Iron Bowl Auburn notebook

Rhoads mum about future:

Earlier this week, Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads’ name popped for a head coaching vacancy.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported Thursday that Rhoads was a candidate for the Utah State opening after the Aggies fired Brent Guy last week.

The paper said that Rhoads wasn’t in the top four, but made a “push for the position in previous days.”

When asked after Auburn’s 36-0 loss to Alabama on Saturday night if he had been contacted by Utah State for the opening, Rhoads said he wasn’t ready to talk about future possibilities.

“We just got off this Iron Bowl game, and I’m not very happy about it,” the defensive coordinator said, “and I’ll take that from there and address those things in the future.”

Rhoads just finished his first season with the Tigers after spending seven years at Pittsburgh.

Rhoads was a graduate assistant at Utah State from 1989-90. He received his masters in education from USU in 1991.

Marks, Coleman will weigh options:

Speaking of futures, Auburn defensive linemen Sen’Derrick Marks and Antonio Coleman will have a decision to make in the following weeks whether they want to return for their senior seasons at
Auburn or enter the NFL Draft.

Marks, a defensive tackle and projected a mid-to-late first-round pick, said he’s going to wait to see where he might be selected in the April draft before making his decision.

“I mean, you have to hear first round,” Marks said. “You can’t leave if you don’t hear first round.”

Coleman is also going to wait and see.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” said the defensive end, who is projected as a late-first round or early-second round selection. “I have a lot of thinking to do.

“I have to talk with my family, talk with my coaches. I’ll submit my papers and test the waters and see where they project me. I’m looking at coming back.”

Tommy Tuberville said that he’ll give Marks and Coleman the same advice he gives all his players in this position.

“I’ve talked to both of them,” Tuberville said. “We’ll continue to talk to them. They don’t have to make any drastic decisions. The thing that they want to do is make the best decision for them. We’ll have them evaluated, I’m one of the ones I’ll tell them if I think that what they need to do. I’m always honest with them.

“We’ve had some go, we’ve had some stay. We’ve got a couple of guys that will probably look at it, as every team does every year. …What we’ll do is sit them down and give them the best advice we possibly can to help their future, because it’s their future.”

The deadline for eligible players to declare for the NFL Draft is Jan. 15, 2009.

It’s up … it’s a timeout:

Morgan Hull’s 41-yard field goal at the end of the first half was good. Very good. Just one problem: It didn’t count.

Just before the snap, Alabama called a timeout to ice the sophomore kicker, attempting the first field goal of his career.

The kick would have cut into Alabama’s 10-0 lead heading into the break, and given Auburn the momentum against the No. 1 team in the country.

But that didn’t happen. The kick that counted — after the timeout — was blocked.

“I saw some penetration the second time,” Hull said. “(The ball) just didn’t get through. So, it was kind of a big let down going into half.”

Hull was filling in for starter Wes Byrum, who was battling an inflamed right knee, according to Tuberville. Byrum, who was 11-for-19 on field goal attempts this season, made the trip, but did not play.

Hull said he learned that he would be handling all the kicking duties earlier this week.

“(Byrum and I had) been battling back and forth,” Hull said. “The injury wouldn’t allow him to play.

“They kind of let me know and put me through tougher practices, tougher situations, to get me ready.”

Hull said he understands the gamesmanship of opposing coaches calling timeouts right before the snap, and he tried to look at it as a positive.

“It was just nice to have the first try,” he said. “Just go out and do it again. It didn’t happen.

“I can see why (coaches call timeouts) … it works. I’m not a big fan of it being in my position. But it’s what coaches do.”

Best of the Day:

Best use of a timeout: Morgan Hull’s 41-yard field goal at the end of the first half appeared to be a solid make, but Alabama coach Nick Saban slyly called a timeout, forcing Hull to kick again. The second attempt was predictable, as the snap was low, and Hull’s kick was blocked.

Best foot: Aside from one mishit, Clinton Durst was precise in his punting and did the best he could to give Auburn’s woeful offense ideal field position. His rugby-style kicking, which hadn’t been seen before Saturday, played a key role in minimizing Javier Arenas’ punt returns.

Worst of the Day:

Worst use of a timeout: Tommy Tuberville used a timeout in the first half to challenge the spot of the ball during an Alabama drive inside Auburn territory. The play stood, and the Tigers were left with just two timeouts. It proved costly as Auburn was forced to rush, and simply ran out of time during its failed drive at the end of the second quarter.

Worst fumble: After an impressive 8-yard run on the Tigers’ first drive of the second half, Brad Lester followed it up with an ugly fumble. Alabama recovered and turned it into a touchdown on the very next play.