is bad.

Hunt, an Auburn signee from Daphne, learned Wednesday that he had not reached NCAA academic standards and will not be cleared to enroll at Auburn this fall.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound tailback, rated a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, signed with AU in February. But his academic information was flagged for review by the NCAA Clearinghouse, which spent more than a month investigating his records.

Wednesday, Hunt received the final word: He is not eligible.

According to Auburnsports.com, Hunt will enroll at Copiah-Lincoln College in Wesson, Miss., sometime this week. He is expected to redshirt this season, play for Copiah-Lincoln in 2009 and sign with AU in 2010. Under that scenario, he would be a redshirt sophomore during the 2010 season, with three years of eligibility.

“It’s been long and stressful, but I’m glad to get in college somewhere,” Hunt told Auburnsports.com. “I talked to the coaches from Copiah and they’re going to try to do the same things for me there that Auburn would do and get me out as quick as they can.”

Hunt was one of six 2008 signees not to qualify. Of the others, lineman Freddie Smooth, tight end Ken Adams and athlete Brandon Smith are in junior college; prep-school lineman Jermaine Johnson is re-taking his college boards with the hope of improving his score; and athlete Onterrio McCalebb is enrolled in prep school at Hargrave Military Academy, where he will be eligible to re-sign with AU next February.

In other academic news, Tuberville said no one on Auburn’s 105-man roster is academically ineligible this fall. That includes sophomore cornerback Ryan Williams, whom Tuberville had previously said was in academic danger. Williams remains in Tuberville’s “doghouse,” however, and is not expected to play in the season opener against Louisiana-Monroe Aug. 30.

AU to play Samford in 2011
Samford coach Pat Sullivan announced Wednesday that Auburn and Samford have agreed to play each other in football in 2011.

Speaking before a group of Samford boosters in Birmingham on Wednesday, Sullivan said Samford is close to signing contracts to play Florida State in 2010 and Auburn in 2011. The Auburn game, which would be played in Jordan-Hare Stadium, is tentatively scheduled for November 2011 in Jordan-Hare.

Sullivan, a former All-America quarterback at AU who won the Heisman Trophy in 1971, was hired at Samford before the 2007 season. Sullivan’s coaching career includes six years as an AU assistant, from 1986-91, but he has never coached in Jordan-Hare as an opponent.

AU is 25-0-1 against the Bulldogs, who play in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). The teams haven’t met since 1993.

“First, I want to thank these schools for giving us the opportunity to play,” Sullivan said in a press release issued by Samford. “It’s very special to our team and to our Samford family to be able to go to those places, and it’s also exciting for our players to go to those venues.

“This will help us in recruiting, and for us to build our program to where we want it to be, this is what we need to do.”

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